> Exodus of the
> Palestinian Christians
>
> Dear Sir
> The Palestinian Christian is an endangered species. When the
> modern state of Israel was established there were about 400000
> of us. Two years ago the number was down to 80000. Now it's down
> to 60000. At that rate, in a few years there will be none of us
> left.
> Palestinian Christians within Israel fare little better. On the
> face of it, their number has grown by 20000 since 1991. But this
> is misleading, for the census classification 'Christian'
> includes some 20000 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
> the 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.
> Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) said: '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.'
> House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-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.
> 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: 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.
> We want to do so for centuries more. But we can't if we are
> driven out by despair.
> What we seek is support: material, moral, political and
> spiritual. As Palestinians we grieve for what we have lost, and
> few people (the Ashkenazi Jews are one) have lost more than us.
> But grief can be assuaged by the fellowship of friends.
>
> (Signed Prof. Abe W. Ata is a 9th generation Christian
> Palestinian born in Bethlehem. He is the author of 11 books
> including Intermarriage between Christians and Muslims : the
> case of the West Bank (Melbourne, David Lovell Publ. 2000)