Muslims driving Christians out of Bethlehem, but media outlets choose to blame Israel

Aaron Klein
12.24.07, 15:06

Ah, Christmas in Bethlehem. Manger Square is ablaze with colorful lights. The weather is usually a bit chilly. Aggressive merchants bombard passersby with "special sales" on all kinds of cedar wood statues and religious carvings. And like clockwork, the mainstream media descend upon this city every year to ignore rampant Muslim intimidation of Christians and instead blast Israel - often with completely inaccurate information - for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion. Take a widely circulated piece by Associated Press writers Dion Nissenbaum and Cliff Churgin. Mimicking the same article the AP puts out every December just before Christmas, the piece, published last week, cites Bethlehem's dwindling Christian population and paints a picture that squarely blames Israel.

"For generations, the Holy Land Arts Museum (in Bethlehem) has been selling olivewood manger scenes to thousands of pilgrims wanting souvenirs from the biblical birthplace of Jesus," starts the piece. "Gone is the olivewood stable shielding the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In its place, looming over the angelic family, are an Israeli watchtower and three towering sections of an adjoining wall. Outright lying, the AP piece stated Bethlehem "remains largely isolated from the outside world by Israel’s 25-foot-tall concrete walls, part of Israel’s separation barrier." The piece implied the wall caused the crash of Bethlehem's economy and prompted Christians to flee. Similar articles were churned out by Reuters, the BBC online and scores of local newspapers. ABC News, for example, chimes in: "The (Israeli) wall has cast a shadow over this famous West Bank town."

Now let's get our facts straight. Bethlehem is not surrounded by any wall. Israel in 2002 built a fence in the area where northern Bethlehem interfaces with Jerusalem. A tiny segment of that barrier, facing a major Israeli roadway is a concrete wall, which Israel says is meant to prevent gunmen from shooting at Israeli motorists. The fence was constructed after the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada, or terror war, launched in 2000 after late PLO Leader Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state, returning to the Middle East to liberate Palestine with violence. Scores of deadly suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis were planned in Bethlehem and carried out by Bethlehem-area terrorists. At one point during the period of just 30 days in 2002, at least 14 shootings were perpetuated by Bethlehem cells of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists, killing two Israelis and wounding six. Many times Muslim gunmen in the Bethlehem area reportedly took positions in civilian homes in the hilltops of Christian Beit Jala, which straddles Bethlehem. Beit Jala afforded the terrorists a clear firing line at southern sections of Jerusalem and at a major Israeli highway down below, drawing Israeli military raids and the eventual building of the security barrier there. Is this barrier causing Bethlehem's Christians to flee, as the mainstream media claim?

Rampant land confiscation

Simple demographic facts will answer this question. Israel built the barrier five years ago. But Bethlehem's Christian population started to drastically decline in 1995, the very year Arafat's Palestinian Authority took over the holy Christian city in line with the US-backed Oslo Accords. Bethlehem consisted of upwards of 80 percent Christians when Israel was founded in 1948, but since Arafat got his grimy hands on it, the city's Christian population dove to its current 23-percent. And that statistic is considered generous since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population at as low as 12 percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating per year. As soon as he took over Bethlehem, Arafat unilaterally fired the city’s Christian politicians and replaced them with Muslim cronies. He appointed a Muslim governor, Muhammed Rashad A. Jabar and deposed of Bethlehem’s city council, which had nine Christians and two Muslims, reducing the number of Christians councilors to a 50-50 split. Arafat then converted a Greek Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity, the believed birthplace of Jesus, into his official Bethlehem residence.

Suddenly after the Palestinians gained the territory, reports of Christian intimidation by Muslims began to surface. Christian leaders and residents told me they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spoke of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked. They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to their towns. In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tanzim and Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks. More than 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release.

Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs. "There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the (Muslim) mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station. "It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses and he runs away," Qumsiyeh told WND, speaking from his hilltop television station during a recent interview. Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population. One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND her friend recently fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization. A February Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen. One religious novelty-store owner I met recently told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property. "We are harassed but you wouldn’t know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away." What? Muslim persecution is driving the Christians out of Bethlehem? One would never know that from the Christmas coverage/annual Israel bash-fest by my "colleagues" in the media.

The Red Cross has once again departed from its usual non-partisan stance on political conflicts, in calling for political change to avert a deepening crisis in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. The relief organization, which uses an inverted Swiss flag as its emblem portraying its so-called neutral status, stated in a new report published today that Israeli security measures designed to prevent Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel could not justify the "enormous humanitarian cost" of its actions in the territories. The report highlighted IDF roadblocks in Judea and Samaria, and the ongoing economic embargo of the Gaza Strip.

Quote: ""Palestinians continuously face hardship in simply going about their lives; they are prevented from doing what makes up the daily fabric of most people's existence. The Palestinian territories face a deep human crisis, where millions of people are denied their human dignity. Not once in a while, but every day," the report reads.

The report was published prior to the upcoming Palestinian donors' conference, which is to be held in Paris on Monday. The Palestinian Authority has already asked donor nations for around $5.6 billion in aid, which it is expected to receive on certain conditions. British charity Oxfam also intends to publish a report on the humanitarian situation in the Middle East today. Their report is expected to state that unless significant pressure is put on Israel to ease security restrictions in the territories, much of the money pledged at the donors' conference will be wasted. The Red Cross did say in their report that Israel had a right to defend their own people, but added that the Jewish state had denied the Palestinian population the right to lead dignified, normal lives. No mention was made of the fact that the current crisis stems from Hamas' continued refusal to let Israelis lead dignified, normal lives. The report comes a day after a major Kassam attack on Israel in which one woman was moderately wounded when a rocket landed on her house. Hamas also promised today that it is preparing to escalate attacks on Israeli civilians. No mention is made in the Red Cross report of the fact that Hamas squanders international aid. Money which should have been used to ease the humanitarian crisis has been used to pay the wages of top officials in the Hamas terror government. Hamas has also siphoned off EU aid to fund its terrorist activities in Gaza, and has stolen fuel from Gaza hospitals for its own use. If there is any humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it is because an illegal terrorist organization has taken control of the Gaza Strip.

It's not the first time the Red Cross has departed from its politically neutral stance. On the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, the organization published a report stating that Israel showed "general disregard" for international law in its "occupation" of the territories. They also slammed Israel for its "Judaization" of east Jerusalem, and denounced the peace wall. Again no mention was made of Palestinian terrorism, nor of the Arab nations that brought about this situation in the first place. Only last week I was commenting on World Vision, a Christian charity with a very unchristian view. They also claim to be a non-political organization, but like the Red Cross they will make an exception when it comes to Israel. As we can see, the prophecy of Zechariah 12:2 is coming to pass. Every nation, every denomination and every organization is being drawn into this conflict. The nations of the world are seeking for peace, but it always seems to be the Jewish people that have to pay the price. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, the whole world will be gathered together against Jerusalem to do battle. And in that day the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against His city (Zechariah 12:9). God has reserved the last move for Himself. He has set His King upon His holy hill of Zion (Psalm 2:6). The Bible says that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). Are you saved? Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Source The Globe and Mail, YNet News, YNet News, Haaretz, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post

Source: Policy Exchange
Published Tuesday, 30 October, 2007 - 11:00

An authoritative new report by Policy Exchange, the UK's leading centre-right thinktank, entitled The Hijacking of British Islam: How extremist literature is subverting Britain's mosques, reveals the worrying extent of extremist penetration of mosques and other key institutions of the British Muslim community. The report is the most comprehensive academic survey of its kind ever produced in the UK and is based on a year-long investigation by several teams of specialist researchers into the availability of extremist literature and covers more than a hundred mosques and Islamic centres throughout the UK.

