to respond to Carson's question:
"What evidence do you have that those who believe that Jews should be left alone to live their lives demonstrate that I and we do not grieve over the plight of Christians in the Middle East?"
I'm not quite sure what this means - and I don't wish to be the fool who marches in where angels fear to tread. But I believe you are an honest man and that, on that basis, I owe you an answer. So I shall make a preliminary effort.
Archbishop Joseph (Raya), of most holy memory, was (and is) one of the dearest friends of my entire life and my spiritual father into the bargain. He was faced with unceasing trouble from people who could not deal with the reality that defending the rights of Palestinian Arabs meant seeking to massacre Jews. We were once driving from Haifa to Nazareth, when His Eminence suddenly slowed down (and a good thing too!) and indicated to me two villages which were unoccupied. They had both been Christian villages and had taken no part in any resistance movement to the establishment of the Jewish State. Nevertheless, the Zionist Army moved out the inhabitants by force, with a promise that they could return in a matter of days. They have never been allowed to return, despite a ruling in their favor from the Supreme Court (since the Zionist State has no Constitution, the decisions of the Supreme Court cannot be enforced). These two villages are not unique. How many Christians - other than Arab Christians - do anything about it, or are even aware of it?
You write that "Jews should be left alone to live their lives". Well, of course they should be - and so should everyone else, including Christians. Have a look at the statistics on the Christian population of Palestine at the end of World War II, and the Christian population of Palestine now. Clearly, something terrible has happened. Again, how many Christians - other than Arab Christians - are even aware of this blood drain, let alone willing to do something about it? This question can be addressed particularly to American Christians, since without the support of the American Government, the Zionist State could not and would not survive.
Do Christians in other parts of the world - particularly America - grieve over the plight of Christians in the Middle East? Sadly, I really don't know - because if they do grieve, they are remarkably quiet about it. This grieves
me particularly, since in 1948 the Greek-Catholic presence in the Archdiocese of Galilee was quite strong. So it becomes a question of "if you grieve for the Christians in the Middle East, take appropriate action! Tears do not help."
What can be done? Well, it would be nice, for instance, to see regular supplies of medical necessities going to the Christians from the Christians, if you see what I mean. It would be nice to see parishes twinning with parishes in the Middle East, both to send practical help and to encourage the development of lasting friendships. It would be particularly encouraging to see pilgrimages to the Holy Places which made a strong part of the program spending significant amounts of time with the indigenous Christian communities. You may be assured of a joyful welcome.
Much of my conviction in the matter comes from first-hand observations: I have spent time in Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey, taking good care to meet with the Christians in those countries. The number of Christians from Western Europe and the USA who show such interest is, alas, miniscule.
Does the "State of Israel" have any legitimate reason to be there? And can this question even be discussed without at once facing accusations of ambitions to kill the Jews, throw all the Jews into the sea, or whatever?
Assuming that it can be discussed, first of all, one could do worse than to begin with some research on the original UN decision which is taken to legitimize the project (cf. Lilienthal,
What Price Israel?) Then one might discuss the underlying assumption that the Nazi atrocities against the Jews somehow justifies Zionist atrocities against Arabs - the logic of this is hard to follow.
But it simply is not self-evident that because the Romans 2,000 years ago conquered the Jews of the time, the Jews of the twentieth century have some sort of obligation and right to move to Palestine. [I would, however, accept the point that people who were born in Palestine, regardless of what religion they adhere to or do not adhere to, have a natural right to live there.] Making this claim while simultaneously driving out the inhabitants of Palestine and denying them any right to return, while using all manner of tactics to bring members of one specific ethno-religious group to settle in Palestine and continue to take land which is not theirs is more than anyone should expect the Palestinians to accept.
This is already a long post, and it will have to do for a starter.
Fr. Serge
