The Palestinian Christian : betrayed, persecuted, sacrificed
The Palestinian Christian is an endangered species.
When the modern state of Israel was established there were about 400,000 of us. Two years ago the number was down to 80,000. Now it’s down to 60,000. At that rate, in a few years there will be none of us left. When this happens non-Christian groups will move into our churches and claim them forever.
Palestinian Christians within Israel fare little better. On the face of it, their number has grown by 20,000 since 1991. But this is misleading, for the census classification “Christian” includes some 20,000 recent non-Arab migrants from the former Soviet Union.
So why are Palestinian Christians abandoning their homeland?
We have lost hope, that’s why. We are treated as non-people. Few outside the Middle East even know we exist, and those who do, conveniently forget.
I refer, of course, to the American Religious Right. They see modern Israel as a harbinger of the Second Coming, at which time Christians will go to paradise, and all others (presumably including Jews) to hell. To this end they lend military and moral support to Israel.
Even by the double-dealing standards of international diplomacy this is a breathtakingly cynical bargain. It is hard to know who is using whom more: the Christian Right for offering secular power in the expectation that the Jewish state will be destroyed by a greater spiritual one; or the Israeli Right for accepting their offer. What we do know is that both sides are abusing the Palestinians. Apparently we don’t enter into anyone’s calculations.
The views of the Israeli Right are well known: they want us gone.
Less well known are the views of the American Religious Right. Strangely, they find the liberation of Iraqis from a vile dictator just, but do not find it unjust for us to be under military occupation for 38 long years.
Said Senator James Inhofe (Rep.,Oklahoma): “God Appeared to Abraham and said: ‘I am giving you this land’, the West Bank. This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true.”
Inhofe must have got it wrong. Promises are being made to earthly Jerusalem that God did not make. The Holy Land was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, as stated in the Bible. These are the Palestinian Muslims, Christians and Jews, who have been living in the land for thousands of years. The Bible never mentioned that God promised it solely to Jews. Anyone can be a Jew, but not anyone can be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. James Inhofe and followers are unable to tell the difference between Jew, Israelite and Israel.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey (Rep.,Texas) was even more forthright: “I'm content to have Israel grab the entire West Bank … I happen to believe that the Palestinians should leave.”
There is a phrase for this. Ethnic cleansing.
Silencing us, from seeking your support and enlightening you about our suffering, goes counter to what Jesus has mandated us to do. We all know that Muslims and Jews get ceaseless support (political, spiritual and financial) from Saudi Arabia and America respectively, while Palestinian Christians get nothing from Australian and other Western “Christian” governments. (The Pope has been an exception.)
Prior to the 1967 war, the Christian youth at the Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist and other churches in Bethlehem used to pray and rejoice and have a good chat with hundreds of American Christian pilgrims. In particular Texas and California were two places from where many came to visit the Holy Land. Today only fading memories prevail. Bethlehem has been vacated by Christian families. The remaining Christians are paying the price by experiencing curfews which last for weeks. They remain sandwiched between Muslims and Jews without drawing the slightest concern from the many so-called Western Christians.
So why do American Christians stand by while their leaders advocate the expulsion of fellow Christians? Could it be that they do not know that the Holy Land has been a home to Christians since, well … since Christ?
Do not think I am asking for special treatment for Christians. Ethnic cleansing is evil whoever does it and to whomever it is done. Palestinian Christians - Anglican, Maronite Catholics, Orthodox, Lutherans, Armenians, Baptists, Copts and Assyrians - have been rubbing shoulders with each other and with other religions - Muslims, Jews, Druze and (most recently) Baha’is - for centuries. And we want to do so for centuries more. But we can’t if we are driven out by despair.
We are equally frightened by those who commit suicide bombings. None of us Christians have condoned it or even contemplated the idea. Our commitment to Jesus’ teachings will never shake our resolve in this matter.
American journalist Anders Strindberg makes a clearer conclusion. He says Palestinians are equated with Islamists, Islamists with terrorists. And presumably because all organised Christian activity among Palestinians is non-political and non-violent, the community hardly ever hits western headlines. Suicide bombers sell more copy than people who congregate for Bible study.
What we seek is support: material, moral, political and spiritual. As Palestinians we grieve for what we have lost, and few people have lost more than us (the Ashkenazi Jews are one). But grief can be assuaged by the fellowship of friends.
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Abe W Ata was a temporary delegate to the UN in 1970 and has lived and worked in the Middle East, America and Australia. Dr Ata is a 9th generation Christian Palestinian academic born in Bethlehem.

