Christian Group Responds to Report

The following statement was released by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem <meid@icej.org.il> in response to a report by the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group. Views expressed are not necessarily those of IRIS or its staff.

Leiah and Jason Elbaum

IRIS

<http://www.netaxs.com/people/iris/>

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN EMBASSY JERUSALEM PRESS STATEMENT

ICEJ RESPONSE TO PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING GROUP'S REPORT

January 20, 1998

The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group today issued a report analysing widely-reported allegations of Palestinian Authority persecution of Christians under PA rule.

The PHRMG chose to focus attention on the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, which it says has been driven by political motivation to make unsubstantiated allegations about the plight of Christians under the PA.

In response to the report, the ICEJ issued the following statement.

We respect the work of Bassam Eid's PHRMG, which we have quoted in the past, even though it is a self-avowed supporter of Palestinian nationalism. Unfortunately, this report taints their otherwise good record of human rights monitoring and activism among the Palestinian Arab communities. In essence, it appears to be more a work of apologetics for the Islamic-dominated Palestinian Authority than a credible analysis of the persecution issue we have raised.

We are deeply disturbed that the PHRMG has apparently taken a political decision to play down violations against converts from Islam. We were approached by Muslim converts with stories of harassment, imprisonment, and torture at the hands of the PA police and radical Muslims. We verified their stories and reported on them, realising that we may have been their last resort for help. Since then, the PA has essentially confirmed our charges, most notably in the December 23 statement noted in the PHRMG report, confirming that the PA has adopted Islamic sharia law, together with its serious ramifications for Christian converts from Islam.

While many facts are not in dispute, the conclusions drawn are at great odds. The PHRMG acknowledges widespread human rights abuses by the PA, but does not believe there is a specific targeting of Christians. We maintain that converts to Christianity now constitute a new category of human rights abuse victims by any reasonable and honest monitoring standard.

The ICEJ has been just one of several voices raising the issue of Christian maltreatment by the PA. We do not control the media. Such respected publications as the London Telegraph, the London Times, the Washington Times and the Jerusalem Report have reported on the subject. The PHRMG says these reports persist despite denials by "every major Christian group in Palestine", denials which it says "provide a balance to claims by the ICEJ". The real reason for these denials may lie, however, in Christian Arab attempts to survive in a Muslim society, and under a repressive regime.

Even so, the carefully-worded denial by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (mentioned in the report) stated that: "On the other hand, yes. There might be some isolated incidents or isolated clashes. There might also be violations on the part of low-level officials".

The problem is in the response of high-level PA officials, including Yasser Arafat, Hanan Ashrawi and others, who have been personally confronted on this issue, to no avail. Thus we are left with the disturbing response by the PA's ministry of information, which stated that "the Palestinian people are also governed by sharia law... according to sharia law, applicable throughout the Muslim world, any Muslim who declares changing his religion or declares becoming a believer is committing a major sin punishable by capital punishment... the PNA cannot take a different position on this matter. The norms and traditions will take care of such situations" (Dec 23, 1997).

The PHRMG says the spread of reports of Christian harassment "distract attention from the real human rights issues in Palestine" and goes on to say that "unfortunately, the average Palestinian does not have the support of a powerful alliance of American Christian groups to plead his case". The implication is that the ICEJ is only interested in the welfare of Christians among the Palestinian Arab population.

Yet for many years, the ICEJ's charitable work and social assistance programmes have also reached out to all segments of the Palestinian Arab community. Furthermore, since the PA attained autonomy, ICEJ publications have regularly highlighted the plight of "average" Palestinians living under Yasser Arafat's rule. Not surprisingly, we as Christians are keenly concerned about the situation faced by our fellow believers. This has not stopped us, however, from repeatedly focusing attention on repressive measures taken by PA officials against ordinary people, whatever their faith. As stated above, we have at times quoted PHRMG material in this regard.

The PHRMG says a government report on Christian persecution was "leaked by the Prime Minister's Office to the Jerusalem Post and International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem" in October 1997. The report in question was not "leaked" to us. It was released by the Prime Minister's Office, published in the Jerusalem Post and widely circulated on the Internet, where we accessed it and readily passed it on to the PHRMG at its request.

Finally, the report implies that the Christian Embassy is missionising among Palestinian Arabs, and turning them into Zionists. The fact is that of all the Muslim converts who came to us for help, we were not involved in any of their conversions or change in political views, which occurred long before we met them. It is unfortunate that they have to come to us for lack of an honest, credible and effective human rights organisation among their own population when it comes to persecution of Christians.

For more information call Patrick Goodenough or David Parsons, on (+972) 2-5631418 or (+972) 2-5669823.

ENDS

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