In Christianity's birthplace, Muslims persecute Christians, scapegoat Jews

Bethlehem: Christianity Dying Where it Began by Egyptian, Coptic-Christian, Raymond Ibrahim in Gatestone Institute

• "The systematic persecution of Christian Arabs living in Palestinian areas is being met with nearly total silence by the international community, human rights activists, the media and NGOs." — Justus Reid Weiner, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, Israel, August 20, 2013.

• "There are incidents happening constantly... Most times, it is a case of the Muslim community overpowering the minority, which is the Christian community." — Christian Arab, quoted on condition of anonymity, Israel365News, November 21, 2022.

• "[T]he leaders of the Christian community in the West Bank are reluctant to hold the Palestinian Authority and their Muslim neighbors responsible for the attacks. They are afraid of retribution and prefer to toe the official line of holding Israel solely responsible for the misery of the Christian minority." — Khaled Abu Toameh, October 31, 2022.

• "The only thing that interests the PA is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media. Fatah regularly exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the acts of violence and vandalism from which they frequently suffer, as such publicity could damage the PA's image as an actor capable of protecting the lives and property of the Christian minority under its rule. Even less does the PA want to be depicted as a radical entity that persecutes religious minorities. That image could have negative repercussions for the massive international, and particularly European aid the PA receives." — Dr Edy Cohen, "The Persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority," BESA Center, May 27, 2019.

• "The fact that the Palestinian Authority continues to make sure that there is a Christian mayor in Bethlehem is only window dressing... It's a show used to convince the world that Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity is still a Christian town. It is not Christian. It is Muslim in every regard." — Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, November 21, 2022.

• This Christmas, it is important to remember that, due to ongoing but silenced persecution, Christianity is on the verge of disappearing in the place of its birth -- Bethlehem, the scene of the Nativity. It is a silence that gives the Christmas song "Silent Night," an ominous meaning.

After noting that there “has been a marked uptick in religiously motivated attacks by Palestinian Muslims on Christians in Bethlehem,” a Nov. 21, 2022 report offers some examples:

Just over two weeks ago, a Muslim man was accused of harassing young Christian women at a Forefathers Orthodox Church in Beit Sahour near the city of Bethlehem. Soon after, the church was attacked by a large mob of Palestinian men who hurled rocks at the building while congregants cowered inside. Several of the congregants were injured in the attack.

The Palestinian Authority, responsible for security in the area, did nothing.

In October, unidentified gunmen shot at the Christian-owned Bethlehem Hotel after a video on social media associated the hotel with a display that included cardboard cutouts of a Star of David and a Menorah. …

No arrests were made in connection with the shooting.

Perhaps the greatest shock to the community came in April when the Palestinian evangelical pastor, Johnny Shahwan, was arrested by the Palestinian Authority security forces on charges of ‘promoting normalization’ with Israel. …

In January, a large group of masked men carrying sticks and iron bars attacked Christian brothers, Daoud and Daher Nassar, on their farm near Bethlehem. The Palestinian courts have been working to confiscate the farm that has been owned by the family since the Ottoman Empire.

Although this report focuses on recent attacks, the persecution of Palestinian Christians is a longstanding problem.  As Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, said:

Unfortunately, these recent attacks against churches are not new. Christians have been under attack in Bethlehem for many, many years. There have been bombings. There are near-constant physical attacks against Christians. They’re going on a regular basis, ever since the Palestinian Authority took over.

His words echo those of Kamal Tarazi, an elderly Christian man from Gaza who in 2019 said: “The moment they [Hamas] took control [of the Gaza Strip], they started persecuting us, ruining our churches and forcing Christians to convert to Islam.”  Before fleeing, he tried to resist the Islamist takeover, including by calling on Muslims and Christians to unite against Hamas.  As a result, “I was jailed several times. Do you know what a Hamas prison is? It is pure torture.”

Even mere numbers—which are inherently objective—confirm that Christians living under the PA are experiencing some sort of unpleasantry unexperienced by Muslims: In 1947, Christians made up 85% of the population of Bethlehem, an ancient Christian stronghold, whereas by 2016, they had declined to only 16%.

“In a society where Arab Christians have no voice and no protection it is no surprise that they are leaving,” Justus Reid Weiner, a lawyer acquainted with the region, said: “The systematic persecution of Christian Arabs living in Palestinian areas is being met with nearly total silence by the international community, human rights activists, the media and NGOs.”

