How does CATC2012 respond to PA treatment of Palestinian Christians?

Dexter Van Zile reported this week, that a week after PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad addressed CATC, the PA informed Palestinian church leader Stephen Khoury that his church “lacked the authority to function”, as a religious institution in the PA.

The church can still gather to pray, for now, but the PA’s decision conveyed on Saturday will have a real impact on the members of First Baptist, which endured numerous bomb attacks during the First Intifada.

“They said that our legitimacy as a church from a governmental point of view is not approved,” said Khoury’s son, Steven, who serves as an assistant pastor at First Baptist. “They said they will not recognize any legal paper work from our church. That includes birth certificates, wedding certificates and death certificates. Children are not even considered to be legitimate if they don’t have recognized paperwork.”

The irony, Steven said, is that the PA’s announcement comes right after the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference.

Many people have picked up on this irony, as the PA’s Prime Minister Salam Fayyad himself addressed CATC, just days before this decision came to light. Bear in mind, CATC was organised by Bethlehem Bible College, which is an evangelical Bible college. Indeed, last month Eastern Orthodox Christians on a web forum belittled CATC for being evangelical and not Orthodox, and therefore not truly representing Palestinian Christianity.

In response, CATC organisers Porter Speakman and Munther Isaac have written an article to the concerns raised about CATC and the timing of the decision about Khoury’s church.

Speakman and Isaac write:

Unlike traditional churches like the Greek Orthodox and Catholics, Evangelical churches in the Palestinian Territories are not officially recognized and therefore things like marriage documents are not considered legitimate by government authorities. They have the freedom to worship, but are not “official.”

They continue:

For the last few years, there have been many discussions between Evangelical church leaders, including those who organized and spoke at the Christ at the Checkpoint, and officials from the PA.

If the PA and CATC leadership have been in discussion, it has not born any fruit. The PA does not consider Palestinian evangelical Christians to be legitimate at all.

However, it appears that both parties consciously decided to oppose pro-Zionist theology in public.

This would explain why Salam Fayyad was not publicly challenged at all by anyone at CATC, as he gave his address to the conference.

This is Munther Isaac’s introduction to Fayyad:

“Palestinian Christians have always enjoyed the support of the Palestinian leaders. We worship with freedom and exercise our rights like all Palestinians. To emphasise this, we are deeply honoured to have the support of prime minsiter of the Palestinian Authority, Dr Salam Fayyad. Since 2007, Dr Salam has worked so hard to prepare Palestine for statehood, and his efforts in building the Palestinian economy and institutions have been described as ‘absolutely first-class, professional, courageous and intelligent’. Above all, Dr Fayyad is a man of vision, and his vision is one of prosperity and peace for the Palestinian people. And it is only fitting that his name in Arabic literally means ‘among them peace’. It is my privilege and honour to invite to us here, to the stage to speak to us, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Dr Salam Fayyad.

So Munther Isaac does not mention the PA discrimination against evangelical Christians, despite being a Palestinian evangelical at a Palestinian evangelical conference.

Consequentially, the attitude of the CATC towards Fayyad was deferential:

Speakman and Isaac further write in their article, about Palestinian churches:

The recognition does not depend entirely on the PA, and the input of the churches already recognized is as equally important. In addition, the congregational nature of the Evangelical churches and the absence of a recognized hierarchy complicate things.

This seems odd. If the recognition does not depend entirely on the PA, then who else does it depend on? Surely it does depend on the PA. It appears as if Speakman and Isaac are trying to play down the responsibilty of the PA, in the issue of church recognition. Here is their rationalisation, for inviting Salam Fayyad to CATC:

This is why efforts by Christ at the Checkpoint to highlight the Evangelical Palestinian church are so important. Having Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad come for the second time in as many conferences to speak and to see first hand what the Bethlehem Bible College and local churches are doing helps, not hinders, the churches efforts for recognition. In addition, the issue of seeking recognition for Evangelical churches in Palestine and in Israel was openly discussed during the conference.

It ought to say something, though, that Salam Fayyad has already been invited to CATC back in 2010, he then met with CATC organisers and Palestinian evangelicals, and nothing changed regarding recognition of evangelical churches. Two years later, Fayyad again is invited, and no progress has been made on the issue.

One of the stated CATC conference goals in English was to “[e]mpower and encourage the Palestinian church”. In order to do so, CATC will need to speak up for the rights of Palestinian Christians.

