Christian Palestinians

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Just was wondering about the Christian Palestinians. What do they think of Hamas? Do they support them and their suicide bombers or do they just tolorate them for their charity and not get hurt themselves? Also, are they Catholic Christians or Protestant Christians or a mixture?
Hope this is in the right forum.
 
A Christian Palestinian interviewed on the World Service a couple of nights ago said that many Christians had voted for Hamas because it would be the best way for Palestine to gain freedom.

Hopefully in time the political Hamas can follow the more recent path of the IRA in Ireland which entered through Sinn Fein into more and more political struggle and has turned away from violent methods. And that’s something that only 10-15 years ago would have been beyond most people’s wildest hopes.

We can only pray.
 
Hi all!

I cannot believe that very many Palestinian Christians voted for Hamas. My guess is that the gentleman in question was one of Hamas’s token Christians, used for window-dressing.

This timesonline.co.uk/article/0,3-2018822,00.html is from today’s Times (London’s not Newy York’s). If this Christian-owned brewery is forced to shut down, it’ll be a real pity. It makes an excellent beer. I’ll cite one excerpt:
Taybeh’s 1,300 souls are Christians, who make up 2 per cent of the Palestinian population, and many fear that cultural change may be forced upon them. “For the Christian minority the overwhelming feeling is apprehension,” said Sam Fakir, 65, a retired car mechanic. “Christian women tend not to cover up so much, but we fear Hamas may force them to wear hijab (headscarves) . Or even impose Sharia (Islamic law).”
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Be well!

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Tinkerbell:
Just was wondering about the Christian Palestinians. What do they think of Hamas? Do they support them and their suicide bombers or do they just tolorate them for their charity and not get hurt themselves? Also, are they Catholic Christians or Protestant Christians or a mixture?
Hope this is in the right forum.
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Hamas won 76 seats in the Parliament, then 4 christian palestinians joined their group and they now have 80 seats!

Hamas and Muslims are against the occupation not jews or christians. Besides, Muslims and Christians are gentiles! So they are in the same hole together facing Israel!
 
Christians living in the area called Palestine are not safe. They would be much better off living in Israel .
 
Greetings!

Palestinian Christians are caught between a hard place and a rock. They consider themselves Palestinian, not necessarily Arab, certainly not Israeli. They were stripped of all their property and forced into the same camps as the Muslim Palestinians. In Israel’s eyes there are no differences between the two; Palestinian is Palestinian and therefore, the enemy.

To the Palestinian Christian Israel is the primary enemy but of course, the Palestinian Muslims have called for their obliteration as well. The Muslims frequently force their way into Christian homes to launch rocket attacks against Israelis, knowing the Israeli government will demolish the house as punishment. And the Israelis are more than happy to hopefully eradicate one more Christian parasite from their holy land.

Palestinian Christians are rapidly becoming a rare breed within Palestine. My closest friend is a Christian born and raised in Bethlehem. They are a tortured people not simply because of the horrors committed against them by both the Jews and Muslims, but because the world’s Christians have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to their plight. They feel abandoned and betrayed by all and used and manipulated by the Messianic Christians who hope that by supporting the Jews, they will hasten the day of the Second Coming. Theirs is a sad, sad story and I seriously doubt Jesus will pass over their betrayal by Christians very easily when He does come!

I consider myself deeply blessed to be granted the opportunity to meet many members of the Palestinian Christian community in my area and to learn great lessons of Christian charity, devotion and perseverance from them. The true test will be their ability to forgive. I don’t envy them that task.
 
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JOHNYJ:
Christians living in the area called Palestine are not safe. They would be much better off living in Israel .
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They were safe before the Zionists turned up.
 
From the links cited in earlier mails:

Under Islam, Christians are considered dhimmi, a tolerated but second class who are afforded protection by Islam. Dhimmitude is integral to Islam; it is a “protection pact” that suspends "the [Muslim] conqueror’s initial right to kill or enslave [Jews and Christians], provided they submitted themselves to pay tribute.

However, the reality of Christianity under Islam has often been difficult. "Over the centuries, political Islam has not been too kind to the native Christian communities living under its rule. Anecdotes of tolerance aside, the systematic treatment of Christians…is abusive and discriminatory by any standard…Under Islam, the targeted dhimmi community and each individual in it are made to live in a state of perpetual humiliation in the eyes of the ruling community. As described by a Christian Lebanese president, Bashir Gemayil: "a Christian…is not a full citizen and cannot exercise political rights in any of the countries which were once conquered byIslam.

Palestinian Christians have suffered as dhimmis for centuries. An English traveler in the Holy Land in 1816, for example, remarked that Christians were not permitted to ride on horseback without express permission from the Muslim Pasha.5

Other European travelers to the Holy Land mentioned the practice whereby “a dhimmi must not come face to face with a Muslim in the street but pass him to the left, the impure side,” and described how Christians were humiliated and insulted in the streets of Jerusalem until the mid-1800s. The British consul in Jerusalem wrote that in the Holy Land, particularly in Jerusalem until 1839, Christians were pushed into the gutter by any Muslim who would swear: “turn to my left, thou dog.” They were forbidden to ride on a mount in town or to wear bright clothes.

