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In this mailing:
* Raymond Ibrahim: The Death of Christianity in Bethlehem
* Amir Taheri: Ukraine: A Recipe for Appeasement
* Very Merriest Christmas and Happiest Winter Holidays!


** The Death of Christianity in Bethlehem ([link removed])
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by Raymond Ibrahim • December 25, 2022 at 5:00 am
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* "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." – Justus Reid Weiner, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, Israel, August 20, 2013
* "There are incidents happening constantly...Most times, it is a case of the Muslim community overpowering the minority, which is the Christian community." – Christian Arab on condition of anonymity, Israel365News, November 21, 2022
* "[T]he leaders of the Christian community in the West Bank are reluctant to hold the Palestinian Authority and their Muslim neighbors responsible for the attacks. They are afraid of retribution and prefer to toe the official line of holding Israel solely responsible for the misery of the Christian minority." – Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, October 31, 2022

** "The only thing that interests the PA is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media. Fatah regularly exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the acts of violence and vandalism from which they frequently suffer, as such publicity could damage the PA's image as an actor capable of protecting the lives and property of the Christian minority under its rule. Even less does the PA want to be depicted as a radical entity that persecutes religious minorities. That image could have negative repercussions for the massive international, and particularly European, aid the PA receives." -- Dr Edy Cohen, "The Persecution of Christians in the Palestinian Authority", besacenter.org, May 27, 2019
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* "The fact that the Palestinian Authority continues to make sure that there is a Christian mayor in Bethlehem is only window dressing,... It's a show used to convince the world that Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity is still a Christian town. It is not Christian. It is Muslim in every regard." -- Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation, Israel 365 News ([link removed]) , November 21, 2022
* As we approach Christmas, 2022, it is important to remember that, due to ongoing but silenced persecution, Christianity is on the verge of disappearing ([link removed]) in the place of its birth—Bethlehem ([link removed]) , the scene of the Nativity. It is a silence that gives the Christmas song "Silent Night," an ominous meaning. "The persecution is threatening the existence of the oldest Christian community in the world." – Isrsel365News, November 21, 2002

Why is the persecution of Christians in Bethlehem and other areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority so unreported or under-reported? "The attacks by Muslims on Christians are often ignored by the international community and media, who seem to speak out only when they can find a way to blame Israel," according to journalist Khaled Abu Toameh. Pictured: The Church of the Nativity in the Bethlehem. (Photo by Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images)

After noting that there "has been a marked uptick in religiously motivated attacks by Palestinian Muslims on Christians in Bethlehem," a report from November 21 offers these examples:

"Just over two weeks ago, a Muslim man was accused of harassing young Christian women at a Forefathers Orthodox Church in Beit Sahour near the city of Bethlehem. Soon after, the church was attacked by a large mob of Palestinian men who hurled rocks at the building while congregants cowered inside. Several of the congregants were injured in the attack.

The Palestinian Authority, responsible for security in the area, did nothing.

In October, unidentified gunmen shot at the Christian-owned Bethlehem Hotel after a video on social media associated the hotel with a display that included cardboard cutouts of a Star of David and a Menorah. ...

No arrests were made in connection with the shooting.

Continue Reading Article ([link removed])


** Ukraine: A Recipe for Appeasement ([link removed])
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by Amir Taheri • December 25, 2022 at 4:00 am
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* Kissinger is reluctant or afraid to say what he really demands, which is appeasing Russia.
* The grand old man of American diplomacy claims that the mumbo-jumbo he has just spewed would somehow create "a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiation." Later, however, he reduces "peace" to a "peace process" like the one he launched in the Middle East almost 50 years ago and which is supposed to be still going on fast to nowhere.
* This war isn't about territory.
* Russia has more "territory" than any other nation on the planet. Some claim that annexing Crimea was necessary to maintain Russia's naval presence in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. But that claim too could be dismissed as an excuse for aggression.
* With his policy of détente during the Nixon and Ford administrations, Kissinger arguably helped prolong the life of the Soviet Empire by treating it as an equal partner, playing a leading role in the Helsinki Accords, and providing it with access to global capital markets among other favors bestowed.
* If he skims through the Kremlin media, Kissinger would see that Putin won't be satisfied with just a chunk of Ukraine, as he has said many times, and has already set the theme for "protecting our kith-and-kin" in Moldova and Estonia, with less direct musings about a pan-Slav empire that could include Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro.
* If implemented, Kissinger's "peace plan" could become a prelude to endless war, cold, lukewarm and hot, in Europe, and the most disastrous attempt at appeasement since the Chamberlain-Daladier duo went to Munich.

If implemented, Henry Kissinger's "peace plan" for Ukraine could become a prelude to endless war, cold, lukewarm and hot, in Europe, and the most disastrous attempt at appeasement since the Chamberlain-Daladier duo went to Munich. Pictured: Kissinger and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk during the Economic Forum in Saint-Petersburg, on June 21, 2012. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian military lore is full of references to the cold months ahead in that part of Europe as "General Winter". So, it is no surprise that President Vladimir Putin, disappointed in the performance of his generals, is looking at "General Winter" to help him snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as it had helped Kutuzov against Napoleon.

Putin's reading of history, however, is slanted in favor of his illusions. In the Napoleonic war, "General Winter" was on the side of the defender, not the aggressor. With "General Winter" unlikely to work for Putin, he may have to look at another grand old man, this time a diplomat, to help him out of the hole he has dug for Russia.

While reports indicate that Russia is mobilizing massive forces for a new attempt at dismantling Ukraine as a nation-state, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, labeled "the grand master of diplomacy" by his adulators, is talking of peace with Vladimir Putin.

Continue Reading Article ([link removed])


** Very Merriest Christmas and Happiest Winter Holidays! ([link removed])
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December 25, 2022 at 3:45 am
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Wishing only the best for our friends, the Free World and the brave men and women protecting our freedom. Countless thanks and very warmest best wishes for the New Year!
— All of us at Gatestone.

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