If they can link this to criticism of the Israeli government, then they will do so. However, if speaking up for the rights of Palestinian evangelical believers requires open criticism of the PA and of Salam Fayyad’s leadership, then will CATC provide this criticism?

Criticising the PA would be awkward for CATC’s image. Doing so may mean that others will accuse them of being Zionists. Sooner or later, CATC will have to decide which is more important – their anti-Zionist theology and image, or their care for the plight of the Palestinian church.

One day after CATC2012, pro-Israel church deemed “no longer legitimate” by PA

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 ended 9th March 2011. The conference programmer was Stephen Sizer, who wishes to use police resources to silence critics of his views.

It invited the Palestinian Authority prime minister Salim Fayyad, and the PFLP-supporting mayor of Bethlehem Victor Batarseh. Batarseh was blacklisted by the USA for funding the PFLP. Camera notes:

The PFLP, one of the largest factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) after Fatah, staged 122 attacks, murdering 18 Israelis, in 1991 alone. In 2006, the PFLP criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for condemning a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, claimed responsibility for attacking Israeli border guards after a failed attempt to kidnap a soldier, and reportedly joined with Palestinian Islamic Jihad in terrorist attempts.

Only last month, Batarseh attended a PFLP-led commemoration of the life of its founder George Habash, whom Time Magazine has called “Terrorism’s Christian Godfather.”

We previously noted how CATC 2010 welcomed Bethlehem governor Abdul Fattah Hamayel, a former Fatah member who recently put a man on trial for criticising PA medical services. We wondered why Christ at the Checkpoint was associating itself with these authoritarian, pro-violence figures.

This week we have discovered some appalling news from the Palestinian Authority which is overseen by the likes of Fayyad, Batarseh and Hamayel. Algeimer now reports:

A week after Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told an audience of Evangelical Protestants from across the world that his government respected the rights of its Christian minorities, officials from the Palestinian Authority have informed Bethlehem pastor Rev. Naim Khoury that his church lacked the authority to function as a religious institution under the PA.

The church can still gather to pray, for now, but the PA’s decision conveyed on Saturday will have a real impact on the members of First Baptist, which endured numerous bomb attacks during the First Intifada.

“They said that our legitimacy as a church from a governmental point of view is not approved,” said Khoury’s son, Steven, who serves as an assistant pastor at First Baptist. “They said they will not recognize any legal paper work from our church. That includes birth certificates, wedding certificates and death certificates. Children are not even considered to be legitimate if they don’t have recognized paperwork.”

The irony, Steven said, is that the PA’s announcement comes right after the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference. This conference, which took place from March 5 through March 9, 2012 was a gathering of approximately 600 Evangelical Protestants from across the globe (mostly from the United States) to discuss the theology of Christian Zionism, which some Evangelicals believe increases the prospect of violence in the Middle East and gives support to Israeli policies that they do not like.

During the opening night of the conference, Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad told the assembly that his government respected the rights of Christians. Palestinians celebrate religious holidays together, PA officials attend Christmas celebrations and even attend Midnight Mass for Christmas, Fayyad said.

Russ Resnik writes:

After a further conversation with Pastor Steven Khoury, I realize that the church was told that the Palestinian Authority no longer considers them legitimate and will no longer accept any paper work from them, such as baptismal or wedding certificates.

Our question is this: why does the PA no longer consider Khoury’s church to be legitimate?

Wayne Hilsden challenges CATC2012 statement

Wayne Hilsden comments, somewhat cryptically:

I have received confirmation that what Sami Awad said in fact true. He will be able to explain that himself. But, as I stated previously, I was not aware that the organizers would publish any official statements and I was not personally involved in giving any input.

Compare this to the Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 statement:

 The Statement and Manifesto were presented to the conference participants on the last day but were only agreed on and endorsed by the Conference Organizers.

According to Hilsden, there was no statement on the last day shown to participants.

According to CATC, there was a statement on the last day shown to participants.

They can’t both be right.

Also, how can Sami Awad’s statement about Messianic input into the manifesto be true, if Wayne H was one of the Messianic leaders but did not edit or contribute to the manifesto? I doubt Richard Harvey did either, so how can this be true?

There are many contradictory posts, tweets and press releases coming from Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 speakers and organisers. What are we supposed to think?