This final point cannot be overstated: incidents of persecution are never reported by international media.  Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Christian Arab resident of Bethlehem emphasized that all of the most recent instances listed above were even under-reported within Israel itself, before adding:

This needs to be heard for the purpose of educating the Jewish world and the Christian world about the state of Bethlehem.  There are incidents happening constantly, whether it be neighbors against each other, or people in the streets, or even organizations and churches. Most times, it is a case of the Muslim community overpowering the minority, which is the Christian community.

Why is the persecution of Christians in Bethlehem and other PA-controlled territories so un- or under-reported?  Certainly it’s not because they experience less persecution than their coreligionists throughout the Muslim world, where the bulk of the world’s persecution of Christians occurs.

“The attacks by Muslims on Christians are often ignored by the international community and media, who seem to speak out only when they can find a way to blame Israel,” wrote the Muslim journalist Khaled Abu Toameh:

Another disturbing situation is that the leaders of the Christian community in the West Bank are reluctant to hold the Palestinian Authority and their Muslim neighbors responsible for the attacks. They are afraid of retribution and prefer to toe the official line of holding Israel solely responsible for the misery of the Christian minority.

But it doesn't stop the Qatari-funded Al Jazeera+ News from producing propaganda segments orchestrated to divert and scapegoat Israel and Jews for the phenomenon, exonerating Muslim anti-Christianism and replacing it with Jewish anti-Christianism: "Why Are Palestinian Christians Leaving Jesus’ Birthplace? [Pt. 1]"

Part 2 of the propaganda story is designed to vilify American, Evangelical Christians for supporting Israel and to break that support.

Open Doors, a human rights group that follows the persecution of Christians, reports that Palestinian Christians suffer from a “high” level of persecution, the source of which is “Islamic Oppression”:

Those who convert to Christianity from Islam, however, face the worst Christian persecution and it is difficult for them to safely participate in existing churches. In the West Bank they are threatened and put under great pressure, in Gaza their situation is so dangerous that they live their Christian faith in utmost secrecy….The influence of radical Islamic ideology is rising, and historical churches have to be diplomatic in their approach towards Muslims.

Christian life in Palestine (as in most Muslim societies) is no holiday

Christians in Muslim-dominated societies like Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem

"Today as Christmas is celebrated in song, gift-giving and remembering days of old, at the same time Christians are under tremendous threat, not only in the Middle East but in places like Pakistan, Sudan, Indonesia and beyond. Christmas celebrations are precious to us in terms of family, nostalgia, music and spiritual inspiration. But let's not forget our brothers and sisters around the world. Let's keep them in our prayers as we celebrate the coming of our Lord into this broken world."- Lela Gilbert, author, "Persecuted: the  Global Assault on Christians."

Lela Gilbert, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute residing in Jerusalem, contributes to the Jerusalem Post, Weekly Standard Online, National Review Online, and other publications. We recorded this interview with her in Southern California in the summer of 2016 in advance of the U.S. presidential election.

According to studies by the Pew Research Center, Newsweek, and the Economist, Christians are the world’s most widely persecuted religious group.

Many Americans do not understand that Christians today are victims in many parts of the world. Even many Western Christians, who worship and pray without fear of violent repercussions, are unaware that so many followers of Christ live under governments and among people who are often openly hostile to their faith. They think martyrdom became a rarity long ago.

Persecuted soundly refutes these assumptions. This book offers a glimpse at the modern-day life of Christians worldwide, recounting the ongoing attacks that rarely make international headlines.

As Western Christians pray for the future of Christ’s church, it is vital that they understand a large part of the world’s Christian believers live in danger. Persecuted gives documented accounts of the persecution of Christians in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and former Soviet nations. It contains vivid stories of men and women who suffer abuse because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and tells of their perseverance and courage..

"Persecuted" is far more than a thorough and moving study of this global pattern of violence—it is a cry for freedom and a call to action.



In an exclusive interview with Muslim journalist Khaled abu Toameh (at Gatestone Institute), the prominent Christian figure, Samir Qumsieh (who founded the private Nativity TV Station in Bet Sahour) accuses the Obama Administration of failing to combat ISIS and radical Islam. Qumsieh says he is convinced that President-elect Trump will "terminate" ISIS. Qumsieh discloses that a "Muslim mafia" has been stealing Christian-owned lands in the Bethlehem area.  

