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| The Middle East At Easter: "the US want Jesus to be a political Jesus" |
Christian leaders in Egypt and Jerusalem reportedly decided to boycott his visit, in an attempt to protest President Trump’s December 7th recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Pence was unable to visit Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born, because it is located in the occupied region of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority who declared that Pence was ” unwelcome in Palestine.”
Pence declared that recognizing Jerusalem as
Israel’s capital is the “only true foundation for a just and lasting
peace.” Arab Christians apparently disagree, wanting East Jerusalem to
be the capital of a non-Israeli Arab state. Protestors held signs that
read, “Pence you are desecrating our land. Pence go home.”
Pence reportedly completed his visit to the Middle East without meeting with any prominent Christian leaders from Egypt, Jordan and Israel. In his meeting with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Pence raised the issue of protecting Egypt’s Christians from persecution.
After meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, Pence’s remarks made clear their disagreement over a two state solution: “Friends occasionally have disagreements, and we agreed to disagree on recognizing Jerusalem. We agreed all parties need to come to the table. I hope I impressed on him our earnest desire to restart the peace process.”
In his speech to the Knesset today Pence used religious symbolism, quoted from the bible, and explained his support for Israel as a moral and religious obligation, not solely a political one. His speech was interrupted by numerous standing ovations by Israeli Knesset members.
Pence reportedly completed his visit to the Middle East without meeting with any prominent Christian leaders from Egypt, Jordan and Israel. In his meeting with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Pence raised the issue of protecting Egypt’s Christians from persecution.
After meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan, Pence’s remarks made clear their disagreement over a two state solution: “Friends occasionally have disagreements, and we agreed to disagree on recognizing Jerusalem. We agreed all parties need to come to the table. I hope I impressed on him our earnest desire to restart the peace process.”
In his speech to the Knesset today Pence used religious symbolism, quoted from the bible, and explained his support for Israel as a moral and religious obligation, not solely a political one. His speech was interrupted by numerous standing ovations by Israeli Knesset members.
According to The Associated Press, Palestinian Christians reject Pence’s “brand” of Christianity:
The AP adds that while Christian Arabs are a minority living in the West Bank, they lived peacefully next to their Muslim Arab neighbors, describing their neighborhoods as places “where the pealing of church bells often blends with the Muslim call to prayer.”
Note EU-Digest - Jesus Christ represents love, not hatred or violence, and if politics and fanaticism was not injected into the Middle East as a result of foreign interventions, historical peaceful coexistence would still prevail there today. They argue that such streams of evangelical Christianity have used religion to whitewash Israel’s harsh policies during its half-century-old rule over millions of Palestinians.“When I say Jesus is love, they want my Jesus to be a political Jesus,” Younan, 67, a Jerusalem-born Palestinian, said in a recent interview at his West Bank church.
“For me, it’s a sick ideology,” said Munib Younan, the recently retired bishop of the small Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and former president of the Lutheran World Federation, an umbrella for churches with millions of believers.
The AP adds that while Christian Arabs are a minority living in the West Bank, they lived peacefully next to their Muslim Arab neighbors, describing their neighborhoods as places “where the pealing of church bells often blends with the Muslim call to prayer.”
Read more: Why Did Christian Leaders in the Middle East Shun Vice President Pence's Visit?
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