Sami Awad claims that Messianic Jews were consulted about CATC2012 manifesto

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 organiser Sami Awad

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 organiser Sami Awad

Earlier today, we carried the news that Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 issued a conference statement without consulting the delegation of Messianic leaders it invited, yet still named these Messianics in their conference “manifesto”.

Here is the ending of the manifesto, as it still appears on Stephen Sizer’s blog (although not for much longer probably):

Now this section of the manifesto, reads on the CATC website:

The Statement and Manifesto were presented to the conference participants on the last day but were only agreed on and endorsed by the Conference Organizers.

Conference Organizers: John Angle, Alex Awad, Bishara Awad, Sami Awad, Steve Haas, Munther Isaac, Yohanna Katanacho, Manfred Kohl, Salim Munayer, Jack Sara, Stephen Sizer

This news was picked up by Israel Today, and then by the Jnews Reader. Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 organiser Sami Awad reacted to this news on Twitter.

Here is a series of tweets that followed:

Sami Awad claims that the Messianic leaders were consulted about the manifesto, and had “full freedom to edit and input” into the manifesto.

However, according to the information on the CATC website, only the organisers – including Sami Awad himself “agreed on” the conference manifesto.

Which version of events is correct?

Sami Awad’s version, or the official CATC version?

Furthermore, how is anyone supposed to take the CATC manifesto seriously, if the organisers themselves do not appear to agree upon the sequence of events that led to the publication of the manifesto?

How do Messianic CATC participants Wayne Hilsden, Evan Thomas and Richard Harvey feel about the way they are being portrayed by the conference organisers?

These are questions which deserve urgent attention, clarifications and explanations, because the information coming out of CATC2012 participants and organisers appears to be conflicting, confusing and contradictory.

Christ at the Checkpoint’s dubious “blessing”

Above: Victor Batarseh

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 is up-and-running. How did the opening night go? Let’s turn to Ryan Rodrick Beiler, a photographer for the left-liberal US Christian publication, Sojourners. He is a conference attendee and he has written up his account of the first night. He begins:

First, the mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh talked about the walls that divide people. There are walls that are seen, like the Israeli separation wall, and there are walls that are unseen, like hate and prejudice between ethnic and religious groups. “We want to put down these walls,” he said, “with your help.” And he made explicitly clear that he was challenging Christians, Muslims, and Jews when he asks for “your help”.

A professing Christian, Victor Batarseh is a well-known supporter of the Marxist terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The organisation was founded by George Habash, in 1967. Since then, the PFLP has been responsible for these attacks:

  • November 1, 2004: 16 year-old suicide bomber in Tel-Aviv: 3 dead, 38 wounded.
  • October 17, 2001: Assassinated Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.
  • June 17, 1976: Collaborated with Baader-Meinhof Gang (a West German terrorist group) to hijack an Air France passenger plane and land it in Entebbe, Uganda. Israeli commandos stormed the plane, killing the terrorists and freeing the hostages: 1 commando killed.
  • May 30, 1972: PFLP and Japanese Red Army members opened fire and threw grenades in the passenger terminal at Lod (now Ben-Gurion) International Airport: 26 killed, 78 wounded.

Earlier this year, Victor Batarseh attended a memorial for George Habash hosted by the PFLP. In other words, Batarseh appears to lend support to the anti-Jewish terror organisation, the PFLP.

Above: Jonathan Kuttab

However, Batarseh and his fellow antizionist conference attendees, were assured that they would be blessed, by CATC host Jonathan Kuttab. We learn from Beiler’s blog, subsequently:

“[M]y favorite quote came from Jonathan Kuttab, president of the board of Bethlehem Bible College. He acknowledged that many of those attending were taking a significant risk to their reputations, ministries, perhaps even their jobs, by attending such a conference. He made this promise: “There is a big blessing for you here.” He then quoted the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matthew 5:11) “If you are accused of anti-Semitism falsely, there is a great blessing for you,” Kuttab declared. “But if you are truly anti-Semitic, no blessing. Sorry.””

Clearly, Kuttab assumes that all attending CATC are not antisemitic, or even that their attendance at CATC means that participants cannot be antisemitic.

Given the hard evidence of antisemitism (including antisemitic quotes, antisemitic boycotts, and expressed support for antisemitic terrorists who persecute Jews) emanating  from the lips and pens of CATC organisers and participants, Jonathan Kuttab’s equation looks very dubious.

