An Email to Me & President Bush..from Dr. AA

Thanks for the letter (below) Dr. AA (abbreviated for anonymity sake).

I'm not sure why I am so distinguished to receive a copy of it, but wow, such distinguished company. Have we ever met? Greetings to all genuine evangelical Christian friends you may know in there in Australia who love Jesus more than mere pacifism and appeasement political posturings. I assume you are from Australia from
your email ending and from your letter below.

Three quick points your email to President Bush overlook. 1. Israel does have a political right and I believe a Biblical right to exist. You should know this as a '9th (or whatever) generation Christian' from Bethlehem originally. By the way, Christians in the West tend to not trace their 'living faith' in Christ to generations of political alliances so the "9th generation" thing likely only communicates a cultural preference and not so much a living faith in the Biblical Jesus and the NT teaching to many. Just FYI. 2. The Palestinian problem existed before Israel was a nation and is not the result of President Bush's policies, nor of Israeli 'occupation' after defending itself from invasive wars against multiple Muslim dominated nations. And related, 2.1 this problem was not only of prior existence but was created by Arab/Muslim countries not desiring their own people (so-called Palestinians) living within their own borders. And a connected subpoint 2.2; Israel frankly has been far more humane given how these peoples have been funded by those who initially rejected them to undo Israel. 3. Your apparent concern about the departure of Christians from Palestinian territories conveniently leaves out the Muslim *persecution* of genuine, outspoken, Christians in those territories. Not just traditionalist more secular political 'christian party' generational affiliates. You are correct about churches being taken over and I might add even in Bethlehem, and synagogues, historical sites, etc. vandalized, used to hide terrorist snipers, etc. And this is (you argue) Israel's problem or the creation of the religious right in the USA? Think about that. Doesn't that sound partisan?

Would you like to improve Palestinian conditions? I would. Here's a suggestion. Go there and mention that the people should vote for candidates who recognize Israel's right to exist and champion reforms in the territories interior structure and speak out against those who are practicing terror. Since you apparently aren't Jewish or necessariy an evangelical Christian (perhaps you are but you sound more committed to your eastern denominational-affiliation and political-philosophy of appeasement and pacifism than to Christ Jesus per se) you should be able to state these things in the Palestinian 'public square' freely.

What? You would be brutally killed?? No kidding! OK so what then? Israel should ceise to exist. And the so-called, and over-rated, USA religious-right, should encourage this? And President Bush will be loved by the Palestinians and radicals and jihadists for doing so and peace for youth retreats from TX will return to Bethlehem? Give me a break.

Condi Rice has done more 'land for peace' than even former President Bill Clinton offered Arafat. In my view, Condi has been misguided in this. But what has been (for instance) your response to such? Decrying Bush and fellow genuine Christians. And the Palestinian response? Electing Hamas and viewing USA compromises as signs of weakness and capitulation. Frankly Dick Army's statement you quote below is sounding more rational all the time and you Sir simply cannot be pleased and I am sorry about this, but only for your sake personally. Forgiveness, cooperation, and justice are going to take more than unilateral blame shifting. I believe I've shared herein, that there is plenty of blame to go around. Your letter does not seem to recognize this. It strikes me as tactless, blindly partisan, and frankly a sad read in these days when so much could be done for peace and democracy and principled pluralism.

But as you've rightly implied with your email below, in some places, with some people, freedom will not result in peace and principled pluralism and the flight of Christians and Jews will continue from such lands of the newly elected, free Palestine, and its 'liberating' Hamas leadership, inspite of their gaining new properties, access to the Sea, and appeasements on every side. Sir, YOU are the answer to the problem so DO something other than sending letters like this to people who are far more a part of the solution than you are being with communications like this one.

By the way, if going to Palestine isn't an option for you, try teaching in a near East university and saying the things I suggested you mention publicly above. I suspect your fate would be slower to arrive but similar to that if you lived on the so-called West Bank. This is why letters like yours are written from Ivory towers in the west, like from Australia, the UK, or universities in the USA and not from your likely home of origin...sadly.
Very sadly.


Yours in Christ Jesus,
Joe B. Whitchurch

jbw@ingradiv.com
http://ingradiv.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Dr AA
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 11:55 PM
To: President@whitehouse.gov; to me and one other.
Subject: Palestinian Christians: persecuted, betrayed, forced out of their homes and sacrificed

Palestinian Christians: persecuted, betrayed, forced out of their homes and sacrificed


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. When this happens non Christian groups will move into our churches and claim them for ever.
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 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 (R-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 (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.
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 from 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.

(Signed Prof. AA, 9th generation Christian Palestinian born in Bethlehem; teaches in AUSTRALIA) Email and name deleted for privacy though Dr. AA did not afford me the same with his letter to the President of the USA.