A Tsunami of Christian Libels against Israel

Rather than reporting the alleged incident to the police or army, they went public, calling for international condemnation and diplomatic sanctions of Israel. The following week, their City Hall was filled with diplomats and others who came to bear witness to the "destruction." What they saw as actual evidence of this is unknown because the claims the priests perpetrated were false at every level. 

It took Israeli officials too long to reveal the truth, but the truth is no less the reality. Sometimes, truth takes longer because it involves an actual investigation and not just spewing any lies that one can imagine. But between the time it takes to make up a lie, it being disseminated, and the truth being told, a lot of ground can be burned. 

The truth is that it was not Israeli Jews, "settlers," who set the fire, but Palestinian Arabs, attacking Israeli Jews. Indeed, there is abundant evidence, including police reports and videos. As fires can get out of control and blow back into the faces of the arsonists, that's exactly what happened here. In fact, the Israeli Jews who tried to extinguish the flames were attacked by Palestinian Arabs. But in this case, the arsonists and much of the world blamed their victims. 

The priests' language was deliberate, suggesting both their cemetery and a 1500-year-old church were deliberately targeted or destroyed. Images were conjured of a Presbyterian or Baptist church on Main St., USA, with its steeple and charred cross lying at the top of a heap of smoldering remains. The actual evidence demonstrates that was never the case.

It's understandable, perhaps, that as a Christian minority in the Islamic Palestinian Authority, the priests might have a different perspective than Israeli Jews. But as clergy expressly propagating actual lies not even close to reality, one would think that some Christian leaders somewhere would call them out. The opposite happened.

International Leaders Misled by False Reports

Just as the fire got out of control, so did the reporting of it, and allegations and even condemnations by some of Israel's best friends as a result. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee was not immune to the smoke screen, echoing a reality that never happened. "It's unacceptable to commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship. We will certainly insist that those who carry out acts of terror and violence in Taybeh or anywhere be found, be prosecuted, not just reprimanded. That's not enough." 

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham fanned the flames across the national media. "What's happening in the West Bank bothers the hell out of me," he incorrectly added that the stone remains of the 1500-year-old Taybeh church were burned to the ground. "I want to find out who did it, and I want them to be punished. And if it was settlers from the West Bank, Israelis, I want them to be punished."

To be clear, no church was "burned to the ground," and the fires that encroached on Taybeh were set by Palestinian Arabs. While we know the truth, multiple questions remain as to why, and under whose initiative/influence it was for three priests of different denominations to issue a scathing condemnation of Israel without ever filing a police report or documenting any evidence of their allegations. The simple answer is that there is no evidence. The question remains, who put them up to it?

Ambassador Huckabee issued a follow-up statement correctly noting that there was no damage to any church. But the media and other anti-Israel voices had already twisted his words. Those who fanned the flames didn't need facts. 

Why Didn't Christian Leaders Speak Up?

While the truth has since come out, few, if any, discredit those who propagated the lies. The only "mitigating factor" might be that the Palestinian Authority threatened the priests, as any other mafia thug might have warned, if you don't do so, "we can no longer guarantee your safety."

This is the regrettable reality of the shrinking Christian minority in the Palestinian Authority. Many of their churches believe a form of replacement theology combined with Palestinian nationalism that not only blames Israel for every problem, but is directly contradictory to many Christians who read, or raced to be part of, this story, not only without fact-checking a word, but not checking the theology and agenda of its proponents. 

The Visa Controversy: A Second Misfire

On the heels of the fake Israeli "settler" arson allegations in Taybeh, which had already made headlines, a letter from Ambassador Mike Huckabee was leaked, alleging that Israel was somehow systematically discriminating against Christians in terms of providing visas, and that this specifically targeted American evangelicals. The issue is related to work, volunteer, and clergy visas, not tourist visas, specifically those of evangelicals or Americans. 

There are legitimate reasons to complain about the process and people involved in Israel's Interior Ministry. Generally, Israel can and should do a better job. To me, there are deep-seeded problems that need to be addressed. That's another topic which I have addressed and will likely do so again. But the premise was mistaken in the leaked letter, and what's been reported since, warning that it may impact Israelis getting visas to the US. 

This issue, with allegations of Israel not being welcoming to Christians, ignited fires around the world bigger than the flames in the alleged attack on Taybeh. Dozens contacted me personally for clarification as headlines globally misrepresented the reality.

Off the record, a number of Christian friends in Israel and abroad indicated frustrations with problems in Israel's Interior Ministry. They speculated a range of theories behind the visa issue, Huckabee's letter, and that being leaked. Few were favorable, all noting that it embarrassed Israel and made the issue public, allowing Israel's detractors to find fault in, at best, half-truths. Some acknowledged that even the very issue raised was not such a big issue, and that Israel is right to scrutinize who it gives these coveted visas to. Some noted that some of the applicants are connected to ministries and denominations (like those of the Taybeh priests and others) that are not pro-Israel, and even have anti-Israel agendas. 

Regardless of the reason, the US ambassador to Israel would question Israel's broader visa policy, which affects people from all over the world and not specifically evangelical Americans, as suggested, why threatening US repercussions as a result of this is a burning question. Did the idea come from Washington, or was it just diplomatic misspeak? 