Ex-PFLP member tells CATC that Palestinians are being crucified

Dexter Van Zile tweets:

Victor Batarseh, Mayor of Bethlehem, former member of PFLP, the group that killed Leon Klinghoffer, spoke briefly at #CATC2012.

Batarseh told the attendees at #CATC2012 that the Palestinians are being cruficied, just like Jesus. Christ is imprisoned in this city.

The PFLP was formerly the PLF.

If you want to know who Leon Klinghoffer is, and how he was murdered by the PLF, see here:

Christ at the Checkpoint media organiser supports Islamic Jihad terror leader

Christ at the Checkpoint is implacably hostile to the Messianic world.

First we had Stephen Sizer saying that Messianic Jews in Israel expressing any support for Israel were an “abomination“, and then apologising for it when caught on camera – whilst still blaming the Messianic Jews who called him out on it.

Then we had Stephen Sizer boasting of Richard Harvey’s attending Christ at the Checkpoint, even though Sizer has openly implied that Richard Harvey is a heretic, for his Zionism.

We have also had Ben White smearing Messianic Jews who oppose Christ at the Checkpoint as an “extreme minority“, and also smearing Messianic Jewish pastor Tim Gutmann for expressing theological support for Israel.

Recently, Christ at the Checkpoint  2012 has claimed that concerned Messianic Jews are “undermining” reconciliation efforts.

Let’s meet the man spreading this message.

This is Porter Speakman:

This man is responsible for all the media for Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 – Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, and so forth.  He insists that Christ at the Checkpoint has nothing to do with antisemitism, and respects the Messianic Jewish believers.

He tweeted in support of a known antisemitic terrorist this week:

Hashtagging Khader Adnan: A Global Protest on Twitter by @JalalAK_jojo - http://tinyurl.com/6s38w78#KhaderAdnan

@NoahPollak @DidiRemez Israel is the one turning#KhaderAdnan into a hero by it’s administrative detentions. @CIFWatch #whatsthecharge
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Who is Khader Adnan? He is a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group which attacks Jews. Via CIF Watch, here is a video of Adnan encouraging more Palestinians to become suicide bombers:

Here is a photo of some of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s victims:

Tali Hatuel was just 34, when she was killed by members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose terrorists shot her and her family. She was 8 months pregnant. Her four daughters, Hila (11), Hadar (9), Roni (7) and Merav (2), also died in the attack.

PIJ victims:

Ayelet Shahar Levy, 28, and Hanan Levy, 33, Gad Marasha, 30, of Kiryat Arba; Yonatan Vermullen, 29, of Ben-Shemen, Ayelet Shahar Levy, 28, and Hanan Levy, 33, Ayelet Shahar Levy, 28, and Hanan Levy, 33, yala Levy, 39, of Elyachin; Smadar Levy, 23, of Hadera; Lydia Marko, 63, of Givat Ada; and Sima Menahem, 30, of Zichron Yaakov, Inbal Weiss, 22, of Zichron Ya’akov; Yehiav Elshad, 28, of Tel-Aviv; and Samuel Milshevsky, 45, of Kfar Sava Steven Kenigsberg, 19, of Hod Hasharon, Maharatu Tagana, 85, of Upper Nazareth; Michael Altfiro, 19, of Pardes Hanna; Shimon Edri, 20, of Pardes Hanna; Meir Fahima, 40, of Hadera; Aharon Revivo, 19, of Afula; Alon Goldenberg, 28, of Tel Aviv; Mogus Mahento, 75, of Holon; and Bella Schneider, 53,  Nisan Avraham, 26, David Smirnoff, 22, of Ashdod; Liron Avitan, 19, of Hadera; Avraham Barzilai, 19, of Netanya; Dennis Blumin, 20, of Hadera; Eliran Buskila, 21, of Hadera; Zvi Gelberd, 20 of Hadera; Violetta Hizgayev, 20, of Hadera; Ganadi Issakov, 21, of Hadera; Sariel Katz, 21, of Netanya; Vladimir Morari, 19, of Hadera; Yigal Nedipur, 21, of Netanya; Dotan Reisel, 22, of Hadera; David Stanislavksy, 23, of Netanya; Sivan Wiener, 19, of Holon; Zion Agmon, 50, of Hadera; Adi Dahan, 17, of Afula; Shimon Timsit, 35, of Tel-Aviv, Eliyahu Timsit, 32, of Sderot, Adrian Andres, 30, of Romania; Boris Shamis, 25, of Tel-Aviv; and Xu Hengyong, 39, of China, Moshe Hezkiyah, 21, Ari Weiss, 21, of Ra’anana, Osnat Abramov, 16, of Holon; Indelou Ashati, 54, of Hadera; Liat Ben-Ami, 20, of Haifa; Ofra Burger, 56, of Hod Hasharon; Ilona Hanukayev, 20, of Hadera; Suad Jaber, 23, of Taibe; Iris Lavi, 68, of Netanya; Eliezer Moskovitch, 40, of Petah Tikva; Nir Nahum, 20, of Carmiel; Esther Pesachov, 19, of Givat Olga; Aiman Sharuf, 20, of Ussfiyeh; Sergei Shavchuk, 35, of Afula; Anat Shimshon, 33, of Ra’anana; Sharon Tubol, 19, of Arad, Pedro Magram, 51, of Kfar Sava, and Gastón Perpiñal, 15, of Ra’anana; Madin Grifat, 23, of Beit Zarzir, Dror Weinberg, 38, of Jerusalem; Samih Sweidan, 31, of Arab al-Aramsha; Tomer Nov, 19, of Ashdod; Gad Rahamim, 19, of Kiryat Malachi; Netanel Machluf, 19, of Hadera; Yeshayahu Davidov, 20, of Netanya; Igor Drobitsky, 20, of Nahariya; David Marcus, 20, of Ma’aleh Adumim; and Dan Cohen, 22, of Jerusalem, Yitzhak Buanish, 46; Alexander Zwitman, 26; and Alexander Dohan, 33. Rabbi Yitzhak Arama, 40, Noam Apter, 23, of Shilo; Yehuda Bamberger, 20, of Karnei Shomron; Gavriel Hoter, 17, of Alonei Habashan; and Zvi Zieman, 18, of Reut,  Moshe (Maurice) Aharfi, 60, of Tel-Aviv; Mordechai Evioni, 52, of Holon; Andrei Friedman, 30, of Tel-Aviv; Meir Haim, 74, of Azor; Hannah Haimov, 53, of Tel Aviv; Avi Kotzer, 43, of Bat Yam; Ramin Nasibov, 25, of Tel-Aviv; Mazal Orkobi, 20, of Azor; Ilanit Peled, 32, of Azor; Viktor Shebayev, 62, of Holon; Boris Tepalshvili, 51, of Yehud; Sapira Shoshana Yulzari-Yaffe, 46, of Bat Yam; Lilya Zibstein, 33, of Haifa; Amiram Zmora, 55, of Holon; Igor Zobokov, 32, of Bat Yam. Foreign workers: Krassimir Mitkov Angelov, 32, of Bulgaria; Steven Arthur Cromwell, 43, of Ghana; Ivan Gaptoniak, 46, of Ukraine; Ion (Nelu) Nicolae, 34, of Romania; Guo Aiping, 47, of China; Li Peizhong, 41, of China; Mihai Sabau, 38, of Romania. Zhang Minmin, 53, of China died of her wounds on January 13. Eli Biton, 48, of Moshav Gadish; Shahar Shmul, 24, of Jerusalem Assaf Moshe Fuchs, 21, of Kibbutz Gvat, Kiryl Shremko, 