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Editorial

Anti-Christian Violence in the Middle East?

Saturday, December 24, 2011 – by Anthony Wile

Anthony Wile

The UK Daily Telegraph recently posted an article entitled, "How can we remain silent while Christians are being persecuted?" Anybody reading the Daily Bell this past year will not be surprised by this headline, nor the article itself. Turns out that the writer is reporting on "a new evil [that] is sweeping the Middle East" – and that evil is violence against Christians.

"How can we remain silent while Christians are being persecuted?" the article asks. "The Americans have gone now, and Iraq's Christian communities – some of the world's oldest – are undergoing an exodus on a biblical scale."

The article does not only mention Iraq and makes it clear that the anti-Christian sentiment is broad-based: "The attacks, which peak at Christmas, have already spread to Egypt, where Coptic Christians have seen their churches firebombed by Islamic fundamentalists ...

"In Tunisia, priests are being murdered. Maronite Christians in Lebanon have, for the first time, become targets of bombing campaigns. Christians in Syria, who have suffered as much as anyone from the Assad regime, now pray for its survival. If it falls, and the Islamists triumph, persecution may begin in earnest."

Early in January 2011, we predicted this. In an article entitled, "Western Elites Still Secretly Building Islam," we wrote about the West's strategic undermining of non-religious or Christian regimes in the Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Egypt. Here's an excerpt:

Is the war on terror a success? The Anglo-American elite needs an enemy if the authoritarianism that is rising in the West is to continue – because despotism (and globalism) is more easily created when there is an outside enemy. But fighting against 100 Al Qaeda soldiers in Afghanistan is not anybody's idea of a substantive threat. And the Taliban are evidently and obviously fighting an occupying force.

What if the powers-that-be had decided to do what they could to expand the Muslim threat – and thus expand (in the Western mind anyway) the specter of resurgent, militant Islam? A cynical idea isn't it, dear reader. It is merely speculation, but there are reasons to explore it further ...

We are proposing a new stage in the manipulated war on terror. Having built up the Middle East through enormous cash infusions, the Anglosphere is continually expanding the role of fundamental Islam and may even be prepared to overthrow old and trusted allies to do so. The war on terror so far has not proven very terrible (except to Afghan and Iraqi citizens) but if the Jasmine revolution "spreads" throughout the Middle East, resurgent, fundamentalist Islam may indeed become a reality.

Right on time comes this article in the UK Telegraph, almost exactly a year later, demanding that the British foreign office do more to help victims of Arab prejudice. It's an amazing article only because it is so predictable and (surprise) neglects to provide a frame of reference that would explain the rising violence.

Why would the article neglect a frame of reference? Because the Anglosphere power elite that wants to create world government, needs to continually manufacture enemies – to create fear. We call this fear-mongering the production of "dominant social themes."

The idea is to frighten Western middle classes into surrendering wealth and power to a variety of globalist institutions that the power elite has built and put into place – and is now expanding on. These include the UN, IMF, World Bank, ICC, BIS, etc.

One of the biggest memes the power elite employs is war. Through war, all sorts of authoritarianism can be enhanced and the globalist agenda expanded efficiently in ways that it never could be otherwise. But in order to have war, one must create an enemy. And at this task Western elites are most efficient. Here's some more from the article:

These dividing lines are now being made into battle lines by hardline Salafists, who are emerging as victors of the Arab Spring. They belong to the same mutant strain of Sunni Islam which inspired al-Qaeda. Their agenda is sectarian warfare, and they loathe Shia Islam as much as they do Christians and Jews. Their enemy lies not over a border, but in a church, synagogue or Shia mosque.

The Salafists may be detested by the Muslim mainstream. But as they are finding out, you don't need to be popular to seize power in a post-dictatorship Arab world – you just need to be the best organised. The West is so obsessed with government structure that it doesn't notice when power lies elsewhere, and Islamist death squads are executing barbers and unveiled women in places like Basra.

Two years ago, the idea of such bloody sectarianism would have sounded like a macabre fantasy in a country as civilised as Egypt. After al-Qaeda bombed a church on New Year's Day, Muslim elders sat in the front pews forming a human shield and defying the terrorists.

But moderate Egyptians are now losing this power struggle. The killing has started, with another 25 Copts murdered in October. Tens of thousands of Egypt's Christians have already joined their Iraqi counterparts in exile: as Iraq proved, one death can lead to a thousand emigrations. The Salafists are finding it staggeringly easy to realise their fantasy of a "purer" Egypt.

