> > > >"Many who instinctively equate Palestinians with Muslims have indeed > fallen for this false narrative ["of putting the war in Gaza within the > 'war on terror' framework, actively comparing Hamas to ISIS."] > > > “Targeting churches and their institutions, in addition to the shelters > they provide to protect innocent citizens … constitutes a war crime that > cannot be ignored,” it said in a statement [issued by The Orthodox > Patriarchate of Jerusalem which runs the Church of St Porphyrius, the > world’s third oldest church, in Gaza killing at least 18 people, on October > 19]." > > >"A Palestinian Catholic mother published an appeal to Biden, calling on > him to base his policies on his moral beliefs. 'We are not children of a > lesser God, Mr. President, we are the Palestinian Christians of the holy > land where the message of love peace, and justice started, and we call upon > you to stop this Genocide.'” > > > >"What gives many hope in this dark time is the fact that despite Israeli > brutality and Western silence, Muslim and Christian Palestinians stand as a > united front. Israel has long deployed the divide and rule tactic on us, > but in the past two months and a half, we have demonstrated that our unity > is stronger than ever in the face of Israeli colonial violence and racism." > > By: Daoud Kuttab [Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian > journalist.] > Published in: Al Jazeera > Date: December 25, 2023 > Source: > https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/12/25/why-does-the-christian-west-ignore-palestinian-christians-plight > > *Israel may well wipe out Christian presence in Gaza as part of its > genocide, and Western leaders would not care less.* > > Since October 7, Israel and its allies have tried to put the war in Gaza > within the “war on terror” framework, actively comparing Hamas to ISIS. > Many who instinctively equate Palestinians with Muslims have indeed fallen > for this false narrative. > > But the brutal war Israel has waged on Gaza has not targeted “only > terrorists” as it has claimed. Instead, it has massacred Palestinian > Muslims as well as Palestinian Christians in what legal scholars agree > amounts to genocide. > > The Christian community in Gaza has lost at least 21 members so far. This > may sound like a small number, but given they were only 1,000 before the > war, these massacres threaten to eliminate the Christian presence in the > strip for the first time in almost 2,000 years. Proportionally speaking, > the death rate of Palestinian Christians is double that of the entire > Palestinian population in Gaza. > > And yet, the leaders of Christian-majority countries in the West have > remained shockingly silent on the plight of Palestinian Christians. United > States President Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, has said and done nothing to > protect fellow Catholics in Gaza, who have also been targeted by the > Israeli army. > > This falls in line with decades of unwavering Western Christian support > for the racist Israeli state, which has threatened the Christian presence > in the holy lands for decades. > > A history of Christians targeted > > The Israeli onslaught against Palestinian Christians was taking place long > before Hamas was even created. During the Nakba of 1948 when Jewish > militias attacked Palestinian villages and towns, Palestinian Christians > were targeted just like Palestinian Muslims. > > Christian Palestinians were forced out from Lydda (what Israelis call > today Lod). Many ended up taking refuge in Ramallah, walking dozens of > kilometres on foot while trying to avoid the brutal Jewish militants. > > In Jerusalem and other areas, Palestinians regardless of their faith were > also expelled. Members of my own family – my dad, uncle and grandmother – > had to flee for their lives. My aunt and her family who lived in the > Musrara neighbourhood sought refuge near the Notre Dame Catholic Chapel, > thinking they would be safe there, but a Jewish sniper shot and killed her > husband, leaving her a widow with seven young children. > > The terror and dispossession did not stop even after the state of Israel > was established. For example, residents of the two predominantly > Palestinian Christian villages of Iqrit and Biram > <https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/6/9/the-return-to-iqrit>, which > at the end of the Arab-Israeli War fell within northern Israel, were forced > out in November 1948. They were told they could return “within two weeks”, > but the Israeli state never allowed them to. > > In the following decades, the Palestinian Christians who remained within > the territory Israel claimed faced the same apartheid regime that > Palestinian Muslims did. They have been subjected to about 65 racist laws > <https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/7771> that deprive them of the > same rights as Jewish citizens of Israel, according to research done by the > Haifa-based Adalah NGO. > > One of the earliest of these laws was the 1950 Law of Return, which > enshrined the right of Jews to come to Israel, settle and automatically > receive citizenship. It denied the same right to the expelled indigenous > Palestinian population despite the fact that the United Nations had decreed > in Resolution 194 that Palestinian should be allowed to return to their > homeland and be compensated for the loss of their homes. > > More recently, the Knesset approved the