A Catholic Perspective on the Plight of Palestinian Christians

Last week, a brush fire broke out near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in Judea, which is home to a historic church. Then stories appeared throughout the Israeli and international press, confirmed by two prominent Jerusalem clerics, that “extremist settlers” had burned down the church—although in fact the church was not damaged. Pictures of young Jews from nearby villages trying to put out the flames were labeled as photographs of arsonists. Informed by these widely disseminated lies, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, one of the greatest friends Israel has ever had in the U.S. government, issued a condemnation. Ambassador Huckabee has since specified that he did not attribute the cause of the fire to any particular group, and has further noted his appreciation for Israel’s dispassionate police investigation. But his initial condemnation naturally attracted a great deal of notice.