Without explaining the triggering principles of Western intelligence manipulation of Islamic cultures, the article attributes the violence to the nascent Arab Spring. Of course, as is well known in alternative media circles, the Arab Spring itself is an incipient Western invention.

The US State Department and apparently the CIA, through various facilities such as AYM, have sponsored a far-flung youth movement of rebellious young men and women who have been trained to use various tools, including social media, to cause unrest in their home countries. Apparently, these same tactics have been used to create Occupy Wall Street unrest.

"The Arab Spring was always going to mean danger for religious minorities, unleashing the Islamic extremists who previously were kept at bay," the article informs us. We also learn that religious persecution was not a hallmark of previous (overthrown) regimes. "For all their evil, the old secular tyrants abused their victims equally, whether they wore the cross, hijab or skullcap."

The article damns the British foreign office as being "typically slow to recognise the gathering threat, despite repeated warnings." Of course, the obvious reason for this slowness is that the unrest in the Middle East is being deliberately provoked by MI6 – along with counterparts in DC and Tel Aviv.

You won't read such speculation in this article, however. The rationale pro-offered is psychological rather than strategic: "It might be that the Foreign Office sees this as part of a soppy equalities agenda, unworthy of diplomatic attention. Those who have raised the issue directly with William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, say he is unenthusiastic."

Predictably, the psychological speculation is buttressed by that old rationale: ignorance. "The Foreign Office did not realise the full evil of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans until it was too late: it did not take civil tensions seriously enough. It can do better now, making clear that it regards religious cleansing as an emerging evil that ought to be confronted wherever it is being incubated."

Really? It's funny how much Western foreign policy is larded with ignorance and stupidity. The Anglosphere, for all of its abilities to win wars and dominate the world, is constantly making elemental mistakes: the Treaty of Versailles, Yalta, the emergence of Communist China, etc.

Now as we watch militant Islam emerge from the shadows, we are informed yet again that Western powers-that-be are being caught unawares. "Outright religious oppression is quietly ignored, from Saudi Arabia to the Maldives."

Well, of course it is! Hey, stay tuned. More to come!




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Effective April 25, 2012, the Daily Bell will discontinue allowing feedback comments. We have left in place the large body of responses posted in the past, as we appreciate the valuable contributions made by some of our readers.
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  Posted by nithsdale on 12/27/11 08:36 PM

Again one must go back to the fact that the United Nations is now an Islamic body and we gave it life expecting it to be otherwise but the Mullahs and their followers have proved to be better chess players than anyone in The West! This is our big problem.

The Islamites have built a commanding lead in control over the world's resources and are closing our economic access to that "pot of gold". We have engineered a new technical society so dependent upon distribution worldwide that we cannot exist without it! Worse, our populations are incapable of returning to the "soil" even for continued existence. Their's are not so debilitated!

You are about to witness what happens when the "have nots" take over and wreak their vengeaance on the "haves". That is what is happening in the Arab Springs we have engineered... we started it all only to watch our opponents take it from us!

To add to your nightmares, Japan is joining our opposition. It is returning to its old ways! Guess what other countries are doing that too. We are witnessing the collapse of the American Century and everything it has come to mean, including "freedom" which the rest of the world never has had and appears not to want!

  Posted by memehunter on 12/27/11 10:15 AM

DB: No. That's how "they" work. The idea that there are two implacable Western powers opposing each other is nonsensical. They may purview this view - or you may - to confuse people, but ultimately the project is too large and powerful for the kind of schism you present to permanently abide. Are there factions? Sure. But evidently and obviously not the kind of enmity you seem to advocate.

I don't want to reply for Lloyd Miller, because I am not very familiar with his arguments and I am not necessarily convinced by what he wrote here.

Having said that, I think it is fairly non-controversial to see at least two elite factions currently at work in the West (these factions may or may not correspond to Lloyd Miller's entities):

a) A US/UK faction, with centers in New York/Washington/London, partially or mostly under Zionist influence

b) A continental European faction, possibly influenced by the Vatican

It is difficult to substantiate these claims with solid evidence, due to the nature of the topic, but I see at least four facts or events which may be backing up this interpretation:

1 - Major differences in financial policies regarding the treatment of gold. Gold is marked to market on the ECB's quarterly financial assessments (unlike the Fed which still lists gold at 42.22$ per ounce), and can be openly bought and sold (without taxes) in the EU. Buying gold as a protection against inflation is even promoted in mainstream media. This is a complete contrast to the situation seen in the US and the UK (and I speak from personal experience in this case). See FOFOA's blog for a more detailed discussion on this topic.