Nation State Bill in 2018, which > formally declares Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, thus > further solidifying the legal iteration of Jewish supremacy. This > emboldened even more the extremist elements within Israeli society and > encouraged even more anti-Palestinian violence. > > Incidents of Jewish extremists harassing and intimidating Palestinian > Christians, spitting on them and attacking their processions have spiked. > Christian properties, including churches and cemeteries, have been targeted. > > Just days before Hamas’s October 7 attacks in southern Israel, a group of > Jewish men and boys harassed a Christian procession carrying a cross, > viciously spitting on them. A video of the incident went viral and caused > international outrage, but clearly not among Western leaders. Repeated > appeals from Christian church leaders for action on Jewish Israeli violence > have fallen on deaf ears for years. > > Western silence on Palestinian Christians’ plight > > On October 17, just days after launching its brutal war on Gaza, Israel > bombed the courtyard of the Christian-run Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, > killing hundreds of people who had sought shelter there from its > bombardment. The Israeli propaganda machine tried to blame the attack on > the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but subsequent investigations confirmed > <https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-listening-post/2023/10/22/israel-gaza-genocidal-rhetoric-and-the-fog-of-war> > that > the “evidence” it had produced was fabricated. > > Two days later, the Israeli army bombed the nearby Church of St > Porphyrius, the world’s third oldest church, killing at least 18 people. > > The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which runs the church, said many > of those inside at the time were women and children. “Targeting churches > and their institutions, in addition to the shelters they provide to protect > innocent citizens … constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored,” it > said in a statement . > > But the targeting of Palestinian Christians continued. On December 16, two > Palestinian women who had taken refuge in the Holy Family Catholic church > in Gaza City were shot dead > <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/17/israeli-forces-kill-two-christian-women-in-cold-blood-inside-gaza-church> > by an Israeli sniper. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the two > women were “shot in cold blood” while Pope Francis condemned the murder > during his weekly Sunday homily. > > British MP Layla Moran, who has relatives trapped in the same church, has > said they have witnessed the Israeli army use white phosphorus against its > compound in addition to targeting its solar panels, water tanks and > generators, making life incredibly difficult for those taking shelter there. > > Over the past 80 days of war, Christian Palestinians have not stopped > appealing to the world to take note of their plight and the plight of all > Palestinians and take action to stop the genocide. > > A Palestinian Catholic mother published an appeal to Biden, calling on him > to base his policies on his moral beliefs. “We are not children of a > lesser God, Mr. President, we are the Palestinian Christians of the holy > land where the message of love peace, and justice started, and we call upon > you to stop this Genocide.” > > Leaders of the Palestinian Christian community also sent an open letter > <https://www.change.org/p/an-open-letter-from-palestinian-christians-to-western-church-leaders-and-theologians> > to > Western church leaders and theologians in which they challenged “western > theologians and church leaders who have voiced uncritical support for > Israel and [called on] them to repent and change”. > > Unfortunately, these appeals have been completely ignored. > > Biden and other leaders of Western Christian-majority nations have > demonstrated remarkable disregard for Palestinian lives – both Muslim and > Christian. The US has repeatedly voted against ceasefire resolutions at the > UN Security Council and blocked any attempts to pressure Israel to stop > slaughtering Palestinians or even to marginally criticize it. > > Biden and his administration have indeed treated us, Palestinian > Christians, as the children of a lesser God. He and other Western leaders > who have backed Israel are fully responsible for the genocide of the > Palestinian people. What they have done will not be forgotten. > > Today we are not celebrating Christmas. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus > Christ, is also not celebrating. All festivities have been cancelled as > Palestinian Christians mourn the victims of the Israeli genocide. > > What gives many hope in this dark time is the fact that despite Israeli > brutality and Western silence, Muslim and Christian Palestinians stand as a > united front. Israel has long deployed the divide and rule tactic on us, > but in the past two months and a half, we have demonstrated that our unity > is stronger than ever in the face of Israeli colonial violence and racism. > > Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist. Daoud Kuttab, an > award-winning Palestinian journalist, is a former Ferris professor of > journalism at Princeton University. > > *The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not > necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.* >
