Veteran CBS News anchor Bob Simon just reported on the Palestinian Christians, indicting Israel’s “occupation” as responsible for their dramatic disappearance. The 60 Minutes story caused Israel tremendous PR damage.

Yet largely ignored by Western media, a systematic campaign of Muslim persecution against the Christians is taking place in Palestinian areas. It’s a religious and ethnic cleansing campaign silenced by the global churches.

Christians have long been the frontrunners of Arab nationalism. The most prominent Palestinian intellectual was a Christian, Edward Said. The propaganda term “Nakba” has been penned by a Christian, Constantin Zureiq. The terrorist George Habash was a Christian, as was Yasser Arafat’s wife. Azmi Bishara, the Arab MK who leaked secrets to Hezbollah, comes from a middle-class Christian family from Nazareth.

Since the first Intifada, Palestinian Christians created a Muslim-Christian unity to portray Israel as the aggressor, colonizer and invader. They thought that the Islamic-Christian front against Zionism would help secure their position in the Arab world. Indeed, Arab Christians, and especially their judeophobic clergy, have been in the vanguard of the battle for the destruction of Israel. It was a political operation that also served to cover the crimes committed against Christians by the PLO and the Islamic groups: forced marriage, conversions, beatings, land theft, fire bombings, commercial boycott, torture, kidnapping, sexual harassment, and extortion.

The latest victim has been the Baptist Church in Bethlehem, which the Palestinian Authority just declared as illegitimate, as the US church’s message of reconciliation flies in the face of the hateful propaganda permeating Palestinian society. Arab Christians were obliged to make continual compromises, afraid to mention their own suffering for fear of irritating the Muslim authorities. Soon it became a taboo subject even in the West....

On April 17, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), delivered to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a letter listing the PA’s demands in anticipation of peace negotiations, demands with which Israel must comply or Abbas will eschew further negotiations and instead “seek the full and complete implementation of international law as it pertains to the powers and responsibilities of Israel as occupying power in all of the occupied Palestinian territory.” In other words, Abbas will go back to the UN and the International Criminal Court to seek redress against Israel’s putative criminal activities. Much like an obstreperous child on the playground, Abbas tells Netanyahu that either he play the game according to Abbas’ rules or Abbas will tell the teacher what a bad boy Israel has been. It would be a comical farce were not so many lives at stake.

Abbas goes on to threaten, albeit obliquely, that because Israel has not played the game according to Abbas’ demands, he might just go ahead and dissolve the PA, throwing back upon Israel all of the responsibilities for administration in the West Bank: “For the Palestinian Authority—now stripped of all meaningful authority—cannot continue to honor agreements while Israel refuses to even acknowledge its commitments. The P.A. is no longer as was agreed and this situation cannot continue.” So in addition to tattling to the teacher, he will also take his ball and go home.

Hopefully, Netanyahu will not be moved by such puerile posturing....

Benzion Netanyahu, father of Prime Minister Binyamin Netnayahu, will be laid to rest at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, at a plot for bereaved parents at the Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Jerusalem.

The late Netanyahu died early Monday morning at the age of 102.

A number of Israeli political parties, among them Labor, Meretz and National Union withdrew their no-confidence votes in the Knesset, out of respect for the prime minister.

Benzion Netanyahu had been a prominent Revisionist Zionist activist in the US, had served as secretary to Ze'ev Jabotinsky, and was a writer and editor. He died at the age of 102....

The Israeli cabinet unanimously approved Sunday a proposal to erect temporary housing for residents of the illegal West Bank outpost of Migron, which would allow for the outpost's evacuation by July 15.

The High Court of Justice last month ordered the state to evacuate the illegal West Bank outpost and dismantle it by August, after rejecting an agreement between the settlers and state to defer the evacuation by three years.


Pictured left - The Migron outpost in September, 2011.
Photo by: AP

The outpost was built on privately-held Palestinian land, a practice the court outlawed decades ago.

Israel is set to spend NIS 25 million to build a temporary housing site for Migron's settlers, who have been ordered to leave the West Bank outpost by August. Migron residents are due to move into temporary housing in the settlement of Kokhav Ya'akov.

The temporary site will consist of public structures, 50 prefabricated homes and minimal infrastructure, at estimated cost of NIS 500,000 per family, totaling NIS 25 million, an official said. The state will probably foot the bill, it was learned....

