RE: simple facts

From:kussa@saban.com To: john.podesta@gmail.com, huma@hrcoffice.com, re47@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2016-01-10 18:32 Subject: RE: simple facts

Here under are facts that are NOT broadly publicized,but that I wanted my family and friends to be aware of. This article was written by a Christian Arab THE SITUATION OF THE CHRISTIANS AND MINORITIES IN ISRAEL IS IMPROVING Walla.co.il (online service) by Jonathan Nizar al-Huri (commentary) -- [January 3] The author is the spokesperson for the Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum ‎Any way you look at it, it is undeniable that Israel is the safest country for Christians and other minorities in the Middle East. When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says this, he is stating an established fact. The number of Christians in Israel continues to rise regularly every year, because the State of Israel is a democratic state of law that respects and enables its minority citizens freedom of worship and religious autonomy. ‎Beyond the freedom of religion and worship, the security, freedom and equality that the democracy in the Jewish state grants the Christians, there is also a very significant difference between Israel and the neighboring countries, in the aspect of the state’‎s handling of terror attacks against Christians and other minorities. In Israel, the condemnation of price tag attacks and hate crimes encompasses all sides of the political spectrum; Israeli society denounces [the crimes] and the law enforcement agencies and security forces work to eradicate the phenomenon and make an attempt to find the culprits and bring them to justice. While in Israel it is a radical minority that perpetrates these criminal actions, in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority, in neighboring countries and in Syria and Iraq, this is a frequent, everyday situation. ‎The situation of the Christians in Iraq and Syria has deteriorated over the years due to the rise of radical Islam which imposes terror, but the situation of the Christian minority in these countries was not very good even when they were under state rule. Their security situation was better than today; these countries gave immunity to the Christians who lived in their territory in the years before the fall of their rulers, but then too the Christians were second-class citizens without full rights or real ability to advance. This can be seen with great regret when one examines the situation of the Copts in Egypt, where they have been restricted and persecuted for years. Their churches are destroyed in terror attacks and fires, their women are raped, murders are carried out [against them] and their prayers are conducted in tents. No promising future for Christians in Egypt is on the horizon. The situation of the Christians in the State of Lebanon is even worse. In the early 1970s the Christians were the majority in Lebanon, constituting about 80% of the Lebanese population. Until today the Christians continue to emigrate from Lebanon due to its terrible situation, the insecurity and the inequality, and it can be said that this population has reached a low point of about 20% of the general population. ‎And how can we ignore the situation of the Christians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority? Under the Hamas regime in Gaza, Christians celebrate [their holidays] secretly. Hamas has banned them from celebrating the New Year, claiming that this undermines the values of Islam. This goes along with the blowing up of shops and school throughout the Gaza Strip, the murder of the priest Rami Ayyad in 2007 and the testimony of Archbishop Alexios, who said that jihadists use churches and Christian holy places as a base for the terror attacks they stage. ‎In the Palestinian Authority one can see festive images, but these are deceptive. The situation under the surface is the worst since 1995, the year in which Israel handed over control of Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority. The Christian population in one of the cities most important to Christianity, the birthplace of Jesus, is on a constant downward trend, with less than 20% of the general population (according to PA statistics). Just a few days ago, after the Christmas eve mass, the Latin Patriarch, Fouad Twal, was attacked in Bethlehem by a group of 16 radical Muslims. A few months ago a monastery was torched in Bethlehem, and earlier in 2015 a takeover was staged of lands belonging to the Mar Saba monastery in Beit Sahour, and seven radical Muslims barricaded themselves inside the monastery. ‎Prime Minister Netanyahu can justifiably take pride in the fact that the situation of the Christians and minorities in Israel is only improving over the years. Just last week, NIS 15 billion were approved for investment in minorities in Israel. The situation is very good in Israel, but like everywhere, here too there are problems and they need to be rectified. But this has to be done in partnership, with integration and not isolation, as constructive and not destructive criticism. ‎We must not cynically use the situation of the Christians in Israel to unfairly besmirch Israel. On one hand, people hide the truth, and on the other hand, they distort reality for their political needs.