22, of Afula; Hassan Ismail Tawatha, 41, of Jisr a-Zarqa; and Avi Zerihan, 36, of Beit Shean, Assaf Abergil, 23, of Eilat; Udi Eilat, 38, of Eilat; Boaz Emete, 24, of Beit She’an; and Chen Engel, 32, of Ramat Gan, Avner Mordechai, 58, of Moshav Sde Trumot, Mazal Afari, 65, of Moshav Kfar Yavetz Gabriel Uziel, 20, of Givat Ze’ev  Avihu Keinan, 22, of Shilo, Eyal Yeberbaum, 27, and seven-month-old Shaked Avraham, both of Negohot, south of Hebron; Ze’ev Almog, 71, of Haifa, and his wife Ruth Almog, 70; their son Moshe Almog, 43, and grandsons Tomer Almog, 9, and Assaf Staier, 11, all of Haifa; Zvi Bahat, 35, of Haifa; Mark Biano, 29, of Haifa, and his wife Naomi Biano, 25; Hana Francis, 39, of Fassouta; Mutanus Karkabi, 31, of Haifa; Sharbal Matar, 23, of Fassouta; Osama Najar, 28, of Haifa, cook; Nir Regev, 25, of Nahariya; Irena Sofrin, 38, of Kiryat Bialik; Bruria Zer-Aviv, 59, her son Bezalel Zer-Aviv, 30, and his wife Keren Zer-Aviv, 29, with their children Liran, 4, and Noya, 1, all of Kibbutz Yagur. Lydia Zilberstein, 56, George Matar, 59, of Haifa. Alon Avrahami, 21, of Or Yehuda, Adi Osman, 19, of Kfar Sava, and Sarit Schneor-Senior, 19, of Shoham Tali Hatuel, 34, and her daughters - Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, and Merav, 2 – Adaron Amar, 20,  of Eilat; Aviad Deri, 21, of Maale Adumim; Ofer Jerbi, 21, of Moshav Ben-Zakai; Ya’akov (Zelco) Marviza, 25, of Kibbutz Hama’apil; Kobi Mizrahi, 20, of Moshav Mata; and Eitan Newman, 21, of Jerusalem. Elad Cohen, 20, of Jerusalem; Aiman Ghadir, 24, of Bir Makhsur; Aviv Hakani, 23, of Ashdod; Za’ur (Zohar) Smelev, 19, of Ofakim; and Lior Vishinski, 20, of Ramat Gan. Tal Bardugo, 21, of Jerusalem, Nir Sami, 21, of Jerusalem, and Israel Lutati, 20, Gideon Rivlin, 50, of Ganei Tal, itzhak Buzaglo, 40, of Mishmar Hayarden; Aryeh Nagar, 37, of Kfar Sava; Yael Orbach, 28, of Rehovot; Ronen Reuvenov, 30, of Tel Aviv. Odelia Hubara, 26, of Jerusalem,  Dan Talasnikov, 21, of Nir Galim, Bi Shude, 46, from Jilin province in northeastern China. The Palestinian workers: Salah Ayash Imran, 57, of Khan Yunis, and Muhammed Mahmoud Jaroun, of Khan Yunis. Avi Karouchi, 25, of Beersheba, Yevgeny Reider, 28 of Hermesh Avihai Levy, 17, of Beit Hagai Aviad Mansour, 16, of Otniel, Dana Galkowicz, 22, of Kibbutz Bror Hayil, Dov, 58, and Rachel Kol, 53, of Jerusalem Michael Kaufman, 68, of Hadera; Pirhiya Machlouf, 53, of Hadera; Sabiha Nissim, 66, of Moshav Ahituv; Jamil Qa’adan, 48, of Baka al-Gharbiya; and Ya’acov Rahmani, 68, of Hadera, Genia Poleis, 66, of Hadera Larissa Grishchenko, 38, of Hadera, Haim Amram, 26, of Netanya; Alexandra Garmitzky, 65, of Netanya; Daniel Golani, 45, of Nahariya; Elia Rosen, 38, of Bat Hefer; and Keinan Tsuami, 20, of Petah Tikva. Yosef (Yossi) Shok, 35, of Beit Hagai, Philip Balhasan, 45, of Ashdod; Rozalia Beseneyi, 48, and Piroşca Boda 50, of Romania; Marcel Cohen, 73, of Nice, France; Ariel Darhi, 31, of Bat Yam; Victor Erez, 60, of Givatayim; Binyamin Haputa, 47, of Lod; David Shaulov, 29, of Holon; Lily Yunes, 42, of Oranit. Lior Anidzar, 26, of Tel Aviv. Daniel Wultz, 16, of Weston, Florida (USA).  Eilat residents Emi Haim Elmaliah, 32, Michael Ben Sa’adon, 27, and Israel Zamalloa, 26.  Liran Banai, 20, of Ashkelon, Shimon Mizrahi, 53 of Bat Hefer and Eli Wasserman, 51, of Alfei Menashe Maj. Eliraz Peretz, 32, of Eli and Ilan Sviatkovsky, 21, of Rishon Lezion.

