"We are deeply troubled by your recent comments regarding the situation of Christians in the Middle East. You have managed, diplomatically –instead of being prophetic, as one would expect you to be, not to mention the Israeli occupation, the separation wall, Israel confiscation of Palestinian land, its policies that violate freedom of movement and worship in Palestine".

"We are no longer expecting support from Church leaders around the world. Our Hope, Faith and Love come from elsewhere"


Rifat Odeh Kassis, Kairos Palestine Coordinator, PNN, June 20, 2011,

He spoke of his hope for the emergence of democracy following the unrest of the last half year, saying that a participatory democracy would be in the interest of minorities because “good democracies look after minorities”.

Christian Today, June 16, 2011

“With Rabin I went to the theater in Haifa and we sat side by side,” Mansour said. During the break, they would run outside and share cigarettes and conversation, he added.


From:Neon Tommy University of Southern California,15th June 2011

Yossi Sarid, ex-leader of the left wing Israeli party MERETZ who served as minister of education in the Israeli government mourns the Jewish Pentecost feast Shavuot the holiday he once "loved above all others for its graciousness and compassion" . Sarid wonders how the right wing leaders have hijacked even this feast in the name of the Torah and wonders how the Torah handed down at Sinai authorized us to dispossess, deport and seal houses; and why a Hebron market street stands empty.

Haaretz 7th June 2011

Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo says the emigration of Christians from the Israeli Arab city of Nazareth is endangering the survival of the Christian community in a place of biblical importance to Christianity.

Upper Nazareth Mayor says his town would never be a mixed Arab-Jewish city and that a mosque would never be built despite the fact that 16 percent of its residents are Arab.

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz, June 5, 2011

Here are three links to an Israeli TV news magazine program aired last week, titled "Big Brother and the Jew", which shows very well the nature of the extent to which the extreme ultra-orthodox 'guardians of the Jewish religion' are willing to go in their unbelief, whether with knowledge or not.

Thanks for the program being aired go the the JIJ (Jerusalem Institute of Justice), and thanks to Maoz Israel for putting the English sub-titles on so quickly for general audiences.

Musalaha Statement: Discouragement is always a part of reconciliation. It is inevitable. However, one of the best ways to deal with discouragement is to look to inspirational examples of success. For instance, consider the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Many said it could never be built, because of all the obstacles that stood in its way: the currents, the winds, and the frequent earthquakes. Nevertheless, in the end they managed to build it, and brought the two sides of the bay closer to each other. Now people cross over it all the time and rarely ever think about the effort and how many years were required to build it. We take it for granted, but building bridges is hard work.

The woman killed in the terror attack was a Christian who had been working for 20 years translating the Bible into the language of a tribe in togo.

Mary Gardner was from Scotland and she came to Israel at the beginning of the year to hone her translating skills at a ministry here called the home for Bible translators (Assoicated with Wycliffe Bible Translators)

Chris Mitchell and Julie Stahl, CBN, and "Come and See", March 24, 2011

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate sold most of its leasing rights to large swaths of Jerusalem to a group of Jewish investors last week. The NIS 80 million agreement puts an end to the long draw-out land affair - at least for the next 140 years.

In the deal, signed March 10, the Patriarchate sold most of its rights to lease the land it has held in Jerusalem to a group of Jewish investors from Israel and abroad. The group includes the Ben David family, one of the wealthiest in Jerusalem, who are large property investors and partners in Givot Olam Oil Exploration.

The Marker, March 18, 2011