There is a cancer in the Middle East. Terrorist fundamentalists have taken hold and are infecting the decent peoples there. Israel did not intend to wipe out a whole country. They have been victims of sniping and suicide bombings for years. The terrorists have taken the Middle East hostage and are using the deplorable conditions under which many young men and women there live (with no hope for a viable future) to plant seeds of hatred and destruction. This hatred leads to more and more young Muslims signing up for the task of killing themselves to promote the spread of a sick ideology that benefits no one but the terrorist leaders. What a waste of young lives and what a terrible legacy they leave for others. Hopefully, the day will come when Muslim mothers will no longer pray for the death of their children as if it was a badge of honor. The fundamentalists have convinced these mothers that by doing this, their children will receive their reward in Paradise. That is because terrorism is a hopeless entity-they cannot offer hope to their followers, so they brainwash them with the promise that if they give their life for Allah they will have everything they could ever want. Choosing death as a means of retribution is a shameful act and there is no honor in that.

Bottom line...
If everyone in the world responded to kidnapping in the same way Israel is responding, then we would be in BIG BIG TROUBLE...
Easier measures could have been taken.
Realistically speaking AND unfortunately, there is no way anyone nor any army can wipe out a whole terrorist group in one war or any war for that matter.
Nobody is saying that Hezbollah is not to blame...they are ruthless cold murderers who have been making the Lebanese people live in fear for more than 3 decades...They put close to 300 U.S. Marines in caskets when all the Marines were trying to do is to conduct peace.
Israel did not have to declare war on all of Lebanon for this incident...they should've sent a few ground military G I Joes to kill the bastards who kidnapped their soldiers...not try to wipe out a whole country!
Where's the reasoning behind that? How can they sit there and say that they're defending their country...against whom? Kids and Women?
This is just blood shed in vain...everyone knows it but they've gone too far to back out now...and only worse will result if they keep on the same path.

It is strange how people bring up the suffering of everyone but the Israeli people. This is a tragedy for everyone especially the children (on all sides). They suffer because the adults can't and won't get over their hatreds. What has it all brought? Suffering and death. Why won't it stop? Because the idea of letting Israel live in peace might work for everyone and then the terrorist organizations will have lost everything. What a terrible (and unnecessary)shame!

Like I said...it's easy to point the finger and talk.
Please try to put yourself into the situation where your kids are asking you what's going on and if they're going to die just like all the other kids on TV.
What would you tell them?
Have you ever tried to fall asleep under bombardment not knowing what your fate and the fate of your kids is?
Have you ever fallen asleep praying for God to take you before your own kids because you know you can't stand seeing them suffer and die?
Maybe you can close your eyes and try to imagine your kid burning to death and tell me what your views on war are like.
Who's the terrorist? The kids that are dying? or the babies that are dying in Lebanon?
Who's really suffering? Look at the difference between the kids in Lebanon right now and the ones in Israel. I saw how many children are walking the streets asking for the war to stop by the UN embassy. I saw kids fleeing the south of Lebanon. I saw the car that's blown up with a mom and her 1 day old baby while trying to make their way up north.
I saw fear taking over their innocent young lives.
On the other hand, I also saw how some kids in Israel are dealing with their fear...they're collecting garments of bombs as a new hobby...I really doubt they'd be doing that if they knew that these bombs kill people. Where is the fear? There is none...their people are not being massacred...their kids are not suffering...I'm glad that they're not. I thank God that this is not happening on both sides...but this just needs to stop.
However, I wish I can say that I'm hopeful because a person has the right to be resentful...after all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Beit Lahem was sacrificed by his own people in Israel, so what can one expect or hope for...?

I find nothing funny about the fact that Hezbollah has ingratiated itself to the Lebanese people and that the Lebanese people have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the workings of this organization. When you look at someone and say "We want peace also", don't do it with your fingers crossed behind your back. What you sow will be heartache for your children. Hezbollah has incited this war and, unfortunately, Israel is getting blamed for it just because they are defending themselves. If it was the other way around, the international community of sickos would be having a field day with Israel. God be with you, Israel, and maybe one day the world will see the truth. If Israel fails, the world fails.

Ann, you are a very courageous reporter. You are in my prayers. Please stay safe.

