Palestinians Passionate About Gibson Film

[JohnLocke]

Palestinians Passionate About Gibson Film
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Megan Goldin –– Reuters
Thursday, April 1, 2004
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GAZA -- Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ" is all the rage among Palestinians, curious about complaints by Jews that it is anti-Semitic.
(….)
Only one percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are Christians while the other 99 percent are Muslims, who revere Jesus as a prophet but do not believe he was crucified.
The portrayal of a prophet in a film is forbidden under Islam. But many Palestinians, locked in conflict against Israel, say they hope "The Passion" will rouse angry emotions against Jews by Christian audiences around the world.
"People are calling me from everywhere in the West Bank -- from Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus -- to ask for copies of the movie," said the owner of a Gaza city video shop, which sells pirated copies of new release movies.
The shop owner, who declined to be identified, said he received a flood of telephone calls after placing an advertisement for the film in a leading Palestinian newspaper.
"The Passion of the Christ" had outsold other Hollywood blockbusters in Gaza and the West Bank's pirated video market, including "Matrix Revolutions" and "The Last Samurai."
(…) Others thought it was not gory enough. "We believe Jesus suffered more in his life from the Jews than what we saw in the movie," said Hanna Anton.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat watched a preview of the film at his West Bank headquarters earlier this month. Aides said he found the film "moving."
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Read the rest here.

[JohnLocke]

1. I hope this is an April Fool's Day joke.

[tinnypriv]

2. Why?

Pro-Israel people here want the support of these fanatic loons, and the Palestinians want to end that support, and reverse it into hostility.

What's the difference?

[elsaamo]

10. Are you saying that they are both more or less morally equal then?

[tinnypriv]

11. There is no tactical difference in the two positions I posted

The former is exploitation/"support" of a group because it is "good for the Jews", the latter because it is "good for the Arabs".¹

There are differences between the two groups competing for this "support", and differences in the way they go about it.

I see no need to go into them here, since the analogy was not intended to provoke that discussion.

As for "morals", that is in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think this sort of behaviour by the Palestinians quoted (including Arafat) is fairly idiotic.

-----

1. "Good" in the short-term, non-literal sense.

[Cassandra]

14. That's a very blanket statement

I don't welcome fundie support, either here or in Israel. Fundies give me the creeps.

[tinnypriv]

15. I apologise

I should have prefaced the comment with "some". For example, Muddle.

[forgethell]

3. It's probably not, though.

It seems perfectly consistent with other statements and actions by many Palestinians.

[ArkDem]

4. It must be an April Fool's joke.

There is no way that our peaceful Palestinian friends would have this kind of an attitude.

[madrchsod]

5. interesting..

the Muslims regard Christ as a prophet and thus a film should not be made of him..as for the rest who really cares.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

6. selective edit Mr. Locke - shameful

Your edit
(…) Others thought it was not gory enough. "We believe Jesus suffered more in his life from the Jews than what we saw in the movie," said Hanna Anton.

or the article

"In Gaza, some Palestinians exposed to daily bloodshed since a Palestinian uprising began in September 2000 complained that the film's graphic depiction of the crucifixion was too gruesome for their tastes. "It looked like more of a horror movie than a historical one," said one viewer, Mohammed Rezik Ahmed. Others thought it was not gory enough. "We believe Jesus suffered more in his life from the Jews than what we saw in the movie," said Hanna Anton."

again the opposing position was left out...

"But not all Palestinians were passionate about the film.

"It was nothing special but was simply something that will increase hatred against the Jews," said Ala, a librarian. (Additional reporting by Megan Goldin)"


Lord Black would give you a raise for that hatchet job.

Priceless

[tinnypriv]

7. Very nice catch

I'm sure the same poster will accuse the BBC of dishonesty on some subject any minute.

[bluesoul]

8. I guess

mr Locke knew why those parts were left out of the quoted part. As long as it suits his interests, no matter the truth and the complex (whole) picture. I am shocked, i tell you!

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

9. chirp, chirp John - what, no response?

shame

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

16. cluck, cluck

n/t

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

17. laying eggs are we? Too busy to explain yourself

cluck, cluck

[Tinoire]

12. Double puke

There are Christians in Palestine and they are known as the "Living Stones" of the Christian Church.

The Israeli government chased most of them out but those who remain are very vocal. Thank God for that.

===

<snip>

Among the most fervent players in the battle against Israeli occupation have been Palestinian Christians. Let us not forget articulate Palestinian spokeswoman, Hanan Ashrawi, and world literary critic and Columbia University professor, Dr. Edward Said. There's Roman Catholic Archbishop Michel Sabbah and Melkite Reverend and Author Elias Chacour. Among Palestinian revolutionary leaders, there are individuals like George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh. And it should be noted that six parliament seats were allocated to the 70,000 Christians of the occupied territories during 1996 elections.

My intent is not to bring about a divide between Palestinian Muslims and Christians. After all, they have always fought side by side - both struggling for Palestinian liberation. A liberation of land, dignity, human rights, and security. Rather it is to demonstrate how an important segment of Palestinian society has been completely ignored throughout this conflict.

The Israeli PR machine has cleverly turned this whole situation into a religious conflict, to its credit. Islam is widely viewed as a religion for violent fanatics, which is far from the truth of this serene religion. But which side would the West understandably side with?

Falwell and Robertson are eloquent when talking about Christian values, but why are they siding with Israelis in this human liberation struggle? And where were they when the Israelis besieged one of Christianity's holiest sites, the Church of the Nativity -- the place of Jesus's birth -- earlier this year? Where were they a couple weeks ago when more than a hundred Palestinian Christians demonstrated against Israeli home demolitions in the town of Beit Sahour -- the town where the Three Wise Men first saw the Star of Bethlehem?

<snip>

http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20021023052844366

======


Christians in the Holy Land Today

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight; and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:4-5

The Palestinian Christians of today are the descendants of early Christians, yet this is no cause for hubris. With a humility that befits their Lord, they accept it as a privilege that carries with it a responsibility for service. Palestinian Christians of today are the present generation of that great cloud of witnesses to Jesus who came before them and who will, God willing, come after them until Christ comes again. They and their ancestors have maintained a living witness to Jesus and his Resurrection from the beginning of the Church, and they should see themselves dynamically continuing such a witness in the land, witnesses to the Resurrection.
Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek
Director, Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem

Since 1948, the living stones of the Holy Land Church-the Palestinian Christians-have dwindled so rapidly that the continued existence of the community is endangered. These Christians, many of whom trace their ancestry to the first Church, have emigrated at increasing rates from the land of Jesus' birth under the pressure of Israeli occupation. In 1940, 45,000 Christians lived in Jerusalem. Today there are less than 10,000. In all of modern Palestine at the beginning of this century, Christians composed over 20 percent of the population. Today they amount to less than two percent . The local Church leaders struggle to maintain a strong community among those that remain. Yet as the elders continue to age and the younger generations seek brighter futures overseas, many fear that the once-vibrant Church of the Holy Land will be reduced to a mere series of museums: cold stones visited only by tourists.

The Exodus
A number of factors have contributed to the mass emigration of Palestinian Christians. The war of 1948, after which Israel declared independence in most of historic Palestine, saw the flight, and in some cases, expulsion and massacre, of thousands of Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike. When Israel occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip in 1967, conditions deteriorated further. Israel has maintained military closures in the West Bank that strangled the Palestinian economy. The lack of opportunities, combined with the psychological distress of living under military occupation, has prompted many more Christians to leave their homeland.

<snip>

http://www.acj.org/outreach/palestinian.htm

[corporatewhore]

13. I met Naim Ateek he is very eloquent