2 - The recent public disagreement between the UK and most of continental Europe over the new financial regulations.

3 - The fact that the US (and the UK for the time being) keep using the backscatter X-ray scanners in airports and other venues although these machines have been banned by the EU due to safety concerns.

4 - As I mentioned several times on the DB, mainstream media in Europe (at least in the German-speaking world) have been much more open in adopting what would be seen in the US/UK as a "conspiracy theorist viewpoint" when discussing issues such as 9/11 and Osama bin Laden's recent "death". The ORF, Austria's public broadcasting service, aired a 45-min. documentary expressing serious doubts about bin Laden's death (their take on the event was altogether not that different from the DB, but keep in mind that this is coming from an official, state-sponsored television network!). In September, in the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the ORF aired two documentaries about 9/11 which again gave ample support to "conspiracy theories".

There may of course be more substantial facts or events supporting this interpretation that I am not aware of, or cannot think of at the moment. Besides FOFOA's blog, the GEAB letter (which was recently quoted by feedbacker Danny B) regularly expresses viewpoints suggesting a profound contrast between the US/UK block and the EU block.

I would definitely like the DB to address these issues at some point. I believe that, even if DB elves disagree with this interpretation, there is enough evidence to warrant at least a serious discussion on the topic.

Reply from The Daily Bell

We have addressed it. It is OBVIOUS. The world is headed in ONE direction and when you examine the fundamental facilities, (UN, IMF, etc.) you find they are all put together by the SAME people. There is no "infighting." And it is equally obvious that the ones who control the BIS and central banks around the world are the world's prime movers and shakers. Miller is trying to argue, by the way, that there is a Rockefeller faction opposed to a Rothschild faction. Others argue that there is "Vatican" faction. There is one "faction."

  Posted by memehunter on 12/27/11 07:33 AM

Posted by LloydMiller on 12/26/11 06:52 PM
It sure would be comfortable to believe the traditional Western Elite is still in charge! The best I allow myself to think is that the Judeo-Masonic/Anglophile oppostion to the Rockefeller/Big Oil/Saudi camarilla still has some tricks up their sleeves. . . however, when I am more realistic, I must presume their defeat signalled by the ascencion of Obama, et al was the end.

Do you have a short article or video exposing your arguments? I am curious and willing to listen to your arguments, but I could not find a clear exposition of your ideas on the Albionic website (maybe I did not look at the right place). Let me know. Thanks in advance!

  Posted by LloydMiller on 12/26/11 06:54 PM

Can none of you sense when the levers of power change hands in Washington, London and elsewhere. . .?

Reply from The Daily Bell

No. That's how "they" work. The idea that there are two implacable Western powers opposing each other is nonsensical. They may purview this view - or you may - to confuse people, but ultimately the project is too large and powerful for the kind of schism you present to permanently abide. Are there factions? Sure. But evidently and obviously not the kind of enmity you seem to advocate.

  Posted by LloydMiller on 12/26/11 06:52 PM

It sure would be comfortable to believe the traditional Western Elite is still in charge! The best I allow myself to think is that the Judeo-Masonic/Anglophile oppostion to the Rockefeller/Big Oil/Saudi camarilla still has some tricks up their sleeves. . . however, when I am more realistic, I must presume their defeat signalled by the ascencion of Obama, et al was the end.

  Posted by LloydMiller on 12/26/11 06:49 PM

Islamic OPEC megabuck investments are what calls the tune with the once powerful Western Elite. Even the one-time Likud ally Rupert Murdock has a Saudi Prince partner now-a-days. Explains the motives of Mayor Blumberg, the Rockefellers, Zbig, Jimmy Carter, Soros, etc. etc. . . . who just happen to kiss Saudi ass at every opportunity and praise the take-over of former Western satraps by the Saudi financed Muslim Brotherhood.

  Posted by nithsdale on 12/26/11 05:00 PM

Well Anthony Wile, you may convince me yet that there is an anglosphere at work destroying our world for the new global one!