In the early 1900s, sporadic attacks on Christians by bands of Muslims occurred in many Palestinian towns. During the Palestinian Arab revolt in the late 1930s, which involved very few Christians, if Christian villagers refused to supply the terrorist bands with weapons and provisions, their vines were uprooted and their women raped. The rebels forced the Christian population to observe the weekly day of rest on Friday instead of Sunday and to replace the tarboosh with the kaffiyeh for men, whereas women were forced to wear the veil. In 1936, Muslims marched through the Christian village of Bir Zayt near Ramallah chanting: "We are going to kill the Christians.

Another report in 2002, based on Israeli intelligence gathered during Israel’s Defensive Shield operation, asserts that "The Fatah and Arafat’s intelligence network intimidated and maltreated the Christian population in Bethlehem. They extorted money from them, confiscated land and property and left them to the mercy of street gangs and other criminal activity, with no protection."Anti-Christian graffiti is not uncommon in Bethlehem and neighboring Beit Sahur, proclaiming: "First the Saturday people (the Jews), then the Sunday people (the Christians). The same has often been heard chanted during anti-Israel PLO/PA rallies. Accused of wearing “permissive” Western clothing, Bethlehem Christian women have been intimidated. Finally, rape and abduction of Christian women is also reported to have occurred frequently (especially in Beit Sahur), as was the case in Lebanon.

Christian cemeteries have been defaced, monasteries have had their telephone lines cut, and there have been break-ins at convents.

In July 1994, the Wall Street Journal reported that Palestinian Muslims would not sell land to Christians and that Christian facilities and clubs had been attacked by Muslim extremists. Christian graves, crosses, and statues had been desecrated; Christians had suffered physical abuse, beatings, and Molotov cocktail attacks.

Point being, yes the Zionists have taken it to the Christian Palestinians but they were not living in any bed of roses before then. They just have a second snake at their feet now instead of one.
 
The ones I talked to said they did not like Hamas or its ilk. In fact they feel the Muslims take advantage of them. They have second class status. Some said they prefer Israeli rule to the abuse they suffer under the PA. But they only would say this when no Muslims were around. Which shows the real state of affairs. We should pray for them.
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies. They really sound like they have a tough life and deserve our prayers.
I’m ashamed to say that when I think of Palestinians I think of familes sending out their sons to be terrorist/suicide bombers and then dancing in the streets with glee after they are dead. They sound like nut cases to me.
I must remember that Christians live there also.
 
Hi all!

I just saw this on the AFP wire:
Bethlehem Christians fear for future under Hamas

The shrinking Christian population of Bethlehem is struggling to conceal its fears for the future after the victory for Islamists of Hamas in the Palestinian general election.

The blue skies of a perfect Sunday morning in the birthplace of Jesus Christ failed to lift the gloom among the congregation attending mass at the Church of the Nativity in the centre of the West Bank’s “little town” which now has many representatives from the radical Islamist group in parliament as Christians.

Franciscan father Amjad Sabbara was putting on a brave face as he greeted the congregation at the doors of the church which was the scene of an infamous 38-day Israeli army siege in April 2002.

(cont.)
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Link: tinyurl.com/btz58

Be well!

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The Orthodox Patriarchate of Holy Jerusalem has just elected and consecrated an Arab Palestinian to the episcopate.

Rare Day for Orthodoxy in the Holy Land

03-Jan-06
Maria C. Khoury

hcef.org/hcef/index.cfm/mod/news/ID/16/SubMod/NewsView/NewsID/1409.cfm

Orthodoxy is not based on ethnicity but in Jerusalem with the dominant Greek leadership in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate there were cheers, clapping, whistling and extreme joy expressed at the ordination of the Palestinian Archimandrite Attalla Hanna ordained Theodosios Archbishop of Sabastia on December 24, 2005. To be lighting candles at Christ’s Holy Tomb on the Eve of the Nativity of the Lord is not the place to be when everyone else is heading to Bethlehem to receive the New Born King. However, this was not an ordinary day in the Holy Land.

It was a special day that the Palestinian Orthodox Christian community has been waiting for over twenty-five years since the passing of the first Palestinian bishop from our village of Taybeh, Bishop Symon in the early 1980’s. This historical day in the Orthodox Christian community was blessed by the new patriarch His Beatitude Theophilos III officiated with representatives from Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Greece attending in witness of this extraordinary day for a Palestinian Orthodox bishop. I have such little faith thinking the recent patriarchate scandals would not allow this day to happen in my lifetime.