It is very funny that some people comment and say that the people of Lebanon "Elect?" hozbolla as a terroris nation in parts of Lebanon. It's not like they voted and said: "OK...let's give them the South and Bekaa Valley..." The Lebanese civilians are left in the middle of a war that they did not speak for nor chose.
Here in California we have all forms of gangs from different countries in Latin America from the Mexican Mafia to the Mara Savadrucha to the local high school gangs and the Big gangs in compton...Now, are the Californians "Electing" these gangs to be in their cities? How can you sift them from the communities and send them to where they belong? This is just in the Los Angeles area I'm talking about. What would happen if members of the MS kidnap members of the Mexican Mafia in Los Angeles? Does that give Mexico the right to start bombarding Los Angeles? Where can you find the gangs other than some in jail? Don't they live among regular low income neighborhoods perhaps? Do the poor people have to suffer the fact that they live among the gangs ONLY because they are minorities? Does that make them the enemy too? Do they deserve to die with their kids? Are they being punished?

This is a simple explanation for all the simple people out there who think the Lebanese citizens "elected" to have these terrorists live in their country. Hozbolla terrorised the Lebanese for many years. The Lebanese Army tried to fight them but weakened and failed because of all the other militias and countries they were fighting at the time.
It's easy to talk and point the finger at Lebanon to say that they should have gotten rid of these terrorists in the first place...but it's easier said than done. The day the Lebanese Army will get rid of hozbollah from Lebanon is probably the same day the U.S. Army will get rid of the Los Angeles gangs in Los Angeles. Maybe if you can imagine this happening here in Los Angeles, it would put in prespective how EASY it is to just get rid of hozballah in Lebanon by the Lebanese Army.

Israel has delivered hundreds of Hezbollah or Hamas in return for one or two of its soldiers, sometimes for just the bodies of the dead soldiers. They have done this many times, and they have left Gaza and Lebanon also. Nothing they do appeases the Islamic fanatic terrorists. The only thing that will make the Islamic terrorists happy is to completely destroy Israel, no then they would still have to destroy America. Then they would be happy. How can we have peace with people like this in control in the Arab countries? The ambassador from Syria won't even sit in the same room as the ambassador from Israel to be interviewed. Like a spoiled ten-year-old. I am amazed, but at the same time repulsed, by the attitude of the Islamic fanatics who talk of a cease fire but who have no desire for peace with Israel. I laugh at their nonsensical rhetoric. The innocents should rise up against them instead of being used by them.

There are many Americans that are proud that other contries emulate America's values and actions. These same people are now horified that Israel would stike so hard in response to a kidnapping. Look at the hell we have brought to the nation of Iraq. Iraq didn't have anything to do with 911. Iraq has done nothing to stimulate our drug riddled society, be it the city or country side. We are being led down the path by lies under the guise of pariotism, but 100 dead a day
is OK. Don't judge Israel nor Hizbollah, look in the mirror Americans !!!

Israel has a right to defend itself. The Lebanese people have a right to live in peace. Peace will only become a reality when Hezbollah and all the other terrorist organizations have been neutralized.
These people love their countries as I love mine. I would do whatever I had to in order to defend America. The operative word is 'defend'. Israel did not start this war. The people of Lebanon know full well who and what Hezbollah are about. When you 'elect' the likes of such people, you put your country at risk for incidents such as the ones that have incited this war. The Irish have a saying "Don't paint your pants and then look down and think you wet yourself".

Ann,
Your reports are so heart felt and touched by many.
Hope you are safe. Please return soon.

Mary Beth

Ann, keep up the great, objective and clear-headed reporting. We need more journalists like you, especially reporting on such a devisive issue as the Middle Eastern conflicts. Come home SAFELY.

I am amazed at some of the comments posted here, too. I thought this was supposed to be a Christian nation. Israel did not have to attack Lebanon to ensure its security. There are other ways to address a situation besides barbarism and stooping to the enemies' level.
We have no concept of war in this country, so we are selfish.

I am amazed at some of the comments posted here. It has me wondering what would happen (what would be the American citizen's individual reaction)if Mexico should decide to take hostage some of our border patrol personel and start sending rockets into American cities? I know it is not the same situation but there is a security problem on our own borders, too. How many of your family members or friends would you be willing to sacrifice before you decided it was OK to defend yourself? Peace is prefered, but at what expense? The other party has to want peace too. Peace is not a feeling. It is an act of will on the part of all parties concerned.

Ann, your doing as always a great job! NBC does a super job in reporting the news but I worry a bit about all of your safety! Be safe and come home soon!! Thoughts and Prayers.

Ann, you are very brave to be there and I pray for that God watches over you. I as a parent would like also to have our troops in Iraq back home to the United States. I have a soon in the Army that is over there and when I talk to him he sounds very tried and just what to come home.I think that they should just leave and let the Iraq's soilders deal with thir own war.