I accept your premise that the West has engineered the Arab Spring, that it is now conferring legitimacy upon the Islamic power groups taking control in all the countries affected. I also concur with the belief that our governments are now working in tandem to levy new taxes upon us all for their global "initiatives", taxes hidden in programmed assessments in everything we must use to live. I also believe that those in power in all the countries affected, including ours, are deliberately sabbotaging the legislative process to establish what they want since no one admits to reading the bills to be passed in the Peoples' Assemblies or re the invoice amounts being sent to all as our share of being allowed to live wherever we are.

My problem still is that I don't see only the anglosphere as leading the charge. I see progressives from every country, every race, every culture involved in this transformation. This is what makes it all so difficult when trying to pinpoint how we can dispute, repel the moves now so blatantly against what most feel should be and is correct. If we are centering our opposition on the anglosphere, we are leaving far more populous flanks free to operate without any opposition at all! While the enemy is allowed to move in all societies, we are concentrating on just one group! Your argument that they are the oldest and wealthiest doea not conform to the facts or help with the actions needed to stem their tide! The ALL POWERFUL HYDRA doesn't wear one face or follow one course of action.

As the action become consolidated, it appears to be anti-western, certainly anti christian in the sense it is dismantling christian orgs, even historical ones but just to replace all with Islam? It does not make sense that we trade a dying belief issue for another flawed one.

Something more is at stake now. What is the mystery and what for the sophomoric shenanigans? Is it the UN with its Islamic majorities growing day by day or is it westerners facing realities and letting history take its course, backing defeat so its phoenix can rise again from the ashes?

  Posted by victorbarney on 12/25/11 04:23 PM

Posted by thinker70 on 12/24/11 07:52 PM
The fly in your ointment Victor is that the Jewish calendar originated from Babylon with a little Greek and Roman concepts along the way mixed in for good measure. Sept 16th may well be the date that the Jews celebrate THEIR Feast of Trumpets, but it is NOT the biblical Feast of Trumpets. They don't even have the Sabbath correct, all they did in Roman captivity, (where they were in captivity because of Sabbath breaking) is "go along to get along" by adopting the seventh day of the revised 10 day Roman week named after their pagan gods based on their superstitions about the seven then known planets.

In other words their then revised week (to a new 7 day cycle) was purely based on pagan concepts and had nothing to do with biblical requirements. The BIBLICAL SABBATH has nothing to do with our present Roman week, that is a complete fallacy. READ Rev.12:9 and compare with Jer. 3:7-11, + 8:5-8 and particularly Chap. 25 if you think for one moment that Judah is any less deceived and off track than their Israelite (10 tribes) brethren that have mostly adopted a divided and largely paganized Christianity with thousands of sects.

PROOF is much to lengthy to go into here, but you can get a START by reading Deut. 14 which gives the criteria for the Feast of Tabernacles which is a "end of Harvest" festival when ALL of the tithes are to be brought into the store houses. The olive harvest extends into NOV. in Israel and the tithes of OIL is referring to olive oil, so Sept is way to early for the feast of trumpets, (A Sabbath 2 weeks BEFORE the 15th day of the 7th month on the Creator's heavenly calendar that begins the Feast of Tabernacles with the final Sabbath on the 22nd called the Last Great Day! Unfortunately that is the problem with religion in general, too much reliance on "tradition" and assumptions with not enough "proving all things" as the bible admonishes.

thinker70, Id rather talk about Elder Gary Miller's International Congregation of Yahweh, who has the correct Sabbath's and correct calender! Try info@Click to view link; and we'll talk again because you are wrong on all counts above, That is fact!

  Posted by WellWisher on 12/25/11 03:41 PM

Do You Know What a False Flag Is?
Click to view link

  Posted by Thor on 12/25/11 03:31 PM

And now. We can all whine about this, the community (cheers to DB) but surely what muslims do is like an rat to an elephant compared to everything deviating from socialism. DB or someone else should remind the daily telegraph that communists started already in the 1900 doing what the muslims do right now, and the communists as i said, did it in a scale of 10 compared to the muslims 1. Of course they did not just do it in Russia but for instance after ww2 also in Belgium were NKVD officers were parachuted down to prosecute men like Leon Degrelle and his wife, brother, and kids free from any democratic limitation of course, that in violence, propaganda and legalistic terms is far inferior to the insane and brutal beast of communism.

