Posted on 06/25/2015 6:53:54 PM PDT by VitacoreVision
The state of Israel is blocking the release of details on the recent arson attack against a historical Catholic church by the Sea of Galilee, namely the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish in Tabgha. It resides at the site where Christ miraculously multiplied loaves and fish to feed 5,000 people.
Aside from being damaged by the fire, the church was also vandalized with Hebrew graffiti messages such as "Death to non-Jews" and "False idols will be eliminated." The incident marked the second time since last year the building has been attacked.
Sixteen Jewish seminary students were arrested, but they were released hours later. Thus far, the crime remains unpunished.
Although leaders in Israel have condemned the act, critics are skeptical justice will prevail, as Israeli authorities have yet to prosecute a single person in the 43 crimes against churches or mosques that have occurred in Israel within the last three and a half years.
The church re-opened this past weekend and was met with a crowd of thousands who went to pray there as an act of solidarity with persecuted Christians. A protest rally took place after Mass. Demonstrators demanded greater protection of Christian and Muslim properties against hostile Jewish settlers in the region.
The incident has provoked responses from Church leaders outside the Middle East, too, with British bishop Declan Lang demanding an end to such acts of religious bigotry toward Christians and Muslims in Israel. He noted how "the common consensus seems to be that Jewish zealots were responsible."
The official Vatican news service called the attack "yet another episode in the long series of desecrations and acts of intimidation committed by groups of extremist Jewish settlers to the detriment of monasteries, churches and Christian cemeteries since February 2012."
Leading up to Pope Francis' visit to the Holy Land last year, numerous acts of vandalism occurred with messages such as "Death to Christians" and "We will crucify you."
We were there two years ago,last January.
There are some Yeshiva that teach hatred of Christians, to spit on them etc..
That part isn’t new.
An uncomfortable truth
No surprise. When I was in Israel in 1997 it was clear that Christians were not well respected. Always surprises me that Americans overlook this little detail when funding and defending Israel.
Be careful or many FReepers will pounce on you for daring to say Israel isn’t perfect!
We were there March, 2013.
There is hatred everywhere. There is LOVE everywhere. We were a group of Christians and we had nothing but wonderful encounters with those we met, even when we walked without the tour guides. Actually, most of the Palestinians were decent except ones who clogged traffic thinking they were bigger than our bus!! You have never seen such ugliness that was for all, regardless of skin color or religion!
To walk where Jesus walked was indeed a heart changing experience!
Shalom...
Israel is not perfect but some Christian organizations, including in Israel, have been working with the PLO since the 70’s, using the cover of religion to mask their traitorous activities. Scheebel (Sp.) is one; One of the Greek Antiochian churchs is another.
The National Council of Churches has always been anti-Israel, just as it was pro-Hanoi during the war. The same for the World Council of Churches. Just look up Don “Mr Hanoi” Luce’s record of service to Hanoi thru them. In fact, the United Methodist Church’s Boards were the main supporters of the pro-Hanoi Lobby organizations illegally laundering tax-exempt donations to lobbying groups such as Tom Hayden’s created Coalition to Stop Funding the War, The Indochina Peace Campaign, Indochina Resource Center, IMEP, etc.
Also look at who is funding the Gaza Flotillas. Lots of surprises out there in the real world.
I’m against any Israeli attacks on Churches or Mosques in Israel and want those who do it, punished. However, you need to know the unreported back-stories of who is undermining Israel’s security to see why some extremists are targeting non-Jewish religious institutions.
As a Catholic, I will only note that the current Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem is one Faoud Twal formerly of Tunisia who was named in 2008. His predecessor was Patriarch Michael Sabbah, a militant Palestinian nationalist. Check them out on Wikipedia. I will leave it to those more knowledgeable than I to make observations as to these two, but they seem to me to be better looking Yasir Arafat’s in liturgical costume. I don’t think they are fooling anyone other than Chatty Cathy I (and hopefully the Last).
Israel is not perfect but it is the only relatively safe place for Christisns in the Middle East and Christisn visitors tourists students and pilgrims are welcomed with open arms and great hospitality. ———the Israeli authorities all the way from the local Galilee police up to the Prime Minister himself in Jerusalem are working hard to find the criminals (Moslem or Jewish or anything else) and prosecute them. There are a few social misfits there that try to cause troubles but frankly an arson job just isn’t their style. I therefore suspect we will learn this crime was done by the more usual suspects — but anything’s possible and one thing we’re pretty sure of is that they’ll be found and prosecuted appropriately. Israel Today carried an article on this, the perpetrators are bring hunted as we type : here’s the official political response so far -— Netanyahu: Attack on Galilee Church is Attack on All Israel
(Excerpts ——)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that the shameful arson attack against the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the shores of the Sea of Galilee was not only an attack against Christians, but against all of Israel.
“The shocking arson of the church is an attack on all of us,” said Netanyahu in an official statement. “Israel’s freedom of religion is a cornerstone of our values and it is anchored in the law. We will mete out justice to those responsible for this atrocious act. We have no room for hatred and intolerance in our society.”
———, Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and many more government officials were adamant that those responsible would be brought to justice. Most agreed that not only had the attack on Israeli Christians been unacceptable, but had stained the Jewish state.
“Whoever lights fire to a church is not only an idiot who lacks respect for religion — he is also a terrorist who is severely damaging the State of Israel. Law enforcement authorities should act with abundant severity toward whoever is found guilty,” wrote former Foreign Minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party chief Avigdor Lieberman.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called the arson a “cowardly and vile act that I vigorously condemn. We will not allow anyone to shake the coexistence between religions and ethnic groups in Israel.”