Great reporting as usual from Ann Curry. Way to go girl...BUT...BE SAFE!!
aS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST- George Bush let it deteriorate to this point and now Condoleeza poses for pictures. SHE should be staying in Beirut...and WORK to bring some kind of cease fire...NOW.
Don't come back until that happens!

Here's an idea for a newsperson: Why don't you ask the U.N. Secretary General what the U.N. has been doing in Lebanon for 28 years? Right under their "oil for food" eyes a terrorist army set up operations. But, your report is on the aftermath of a military operation, not some of the causes leading up to the situation. (Terrorism, U.N. Why does Hezzballah have missles).

I have a great deal of sympathy for the Israel civilians who are being targeted by terrorists. They are in the line of fire of a terrorist organization who's only aim is to.....................? What military targets have/is Hezzballah targeted? None! Israel civilians are the target. I have yet to see that subject discussed on NBC news.

Americans had an opportunity to get out. Shame on them.

Lebanese civilians. Sadly they are dealing with the consequences of having a terrorist organization in their country, which stupidly many of them support.

In regards to the UN camp being bombed. Maybe the UN should investigate this incident with the same energy that was used in the oil for food scandal.

Ann,
My 13year old nephew (Jeremy Fullerton) is interested in donating his hair to the hair drive that I saw on the morning show; With your daughter.

Please give me a call soon he is driving the family crazy.
It is well over the 6" that is needed.

He would like to cut his hair before September before school starts.

Thank you in advance,

Lorna Pleas
p.o. box 190508
Roxbury, Ma. 02119
617-792-8853
lornapleas1@msn.com

Our Troops should be out of Iraq Now leave it up to the people of Iraq to run there Country. As Americans we can not efford to get in the middle of World War III. Most Arabs do not like Americans. there will never be peace in that part of the world, because of Hezbollah, Iran & etc. The United States needs to focus on it own problems.

I am heartbroken. My brother and his family in the outskirts of Beirut are in the middle of all of this nonesense war with no place to go. A lot of the buildings in old Beirut are built with no shelters. They sleep in the corridors of the first floor of the building and pray themselves to sleep. My brother tells his 6 year old daughter (as our parents told us during the war) to fall asleep praying the Rosary this way if the time comes and she's burning, she wouldn't feel the pain.
I hear a lot of talk about the general situation and how bad it is...but do you really ever stop and think what it feels like from every family's home? On either sides...these individual situations and innocent families are suffering...in the name of WHAT EXACTLY? Is this really about 2 soldiers held hostage? or is this all about a nation's pride over the other? Religion? They're killing all kinds of people from all religions. Back in 85 half my friends and neighbors were killed filling up water in our church's parking lot in the outskirts of Beirut. The other half was left badly injured with missing arms and legs and burnt bodies and faces.
Fear is an understatement. Horror is not a nightmare in these people's lives right now, it's the reality that they can't wake up from.
How can the United States sit back and support this?
I'd like to see Bush and all the top politicians making these extremely barbaric decisions sleep one night in the middle of a war zone with his kids and family...

I am heartbroken. My brother and his family in the outskirts of Beirut are in the middle of all of this nonesense war with no place to go. A lot of the buildings in old Beirut are built with no shelters. They sleep in the corridors of the first floor of the building and pray themselves to sleep. My brother tells his 6 year old daughter (as our parents told us during the war) to fall asleep praying the Rosary this way if the time comes and she's burning, she wouldn't feel the pain.
I hear a lot of talk about the general situation and how bad it is...but do you really ever stop and think what it feels like from every family's home? On either sides...these individual situations and innocent families are suffering...in the name of WHAT EXACTLY? Is this really about 2 soldiers held hostage? or is this all about a nation's pride over the other? Religion? They're killing all kinds of people from all religions. Back in 85 half my friends and neighbors were killed filling up water in our church's parking lot in the outskirts of Beirut. The other half was left badly injured with missing arms and legs and burnt bodies and faces.
Fear is an understatement. Horror is not a nightmare in these people's lives right now, it's the reality that they can't wake up from.
How can the United States sit back and support this?
I'd like to see Bush and all the top politicians making these extremely barbaric decisions sleep one night in the middle of a war zone with his kids and family...

Just remember who started this war, and just remember that all have the right to defend themselves. No conclusions or ends are in sight. Who's right? Who's wrong? I think we all are when we choose to use war to prove a point.

Ann, as always, clear concise enlightening reporting.
Thank-you,

Ann..you are doing a great job...stay safe and keep it up