  Posted by WellWisher on 12/25/11 03:23 PM

Imperial by Design - John Mearsheimer
Click to view link

  Posted by WellWisher on 12/25/11 11:01 AM

Truth Hurts, Lies Kill. Reality behind the Phony Wars
Click to view link

  Posted by planet on 12/25/11 07:49 AM

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone.

  Posted by Summer on 12/24/11 09:46 PM

Wow, every paragraph was spot on! Thank you as always.

Modern Christianity - manipulated and discredited. (Same elite plan for Islam)
Family unit - " "
Media - " "
Politics - " "
Government - " "
Military - " "
Society - " "

Dignity and honor, a distant memory. Innocence lost.

The only answer is a return to 'goodness' - true religion, as practiced by prophets (not pseudo followers). Then, perhaps mankind will deserve, and attain a better future.

  Posted by free on 12/24/11 08:29 PM

I would like to say to all the Elves, Gnomes and Fairy's at the DB, thanks for another year of the most honest insightful education on the net. Please don't lose interest in this important job, I understand the cost and the effort to supply this incredible product free to us subscribers is a huge commitment.

Make it a great New Year, I send my wish to you of a beautifully fruitful and healthy life.

I will continue to read you daily and comment when I can.

Peace and freedom is almost an oxymoron, but learning to live free in unfree world is what I have learned from you, thank you.

  Posted by thinker70 on 12/24/11 07:52 PM

Posted by victorbarney on 12/24/11 01:15 PM
Anthony, you speak of the Anglosphere power elite, but Barak Obama is not thereof and, in fact, is an enemy of the Anglosphere power elite, as promised! Check it out, his father was involved in the overthrow of the "only" other Republic in the world, which was Kenya and here comes his son to America with the same agenda! Kind of informs even the dumbed-down public like me that our CIA is for the Obama and the promised Marxist New World Order, doesn't it? No? Watch, especially starting September 16, 2012 on the Hebrew Feast of Trumpets(War) when the two-witnesses of Revelation, chapter 11 show-up. Anthony, did I mention that this is NOT KENYA, but the REAL ISRAEL by the seed of Joseph, as England(Gen. 48:16) promised to become the world's greatest civil empire, which England alone already has accomplished and all we had left was to put over it the "forbidden foreigner of Deuteronomy 17:15 and the self-professed Anti-Christ(marxist) of revelation? No? Just saying... Watch!

The fly in your ointment Victor is that the Jewish calendar originated from Babylon with a little Greek and Roman concepts along the way mixed in for good measure. Sept 16th may well be the date that the Jews celebrate THEIR Feast of Trumpets, but it is NOT the biblical Feast of Trumpets. They don't even have the Sabbath correct, all they did in Roman captivity, (where they were in captivity because of Sabbath breaking) is "go along to get along" by adopting the seventh day of the revised 10 day Roman week named after their pagan gods based on their superstitions about the seven then known planets.

In other words their then revised week (to a new 7 day cycle) was purely based on pagan concepts and had nothing to do with biblical requirements. The BIBLICAL SABBATH has nothing to do with our present Roman week, that is a complete fallacy. READ Rev.12:9 and compare with Jer. 3:7-11, + 8:5-8 and particularly Chap. 25 if you think for one moment that Judah is any less deceived and off track than their Israelite (10 tribes) brethren that have mostly adopted a divided and largely paganized Christianity with thousands of sects.

PROOF is much to lengthy to go into here, but you can get a START by reading Deut. 14 which gives the criteria for the Feast of Tabernacles which is a "end of Harvest" festival when ALL of the tithes are to be brought into the store houses. The olive harvest extends into NOV. in Israel and the tithes of OIL is referring to olive oil, so Sept is way to early for the feast of trumpets, (A Sabbath 2 weeks BEFORE the 15th day of the 7th month on the Creator's heavenly calendar that begins the Feast of Tabernacles with the final Sabbath on the 22nd called the Last Great Day! Unfortunately that is the problem with religion in general, too much reliance on "tradition" and assumptions with not enough "proving all things" as the bible admonishes.

  Posted by ankaboot on 12/24/11 07:50 PM

"A "prophet" who enjoyed sex with a 6 year old child (thighing)& he has a billion followers! That's Islam."

That's a false assertion based entirely on what is alleged to be a report from a single senile individual who was born many years after the prophet had died, who never met 'A'isha, his great-aunt. There is an abundance of reports that show that 'A'isha was at least sixteen, and more probably nineteen or older, when she married the Messenger.

