Evangelicals side with Israel. That's hurting Palestinian Christians.

[DonViejo]

When Americans sing carols about the ‘Little Town of Bethlehem’ this Christmas, they should keep in mind who lives there.

By Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian December 23

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian is an assistant editor at Foreign Policy.

This week, Christmas pageants across the country will reenact the scenes of the nativity; carolers will sing the beloved hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”; and millions will turn their hearts toward that ancient city, where many believe that Jesus was born. But it’s likely most Americans haven’t pondered what that birthplace is like today — or who lives there.

Bethlehem is the most heavily Christian city in Palestine. Its Arab Christian mayor, Vera Baboun, describes her hometown the “capital of Christmas” and says that between Bethlehem proper and the surrounding Bethlehem governate, there are upward of 38,000 Christian residents. Christmas celebrations there form an integral part of city life. “Bethlehem is the city that gave the message of peace to the whole world,” Baboun told me in a November interview at a conference hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. “But today, Bethlehem does not live the peace that it gave to the whole world.”

The existence of Palestinian Christians, and the difficulties they face under Israeli occupation in their homeland, is a blind spot for American Christians. Evangelicals in particular are often strong supporters of Israel and suspicious of Muslims but don’t seem to realize that those aren’t the only groups at play in the region.

“I and many other Americans of Palestinian Christian ancestry will often get asked: When did you convert? ‘2,000 years ago, when did you convert?’ is a standard response,” said Gregory Khalil, president and co-founder of the U.S.-based Telos Group, a self-styled pro-Israel and pro-Palestine organization that advocates peace in the region.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/12/23/evangelicals-side-with-israel-thats-hurting-palestinian-christians/?utm_term=.dd74c7e68878&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

[treestar]

1. This is the kind of thing right wing deplorables

don't even know. To them "Palestinian" means "Muslim." They don't do complications.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. I asked some evangelical Christian co-workers in the past why they...

sided with Israel so strongly, and they always replied that the Bible mentions God's special covenant with the Jews.

It struck me as odd since I was taught at my childhood church that Jesus provided a new covenant for all of humanity that nullified the previous ones!

I'm not anti-Semitic at all, and I'm an atheist now too, but their explanation for a pro-Israel stance seemed bizarre since it was influenced so much by the "Old Testament." On the other hand, that's the more conservative and authoritarian part of the Bible (compared to Jesus' more liberal attitudes), so I shouldn't be too surprised. It's the evangelicals who so strongly vote for Republicans too.

[sarcasmo]

7. I always thought the support was an end times deal.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

10. That's what I expected to hear too.

The ones I asked mentioned the Jewish covenant to me.

[oberliner]

3. Israel is the place in the Middle East where Christians have suffered the least persecution by far

Arab Christians are thriving in Israel, while their counterparts in the rest of the region (including the West Bank and the minuscule amount still living in Gaza) suffer significant oppression and worse.

[Mosby]

12. this article talks about some of the problems ME Christians face

http://www.timesofisrael.com/christians-worry-silent-night-may-soon-refer-to-their-community-in-bethlehem/

[Historic NY]

4. And then there are those that are anti-semitic Mon - Sat.

[safeinOhio]

5. I use to work with a Palestinian Christian.

No one hated Israel more than him. His family's property was also taken from them.

[meadowlark5]

6. I don't understand how conservatives and christian conservatives always say they

are the true friend of Israel when most of the antisemitic talk and actions come from that group of people. The hate for Jews seems to have escalated since Trump began running for president and now afterwards.

Why do they claim to love Israel and the Jews there but are prejudiced against therm here in the US? Always confuses me. Does anyone know how they reconcile this conflict?

[Initech]

8. Because they don't know or care about what they claim to know about.

Because they only hear one side of the debate and think it's fact. Just like the people who claim that we should take the Bible and Constitution literally, they most likely haven't read all sides of the issue.

[Crunchy Frog]

11. They expect Israel to play host to Armageddon.

And all the Jews who don't convert are supposed to die.

It's a marriage of convenience on both sides.

[JI7]

9. "Americans of Palestinian Christian ancestry will often get asked: When did you convert?"

because they think Christianity belongs to white people.

and not the same level as others.

even though in the US it's black and hispanic communities who seem to have higher levels of Christian religion the white religious conservatives still can't appeal to them. because they are white supremicists first.