The Orthodox community in Palestine has been waiting anxiously to see a minimum of two local bishops of Arab ethnicity to join the Greek Orthodox leadership as stipulated by Church policy and this issue alone has created a huge gap among the Greeks of the Brotherhood and the local Arab faithful. As a scholar, His Beatitude Theophilos always speaks eloquently but the most important emphasis was that the Holy Synod finally fulfilled one of its obligations to the Orthodox community with the new ordination of the Palestinian bishop. Furthermore, all of us were thrilled that an Orthodox Christian woman, Ms. Hind Khoury, Ministry of State, Jerusalem Portfolio, was the official representative of the Palestinian Authority to this rare occasion.

The representative from the Jordanian Parliament, a well known Orthodox layman, Dr. Odeh Qawas did not forget to thank the bishop’s mother for helping to raise him the Orthodox way and maintain the traditions and values of the One True Faith.

Born (1965) in Al-Rameh (near Haifa) to Arab Israeli Orthodox Christian parents, Yacoub and Alice, the new bishop has only one brother and one sister. He was ordained a priest (1991) at the Holy Sepulchre the same spot where this holy sacrament took place. He has represented the World Council of Churches at meetings on human rights during which the suffering of Palestinian people was discussed. For his devotion and dedication to the Holy Land ministry, Archbishop Theodosios has received an honorary doctor of theology degree from the Sophia Theological Institute of Bulgaria. He also studied theology for seven years in Greece. He is one of the few highly educated Palestinian clergymen that speak out for justice and peace for all people in the region. He has served as the official spokesperson for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate for many years appointed by the late Patriarch Diodoros.

Archbishop Theodosios, well respected by the Christian and Muslim people was called “bishop” even years before his official elevation and is against all forms of violence and supports non-violent solutions to the Israeli military occupation. The Israeli propaganda machine has tried to smear his reputation and marginalize him in the past especially since he is very competent to fill the gap between Christians and Muslims and has often participated in Christian-Muslim dialogue promoting better relations among the different faiths united by cultural, social and political aspirations.

The new bishop is a man of great faith that can lead us to better understanding and relations with others serving the Lord in a very troubled land. “Axios” was shouted in many languages! Sadly since many Palestinian Orthodox Christians could not enter Jerusalem to witness this sacrament due to Israeli military policy requiring permits, various receptions were held in different locations to congratulate His Eminence the new Palestinian Archbishop of Sabastia Theodosios.
 
discipleofJesus said:
“Bethlehem Christians fear for future under Hamas”
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060205/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianreligion
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The majority of Christians are of course Orthodox Arabs and have been there for a little bit longer than the Muslims and have found a modus vivendi over hundreds of years.

I see that the new Orthodox bishop has a hardline attitude against the Israelis and pro the Arabs.

Tinkerbell spoke of the suicide bombers. One can only lament the existence of suicide bombers in Palestine. One must grieve for their victims. While Christians can never support such actions we should endeavor to understand why it exists. Israel is armed to the teeth with everything from nuclear weapons to the latest in fighting jets, helicopters and anti-riot weaponry --all provided free by you the US taxpayer-- in order to subdue and expel Palestine’s conquered indigenous people. Caterpillar Corp. even makes a “special” bulldozer, for Israeli use, designed to plow down Palestinian family homes; often with sleeping residents still within. Faced with such formidable enemies what would we do in order to resist? To protect our beloved country, homesteads, parents and children? Let’s think about that.

The new bishop calls on “Palestinian Arab Christians to participate in resisting the occupation in all forms, since they are part of the Palestinian people and of this nation.”

"“Resistance is the obligation of every Palestinian Christian Arab, as it is the obligation of every Palestinian Muslim Arab.”
 
we
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do in order to resist? To protect our beloved country, homesteads, parents and children? Let’s think about that.

The new bishop calls on “Palestinian Arab Christians to participate in resisting the occupation in all forms, since they are part of the Palestinian people and of this nation.”

"“Resistance is the obligation of every Palestinian Christian Arab, as it is the obligation of every Palestinian Muslim Arab.”

So do you agree that suicide bombers are the solution?
If not, what do you suggest for a solution?
 
Fr Ambrose:
Tinkerbell spoke of the suicide bombers. One can only lament the existence of suicide bombers in Palestine. One must grieve for their victims. While Christians can never support such actions we should endeavor to understand why it exists. Israel is armed to the teeth with everything from nuclear weapons to the latest in fighting jets, helicopters and anti-riot weaponry --all provided free by you the US taxpayer-- in order to subdue and expel Palestine’s conquered indigenous people. Caterpillar Corp. even makes a “special” bulldozer, for Israeli use, designed to plow down Palestinian family homes; often with sleeping residents still within. Faced with such formidable enemies what would we do in order to resist? To protect our beloved country, homesteads, parents and children? Let’s think about that.
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Sorry Father but I am not buying into this line. There is nothing in Catholicism that asks me to ‘endeavor to understand’ why these people feel they are called on by God to kill innocent civilians. In my opinion they are little better than animals. If the Palestinians would stop firing rockets into Israel the Israelies would have no need to bulldoze their houses. I am truely sorry to see a priest who is a appologist for Radical Islam. Don’t you realize that is the radical Islamist take over they will make The Holocaust look like child’s play?
 
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