Why Are Christians Fleeing the Holy Land?
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation does excellent work. America hosts a great guest blog from Jeffery M. Abood of this organization. He notes that over the past half century, the Christian Palestinian population has fallen from 18 percent to 2 percent. The Pavlovian American response, never inclined to disfavor Israel, would be to blame Islamic persecution. Not so:
“Contrary to current popular opinion in this country, the Christians there are not leaving because of the Muslims. For 1500 years, the Christian population has been relatively stable despite living in a largely Muslim culture. Even today, many of the elected leaders are Christians as they enjoy popularity and a wide base of support.
The number one reason Christians themselves living there give, as to why they are leaving, is because of the economic conditions created by the Occupation. In fact, in a statement put out by all the Heads of all the Churches in Jerusalem, they state: “Occupation remains the root cause of the conflict and of the continued suffering in the Holy Land”.
He goes on to point out a whole host of Israeli attacks on religious freedom, including the confiscation of Christian lands by settlements, cutting off access to hospitals and elderly care centers, routine denial of clerical and religious visas, efforts to remove tax exempt status from the Church, a mandatory prison sentence in Israel for evangelization, denial of access to the holy sites (including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Easter Vigil). He ends by calling for solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, noting that “many Christians in the West seem to hold kind of a default Christian Zionist viewpoint, which actually works against our brothers ands sisters there”. How sad and how true.
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How true. Those Christians who were machine-gunned in the Iraqi church? Clearly the work of Jewish terrorists. The bombing of the Coptic church in Egypt? Jews again. Christians being tried for blasphemy? Rabbinical courts overseen by hooked-nosed Jewish judges. Access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? We all saw the pictures of how Manger Square was empty on Christmas Eve as members of the Israeli SS stood guard. Won’t soneone please step up and deal with this Jewish problem once and for all?
It is a shame, Richard, that you pay more heed to the dominant American narrative than the voices on the ground. The voices of the Palestinian Christians are loud and clear. Listen to them, and to people like Bishop Dennis Madden in the US. What happened last easter at Holy Sepulchre is a matter of record. The outrageous crimes being committed by the settler movement and it’s political allies are matters of record.
And as for out brothers and sisters in Iraq, take that up with the American perpetrators of the evil Iraq war, a war that cafeteria Catholics like George Weigel defend to this day. Iraqi Christians, the descendants of the great Church of the East, lived in relative, safety before the invasion. Now they are being massacred. But dont listen t me, listen to Iraqi Christians like Bishop Warduni of Baghdad.
I honestly have never heard about a mandatory prison sentence for evangelization. Why have I never heard that before now? Where is our press at on that one? Another thought comes to my mind. Where can the Christian Palestinians go? I mean if they flee where can they actually flee too? I have been to Israel many years ago. I was only 23yrs old at the time. I was in a restaurant/bar having a drink and oddly enough I ended up striking up a converstaion with a man who was a Christian and we spoke of this very thing. How he felt he had no place in Israel, because he wasnt a Muslim and he was not a Jew. Funny how almost 20yrs later it’s only getting worse, but a lot of that has to do with terrorism. I really don’t know how our very own country would react if we were as up close and personal with the amount of terrorist acts that have gone on like Israel has had to deal with. Buses getting blown up in the morning commute randomly. They have taken extreme measures to try and combat that and unfortunatly it has consequences that are far reaching. Maybe it’s time we start paying closer attention and seeing this with new eyes. The problem is, most people are very skeptical of muslims which is the majority of the Palestinian population. That fact leads to very little sympathy from the majority of Americans. I can see how that would work against Christians over there.
I’ve heard it time and again from Catholic groups engaged in the Holy Land. They will meet earnest young Americans who arrive in Israel/ Palestine full of pre-conceived notions they get from limited and biased American coverage, but once they see the situation on the ground, they become ardent supporters of the Palestinian cause. What is it about the US coverage? It’s not so much the “Jewish lobby” as the evangelicals, I believe.
https://americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=3744
The Israeli occupation strategy does not occur in a vacuum. Does anyone seriously believe that they would be as strict if not for the constant threat of radical terrorist violence? And, Christians in Islamic lands are not exactly at liberty to speak freely are they? If they even hinted at sympathy for Israel they would be signing their own death warrant.