But the fiction won't die because some old men, like some old men in other societies, like little girls, just as some like little boys; and because some people imagine that their future, if not their lives, depends on discrediting the Messenger, the same way that they imagined that their future depended on discrediting Jesus.

"Religion STINKS!"

Like the musk of a skunk ~ a little bit smells nice; too much is too much.

  Posted by thinker70 on 12/24/11 07:17 PM

Unfortunately what Bobby has pointed out will be taken by many as prejudiced or racist and hateful rather than researched for TRUTH and accepted as unpleasant but factual. In the field of religion we truly have "RA's Legions" people blindly following another man (or woman) in a partisan fashion. The Bible actually predicted this as Rev. 12:9 actually claims that "Satan HAS DECEIVED" (not could or might) "the WHOLE WORLD" and that INCLUDES everybody, and every religion.

Professing Christianity today is littered with pagan concepts that have been adopted over the centuries through pagan influences where human nature is to "go along to get along" as opposed to following the admonition to "prove all things" which is why most of what is preached over pulpits today merely perpetuates ancient MYTHS and justifies current anti-biblical practices, rarely conforms to what "comparing scripture with scripture", without bias, preconceived opinion or religious partisanship would suggest.

No wonder the Messiah asked in Luke 18:8 whether "HE will find (persistence) in the faith on the earth" (Amplified Bible) when HE returns! More wars have been fought in the name of religion and more genocides committed by people in the name of their religion that can be listed in a short response. What may yet prove to be one of the most fierce, destructive and disruptive on a world scale is the split in Islam between Shiites and Sunnis as already mentioned in the article.

  Posted by LloydMiller on 12/24/11 06:22 PM

More like a minority Elite voice against the mad rush for ass-kissing of Islam amongst the majority of the Elite.

  Posted by Bobby7 on 12/24/11 05:38 PM

Posted by WellWisher on 12/24/11 03:27 PM
When will we stop being racist and start thinking about whole humanity. Not just Christians, every humans life is precious ... .. Every human have same red color blood...

By the way there is famous saying if you point one finger towards other , actually three finger are pointing towards ourselves...

Christ Under Occupation: Christmas in the Holy Land

Click to view link

This weekend millions of cultural Christians throughout the world will flock into churches and sing 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and hear stories of Nazareth and Jerusalem.

Too few know the 21st century realities about the land where Jesus/AKA The Prince of Peace promised that the Peacemakers are the children of God.

The indigenous Christian population in the Holy Land has shrunk from 20% in 1948 to less than 2% in Israel and the West Bank today.

In 1970, The World Christian Database reported that the Christian population in the West Bank was 5.3% of that population and in 2011 their numbers have shrunk to half that.

Most all Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land never even visit the occupied territories or meet a Palestinian Christian for they tour with Israeli led groups and miss the reality tours conducted by organizations like SABEEL.

The day is rapidly approaching when that troubled piece of real estate many claim is holy will be bereft of the most highly educated and consistently nonviolent Palestinians -the indigenous Palestinian Christians/AKA The Forgotten Faithful.

Researches predict that if things do not change very soon, Holy Land churches will be nothing more than museums for Christian communities across the region are declining due to low birth rates coupled with increasing emigration due to the persecution and violence rooted in the now 44 years of Military occupation of Palestine.

Some Christian leaders and many politicians claim the rise of radical Islam in the area is causing the decline of indigenous Christians and it does contribute, but the bigger truth is that it is religious fundamentalism within Judaism and Christianity entwined with Israeli-USA government policies versus justice and equal human rights for Palestinians that is most culpable!

In Israel, the indigenous Palestinians are labeled 'Israeli-Arabs' and approximately 9% are Christian.

There are also growing numbers of Messianic Jews whose ethnicity is Jewish but they recognize Christ as the Messiah and they are supported by global Christian Zionists who profess strong support for Jewish people but are blind, deaf and dumb to their sisters and brothers in Christ: the indigenous Palestinian Christians who are most Forgotten Faithful.

The little town of Bethlehem is festooned with sparkling decorations but for those who know the brutal truth it is just smoke and mirrors over the military occupation of Palestine.