Shortly after this all became public, reports indicated that the issue had been "resolved." But the questions remain, the scorched earth has been burnt nonetheless, and bad feelings that have ensued will linger. Even issuing corrections and clarifications, and going on media to explain the issue are too little too late. The Jewish prohibition against lashon hara, evil speech, is profoundly relevant here because once something misleading has been said, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. The damage cannot be undone. Algorithms do not provide corrections on items that are factually untrue to those who are prone to believe untruth, or those misled to do so. 

The Third Incident: A Tragic Military Error Misused

The finale of the three incidents was what appears to have been an errant Israeli military strike on (one of) the last remaining churches in Gaza. The Latin Patriarch and other world leaders and bodies have condemned this as a deliberate attack, "targeting" a church rather than what Israel has said was a regrettable accident attributed to an artillery misfire. 

While an investigation was underway, reports in Israel noted that a deliberate and direct attack on the church, no matter how tragic, would have left much worse damage than the photos demonstrated afterward would have shown. 

Sadly, even intelligent conservative thinkers like commentator Michael Knowles are demanding that Israel provide proof that the incident was accidental—rather than insisting, as any American court would, on evidence to support the far more serious allegation that it was intentional. No Latin Patriarch nor any other world leader gets to make such allegations without their own evidence, and then demand evidence of those being defamed. Many question what would be Israel's reason for attacking a church on purpose, unless it had been a shelter for, or part of Hamas' broader strategy of using civilian human shields. The evidence of Hamas doing this for decades is already on record. Parenthetically, at best, Hamas and other Islamic jihadis do not honor or respect the sanctity of Christians or Christianity. 

Evidence of the besieged status of Christians in Gaza under Hamas, it should be noted that, as much as Taybeh is the last all-Christian city or town in the Palestinian Authority, there are more Christians in Taybeh than there are in all of Gaza. Where did they go? Why did they flee? Who is really attacking them? 

Adding fuel to his own fire, Knowles looks at Gaza from his American view of a typical church with a steeple being attacked, one that would be visible from miles away in the midst of a densely populated urban area, suggesting that it had to have been "obvious," and therefore deliberate. He uses the Pope's decrying the war in Gaza as evidence, as if a Pope has never been wrong before, demanding that the war come to an end. 

Then doubles down with his argument based on the falsehoods of the two previous issues. He referenced Huckabee's visit to Taybeh as an indictment, but fails to note that the ambassador issued a clarification. Knowles calls to "redouble our efforts" to get the hostages released. Why he uses the first person to do so is bizarre. Is he suggesting that he's ever done anything to ensure the hostages' release, or highlight Hamas' singular culpability in their captivity and inflicting this war on Gaza?  He never once recognized that Israel does not call all the shots, pun intended, and Hamas still refuses to release them. Knowles is one particular and particularly intelligent example, but misrepresents facts completely. He's intelligent enough to know the truth, albeit that he's obfuscated it. I've written to him to discuss it, but he hasn't responded. 

Hamas' History Cannot Be Ignored

Certainly, any fair observer of activities in Gaza should know and understand that Hamas has used all kinds of civilian infrastructure as human shields, including schools, mosques, United Nations facilities, hospitals, and yes, even churches, in which to hide or from which to conduct terrorist activities. I'm not saying this happened; I don't know. I wasn't there. But neither was the Pope, the Italian Prime Minister, Michael Knowles, or anyone else reflexively blaming Israel for a tragic event. None have thought to utter that if Hamas would just release all the hostages and leave its terrorist domination of two million Gazans, all the fighting could stop. Then, a church could actually be used for rebuilding, such as the Solution for Peace in Gaza, and not risk being hit by errant artillery fire. 

So, when reviewing reports of what might appear to be indiscriminate collateral damage in the war against Israel, everything needs to be viewed through a prism of reality on the ground and Hamas's propagating lies.

The Call to Fact-Check and Investigate

Under certain circumstances, it's legitimate for people to get caught up reading headlines without reading the substance or documenting allegations. These have created a legitimate tsunami of emotions that have triggered other emotions and disappointed, if not actual, deliberate backlash. But they are not based on truth. Naively, I'd still like to think that matters. 

It gives me no joy to remind the reader of any news item to question the source. Fact-checking has become a four-letter word, a tool used against people with whom one disagrees. But in cases where wildfires are ignited with wild lies, and especially coming from the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Iran, and other reflexively anti-Israel sources, more often the "truth" they tell is anything but. Check your sources. Israel is not infallible. Mistakes are made. Israel owns up to these most, if not all, of the time. Sources that manipulate truth and even employ an Islamic principle, taqiyah, where lying to infidels (Jews and Christians) is honored, cannot be trusted. 

Jews and Christians have a long and often bad history of blood libels against Jews going back centuries. Thankfully, there are many Christians today who don't know anything about that history, and when they learn about it, grieve and repent. But there are still those who perpetrate libels about Israelis (Jews) targeting Christian towns and churches, those who perhaps should be denied long-term visas because of their malicious intent, and who manipulate a tragic error in the context of a horrible war as a deliberate attack on Christians. They perpetuate the libels. Those who promote their allegations unchecked are guilty too, even if passively and naively.

To prevent incidents like these ever again, we would all do well to learn to question the sources. If you're believing Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and sadly even Palestinian Arab Christian leaders automatically, ever, without looking at Israeli sources, I'd simply suggest that you will be misguided most of the time. Possibly worse, you'll end up perpetuating a libel against Israel that could actually get innocent people targeted and killed. 

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/Contributor

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes regularly for a variety of prominent Christian and conservative websites and is the host of Inspiration from Zion, a popular webinar series and podcast. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.