"I fear the day will come when our churches will become museums. It is my nightmare." — Samir Qumsieh.

• 

  Samir Qumsieh at work

  For the past four decades, Samir Qumsieh, who hails from a large and well-respected Christian family in the town of Bet Sahour, near Bethlehem, has fought for the rights of the region's miniscule Palestinian Christian minority. He has even dared to speak out against the subjugation of Christians living under the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
  
• He regularly receives death threats, and he has been the target of a petrol bomb attack.
  
• "The solution to extremism starts with the kindergarten, with elementary school. It begins with the churches, with the mosques and the school curricula. Curricula are very important – Jewish, Christian and Muslim ones. They should concentrate on accepting the 'other.' If this idea is adopted, the future generation will be liberal and open-minded." — Samir Qumsieh.
  
• "Every day we hear and see some radical Muslim clerics speaking strongly against Christians. Just recently, one of the sheiks was saying that Christian Copts should be slaughtered like sheep. Where is the Egyptian security? If I were in charge of Egyptian security, I would have this sheikh arrested immediately, and have him rot in a dark underground cell." — Samir Qumsieh.
  
• "To understand the severity of the situation is, let us recall that in the 1950s about 86% of the population of the Bethlehem area was Christian. Today, we are only 12%. In Israel, by contrast, we have 133,000 Christians and the figure is stable. Of course, I am worried about the future of Christians here." — Samir Qumsieh.

We recorded this interview in May through the assistance of Pastor Roger and Diane Cochran of Calvary Chapel in Long Beach, California. Pastor Roger was awaiting surgery to replace his heart-valve- and boasted pride that it was developed in Israel. Shortly after we recorded his testimony of support for Israel, he collapsed with ventricular fibrilation. We called an ambulance whose technicians saved his life, got him an expedited valve replacement, which enabled him to live an additional one-third year. We dedicate this story to the memory of Zionistic Christian Pastor Roger Cochran. May his memory be an inspiration for all.


Democracy Broadcasting subsists on your generous support. We need to replace our video editing computer, which was disabled by cyberattack. Please contribute for what we've given the world over these past 10-years, and for what you'll enable us to continue. May you be blessed with a safe 2017!

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No Christmas spirit in the West Bank: Israeli journalists banned from celebrations

No Christmas spirit in the West Bank: Israeli journalists banned from celebrations

By Khaled Abu Toameh in The Jerusalem Post

Palestinian journalists applaud the move as justification for "restrictions" imposed on Palestinian media by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority said on Tuesday that it expelled Israeli journalists who came to Bethlehem to cover Christmas celebrations.

The PA Ministry of Information said the decision was taken at the request of Palestinian journalists, who protested against the presence of their Israeli colleagues at Manger Square in the city.

The journalists who were kicked out of Bethlehem worked for Haaretz, i-24 News, Channel 1 and Arutz Sheva, the ministry said.

Palestinian journalists praised the PA police for ordering the Israelis out of the city.

Read the rest of Mr. abu Toameh's article in The Jerusalem Post



Christian journalist, Cheryl Hancock, reports on Christian issues in Israel and the Palestinian territories.  In this exclusive interview with Democracy Broadcasating, she claims that the Palestinian Authority persecutes and tolerates persecution of its Christians (and sympathetic Muslim) citizens under P.A. rule.  She alleges that Palestinian regimes are more tyrannical than some other Arab regimes. 

Exchanging gifts for Christmas

DemoCast seeks to conserve American traditions. Enjoy warmest wishes of the season with musical traditions we we videographed this holiday season.

Hollywood Holiday Sidewalk Serenade acapella by The Dickens Carolers of the Church of Scientology


"White Christmas" Dean Mora's Orchestra with Bing Crosby newphew- Johnny Holiday, Damon Kirsch, The Lindy Sisters, & Kayre Morrison. Composed by Irving Berlin.


Jonathan Stout's instrumental barbershop quartet plays Sweeney Todd's Barbershop party in Hollywood.


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American carolers inspire traditional holiday values - like giving

The spirit of the holiday season reminds us to revisit David Zucker's under-rated, conservative-themed, neo-classic, "An American Carol" starring Kelsey Grammer Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, and Kevin Farley released just 3-years ago and available on YouTube.



DemoCast strives to preserve Anglo-Saxon tradition. In the holiday spirit, we present, from the streets of East Hollywood, the libertarian Dickens Carolers of the Church of Scientology.