Nabil Giacaman, co-owner of a souvenir shop called Christmas House is a third-generation woodcarver who daily witnesses around 200 tour buses that roll in from the Israeli side of The Wall for a quick visit to the Church of the Nativity. The pilgrim-tourists are all escorted directly from the bus to the church and then back again without any time to browse the nearby shops.

Giacaman laments, "My total sales the other day were $4.13. My shop is in the middle of it all, but it gets worse every year. We have tourists, but not profits." [1]

The decades-old political conflict aided and abetted by USA foreign policy also is an economic battle raging between Israel and the West Bank based Palestinian Authority and the livelihoods of all Palestinian merchants.

"At 1.1 million a year, the number of Christian pilgrims - those who describe their visit as chiefly spiritual in purpose - now surpasses Jewish tourism to Israel. Many of the top Christian sites are in the West Bank, and tourists have been returning in droves thanks to a recent lull in violence.

"Many Christian pilgrims belie the image of austere travelers sleeping in religious hostels. These visitors, mostly Catholics and Christian evangelicals, spend about $200 a day on hotels, restaurants and souvenirs, compared with an average of $140 for all tourists, according to Israeli figures." [Ibid]

That would be gospel/good news for Palestinian businesspeople but the simple truth is that most all visitors to the Holy Land arrive by air in Israel and immediately join Israeli-led tours so they never get to see what is hid behind the faux-painted and extensively landscaped apartheid wall which is adorned with graffiti-against the occupation in the West Bank.

Recently, Israel's Tourism Ministry opened a "religious affairs desk" and launched Christian-themed websites and a YouTube channel to entice them.

The Israeli government is also providing free trips for government officials and religious leaders from Latin America, Africa and Europe and in 2011, 81 members of Congress took an AIPAC political vacation and never spent an hour in occupied territory.

For Christmas, Israel is offering free bus transportation to Bethlehem for midnight Mass so that the pilgrims can avoid the lengthy wait at Israeli checkpoints. The Tourism Ministry is also promoting an alternative to Bethlehem [under the control of the Palestinian Authority] by inviting pilgrims and foreign diplomats to the Israeli city of upper Nazareth for a Christmas market which will be staffed by Israelis and no doubt supplied with goods made in the settlements-all of which are illegal under international law.

Palestinian Authority Tourism Minister Kholoud Daibes, contends that Israel collects 90% of pilgrim-related revenue and said, "They are promoting occupied territory as part of Israel." [Ibid]

The mayor of upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso refused to allow Christmas trees to be placed in his town square and told the AFP, "The request of the Arabs to put Christmas trees in the squares in the Arab quarter of Nazareth Illit is provocative. Nazareth Illit is a Jewish city and it will not happen -- not this year and not next year, so long as I am a mayor. Nazareth is right next door and they can do what they want there." [2]

The town's indigenous Palestinian and Christian minority accused him of racism. A 35-year-old Christian resident of Nazareth Illit nailed it, "The racism of not putting a tree up is nothing compared to the real racism that we experience here."

"When we asked the mayor to put up a Christmas tree in the Arab neighbourhoods of Nazareth Illit he said this is a Jewish town, not a mixed town," said Shukri Awawdeh, a Muslim Arab member of the town council.

Awawdeh said there were 10,000 Arabs, most of them Christian in the town and there was also a large community of Christian Russian immigrants.

"We told him that decorating a tree is just to share the happiness and cheer with other people in the town," said Awawdeh.

"People here, Jews, Christians and Muslims live in harmony, but when the mayor does something like that, it does not make things better." [Ibid]


Last year, Israel began allowing Israeli tour guides to lead groups in Bethlehem and only Israeli approved tour guides are allowed into Israel. Legislation is also pending that will require all Jerusalem guides to be Israeli citizens.

Hi WellWisher,

A very enlightening comment, but MOST people forget that Jesus was telling the Jews what would come after they crucified Him. Remember 70 AD:

It has been said that there is scarcely another period in history so full of vice, corruption, and disaster as the six years between the Neronian Christian persecution from around AD64 and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. The prophetic description of the last days by our Lord began to be fulfilled before the generation to which he spoke had passed away (exactly as He had stated in Matthew. 24:34: 'Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled'). The Day of Judgment upon the Jewish people seemed to be close at hand. This is what the Christians believed and, indeed, subsequently had good reason to believe.

And when we study Revelation ch 17 and ch 18 we see that there is another judgment coming on the Synagogue of Satan and all their Sabbath Goys.

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