It has become obvious that the central axis of conflict in the Middle East today is no longer the Arab-Israeli conflict, but rather the conflict within Islam between Sunnis and Shiites. This war lies behind the ongoing bloodbath in Syria, which pits the Alawite regime, backed by Shiite Iran, against the Sunni Muslim majority of Syria, backed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

For many years, the Sunni-Shiite war also fed the internal conflict in Lebanon, in which the Shiites emerged victorious through Hezbollah. The Sunni-Shiite struggle was also behind the Shiite insurrection in Bahrain against its Sunni rulers, and it explains a good part of the civil war in Yemen where Zayidi Shiites have been battling the country's Sunni-led government. Looking at the mounting tensions in the Middle East, Mohammad Kharroub, a columnist for the Jordanian daily al-Ra'I, wrote this month about the possibility of a full-scale war breaking out between the Sunnis and the Shiites.

Right now, Israeli interests appear to be aligned with the Sunnis in this struggle, largely because Iran supports the Shiites' quest for power. But moving beyond the present, is it true that Israel's interests are permanently aligned with the Sunni world against the Shiites? Vali Nasr, a former U.S. official who was born in Tehran, reminds his readers of the stereotypes held in the U.S. defense establishment on the Sunni-Shiite split: He quotes a Pentagon official in the 1980s who said that the Shiites were "bloodthirsty, baby-eating monsters."

There was a political context for these clear prejudices. The U.S., at the time, was funding Afghan mujahedeen and their Sunni extremist allies who fought the Soviet army, while Lebanese Shiites had attacked the U.S. Marines in Beirut. Israel had its own version of these theories. In the 1980s, it was common among Israeli defense experts to say that only Shiites engage in suicide bombings, not Sunnis. But then came the rise of Hamas and al-Qaida, on the Sunni side, which proved – especially after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks – how overly simplistic these stereotypes had been....

The Obama administration has been conducting an all-out charm offensive in recent months aimed at convincing American Jews that the president is Israel’s best friend. Polls have shown that the effort has not been enough to prevent a precipitous drop in his share of the prospective Jewish vote from the 78 percent he garnered in 2008. However, it will probably help him maintain a comfortable majority of Jewish votes in November as most of this predominantly liberal demographic is prepared to either ignore his past history of conflict with Israel or actually believes in the sincerity of his election-year conversion. But even as American Jews argue about Obama’s attitude toward Israel, the intended objects of the supposed solicitude continue to hold starkly different views about him.

A new Smith Research poll sponsored by the Jerusalem Post shows that although perceptions of Obama in Israel have improved in the last year, most Israelis don’t consider him much of a friend. The survey showed that 36 percent of Israelis believe Obama is neutral in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians with 24 percent seeing him as pro-Palestinian and an equal number perceiving him as pro-Israel while 16 percent expressed no opinion. These numbers make one wonder what it is that the three quarters of Israelis who don’t see him as being in favor of their country know that the majority of American Jews who think he is pro-Israel haven’t figured out....

Many people who work in the nonprofit world are used to wearing many hats and shouldering many responsibilities. On April 26th, UJA-Federation held a ceremony to recognize the dedication and leadership of network agency trustees, who serve in leadership roles both at their agencies and at UJA-Federation, saying the commitment they exhibit is a big part of what allows the community to address so many needs in New York, Israel, and around the world.

John S. Ruskay addressing the network agency trustees with New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. Photo: Michael Priest Photography

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn addressed the trustees and agency executives in the audience, and acknowledged the importance of the work their agencies do, going above and beyond the needs that the government can meet.

“The truth is, if it wasn’t for all of your organizations and the support that UJA-Federation gives them, more New Yorkers would go to bed hungry every night, fewer New Yorkers would have job training that they needed, and fewer New Yorkers would have the support that their families need in trying times,” Quinn said.

While Quinn spoke of the importance of the agencies’ work, the event chair for the evening, Patty Silverstein, thanked the agency trustees and agency executives themselves, as did Alisa Doctoroff, chair of the board of UJA-Federation. “Successful agencies don’t just happen,” Doctoroff said. “They’re the result of strong boards, and CEOs, and volunteers, all working together, and your wisdom is essential to that mix.”

A Philanthropic Tradition

John S. Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation, contextualized the valuable work that the agencies and their leadership make possible in light of recent Jewish holidays both joyous (Passover) and somber (Holocaust Rememberance Day). “We’re the heirs of an extraordinary community and philanthropic tradition that never forgets avadim hayinu, we were slaves, and that we have an obligation to care for everyone,” he said.