Donations are appreciated to reimburse our past and future efforts of enlightening you and your neighbors (to preserve the advantages of Western civilization).

Chankuah's lessons for today (hint: it isn't a Jewish version of Christmas)

Most people assume that Chanukah is the Jewish holiday equivalent to Christmas, just as Passover is the predecessor of Easter. South Park had some fun with this here.

But Hanukah Harry (Rabbi Moshe Parry of L.A.) teaches us that the story of Chanukah (which translates as re-dedication) is more about conservative dedication to Torah (bible) principles in the face of pressure to assimilation to multiculturalism among the Syrian Greeks for personal aggrandisement.



(Glossary: Torah= Biblical law; Eretz Yisoel = The land of Israel; Beis ha Migdash = The Holy Temple; Avraham Avinu = Abraham, our father; Shabbos= The sabbath; Bris milah = ritual circumcision; Kashrut= kosher dietary laws; Kohen Gadol= Great Priest; Avodah= devotional prayer; HaShem= the name of G-d).

So you see, remembering Judah and the Maccabees fighting to preserve God-given rights, liberty, and culture is a long-honored tradition we can take inspiration from to protect Israel and Anglo-Saxon culture in our own time.

New Year slaughter of Christians in Egypt shows reality to those with open eyes

 Video courtesy Vladtepesblogdotcom

New Year slaughter of Christians in Egypt shows we’re all in it together against Islamism

by Robin Shepherd

It will be interesting to observe the international response following last night’s slaughter of at least 21 Christians by Islamists outside a Church in Alexandria, Egypt. If it had been the other way around (heaven forfend that it had been carried out by Jews) there would have been mass protests around the world, condemnations from leading politicians and, given that this comes on the heels of other such massacres, could well have ended up with a resolution at the United Nations.

But don’t hold your breath. The politically correct multi-culturalism that holds sway across Europe and increasing sections of the United States (I hardly need mention the UN) dictates that we must always beware of enflaming Muslim sensitivities. The great diversionary spectre of “Islamophobia” silences all that go before it.

But last night’s bomb attack in Egypt is no isolated event. During a Christmas Day mass in the Philippines 11 were injured in a bombing in a Christian chapel. Also in December 38 Christians were slaughtered by Muslim extremists in Nigeria, a country where church burnings are starting to become commonplace. In Iraq last Autumn 68 Christians were massacred in the Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad by a group threatening that Christians will be “exterminated”. Across the Middle East, Christians increasingly live in fear of their Muslim neighbours, and the region’s Christian population is diminishing fast. So at what point does a series of “isolated events” start to form a pattern?

The best answer to that question is: at the point when you have opened your eyes sufficiently to see what is really going on. The pattern has been observable for many years now and it is something which proceeds directly from an Islamist ideology whose central precepts enjoy widespread support across the Islamic world.

It is precisely at this stage in the discussion that we should (but, due to multiculturalist pathologies, do not) bring in the question of Israel and the Jews. For what we are now seeing against Christians has been going on with regard to the Jews for decades. The genocidal anti-Semitism long rife across the Middle East (and long ignored by the media) forms part of a much bigger picture. In common with previous totalitarianisms, it may be Jews first, but there are plenty of others on the list of targets.

Jews, Christians and, indeed, liberal secularists are all on that list, and no amount of denial or appeasement will take them off it.

21 Christian families lost a loved one last night in Egypt. For them, no more tragic start to 2011 could be imagined. For the rest of us, we can either count our lucky stars, put it out of our minds, and move on, or we can mourn the dead, face the new reality, and pull together as one to fight it. So which is it to be?

Assyrian Int'l News Agency: Egyptian Security Guards Withdrew One Hour Before Church Blast, Say Eyewitnesses

On January 6 2010, just before the Christmas Eve Massacre in Nag Hammadi, security withdrew its forces from guarding the church a couple of hours before the shooting of the Coptic congregation took place.
Attorney Mamdouh Nakhla, Head of Al-Kalema Human Rights Center, wondered if state security is an accomplice or just too cowardly to confront the Islamists in Egypt who carried out the Church massacre.
"The crime is local and those who committed it are known, in addition there was a demonstration on the same day using the same rhetoric like al-Qaida. The Al Mujahedeen website threatens to repeat the attack in more churches. The site has addresses of churches and even how to make a bomb. Does security not know about it?"

