Thank you Khaled for always remembering us and speaking up on our behalf.
My aunty and cousins are in that church with fifi's family while the other half are at the orthodox church. Split up with the hopes of our family not get erased like Many others in Gaza.
Our family goes back more than 8 generations in the historical part of Gaza, the area of the orthodox church. You are correct, with the constant on and off attaches on Gaza, this might be the last generation for our family. All the young ones have already left to find a future else where, leaving behind the elders, homes, properties and businesse😔
That's heartbreaking! Christmas has been cancelled in Bethleem (where Jesus was born) Not sure that the western Christian community is as silent as you suggest, though...The pope himself called Israel a terrorist state, and pleaded for a ceasefire. We all need to do more, that's for sure. Thank you for all you share!
We must never forget the oldest Christian community in the world. We must never forget that Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, born into occupied territory and made a refugee as an infant. God bless Palestine! God bless Gaza! I am heartbroken at your suffering--Christians and Muslims alike-- and furious at my country for enabling genocide.
Thank you for raising awareness of the genocide inside a genocide. I’m so sorry for what ALL the Palestinian people are going through. May Allah SWA keep giving them and us strength to fight this genocide.
According to the National Catholic Reporter, “In 1950, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages were 86 percent Christian. But by 2016, the Christian population dipped to just 12 percent, according Bethlehem mayor Vera Baboun.
While neither the United Nations nor the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom have acknowledged the persecution of Christians under the Palestinian Authority (PA), it is cited in the 2019 World Watch List published by Open Doors USA, an organization devoted to the persecuted. In its indicators, both violence and pressure were noted. Pressure occurs at multiple levels: family, community, national and church life. The source of persecution is identified as Islamic oppression.[5]
In her paper The Persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Edy Cohen concludes that the “ongoing international neglect of the plight of the Christians under PA rule can only lead to the vanishing of Christianity from the place where it emerged.” She goes on to describe several incidents in which Christians were physically attacked and churches vandalized, desecrated, and robbed. The police were unresponsive; no one was arrested. The Maronite church in Bethlehem has been attacked six times, including an arson attack. None of these incidents were covered by PA media; a gag order was imposed in many cases
I remember thinking at first that we shouldn't be emphasizing the religious identities of non-Muslim Palestinians because they're all worthy of life, and people shouldn't care more about them because they may be Christian or Jewish... And that's still true, but I've also seen how it literally does not matter to people. Somehow even if Palestinians get American "respectability" for being Christian, it's still not enough
And YET, immediately after October 7th the little Christian church near my home in Ohio never hesitated in turning on a tacky neon sign that reads: "WE STAND WITH ISRAEL"!!!
In some cases, yes, but the people in this particular church are just IGNORANT. (Or, like Rev. Hagee and his rabid followers, they just want the yahud to triumph so that the Messiah can "return.")
In some cases, yes, but the people in this particular church are just IGNORANT. (Or, like Rev. Hagee and his rabid followers, they just want the yahud to triumph so that the Messiah can "return.")
Thank you Khaled for always remembering us and speaking up on our behalf.
My aunty and cousins are in that church with fifi's family while the other half are at the orthodox church. Split up with the hopes of our family not get erased like Many others in Gaza.
Our family goes back more than 8 generations in the historical part of Gaza, the area of the orthodox church. You are correct, with the constant on and off attaches on Gaza, this might be the last generation for our family. All the young ones have already left to find a future else where, leaving behind the elders, homes, properties and businesse😔
The Shuhaiber/Ayyad/khouri family❤️
That's heartbreaking! Christmas has been cancelled in Bethleem (where Jesus was born) Not sure that the western Christian community is as silent as you suggest, though...The pope himself called Israel a terrorist state, and pleaded for a ceasefire. We all need to do more, that's for sure. Thank you for all you share!
We must never forget the oldest Christian community in the world. We must never forget that Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, born into occupied territory and made a refugee as an infant. God bless Palestine! God bless Gaza! I am heartbroken at your suffering--Christians and Muslims alike-- and furious at my country for enabling genocide.
Thank you for raising awareness of the genocide inside a genocide. I’m so sorry for what ALL the Palestinian people are going through. May Allah SWA keep giving them and us strength to fight this genocide.
This gave me goosebumps... this really is very sad. Celebrating the birth of Jesus whilst his birthplace is literally bleeding... 💔🤲
According to the National Catholic Reporter, “In 1950, Bethlehem and the surrounding villages were 86 percent Christian. But by 2016, the Christian population dipped to just 12 percent, according Bethlehem mayor Vera Baboun.
While neither the United Nations nor the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom have acknowledged the persecution of Christians under the Palestinian Authority (PA), it is cited in the 2019 World Watch List published by Open Doors USA, an organization devoted to the persecuted. In its indicators, both violence and pressure were noted. Pressure occurs at multiple levels: family, community, national and church life. The source of persecution is identified as Islamic oppression.[5]
In her paper The Persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Edy Cohen concludes that the “ongoing international neglect of the plight of the Christians under PA rule can only lead to the vanishing of Christianity from the place where it emerged.” She goes on to describe several incidents in which Christians were physically attacked and churches vandalized, desecrated, and robbed. The police were unresponsive; no one was arrested. The Maronite church in Bethlehem has been attacked six times, including an arson attack. None of these incidents were covered by PA media; a gag order was imposed in many cases
https://www.persecution.org/2020/01/14/bethlehems-beleaguered-christians/
I remember thinking at first that we shouldn't be emphasizing the religious identities of non-Muslim Palestinians because they're all worthy of life, and people shouldn't care more about them because they may be Christian or Jewish... And that's still true, but I've also seen how it literally does not matter to people. Somehow even if Palestinians get American "respectability" for being Christian, it's still not enough
And YET, immediately after October 7th the little Christian church near my home in Ohio never hesitated in turning on a tacky neon sign that reads: "WE STAND WITH ISRAEL"!!!
Wolves in sheep’s clothing.
In some cases, yes, but the people in this particular church are just IGNORANT. (Or, like Rev. Hagee and his rabid followers, they just want the yahud to triumph so that the Messiah can "return.")
Thank you for writing about this as we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas. It breaks my heart and it puts this year's Christmas in perspective.
In some cases, yes, but the people in this particular church are just IGNORANT. (Or, like Rev. Hagee and his rabid followers, they just want the yahud to triumph so that the Messiah can "return.")