It’s a watershed moment. Not a single word in the article points to blaming anyone but Muslims.
The ransacking of a Catholic convent and an adjacent Rosary Sisters school during Hamas’ sweep to power broke more than wood and plaster. It signaled the end of a relatively peaceful, if sometimes uneasy, relationship between Gaza’s 1.4 million Muslims and 3,000 Christians.
Despite promises of protection by Hamas leaders, Christians fear more attacks, and some say they want to leave. Gaza’s flock already has been hit hard by emigration in recent years, and a new exodus could remove what is left of one of the Arab world’s oldest Christian communities.
“We don’t trust them. Our time is coming,” said a Greek Orthodox Christian, who in the current climate of fear asked not to be identified.
No one has claimed responsibility for damaging the convent and school, and Hamas vehemently denied involvement.
However, signs point to Muslim extremists rather than ordinary vandals. A statue and picture of the Virgin Mary – who is held in high esteem by Muslims – were left untouched.
[…] Missak suggested the vandals were acting on their own. “They were ignorant people. They don’t represent all Muslims,” he said.
Other Christians blame Hamas – at the least for not preventing the destruction. One woman said only Hamas militants could enter the convent during the fighting, when Gaza’s civilians were pinned down in their homes.
The attack marked a watershed for Gaza’s Christians, crushing the belief that a shared Palestinian identity would override Muslim-Christian differences.
Bernard Sabella, a researcher who has conducted surveys among Palestinian Christians, said the problem needs to be dealt with urgently because it tears at the fabric of Palestinian society. “People think seriously about migrating after such sectarian acts,” he said.
Oh, there’s where I got the word “watershed” from. Actually, it’s not a watershed moment for Gaza’s Christians. They’ve known about their dhimmi status for decades. It’s the AP that’s finally discovering the discrimination against Christians in the Muslim world. Whoops, sorry, there is no discrimination of Christians. It’s the Religion of Tolerance.™
I guarantee you will not hear from PC-USA about this, nor will you hear from any other major Christian group about the discrimination and terror tactics used against the Christian minority. Because they can’t blame Israel for it. Yet.
Actually, if they had looked honestly at Beit-Lechem, they would have known that this was the case from the moment that Arafat (Y’S) was granted power over his main victims (the Arabs – both Muslim and Xtian).
Unfair, Meryl. The PCUSA and the Episcopalians will give this every bit as much attention as they have the destruction of the Christian community in Bethlehem.
You sure lay on thesarcasm with a heavy hand, Alex.
The Christians have been good little dhimmis and been as hostile towards Israel as any Muslim Arab could wish. This is their reward, to be driven out of the PA controlled, and now Hamas controlled, areas. They never bothered to read that essay that starts “First they came for the Jews…”
This is happening all over the Middle East, indeed all over the Muslim world. Soon the only state in the Middle East where Christians will be able to live without fear of persecution will be the Jewish one. The irony is too much.