The Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that nobody is talking about

[anna ~ grace]

Palestinians treat Palestinian Christians far worse than the Israelis do. That does not excuse mistreatment of any kind, but let's keep it real.

That is what I am wondering. I have noticed that both sides, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims tend to trot Christians out to prove a point, villianize the other side, or excuse their own intense dislike of each other. The Christians seem continually stuck in the middle.

Messianic Jews in Israel don't fare well. At all. Catholic and Orthodox Christians seem to fare better isn Israel than in the Palestinian Territories, and the article does make a brief mention of Muslim violence against Christians in Gaza and the West Bank, then immediately brushes it aside with a "but no way that's the problem!"

Not the whole problem, but maybe part of the problem? I am not trying to white wash or ignore the problems caused by or encouraged within the State of Israel. But I have noticed that Christians tend to get politicized in this debate. Both sides use them to make themselves look good, look better, look like victims, or make the other side look and sound evil.

What do the Christians of the Holy Land want? What would be best for them?

 

[Aussie Pete]

That is what I am wondering. I have noticed that both sides, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims tend to trot Christians out to prove a point, villianize the other side, or excuse their own intense dislike of each other. The Christians seem continually stuck in the middle.

Messianic Jews in Israel don't fare well. At all. Catholic and Orthodox Christians seem to fare better isn Israel than in the Palestinian Territories, and the article does make a brief mention of Muslim violence against Christians in Gaza and the West Bank, then immediately brushes it aside with a "but no way that's the problem!"

Not the whole problem, but maybe part of the problem? I am not trying to white wash or ignore the problems caused by or encouraged within the State of Israel. But I have noticed that Christians tend to get politicized in this debate. Both sides use them to make themselves look good, look better, look like victims, or make the other side look and sound evil.

What do the Christians of the Holy Land want? What would be best for them?

Christians in Palestine are a rare breed these days. They are being pushed out by Muslim intimidation and (mostly) soft persecution. The world cares nothing. Christians are non-people as far as most of the world is concerned. Why would it be any different? Lord Jesus warned us that this day would come.

 

[Toro]

Should any Christian support violence... against Christians... or even non believers? No.

But no weapon formed against you shall prosper unless it is the will of the Father.

Is it horrible what those that die for reasons of Christ a terrible thing? That depends on what you believe.

Do you believe that the comforts of this world are more than what Christ has to give?

Is it easy to turn the other cheek? No, it is in our nature to take an eye for an eye... but when we resort to violence..... we disobey the NT command to turn the other cheek.

Do we want to be made in the likeness of Moses or the Likeness of Jesus Christ?

That is not to say that if ome is in a position to stop evil they should sit idle by and do nothing....but for those those many that "can do nothing" prayers for those that CAN stop evils do the right thing SHOULD be the concern... not the politics of choosing sides.

The problem with eye for an eye... is both sides have lost much, too much pain, too much blood.... eye for an eye the blood never stops flowing.

Is it easy to turn the other cheek... of course not... but just bec as use one may have the right to defend themselves...... doesnt mean they must do so.

Who can do a better job of protecting you... yourself... or God? Does Daniel have a better chance at surviving the lions den by his own hand... or.. by God's hand. When we feel that WE must do something to "help" God... it is a failure in our own faith.... we all have moments.... but if we are real... and honest.... it is in those failures that we lean on self ability...... rather than God's..

No different Abraham and Sarah felt THEY had to help God out and have offspring with a woman that wasnt Sarah.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Should any Christian support violence... against Christians... or even non believers? No.

But no weapon formed against you shall prosper unless it is the will of the Father.

Is it horrible what those that die for reasons of Christ a terrible thing? That depends on what you believe.

Do you believe that the comforts of this world are more than what Christ has to give?

Is it easy to turn the other cheek? No, it is in our nature to take an eye for an eye... but when we resort to violence..... we disobey the NT command to turn the other cheek.

Do we want to be made in the likeness of Moses or the Likeness of Jesus Christ?

That is not to say that if ome is in a position to stop evil they should sit idle by and do nothing....but for those those many that "can do nothing" prayers for those that CAN stop evils do the right thing SHOULD be the concern... not the politics of choosing sides.

The problem with eye for an eye... is both sides have lost much, too much pain, too much blood.... eye for an eye the blood never stops flowing.