Interior Minister Silvan Shalom called the head of the church, Father Matthias Karl, to let him know that “a hate crime like this is unbelievable and unacceptable. I apologize personally and on behalf of the state for this extremist attack.”
Religious leaders, too, were outraged. Chief Rabbi David Lau explained that “the actions taken this morning, apparently by ignorant and violent cowards, are completely at odds with the values of Judaism and humanity
These horrific incidents are rare and they happen in a civilised and law-abiding country (which is why they make the news).
Exactly. While we should rightly condemn this action and the people who carried it out, we are JOINED in this condemnation by the government and indeed the vast majority of people in Israel and the majority of Jews in Israel
Yes. The investigation has barely had a chance to start and they haven’t had much of a chance to find the criminals yet, obviously. And arson is often a tough crime to solve. But Israel is still a small place and ( provided it wasn’t morn terrorists who’ve slipped out of the country) the authorities will, I believe, find them. They’re pretty good at such things there. It will be interesting to see if it’s the usual Islamonazi terrorists or possibly a few disaffected Jewish or Christisn “youths” (hoodlum/ delinquents) or whomever. There are some of all of these there. Judaism teaches respect respect for Christian faith (and others) but there have always been a few bad apples — still arson just isn’t their style , they prefer petty insults and a little street harassment— and churches have fared extremely well in Israel as most Jews do respect them and the authorities work hard to protect them in Israel. A few bad Jewish youth? Maybe. The usual suspects islamonazi terroristas - possibly, it’s certainly far more consistent with their “belief system”. An attempt by someone ( possibly from outside, like obsma’s recrnt efforts to undermine the Israeli elections) to stir up trouble over there - ???? It’s so easy to speculate that a foreign anti- Christisn and anti- Jeeish “community activist” might organize crimes like this to stir up trouble there — it fits this event so well that it sure could be true. But we just can’t know this soon. Have to wait to see what all the police and governmental authorities can find out in their investigation ( which is already well underway). We will see.
have just re-read the article. It seems grossly unfair to criticize police investigators so quickly - before they’ve even had a chance to develop any real leads. So there’s no escaping it - we Have to question the motives of its author. Sorry to have to say but it’s so obvious.
Although leaders in Israel have condemned the act, critics are skeptical justice will prevail, as Israeli authorities have yet to prosecute a single person in the 43 crimes against churches or mosques that have occurred in Israel within the last three and a half years.
The official Vatican news service called the attack "yet another episode in the long series of desecrations and acts of intimidation committed by groups of extremist Jewish settlers to the detriment of monasteries, churches and Christian cemeteries since February 2012."
We all want justice for a burnt church. The point was only that criticizing those that are trying to find the criminal (and doing so so quickly before anyone could possibly find him) would be unfair anywhere in the world. And especially where the entire government up to the very top public officials including the Prime Minister have already rallied to the cause of justice in very forthright manner. Let’s hope they can find the arsonist. But assigning blame to “extremist Jewish settlers” when nobody knows yet who did it displays a vicious anti - semitism deserving of membership only in a Nazi cell or Satanic cult, not the Church of Christ. Ps: a Jewish person could have done this, anyone could Moslems are burning down Christian churches routinely in that part of the world, hundreds so far, along with now burning Christian alive in cages, shooting Christians outright even in church, and now even crucifying Christian faithful for refusing to convert to Islam. The logical supposition would be that this crime is just the latest Moslem attack on the Church. But again ——— we don’t know yet - nobody can know yet- who did this one. -———— returning to the “extremist Jewish settlers,” though, that’s an anti-Semitic tropism just like “greedy Jews” — you can find some greedy Jews just like you can find some greedy Christians and greedy atheists, but all Jews are not greedy ( indeed Jews frequently are cited for giving more generously to charities than most groups of people do). So the phrase is mostly inaccurate and reveals a lot more about its speaker then the intended object group. Same for “extremist Jewish settlers,”. Jewish people have the right to settle and live in their land at least as much as American people have the right to settle and live in USA (and arguably more so, given that the Jews have a rather significant Benefactor/Ally who gave them their little country — a factor well known to history, recognized by the Church, and, though the Islamonazis avoid acknowledging it, even by the Moslem Koran). There’s nothing “extreme” about a person living in his own country. He should just be referred to as an Israeli or, if it’s germane, a Jewish resident of community X. If he’s extreme in some other way, fine - he’s an extremist. But patently that’s not what the speaker meant. He meant to deny the Jewish “settlers,” so- called, their right to their lives — a rather odd attitude for a man who belongs to the Church which otherwise is well known for being pro- life. At any event, the speaker defames the Church by speaking in such a prejudiced manner. That’s what I was reacting to. Surely we can do a whole lot better in finding a “spokesperson” but fortunately the parish priest himself has already spoken of forgiving the criminal (and without regard to what religion he may or may not “belong to.” So there’s yet hope!). Best,
“He noted how “the common consensus seems to be that Jewish zealots were responsible.”
So now will the ‘common consensus’ view a lineup and help identify actual suspects? Here’s an interesting suggestion: bark up the right tree. Palis can write Hebrew graffiti, too. Palis can vandalize churches, too, just as they have mosques, sores and agriculture, and them blame it on the Randoms. We’re here. We’re a convenient scapegoat as always. Nobody’s been prosecuted, because the perps are Palis.
Kindly tell me where these yeshivas are located. Do they have a name? What is their name?
I have seen it firsthand in Jerusalem
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