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O Little Town of Bethlehem: Israel, Palestiine and Ameridan Christian
Hypocrites
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
[This message has become something of a Winter Solstice tradition here
at NY Transfer, with our best wishes and moderate hopes for a sunnier
year ahead, from all of us at NY Transfer News.]
O Little Town of Bethlehem:
Israel, Palestine and American Christian Hypocrites
by Francis A. Boyle
It was December of 1991 and I was serving as Legal Advisor to the
Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations in
Wa****ngton DC. The Israelis were stalling,not even negotiating in bad
faith, and the Americans under Baker and Ross were doing nothing to get
the negotiations started.
This had been going on for 3 weeks and Christmas was fast approaching.
Those
of us on the Palestinian Team who were Christian were wondering if we were
going to be able to get home for Christmas--many Palestinians are
Christian,
the original Christians, going back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles
themselves. I would periodically check in with my wife and 2 sons at the
time--little boys. My poor, sweet wife had to do all the Christmas
preparations by herself without me.
So the weekend before Christmas I called her up to say I still did not
know
if or when I would be coming home. My oldest son who had just turned 5
talked to me on the phone:
"Daddy why aren't you home for Christmas?"
"Well son, I'm trying to help the Palestinians."
"Daddy, why are you doing that?"
Hard to explain the entire Middle East conflict to a 5 year old, so I put
it
into terms he could understand:
"Son, you know that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem
don't you?"
"Yes Daddy."
"Well I am here with the Mayor of Bethlehem and some other Palestinian
leaders. They are my friends and I am their lawyer. I am working with the
Mayor of Bethlehem to help all the Palestinian Children have a merry
Christmas."
"Ok Daddy."
We got the word we could go home for Christmas on December 23 and I got on
the first flight out of DC. getting home just on time for Christmas Eve
with
my family.
Periodically I had attended UCC Christmas Season Church Services in town
with my family. When it came time for prayers from the congregation, I
always got up and asked everyone to help the Palestinians along the
following lines: "...Bethlehem is cut-off and surrounded by the Israeli
army--the Church of the Nativity too. The Israelis are inflicting ethnic
cleansing upon all the Palestinian, both Muslims and Christians. They are
also pursuing a policy of deliberately forcing Palestinian Christians out
of
Palestine as part of a perverse strategy to turn a war of national
liberation into a religious crusade, figuring it would play better in the
United States. And these are the original Christians, going back to Jesus
Christ and the Apostles. Meanwhile, the United States government is
financing it all to the tune of $5 billion per year. Everyone in this
Congregation has gifts given to them by God. So go out and do something to
help the Palestinians!"
Despite my best efforts over several years, that UCC Congregation
refused to lift one finger to help the Palestinians. So, I quit their
Congregation and severed all ties with them. They are just a gang of
moral cowards and hypocrites. They have nothing to teach me or anyone
else about Christianity, let alone about peace, justice and human
rights.
Francis A. Boyle, Champlaign, IL.
Professor of International Law
Legal Advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the
Middle East Peace Negotiations (1991-93)
*
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