Is it easy to turn the other cheek... of course not... but just bec as use one may have the right to defend themselves...... doesnt mean they must do so.

Who can do a better job of protecting you... yourself... or God? Does Daniel have a better chance at surviving the lions den by his own hand... or.. by God's hand. When we feel that WE must do something to "help" God... it is a failure in our own faith.... we all have moments.... but if we are real... and honest.... it is in those failures that we lean on self ability...... rather than God's..

No different Abraham and Sarah felt THEY had to help God out and have offspring with a woman that wasnt Sarah.

I am not arguing for violence or self defence, but "turn the other cheek" does not mean to allow someone to beat you up. it is a reference to being insulted. The expression, "a slap in the face" comes to mind. When duels were popular, the antagonist would slap the face of the intended victim with a glove. It was an unbearable insult. There is a historical reference somewhere that owners sometimes insulted their slaves by striking their face. It was considered shameful to the slave as he/she could not retaliate. That could be what Lord Jesus was referring to.

 

[Toro]

I am not arguing for violence or self defence, but "turn the other cheek" does not mean to allow someone to beat you up. it is a reference to being insulted. The expression, "a slap in the face" comes to mind. When duels were popular, the antagonist would slap the face of the intended victim with a glove. It was an unbearable insult. There is a historical reference somewhere that owners sometimes insulted their slaves by striking their face. It was considered shameful to the slave as he/she could not retaliate. That could be what Lord Jesus was referring to.

Was Jesus "challenged to a duel" or was He brutally beaten and crucified? Did they "challenge Stephen to a duel". or did they stone him to death? Etc....

IF we are a follower of Christ as we should be if we take on His name. Otherwise.. we take His name on in vain... should we not follow as He led? To go where He went (walking in love, not in His physical steps)

It doesnt mean we will ALWAYS choose our next step correctly........ but we shouldnt justify the times we step off the path either.

 

[dqhall]

That is what I am wondering. I have noticed that both sides, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims tend to trot Christians out to prove a point, villianize the other side, or excuse their own intense dislike of each other. The Christians seem continually stuck in the middle.

Messianic Jews in Israel don't fare well. At all. Catholic and Orthodox Christians seem to fare better isn Israel than in the Palestinian Territories, and the article does make a brief mention of Muslim violence against Christians in Gaza and the West Bank, then immediately brushes it aside with a "but no way that's the problem!"

Not the whole problem, but maybe part of the problem? I am not trying to white wash or ignore the problems caused by or encouraged within the State of Israel. But I have noticed that Christians tend to get politicized in this debate. Both sides use them to make themselves look good, look better, look like victims, or make the other side look and sound evil.

What do the Christians of the Holy Land want? What would be best for them?

Israel has a law against Christians converting Jews to Christianity. The Muslim religion has a law against apostasy. Apostasy is when a Muslim leaves Islam to join another religion. Christians have been persecuted, killed and ethnically cleansed from Muslim areas. Such is currently happening in Ethiopia. In the early 1900’s Turkish Muslims killed 1.5 million Armenian Christians in the Armenian Genocide.

 

[Mathetes66]

Palestinian Territories - Open Doors USA

Christians are 'most persecuted group'

Persecution of Christians 'coming close to genocide' in Middle East – report

Christian Persecution | Open Doors USA

The Voice of the Martyrs

Recognizing The Phenomenon Of The Persecution Of Christians Globally

‘Worst Year Yet’: The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest to Be a Christian

Global Persecution Report: 'Christians Are the Most Persecuted ...and It's Accelerating'

The Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2019

Christian persecution set to rise ‘sharply’ in 2019, group warns

Final Report | Christian Persecution Review

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=a...zQIHWCBAWIQieUEegQIARAE&ep=6&at=1577189058272

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=a...zQIHWCBAWIQieUEegQIARAI&ep=6&at=1577189156038

Various world leaders are even making known the accelerated Christian persecution around the world.

