to "dhimmi no more", about Christians Arabs' animosity towards Israelis:

Submitted by Mot'ke (Israel), Jan 4, 2010 at 00:24

A possible, simple explanation: In Palestine and Egypt the population is exposed to propaganda. No moral man, whatever his/her religion is, would be inclined to love a people (Israel) who commit monstrosities every day (snitching organs, cutting down olive trees, shooting babies, demolishing houses, divesting sewage into palestinian water sources, etc.

These are lies and half-lies that are small enough to be believed by rational minds).

Another case which is very surprising: Most Copts in Egypt and outside Egypt that have no like for israel. I was even surpised to watch Father Zakaria Botros who [...] It isn't surprising at all. Would *you* love somebody whose national emblem is the swastika? (I'm referring to the caricatures in Egyptian newspapers). It only proves that Father Zakaria is a moral man (of course, he's basing his stance on false data, but he has no way of knowing this (as many other people in the world)).

My only explanation here is that the al-nakba al-falastiniyya was also felt by not just by Muslims in the Middle East but also by Christian Arabs. They not only "felt" it. The feel it this very hour. The Palestinian narrative, when told, so expertly, is so emotional, stirring, that only a man whose heart is of stone won't be swept away. I know very little Arabic, yet still when I hit an Arabic station on my radio I can almost shed a tear when I hear the beautiful lamentations and chants about dead shahids and how the "zionists" are raping the motherland (with dragons they drop form airplanes). Heart rending.

I understand that during the civil war in Lebanon [Pierre Jumayyil], > the president of Lebanon at that time felt that Christian Arabs have nothing in common with Israel and that Well. I didn't know of that. On the one hand, it's a pity some alliance didn't occur between Israelis and Christians. Could have been very romantic. Heart rending. On the other hand, it'd have caused so many troubles... so it's better without.

Incidentally, I've heard that after the 1967 war the Christians in Bethlehem asked to be annexed to Israel. I don't know the details. But the fact that I, an Israeli Jew, accidentally heard of this, and that I don't know the details, perhaps proves that Israelis don't care much about playing "big brother" to the Christians. Perhaps because we have never seen them as weak. I don't even think many Israelis are aware Christians in Bethlehem today are driven out of it.

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