One need not be a “Christian Zionist” to recognize these facts.
How can this explain the grave injustices wrought by the settlements? I once heard Bishop Dennis Madden of the USCCB say that the settlements are the single biggest obstacle to peace in the Holy Land.
The issue of Israeli settlements is serious and must be dealt with justly, but with due respect for the Bishop’s views I would suggest that the biggest obstace to peace in the Holy Land is an unshakeable commitment to violence and war on the part of Israel’s enemies. It has been so since 1948, and shows little sign of abating. If Israel’s enemies were to clearly and unmistakably renounce violence and terrorism a genuine peace would be likely. However any Arab or Palestinian leader doing so would face assassination from radicals. Nobel Peace Prize winner Pres. Anwar Sadat learned that lesson the hard way.
I would invite all (even my conservative friends who have an aversion to the word ‘welfare’) to join me as a benefactor of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (www.cnewa.org).
This papal agency does more than support the Catholic churches in the Middle East, but works ecumenically to also support economic development projects so that Christians of all denominations have the economic opportunities that will help them stay in their Holy Land homeland.
I’ve been donating to CNEWA for a couple of years now. It is an excellent organization.
Actually, Kurt, conservatives give far more to charitable causes than liberals. Conservatives who believe in small government give far more than liberals who believe in the welfare state.
Just had to say so!
Agree with your recommendation…
Austin,
Thank you for clarifying that the research shows conservatives give more ($300 more a year — I guess to you that is “much more”) to charitable causes than liberals.
Previously you had mistakenly asserted that conservatives give more to relief of the poor than liberals. There is no evidence of that.
I have no doubt that without conservative giving, the Opera, the academy where grand-pa-pa prepped (and little Buffy and Trip are now), and the homes for stray puppies would be in dire financial need.
Of course, among people of faith, religious liberals give more to charity than religious conservatives.
Best wishes for the new year.
I have no doubt that without conservative giving, the Opera, the academy where grand-pa-pa prepped (and little Buffy and Trip are now), and the homes for stray puppies would be in dire financial need.
I’m sure the average donor to the Opera and/or animal shelter is a raging Sarah Palin fan.
I’m sure the average donor to the Opera and/or animal shelter is a raging Sarah Palin fan.
In that she would unfailingly serve their interests if elected President, I’m sure they are.
My neighbor who works in the Opera development office reports to me that their donor base is more the John Boehner/Mitch McConnell types. Country Club Republican.
Here is the Chairman of LA Opera:
STERN, MARC
MALIBU,CA 90265 7/9/09 $5,000 Republican Party of Minnesota (R)
Stern, Marc
4/29/09 $2,400 Cantor, Eric (R)
Stern, Marc
2/10/10 $2,400 Cantor, Eric (R)
STERN, MARC
8/14/09 $2,400 Feinstein, Dianne (D)
STERN, MARC
7/14/09 $2,000 Republican Central Cmte/Los Angeles Cnty (R)
STERN, MARC I
8/25/10 $10,000 Republican Party of California (R)
STERN, MARC I
7/20/10 $2,400 Bono Mack, Mary (R)
STERN, MARC I MR
3/31/10 $22,600 National Republican Congressional Cmte (R)
STERN, MARC I MR
5/29/09 $10,000 National Republican Congressional Cmte (R)
STERN, MARC I MR
6/30/10 $2,400 Fiorina, Carly (R)
STERN, MARC I MR
3/5/10 $2,400 Fiorina, Carly (R)
STERN, MARC I MR
3/22/10 $2,400 McCain, John (R)
STERN, MARC MR
5/22/09 $15,000 National Republican Senatorial Cmte (R)
STERN, MARC MR
9/30/10 $10,300 National Republican Senatorial Cmte (R)
STERN, MARC MR
4/29/09 $2,400 Dreier, David (R)
STERN, MARC MR
4/5/10 $1,000 Toomey, Pat
Kern WILDENTHAL of the Dallas Opera is a bit more bipartisan: $4K to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, along with money to two conservative Republican House candidates (Sessions and Hall)and one moderate/Tory Democrat (Chet Edwards).