From left to right: Helen K. Samuels, chair of the Jewish Communal Network Commission, Alisa Doctoroff, chair of the board of UJA-Federation, Marcia Riklis, general chair of the 2012 campaign, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Patty Silverstein, agency recognition event chair, and John S. Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation. Photo: Michael Priest Photography

After Ruskay spoke, Marcia Riklis, general chair of the 2012 campaign, reiterated the purpose behind all of the time, energy, and resources that the trustees invest in their agencies and in UJA-Federation. Without the money that we raise together, she said, “we would not be able to provide a safety net for vulnerable populations. We would not be able to help so many to explore and express their Judaism in meaningful ways. And we would not be ready to innovate and respond to crisis when necessary.”

Toward the conclusion of the event, Helen K. Samuels, chair of the Jewish Communal Network Commission, thanked the network agencies who participated in the campaign, including the 13 agencies that had 100 percent campaign participation by the trustees, and 18 other agencies that had exceptional campaign participation.

Many people who work in the nonprofit world are used to wearing many hats and shouldering many responsibilities. On April 26th, UJA-Federation held a ceremony to recognize the dedication and leadership of network agency trustees, who serve in leadership roles both at their agencies and at UJA-Federation, saying the commitment they exhibit is a big part of what allows the community to address so many needs in New York, Israel, and around the world.

John S. Ruskay addressing the network agency trustees with New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. Photo: Michael Priest Photography

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn addressed the trustees and agency executives in the audience, and acknowledged the importance of the work their agencies do, going above and beyond the needs that the government can meet.

“The truth is, if it wasn’t for all of your organizations and the support that UJA-Federation gives them, more New Yorkers would go to bed hungry every night, fewer New Yorkers would have job training that they needed, and fewer New Yorkers would have the support that their families need in trying times,” Quinn said.

While Quinn spoke of the importance of the agencies’ work, the event chair for the evening, Patty Silverstein, thanked the agency trustees and agency executives themselves, as did Alisa Doctoroff, chair of the board of UJA-Federation. “Successful agencies don’t just happen,” Doctoroff said. “They’re the result of strong boards, and CEOs, and volunteers, all working together, and your wisdom is essential to that mix.”

A Philanthropic Tradition

John S. Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation, contextualized the valuable work that the agencies and their leadership make possible in light of recent Jewish holidays both joyous (Passover) and somber (Holocaust Rememberance Day). “We’re the heirs of an extraordinary community and philanthropic tradition that never forgets avadim hayinu, we were slaves, and that we have an obligation to care for everyone,” he said.

From left to right: Helen K. Samuels, chair of the Jewish Communal Network Commission, Alisa Doctoroff, chair of the board of UJA-Federation, Marcia Riklis, general chair of the 2012 campaign, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Patty Silverstein, agency recognition event chair, and John S. Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation. Photo: Michael Priest Photography

After Ruskay spoke, Marcia Riklis, general chair of the 2012 campaign, reiterated the purpose behind all of the time, energy, and resources that the trustees invest in their agencies and in UJA-Federation. Without the money that we raise together, she said, “we would not be able to provide a safety net for vulnerable populations. We would not be able to help so many to explore and express their Judaism in meaningful ways. And we would not be ready to innovate and respond to crisis when necessary.”

Toward the conclusion of the event, Helen K. Samuels, chair of the Jewish Communal Network Commission, thanked the network agencies who participated in the campaign, including the 13 agencies that had 100 percent campaign participation by the trustees, and 18 other agencies that had exceptional campaign participation.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned today's terrorist bombing in the Syrian city of Idlib, as well as last week's bomb blast in the capital, Damascus, saying he remains gravely concerned by reports of continuing violence, killings and other abuses in the country.

The war on Christianity and its adherents in the Muslim world rages on. In March alone, Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic legal authority decreed that churches in the region must be destroyed; jihadis [holy warriors] in Nigeria said they "are going to put into action new efforts to strike fear into the Christians of the power of Islam by kidnapping their women"; American teachers in the Middle East were murdered for being Christian or talking about Christianity; churches were banned or bombed, and nuns terrorized by knife-wielding Muslim mobs. Christians continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for allegedly "blaspheming" Islam's prophet Muhammad; former Muslims continue to be attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and killed for converting to Christianity.

The extent of this persecution is virtually unknown in the West, due to the mainstream media's well-documented biases: the mainstream media knows that if they do not ignore or at best whitewash the nonstop persecution of Christians under Islam, their narrative of Islam as the "religion of peace" would be quickly undermined. Last month alone, the New York Times ran an anti-Catholic ad, but refused to publish a nearly identical ad directed at Islam; the BBC admitted it mocks Jesus but will never mock Muhammad; and U.S. sitcoms have been exposed as bashing Christianity, but never Islam.

Categorized by theme, March's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity:

Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Proselytism: Death and Prison...