"Anyone who says that it was a foreign or Israeli plot is trying to play down the crime and is trying to clear those murderers of this massacre, and I consider them their accomplices," said Nakhla.

Nakhla said that he was preparing a complaint to be presented to President Mubarak asking for the resignation of Interior Minister Habib el Adly for failing in his duty of protecting the Copts, and for not telling the truth by saying that it was a suicide attack by one individual, when everyone could see the detonated car, just to clear his security personnel of the responsibility of letting the Skoda park in front of the church. "This 100KG bomb could not have been transported by one individual as the Interior Minister wants us to believe."

Muslims near Luxor gun-down 7 innocent Coptic Christmas church-goers; Muslim pogrom destroyed 80% of local Coptic businesses & pharmacies

(Jihad Watch)  Three men in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers in southern Egyptian as they left a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas, killing at least seven people in a drive-by shooting, the church bishop and security officials said.
The attack took place in the town of Nag Hamadi in Qena province, about 40 miles from the famous ancient ruins of Luxor. A local security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that seven were dead and three seriously wounded.

Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hamadi Diocese told The Associated Press six male churchgoers and one security guard were killed. He said he had left St. John's church just minutes before the attack.

"It is all religious now. This is a religious war about how they (Muslims) can finish off the Christians in Egypt," he said. 

Hugh Fitzgerald comments

The Copts are the unswerving, the descendants of the original Egyptians who did not, when the Arabs came, give up and accept Islam. Enduring the humiliation, degradation, and permanent physical insecurity of the dhimmi status, many Copts not unsurprisingly fell away, gave up, accepted Islam, took Arab names and thought of themselves no longer as Copts but as Arabs. They forgot their own past. But that was not enough for some Muslims, and there were episodes of mass forced conversions intermittently over the past thousand years.

In November, an unidentified man raped a Muslim 12-year old Qena province girl.  She told police that she was only certain that her attacker wore a black jacket, nothing beyond. To preserve the girl's honor (in the face of Muslim law disregarding a woman's testimony against a Muslim men) it is alleged, a libel was concocted with a Coptic Christian perpetrator.

Reports estimate that 10 pharmacies and 55 shops and businesses in Farshoot and several nearby villages were vandalized, torched or damaged during the few days of Muslim, anti-Copt riots which began on Nov. 21. In Farshoot alone, about 80 percent of Coptic businesses were destroyed, which translates to about over $1 million in damages.

Muslims rationalized the massacre as revenge against Coptics for the rumoured rapist's ethnicity.

Media falsely reporting facts about Bethlehem at Christmas

Aaron Klein exposes international coverage of ancient Christian city

Like clockwork, every year at this time reporters file misleading and, in some cases, outright false reports about the state of Christmas in Bethlehem.

They claim Israeli policies have wreaked havoc on the city's economy and that Israel is responsible for the massive flight of Christians from Bethlehem. Yet the news media completely ignore Muslim intimidation and get their facts wrong on documented history and the true state of affairs in this ancient town.



As an example, Al-Jazeera's video story, "Israel's policy leaves family stranded" here intentionally distorts both history and facts.

Investigative reporter Aaron Klein debunks al-Jazeera's myths in his complete story on World Net Daily.

Bethlehem Christians flee religious persecution by Muslims; Journalists blame Israel, mollify world to opposing Jihadism

Muslim mafia's intimidating and usurping of Christians' lives, homes, businesses responsible for Christian emigration. Journalists wrongly laying blame on Zionism distract world from appropriate reaction, response.

Even the New York Times had to admit that business is strong in Bethlehem. So who is making life so harsh for many Christians that they are forced to flee?

Correspondent Aaron Klein in WorldNetDaily writes "Media's 'cold deceit' descends upon Bethlehem"

...the mainstream media, which, like clockwork, file misleading reports from this important Christian city every year. They completely ignore Muslim intimidation of Christians while blaming Israel for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion.

Please read it all.

The reality of Muslim on Christian crime was addressed by CBN News several weeks ago:


Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.

"There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the [Muslim] mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station.

"It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, and then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses, and he runs away," Qumsiyeh told WND, speaking from his hilltop television station during a recent interview.

Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population.

One Christian Bethlehem resident told WND last year her friend recently fled Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization.

A February Jerusalem Post article cited the case of Faud and Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it, Faud was beaten by gunmen.