William Morris, President of the Met Opera. Donor to:
Republican Federal Cmte of Pennsylvania (R)
Republican State Cmte of Michigan (R)
Thune, John (R)
Vitter, David (R)
Nethercutt, George R Jr (R)
Burr, Richard (R)
Coburn, Tom (R)
Angle, Sharron E (R)
Missouri Republican State Cmte (R)
Holtzman, Elizabeth (D)
Romney, Mitt (R)
New York Republican Campaign Cmte
Reichert, Dave (R)
Walcher, Greg (R)
Davis, Geoff (R)
Porter, Jon (R)
Fortenberry, Jeffrey Lane (R)
Wohlgemuth, Arlene (R)
Republican Party of Oregon (R)
Republican Party of Washington (R)
Republican Central Cmte of Nevada (R)
Whitman, Kate (R)
Simmons, Rob (R)
Republican Party of Maine (R)
Ferraro, Geraldine (D)
Dole, Bob (R)
North, Oliver (R)
West Virginia Republican State Exec Cmte (R)
Lazio, Rick A (R)
McCain, John (R)
National Republican Congressional Cmte (R)
Republican National Cmte (R)
National Republican Senatorial Cmte
Does your friend have political conversations with the donors to his Opera. Waht is his name? I am sure they would like to know he has these conversations!
I never said “to the poor”. I said personal charitable giving is far higher among small government conservatives than big government liberals.
Do conservatives give to the arts? I kind of doubt it.
Given your hostility to charitable giving to the arts, do you favor, as conservatives do, zeroing out governmental funding for the arts?
I never said “to the poor”.
Austin,
Go back and look at your posts when we previously discussed this matter.
“…conservatives give far more to charitable causes than liberals.”
What does that mean, Austin? Do conservatives give more per capita? Probably so. They are likely to be richer and more able give.
That said, do conservatives give more as a percentage of their income than do liberals?
Or do conservatives just give more in the aggregate, because there are more of them (and they are also more affluent)?
You’ve made an assertion that is essentially meaningless, unless you support it with relevant numbers.
Austin is referring to a specific report that was issued a couple of years ago. Political conservatives (self-defined) do give more than political liberals even when held steady for income and regardless if it is measured by percentage or dollar amounts. On average, it is about a $300/year difference.
That being said, several other points.
1. Controlled for church membership, churchgoing liberals give more than church going conservatives. Non-religious conservatives give less than non-religious liberals.
2. Charitable giving a highly skewed by age/stage of life. Those under age 40 give hardly anything. The majority of charitable dollars are given by those on the far side of 60. Since identification as liberal/conservative is also highly skewed by age, when held constant for age, liberals are more generous givers than conservatives.
3. Hispanics are very low charitable givers. Take out Hispanics, the liberal/conservative differences evaporate.
4. Charitable giving as a percentage of income was high during the New Deal, New Frontier and Great Society eras and declined during the Reagan years. One could speculate that FDR and JFK launched periods of charitable generosity while Reagan represented the age of “me.” Austin might have alternative theories here.
5. Charitable giving should not be confused with relief of the poor. Giving is measured by contributions to any registered charity. Half of all giving is for the maintenance of one’s own house of worship. Among conservatives this rises to as high as 76% of their charity. Education (i.e. contributions to one’s alma mater or prep school), the arts (opera, symphony, etc), animal welfare and medical research all rank high, far above relief of the poor.
6. Private charity is a wonderful thing, working along with social initiatives. There is no evidence that private charity could replace the social initiatives like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, LIHEAP, Section 202 Housing, OASI and DI, School lunches, Meals on Wheels, UI, Workers Comp, workplace and mine safety, FDIC, FLSA, consumer protection, Pell Grants, student loans, etc.
Im actually not citing any studies. What are you citing?
But the point is that those who give personally, which liberals are not very good at, are closer to living the Gospel admonition than those who favor confiscation of the money of others in government spending. Facts is facts, my man.
Im actually not citing any studies.
Facts is facts
You are not citing any studies but you are asserting your claims as facts? Austin, you live in an interesting and self-absorbed world.
I am citing the work of Arthur Brooks. I can post many links here if you like. What study are you citing above?
Dr. Brooks has cited the research of others in his writings. I’m not aware of any independent research he has done.
Everyone interested inn the plight of Christians in the Near East should read W. Dalrymple’s “From the Holy Mountain.”
Thank you, Kurt! That was a very helpful and enlightening break-down.