Christianity and Christmas ‘under Attack Worldwide’, says Gov’t Official

Boris Johnson will highlight plight of persecuted Christians across the world in his Christmas message

Attacks on religious communities 'a wound on all humanity' Trump tells UN | Angelus News

Continuing Reports and Reactions

Turkey Reacts to Armenian Genocide Recognition | Persecution

God is at work hearing the cries of His people & removing leaders to open doors for mercy

Sudan removed from State Dept. list of worst religious freedom violators after dictator ousted

John 13:1ff It was now just before the Passover Feast & Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world & return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end. The evening meal was underway & the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands & that He had come from God & was returning to God. So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments & wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin & began to wash the disciples’ feet & dry them with the towel that was around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but LATER you will understand.” “Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him. Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands & my head as well!”

10Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet & he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12When Jesus had washed their feet & put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again & asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher & Lord & rightly so, because I am. So if I, your Master & Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

15I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you KNOW these things, you will be blessed if you DO them.

When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified & God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself—& will glorify Him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little while longer. You will look for Me & as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

34A NEW commandment I give you: Love one another. AS I have loved you, so also you MUST love one another. BY THIS ALL MEN WILL KNOW that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

 

[Mathetes66]

Isaiah 58:1ff Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression & to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek Me & delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right & does not forsake the justice of their God.

They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God. “Why have we fasted & You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves & You have not noticed?”

“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please & you oppress all your workers. 4You fast with contention & strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today & have your voice be heard on high.

5Is this the fast I have chosen, a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed & to spread out sackcloth & ashes? Will you call this a fast & a day acceptable to the LORD?

6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free & tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor & homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him & not to turn away from your own flesh & blood?

8Then your light will break forth like the dawn & your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you & the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call & the LORD will answer; you will cry out & He will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you remove the yoke from your midst,THE POINTING OF THE FINGER & MALICIOUS TALK & if you give yourself to the hungry & satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness & your night will be like noonday.

People may hate us because of Jesus, but let's never give people a reason to hate Jesus because of us.

 

[Redwingfan9]

The Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that nobody is talking about

So do we Christians care about this or are we content to let politics override the well-being of our Christian brethren?

85% of the Palestinians are Muslisms. I really could care less if they and the Jews fight to the death. One group of wicked apostates fighting another interests me not.

As for the Christians there, the reality is that both the Jews and the Muslims hate them. I could hardly blame them for moving away for better opportunities and freedom elsewhere. As believers we cannot pretend that the land where Jesus once walked is somehow sacred and that as such it's absolutely necessary to have a foothold there at all times. Before Christ returns the whole world will believe, so even if Christians move away from an area for a time we can rest assured that believers will one day return.

 

[dzheremi]

That is what I am wondering. I have noticed that both sides, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims tend to trot Christians out to prove a point, villianize the other side, or excuse their own intense dislike of each other. The Christians seem continually stuck in the middle.

As one of those vaguely-sourced 'African proverbs' puts it, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

What do the Christians of the Holy Land want? What would be best for them?

I posted the Kairos Palestine video a little while ago that gives a good overview across most of the communities. For a more in depth and decidedly more personal explanation from that might be of particular interest to you as a Catholic from someone who predates the establishment of Israel itself, here's the aforementioned Abp. Chacour speaking before the Presbyterian Global Leadership Conference in the USA several years ago. I think HG makes some good points.

 

[thecolorsblend]

Palestinians treat Palestinian Christians far worse than the Israelis do. That does not excuse mistreatment of any kind, but let's keep it real.

Palestinians are understood to mistreat Christians and they get called out for it.

Israelis also mistreat Christians but a lot of Christians refuse to acknowledge Israel's poor treatment of everybody who isn't Israeli.

The two situations are pretty different from each other.

 

[ArmenianJohn]

Palestinians treat Palestinian Christians far worse than the Israelis do. That does not excuse mistreatment of any kind, but let's keep it real.

Do they? Where did you get this idea?

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I agree, but the creation of a Palestinian state would alleviate much of the violence in that area in my opinion.

Like when Israel gave up Gaza??

