Deal, Thank you for this very helpful article. Yes, I agree with you and the Palestinian Christians when you say that the Holy Father should visit Gaza. Let us pray that he helps and encourages the Christians. Let us also pray that he preaches the Gospel to the Muslims. And let us pray for him: we know what happened the last time he tried that!
Hopefully, you yourself can visit the Jews and the Muslims. But be careful. Modern Muslims do not easily accept the Gospel. Many, many Christians have, in the past, been martyred for the Faith, and modern Muslims are filled with the fervor of Islam. Modern Muslims glory in their own deaths, and the deaths of children, as martyrs for the faith. Perhaps you can bring them to Jesus.
Perhaps you can answer my question: Why don't we take the Muslims at their word? Why do we ignore their fervor, their sincerity?

Dan, I can't really generalize about Muslim, based upon my experience and reading. I have met the whole spectrum, from the secular Muslim to the fervent ones. I know there is a serious and present danger of terrorism among some Muslim groups, and I know there is hatred for both Israel and the United States, as well as Jews and Christians in general. But nobody, as far as I can tell, wears the white hat in this situation, even the Christians on the West Bank. All should be challenged and I think Benedict XVI is the man to do it.

Gaza is a mess and nobody has clean hands. There is only one man who has the moral authority and international respect to try to affect some positive results. That man is Pope Benedict.

I don't think that the Israelis or Palestinians can ignore him. If he speaks out loud and clear, perhaps it will do some good.

Deal- this is excellent reportage- go to the source- it has been my shame as an American Catholic, that so many of my brethren have pretty much completely ignored the perspective of our Catholic brethren in the Holy Land- this is why I urge anyone making pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to not overlook the plight of the people actually living there- we don't leave our social doctrine at the door of the HOly Land. It is our Holy Land as well- we should take responsibility for the conditions of life there- it is a great witness of good or shame to the whole world, the world of believers and non-believers- it makes it so easy to dismiss or denigrate the great monotheistic religions when someone observes the chaos and bloodshed of our Holy Land.

Back in 2000 I wrote an open letter to Pope John Paul II to go to the Holy Land to stay for an extended period, to stay with the Palestinian Christians to offer his witness and spiritual protection, to send a message to Muslims and Jews alike, that the Pope cares about his flock and has a primary obligation to help those in most distress. I would reiterate this call to Pope Benedict- the Holy Land is worth a lot of political incorrectness- one can praise the great religions while simultaneously offering a courageous analysis of the root causes of violence, terrorism, and popular rage. American Catholics live in the world's superpower, we have massive potential clout in this country, and this country has made huge investments of money and political capital in Israel over many decades- it is past time for us to lay down some strong diplomatic initiatives, along the lines of what the UN and international law interpreters have long proposed as the best possible solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Holy See has also long supported the basic outline for a just peace- the Palestinian Catholic community will tell anyone what they want if only the American Catholic media like EWTN et al would give them the opportunity to speak frequently to American Catholic audiences. Everyone is seemingly afraid to offend our American Jewish friends- but you see this acceptance of the status quo does not make for a safer Israel, and the occupation and military strikes against Palestinians will only serve to drive out the Palestinian Christian community as the Palestinian society continues to disintegrate and turn one against the other- Hamas v. Fatah, Muslim v. Christian.

Deal- thank you for letting Palestinian Christians speak for themselves- these are the conversations I had when I lived with them- and it is their message that I have been trying to carry for over a decade. God bless, and may the Pope be emboldened to take the advice of his Holy Land flock.

I'm disappointed that Deal cites without qualification the casualty statistics from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The numbers cited by this source have been heavily disputed by CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) and the official accounting of the IDF.

It is indeed lamentable that “Palestinian Christians have virtually no access to the holy sites in East Jerusalem, Galilee, and Nazareth”; that students in religious classes of Bethlehem University are routinely denied visas to travel outside the city, or that Gazan students are prevented from attending school in Bethlehem.

Nonetheless, any moral evaluation of these admittedly-difficult conditions (for instance, those imposed by the "barrier fence" or wall) would have to take into account precisely WHY these “harsh restrictions on movement” are enforced — and that is a lengthy and complex discussion Hudson’s article does not go into.

Lastly, one aspect of the plight of Palestinian Christians is glaringly absent from Hudson’s latest article: the fact of the persecution of Arab Christians by Muslim extremists.

What is confusing is that Arab persecution of the Palestinian Christians is something of which Hudson is undoubtedly aware. In 2007, he blogged about this very issue, noting international human rights lawyer Justus Reid Weiner’s observation that "the systematic persecution of Christian Arabs living in Palestinian areas is being met with nearly total silence by the international community, human rights activists, the media and NGOs."

Hence the disappointment that his latest article, by ommission of this factor, presents a once-sided picture of Israeli oppression.

I've responded at length here:

http://tinyurl.com/d2hmql

Returning to the question of whether Pope Benedict XVI should visit Gaza, I think that — taken as an expression of solidarity with the Christian community — it may be a positive thing.

My concern would chiefly be one of security — to whom would be entrusted the security of the Pope?

Is the controlling authority (Hamas) demonstrably reliable in ensuring the Pope’s safety? Or in cooperating with Israel in this regard?