Among the reports findings are:

Most of the extremist literature is published and distributed by agencies linked to the Saudi Arabian government.

Some of the most high-profile and prestigious mosques in Britain are among the worst offenders; in many of them, it is openly available.

Separatist literature is distributed at the East London Mosque - which is closely associated with the Muslim Council of Britain (which purports to be the main body representing British Muslims).

Pamphlets, books and leaflets obtained from mosques and Islamic centres contain an assortment of shocking statements including:

"Jihad against a tyrant, oppressors, people of bid'ah [Muslim innovators], or wrongdoers. This type of jihad is best done through force if possible."

"The Jews and the Christians are the enemies of the Muslim."

"Whoever changes his religion, kill him."

Although some of the hate literature is in English, a proportion is written in Arabic. The translations commissioned by Policy Exchange have been independently verified.

Many of the publications encourage British Muslims to segregate themselves from non-Muslims. So-called unbelievers are to be treated as second-class and avoided wherever possible.

There are also repeated calls for gays to be thrown from mountains and tall buildings and for women to be subjugated.

Among the literature available are extracts from the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion (published by the Saudi Ministry of Education), and other publications peddling bizarre conspiracy theories alleging that birth control is a plot against Muslims and Arabs, and that pornography is spread as part of a Jewish plot to corrupt Muslims.

The report has been authored by Dr Denis MacEoin, the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Newcastle University who received his doctorate in Persian (Islamic) Studies from Cambridge University and has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at Durham, Newcastle and Fez universities.

Speaking about the findings of the report, Anthony Browne, Director of Policy Exchange said, "It is clearly intolerable that hate literature is peddled at some British mosques. I am sure the majority of moderate Muslims will be as horrified as everyone else that pamphlets advocating jihad by force, hatred for insufficiently observant Muslims, Christians and Jews, and segregation have found their way into the UK's mosques."

Mr Browne went on to say, "The fact that the Saudi regime is producing extremist propaganda and targeting it at British Muslims must also be challenged by our own government. It is reassuring that the majority of mosques investigated do not propagate hate literature - but much work needs to be done to ensure that a large number of leading Islamic institutions remove this sectarianism from their midst."

"The UK has once again opened up it's doors to the anti-Semitic King of Saudi Arabia. This Kingdom won't even allow a Jewish person to visit the country, and yet we see the Saudi King being led by the hand by the British Royal Family. Judgement is around the corner, the God of Israel will not be mocked."

Source EGov Monitor

As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meet to discuss the creation of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and East Jerusalem, PA television is broadcasting images to Arab viewers of a Palestinian state that will replace Israel completely. President Abbas had recently demanded that Israel agree to hand over 6205 square kilometres of land for the creation of a Palestinian state, but these broadcasts show a map of Israel covered in a Palestinian flag with the words "Palestine 2007" in the centre. The Palestinian Media Watch group, which noticed the broadcasts, state that the message being conveyed to the Arab public is that Palestine exists presently and replaces all of Israel, regardless of whatever agreement Abbas and Olmert may come to.  

Quote: "As documented by PMW for many years, the idea of turning Israel into an Arab-Palestinian state is part of a formal educational approach throughout the Palestinian Authority. "The picture painted for the Palestinian population, both verbally and visually, is of a world without Israel," PMW writes. "This uniform message of a world without Israel is repeated in school books, children's programs, crossword puzzles, video clips, formal symbols, school and street names, etc." Street names in the PA have been changed to memorialize terrorists, for instance, and PA textbooks regularly include references to the "Israel is Palestine" canard. For instance, a 12th-grade literature book states, “Palestine’s war ended with a catastrophe that is unprecedented in history, when the Zionist gangs stole Palestine and expelled its people from their cities, their villages, their lands and their houses, and established the State of Israel.” [Arabic Language, Analysis, Literature and Criticism, grade 12, p. 104

