April 22, 2012 4:00 PM
The exodus from the Holy Land of Palestinian Christians could eventually leave holy cities like Jerusalem and Bethlehem without a local Christian population. Bob Simon reports.
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See all 446 CommentsIsraelis are far more tolerant than any of the other people of the region. Look at how Christians (or any non-muslims) are treated in neighboring countries. Bob Simon's accusations of Israel are silly, nit-picky, and petty.
Furthermore, it's very difficult to agree with this story if you have ever been to Israel. Walk down the street in Tel Aviv and you will see openly gay couples who do not fear for their lives, as they do in most muslim countries. Walk to neighboring Jaffa, and you will see a very prosperous community of Christian and Muslim Israelis owning very successful restaurants and shops.
It never ceases to amaze me how critical people are of Israel. I guess if the story was about real, current and ongoing Christian persecution in Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc., countries where this has persisted for centuries, then people would not find it of interest.
What happened to fair and balanced reporting, why did you chose not to ask the Israelis' how they like living with a wall around their country. The obvious answer is that they don't. This wall serves a function, it has stopped suicide bombers. The Israelis' were given no choice, but to live with a wall. But you chose not to explore this part of the story.
If you are going to present a report about "The exodus of Christians from the Holy Land" you need to examine the not so old history, because it is all connected. What is happening today in Israel is not happening in vacuum, but it is the result of men made history.
Why don't you go to Eastern Europe and report on the six million dead souls. They were forced into an exodus, in the gas and ovens of concentration camps. There are only a few thousand Jews left in Poland today, but once Poland was the home to the largest Jewish population in Europe. Before WWII, over 3.3 million Jews lived in Poland, making it the second largest Jewish community in the world. WWII destroyed this community completely, devastating their distinctive culture and society. The extent of the loss was so great, so destructive; we know it as the Holocaust, the Shoah.
Holocaust, the Shoah was the final straw why the survivors started returning to their homeland, and the state of Israel was born. On May 14, 1948, the last British forces left and Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq refused to accept the UN partition plan and proclaimed the right of self-determination for the Arabs across the whole of Palestine. They declared war on the new state of Israel and immediately invaded. Israel has had to defend herself since then. If it was up to Israel, she would choose to live in peace with her neighbors.
The Middle East story is a very complex story, and one can argue that we have to go further into history to search for additional understanding. Jews were always expelled from that part of the world, but we know from history that this was their homeland.
Of cause your reporting has no room for this.
You are so blandly narrowed minded, it provokes anger.
If you look at history, Jews were the oppressed people living all over the world after the temple's destruction 2000 years ago. Finally, when they decided to come back home to their land, they become aggressors. All they try to do is live in THEIR OWN land peacefully. They don't want anyone to kill them or threaten their existence. Unfortunately, their neighbors don't bring them "welcome cakes" rather rockets and suicide bombs so they must defend themselves. While they defend their living, they keep advancing in various sciences, engineering, agriculture and so on, while their neighbors excel in creating weapons and think of destroying each other.
And you're right, you should care about the heinous violation of their basic human rights, not because they are Christian, but because they are human, and your government is giving weapons to their oppressors.
How telling it is that the theats leveled come not at the point of a gun but by the voice of the Israeli ambassador. His fear of the truth about the results of the Israeli occupation were made apparent by Bob Simon's calm responses. Israel's manufactured 'truth', like its manufactured 'security fence' snaking destructively through the streets of Palestine, are seen plainly as a 24 foot razor wired wall - not a fence at all - and are doomed to fall. No such lies can be maintained indefinitely, and are only maintained at great cost.
Kudos to Bob Simon and CBS News !!
Summary
This report provides an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to Israel. It includes a review of past
aid programs, data on annual assistance, and an analysis of current issues. For general
information on Israel, see CRS Report RL33476, Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim
Zanotti.
Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II. To date,
the United States has provided Israel $115 billion in bilateral assistance. Almost all U.S. bilateral
aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance, although in the past Israel also received
significant economic assistance. Strong congressional support for Israel has resulted in Israel
receiving benefits not available to any other countries; for example, Israel can use some U.S.
military assistance both for research and development in the United States and for military
purchases from Israeli manufacturers. In addition, all U.S. assistance earmarked for Israel is
delivered in the first 30 days of the fiscal year, while most other recipients normally receive aid in
installments. In addition to receiving U.S. State Department-administered foreign assistance,
Israel also receives funds from annual defense appropriations bills for joint U.S.-Israeli missile
defense programs.
In 2007, the Bush Administration and the Israeli government agreed to a 10-year, $30 billion
military aid package that gradually will raise Israel's annual Foreign Military Financing grant
from a baseline of nearly $2.55 billion in FY2009 to approximately $3.1 billion for FY2013
through FY2018. For FY2013, the Obama Administration is requesting $3.1 billion in FMF to
Israel.
In the second session of the 112th Congress, in addition to the normal foreign operations
appropriations process, lawmakers may address: Administration or Israeli requests for additional
defense appropriations for joint U.S.-Israeli missile defense; an extension of U.S. loan guarantees
to Israel beyond FY2012 when they are set to expire; and new funding for joint U.S.-Israeli
scientific research.
The Obama Administration's FY2013 request includes $3.1 billion in Foreign Military Financing
for Israel and $15 million for refugee resettlement. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, the
U.S. Missile Defense Agency's FY2013 budget request includes $99.8 million in joint U.S.-
Israeli co-development for missile defense.
On March 5, 2012, House lawmakers introduced H.R. 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced
Security Cooperation Act of 2012. If passed, this bill would, among other things, allocate
additional weaponry and munitions for the forward-deployed United States stockpile in Israel;
provide Israel additional surplus defense articles and defense services, as appropriate, in the wake
of the withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq; expand Israel's authority to make purchases
under the Foreign Military Financing program on a commercial basis; encourage an expanded
role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced
presence at NATO headquarters and exercises; support extension of the long-standing loan
guarantee program for Israel, recognizing Israel's unbroken record of repaying its loans on time
and in full; and require the President to submit a report on the status of Israel's qualitative military
edge in light of current trends and instability in the region.
More at CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf
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