 

[Ken Rank]

Since the formation of the modern secular state of Israel there has been an "ethnic cleansing" of the Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, that has grown in intensity over the decades. Actually in the early days of Israel I had huge admiration for the Jews but that has largely evaporated in the interim. I am reminded strongly of:

"Whoever fights monsters, should see to it that in the process he does not himself become a monster."
~~~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Jack... I would like to see proof of this beyond anti-Jewish sources. The Jews have no issue living with anyone when the other desires to live in peace. When they don't, then they act... that has been what I have witnessed in my 53 years.

That article is very slanted anyway. It starts off calling the Palestinian Christians the oldest group of Christians in the world. Since there was no Palestine back then (it was called Judea) I think this article and it's claims comes with the same pro-Arab anti-Judaic message so many others have today.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

The Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that nobody is talking about

So do we Christians care about this or are we content to let politics override the well-being of our Christian brethren?

With strict regulations for citizenship and the abuse of "law of return" it is nearly impossible to migrate into Israel as a Christian and become a citizen. Only .02% of Christians are Jewish(2019 census). Though there are Messianic Jews, they are for some reason not included in any statistics as yet. There is no rational excuse for devastating numbers other than what the article is speaking about.
Blessings

 

[dzheremi]

Jack... I would like to see proof of this beyond anti-Jewish sources. The Jews have no issue living with anyone when the other desires to live in peace. When they don't, then they act... that has been what I have witnessed in my 53 years.

Nice try, but Israel and "the Jews" are not the same thing. Israel is 71 years old. I'm sure you know Jews who are older than that. Also, the majority of the world's Jews don't live there. The USA alone has 51% of the world's Jews if we measure that by Israel's own rules of who qualifies as a Jew.

That article is very slanted anyway. It starts off calling the Palestinian Christians the oldest group of Christians in the world. Since there was no Palestine back then (it was called Judea) I think this article and it's claims comes with the same pro-Arab anti-Judaic message so many others have today.

Speaking of very slanted, there was no Israel back then, either. As you note, it was known as the Roman province of Judea, so I guess by this standard any argument in favor of the state of Israel is itself very slanted and anti-Judaic.

 

[Lucian Celestine]

Thank you for posting this article. So many Americans don't know that this is going on, and blindly support Israel.

I'd also like to mention I'm certainly not antisemitic, but the treatment of the Palestinians could certainly be better.

I have a video I made of the subject matter (not on Palestinian Christians but Palestinians in general) sadly I can not link the video here and its been taken down from youtube for 'graphic content' and it makes sense, as it does depict a lot of violence...

I do have a non-graphic version of it that I made though which you can find here.

 

[anna ~ grace]

As one of those vaguely-sourced 'African proverbs' puts it, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.



I posted the Kairos Palestine video a little while ago that gives a good overview across most of the communities. For a more in depth and decidedly more personal explanation from that might be of particular interest to you as a Catholic from someone who predates the establishment of Israel itself, here's the aforementioned Abp. Chacour speaking before the Presbyterian Global Leadership Conference in the USA several years ago. I think HG makes some good points.

Thank you so much, Dzher. Merry Christmas to you, friend.

 

[Daniel Martinovich]

So you're saying you think Palestinian Christians are treated well by Israel despite what Palestinian Christians themselves say? That's quite prideful. Do you care about your Christian brethren or only certain ones of certain ethnicities? Or do you put politics above their well-being?

I am saying you misrepresenting the reason why Palestinian Christians are suffering. Misrepresenting it for political purposes. Which does them no good. They are suffering because of what Islamist have done and are doing.

 

[dqhall]

With strict regulations for citizenship and the abuse of "law of return" it is nearly impossible to migrate into Israel as a Christian and become a citizen. Only .02% of Christians are Jewish(2019 census). Though there are Messianic Jews, they are for some reason not included in any statistics as yet. There is no rational excuse for devastating numbers other than what the article is speaking about.
Blessings

I learned about three or four Messianic (Jewish Christian) Jewish congregations in Israel during my travels. I also met some Jews who confessed knowledge of Christianity, perhaps underground Christians. In Jerusalem an Anglican pastor was arrested for giving a Christian Bible to a Jewish teen who asked for a Bible. This was before the Internet was more fully developed. There were Internet cafes where people rented computer time. The hotels did not have WiFi yet. I did not know of smart phones then. Now they may access Christian writings online.

I met Arab Christians in Jerusalem, Nazareth and the West Bank before there was a wall. The wall was built after an Infitada, probably the Third Infitada, where Muslim fanatics suicide bombed Israelis. The people of Gaza used to go freely to the West Bank and back; not anymore.

A group of American Jews preaching to Jews in Hebrew were deported immediately.