I am a Christian Palestinian from Bethlehem and I am delighted to read Deal Hudson’s articles. It’s very refreshing to see someone who is reporting on the situation here to have actually made the effort to visit our city, meet with Palestinian Christians first hand and communicate our story to the outside world.

It’s very sad, however, to read some of the posted comments on these articles particularly this idea of Muslim persecution of Christians in Palestine which I have never experienced.
Muslims and Christians have been living peacefully together in Bethlehem for centuries now. Throughout my life Muslims here have been my good neighbors, classmates, friends, work colleagues and most of all fellow Palestinians with whom we have shared the experience of 42 years of a brutal Israeli military occupation of our city. All we want is to simply be free.

Like many Christian Palestinians I am also sadly making plans to emigrate from Palestine. I am doing so not because of my Muslim neighbors but because it is extremely demoralizing to live in a city that is besieged by Israeli walls and is constantly shrinking as Israel confiscates more and more of our privately owned lands to build Israeli settlements. Our beautiful city is starting to resemble a fenced in ghetto in which we have to maneuver Israeli army checkpoints on a daily bases with a regular dose of harassment and intimidation.
It would be a remarkable gesture for the pope to visit Gaza. If he does so I hope, as a Christian, that he would do this not only as an “expression of solidarity with the Christian community”, but with all Palestinians in Gaza who are still suffering from the aftermath of a barbaric attack that cannot be justified.

I hope that the readers of these articles are truly concerned about the plight and fate of Christians in Palestine, are willing to hear our story and are not simply bending the facts about our situation to rationalize a blanket hatred of Muslims. I lived most of my life here, got baptized and confirmed here, went to Catholic schools etc. I have to say that blanket hatred of other religions does not resemble anything that I ever learned about Christianity. The sooner that this is realized the sooner we can work to save Bethlehem. Otherwise we will all very soon find a Holy Land devoid of Christians.

Most importantly of all I urge you to visit Bethlehem and to come and see the facts for yourself. This is your city too!

The key question is, what would Jesus do? Surely, it is obvious that he would visit the Gaza Strip to reach out to and support those defenceless Palestinians who continue to suffer following Israel's brutal and illegal military onslaught that began last December 27th. I also believe that Jesus would have long since expressed his solidarity with the Palestinian people, Christians and Muslims. Jesus stood with the oppressed and condemned the oppressor.

Mr. Hudson:

I like and admire most of your writing. As I understand your general approach, you are in favor of Catholic-Evangelical solidarity in support of traditional Christian values against the onslaught of American secular culture. By and large, you have very sensible things to say.

But I think you are off on the wrong foot on the Middle East. Your basic position is that we, as Catholics, ought to care deeply about Middle Eastern Christians. The best way to express that caring, in your view, is to be sharply critical of Israel. I disagree with you, for two separate reasons.

First, I do not see how joining the anti-Israel chorus will help Middle Eastern Christians. As a local minority, the Middle Eastern Christians would be most helped if peace came to the region, preferably peace based upon the rule of a democratic, lawful government which respects human rights. At present, the chance of peace coming to the area is remote. The area is locked into conflict, which appears to be perpetual. The reasons for this are not obscure. On the one side, we have the Jewish state, which sees itself as the refuge and essential haven for world Jewry. This state is not going to go away, at least not without a war the size of which should make everyone shudder. On the other side, we have Arab organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which are committed to the destruction of the Jewish state.

The Middle Eastern Christians are caught in the middle of all of this. For example, you complain eloquently of the restrictions on their travel. You fail to mention, however, that the REASON for these restrictions are very well-founded Jewish security concerns. Prior to the clampdown on the West Bank, Jewish children were being blown up in pizza places on a regular basis. Now that the wall has gone up, and the clamp down is in place, there are very few suicide bombings in Israel.

I certainly have great sympathy for a Middle Eastern Christian unable to visit the Holy Places. On the other hand, I have no trouble seeing WHY the travel restrictions are in place. They are needed, to prevent an intolerable level of violence.

The point here is simply that the local Christians are simply one small piece of a much larger picture. Focusing just on them does not give much understanding. And, if your focus on them leads you -- as I believe it has lead you -- to lose your balance, and to take what boils down to a pro-Hamas position -- I know you are not pro-Hamas, but if you are always critical only of Israel, never of the Arabs that is the practical effect of your views -- then you are no longer supporting a fair and rational peace. You have, instead, become a pro-Arab, anti-Jewish partisan. That is not the way to peace.

Second, you are not considering the effect of your position in America. In broad, general terms, you are trying to help bring about a coalition of the religious people in America, against purely secular values. This is good work, in which you have my full support. But, by taking a flamboyantly anti-Isreal, pro-Arab position, you alienate two groups whose support we need: Evangelical Christians and religious Jews.

Evangelical Christians support Israel. There are various reasons that they do, but they do. Religious Jews support Israel, for obvious reasons. You will offend and alienate both groups if you continue with this position. Both of these groups have great potential to support what you want to do in America. On the other side of this, the group which most consistently opposes Israel in America, is the secular left.

Whose side are you on, Mr. Hudson? I would hope that all Americans would try to avoid taking sides in the Middle East, and would support the legitimate rights of both sides. But, if you have to take a side -- and you have, make no mistake about it -- what are you lining up with the secular left?