Who will still argue that Christ at the Checkpoint is truly about reconciliation?

Colin Chapman: Hezbollah leader has a “very genuine” spirituality

Meet antizionist theologian and Hassan Nasrallah fan Colin Chapman, who will speak at Christ at the Checkpoint 2012:

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is the leader of Hezbollah.

Nasrallah has called for death to Israel, death to America, the destruction of the West, considers Jews as the enemies of Allah, and glorifies and encourages Islamist martyrdom.

Here’s a compilation of some of his diatribes:

Nasrallah is the leader of Hezbollah, a jihadist group which murders Jews around the world.

Here’s Colin Chapman writing about Nasrallah’s “very genuine” spirituality:

Sheikh Nasrallah is an incredibly charismatic and gifted orator who can hold crowds spellbound for hours (I have often watched him on television) not only by talking politics, but by expounding the Qur’an and communicating a very genuine Shi’ite spirituality.

Chapman also attempts to place Nasrallah’s vile comments about Israel within the context of “Israeli occupation” – a somewhat shakey argument which seems to ignore Hezbollah’s name and charter, the fact that Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, and Hezbollah’s suspected murder of Jews in Argentina in 1994.

Here Chapman has much in common with Ben White, who considers Hezbollah a nationalist rather than an Islamist movement, linking to an article in which Syrian Christian leader Elias Zahlawi encouraged his congregation to:

“Pray for the resistance, pray for Hassan Nasrallah. He is defending justice.”

Neither Colin Chapman or Ben White care to mention how Hezbollah was using Christian villages as shields in its war against Israel. Colin Chapman and Ben White frequently write for Fulcrum about the Middle East.

Chapman’s article on the Israel-Hezbollah war started off comparing Beirut with the Biblical account in Lamentations of the destruction of Jerusalem. Chapman’s is the father of modern UK Christian anti-Zionist movement, and his 1983 book Whose Promised Land? introduced Jewish power theories back into Christianity.

Ben White, meanwhile, has claimed that he understands why some peole are antisemites, and that Israel is to blame for two of the three causes of the rise of antisemitism in Europe.

It is unsurprising that both men will address Christ at the Checkpoint 2012, given that Stephen Sizer is conference organiser:

Christ at the Checkpoint 2010: Hamas and Hezbollah will soften themselves!

Colin Chapman on Hamas and Hezbollah at CATC 2010:

The Constitution of Hamas and the documents of Hizbollah are uncompromising in the way they state their objectives and the Islamic principles on which they are based. But from my reading of books about these organisations and recent press reports I am sure that there is a strong pragmatic streak in every Islamist leader. In the context of decades of violence in Northern Ireland, the breakthrough came when the British government stopped talking only with the moderates and started drawing the so-called extremists into the negotiations. It is desperately important that the outside world allows the space and time for Islamist ideology to be softened and modified by pragmatism.

Here are some excerpts from the Hamas charter that Chapman refers to:

“The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).

[...]

The day that enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In face of the Jews’ usurpation of Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. To do this requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses, both on the regional, Arab and Islamic levels. It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation so that they would confront the enemies and join the ranks of the fighters.

[...]

Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people. “May the cowards never sleep.”

[...]

The Islamic Resistance Movement consider itself to be the spearhead of the circle of struggle with world Zionism and a step on the road. The Movement adds its efforts to the efforts of all those who are active in the Palestinian arena. Arab and Islamic Peoples should augment by further steps on their part; Islamic groupings all over the Arab world should also do the same, since all of these are the best-equipped for the future role in the fight with the warmongering Jews.

Here is a Hezbollah document on resistance:

When Hizbullah resists in Lebanon against the Zionist Jewish occupation lying heavily on its soil in the South and West Bekaa, it is exercising its legitimate and sacred right that was once exercised by the French and American peoples.

Considering Hizbullah’s resistance to the Zionist Jewish occupation as “terrorism” is a kind of injustice, discrimination besides being a renunciation of the Bill of Human rights and the Charter of the United Nations.

Therefore, we call on the peoples of the world to distinguish between aggression, which is none other than terrorism, and the honest resistance that is the only way to deter the aggression and confront the terrorism resulting from that aggression. Israel is an aggressive entity that practices terrorism; occupation is one of the forms of terrorism. Hizbullah of Lebanon is a popular resisting trend against occupation and terrorism.

What reason do we have to believe Colin Chapman here, over the words of Hamas and Hezbollah?

What evidence do we have of Islamist ideology being, or becoming, pragmatist?