One religious novelty store owner I met recently told me Muslim gangs regularly deface Christian property.

"We are harassed, but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims. This is why Christians are running away."

Bush's New Year Wish-list: New Secretary of State?

DebkaFile reports that Pres. Bush was displeased with Secy of State Condoleeza Rice's endeavoring to go behind Israel's (and Pres Bush's) back to elicit U.N. supervision of Israel's Annapolis obligations. This was rumored as her seeking to bolster Israel's balking at her Annapolis concession and dhimmitude demands.

Debka publishes,"This incident led also to the first real falling-out between President George W. Bush and his secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. He blamed her for seeking to bolster the Annapolis declaration by Security Council endorsement, thereby exposing the hyped-up event to the world as a charade and his own declaration as too flimsy to stand up."

Ed Lasky makes the argument (augmented at Atlas Shrugs) for the case for replacing Rice in this letter :

"Many people have begun to express frustration and disillusionment with our Secretary of State Condi Rice. Now she reaches a new low.

Let's recap: Condi forced Israel to allow Palestinian elections which brought Hamas to power, pushed Israel to turn over one of the Gaza Strips' borders to Egypt-which has played an active role in the smuggling of arms and the empowerment of Hamas, has been pushing Israel to ignore the Road Map and leapfrog (an Evil Knievel leap in the dark) into final status negotiations with the Palestinians, and has generally acted in a way that has facilitated war, not peace.

Now she blames her lack of previous efforts on Ariel Sharon! Now she is active in the Middle East because...why....well , to paraphrase, Ariel Sharon was incapacitated by a massive stroke and now lies in a coma? How diplomatic. Condi Rice must be breathing a sigh of relief now that Ariel Sharon lies near death.

Of course, Condi Rice ignores the Palestinian failures: their teaching of terrorism, their violation of all previous agreemnts with Israelis, the corruption that allowed the rise of Hamas, the use of religion to teach hatred, the active efforts to create a terrorist infrastructure, the failure to prepare their people for compromise and peace?

She also ignores the fact that Ariel Sharon took the painful steps to destroy the settlements in the Sinai when this land was turned over to Egypt in the wake of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt and tat Areild Sharon also made the decision to uproot the settlements in the Gaza." - Ed Lasky

Now, ignoring Iran's avowed threats to destroy America's ally Israel, DebkaFile reports that Secy Rice offers Iran more carrot than stick - better relations for suspending uranium enrichment and abandoning “confrontation.”

The Bush administration has so far made the running by giving Iran a clean
bill of health from US intelligence and this week’s approval of a shipment of
nuclear fuel from Russia for Iran’s atomic reactor in Bushehr. Both the US and
Russian presidents declared that following this delivery, Iran had no further
need to develop its own uranium enrichment capabilities.

Losing patience with the lack of reciprocity from Tehran, Secretary Rice and Ambassador Schulte outlined the script which Washington expects Iran to follow. While Rice emphasized the potential rewards – and appealed for suspension rather than halting enrichment - Schulte stressed Iran must acknowledge that it had a
nuclear program up until 2003. “ And we’re looking for them to cooperate fully
with the agency in understanding their current activities.”

This was a warning that if Iran was shown to have resumed its weapons program after 2003,Washington would revise its intelligence estimate, bringing tough sanctions back into the foreground of the crisis.

At the same time, the Iranians may well interpret these statements as reflecting Washington’s despair of achieving much from its efforts for an accommodation before the Bush administration’s tenure runs out. This assessment would tend to toughen their bargaining position.

Christmas Time for the Jews

Israel gets a lump of coal for Christmas. Agence France Presse swallowed the Palestinian propagandists' bait by disseminating this photo of a separation-fence rioter dressed as Santa Claus being reigned-in by an Israeli soldier.

Israel needs the barrier of electric fencing, barbed wire and concrete walls built across Judea and Samaria to stop Palestinian attackers from infiltrating the country and attacking Jewish people and communities.

Since TV viewers won't get to enjoy singer Darlene Love making a new, annual performance on The Late Show with David Letterman this year (due to writers' union strike), we present you Darlene showing you a fantasy of lonely Zionists around Christmas-time. Robert Smigel's Bix Pix-produced claymation from his Saturday Night Live, TV Funhouse slot. Enjoy the video:

"Christmas-Time for the Jews"