This may be one of the reasons why this "land for peace" deal will never bring about peace. It's the existence of Israel they cannot tolerate, not the Israeli "occupation". Although the Palestinian Liberation Organization officially recognizes Israel's right to exist, Abbas' own Fatah organization does not. As the Scriptures state, the ultimate goal of the surrounding Arab nations is to "cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance" (Psalm 83:4).  As I've said many times, the ultimate goal behind the destruction of the state of Israel is to prevent Christ's return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. For God's promises to mankind are bound up in the nation of Israel. Psalms 2 gives more detail on this spiritual battle that is taking place now and will culminate at the close of the tribulation period.

Psalms 2:1-9
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Psalm 2 is one of the Scriptures that prove to us the Deity of Jesus Christ. At the end of the Psalm it states, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him", Psalm 2:12. Do you know the Son? Have you put your trust in Him? Trust in Him for salvation today.

And He'll plant His beautiful feet upon this mountain
And the dead of the all the ages who believed in Him shall rise
And I'll be one, I'll be one, at the first resurrection
When He comes, when He comes, when He comes...

Source Arutz 7

Iranian President Ahmadinejad has marked the Iranian al Quds Day in a televised address to the nation, in which he repeated calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map. Tens of thousands of people marched through Teheran during the event, first established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khameini, chanting "Death to America! Death to Israel". Members of the the Basij, the Islamic army that is claimed to number 20 million suicide bombers and child soldiers, joined the march chanting, "Hizbullah fights, Israel trembles!". Iran had previously warned that if Iran's nuclear facilities were attacked, Israel would immediately face the wrath of the Basij. Children held balloons with "Death to Israel" emblazoned on them, and men and women held placards calling for the state of Israel to be obliterated. During his address to the nation, the Iranian President accused Israel of a Palestinian "genocide", and called on a Jewish state to be created in Canada instead of "Palestine".

Quote: ""Iran condemns fabricating such a pretext (the Holocaust) for the Zionist regime to commit genocide against the Palestinian nation and occupy Palestine," Ahmadinejad said in a live broadcast to mark the annual Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day in the Islamic Republic. "The Iranian nation and countries in the region will not rest until Palestine is free and criminals punished," he said in the speech before Friday prayers.

On Wednesday I had trouble with my car, and had to take a taxi home from work. During my conversation with the driver, he happened to mention his trip to Poland, during which he visited the Auschwitz concentration camp. He isn't a Christian, but said it was a very moving experience. He said that during the war, when the Jews were taken to the camp, they were told they were being sent to Canada. The Nazis told them to pack all their belongings in their suitcases, and put all their money and valuables in their coat pockets. The Jews were then taken to the showers and gassed. Their pockets were rifled, their suitcases emptied, and the bodies of the Jewish people were transported to Canada I and Canada II, two massive incinerators where Hitler destroyed the evidence of genocide. So when President Ahmadinejad mentions Canada, I can't imagine what must be going through the minds of the Jewish people. His comments reveal his true intentions. There is no doubt Ahmadinejad would not be satisfied with the eradication of Israel, if that were possible. For he believes in the forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which states that the Holocaust is a myth, that the Jewish people are in total control the media and that they are the sole cause of all the problems the world faces today.

Some Christians believe that the Scriptures actually mention the atrocity of the Holocaust. Psalm 102 deals with the persecution of the Jews. The chapter states that the Jewish people would eat ashes like bread. The two incinerators which the Nazis used to burn the bodies of the Jews belched out a thick cloud of ashes, which covered the ground around the camp like a layer of snow. Psalm 102 also mentions the establishment of the state of Israel, and the return of Christ to set up His Millennial Kingdom...

Psalm 102:13
Thou shalt arise, [and] have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

Psalm 102:16
When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.

Although the Jewish nation will have to endure one more persecution before they will turn to their Messiah, praise God that just as this first verse has been partly fulfilled, so the second must soon come to pass.

Source Reuters