CNN's serious error in relying on a congenital propagandist for commentary about Israel - by Dexter Van Zile

...The problem is not just with CNN, but with Catholic leaders who failed to hold him to account over the years. The fact that he served seven years as International President of Pax Christi and as Patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008 is, in light of his public statements, a shock.

Dexter Van Zile..
CAMERA Media Analyses..
23 January '18..

Vice President Mike Pence's recent visit to Jerusalem provided an opportunity for the anti-Israel Christians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to run for the cameras and tell everyone how bad Israel is.

In a now all-too-predictable turn of events, a Christian “leader” who has little, if any influence on life in Palestinian society, was recently portrayed as a credible source of information about the Arab-Israeli conflict by journalists in the United States.

The Christian in question is the former Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, who has made a career of demonizing Israel and downplaying Muslim violence against Israel — and Christians. In a segment that aired on Monday January 22, 2018, he told a reporter, "Our fear is not from our people, from Muslims,” Sabbah said. “Our fear is from America.”

H.B. Sabbah's message fit in neatly with the thrust of CNN reporter Ian Lee's report — that “U.S. foreign policy is hurting the local Christian community” in the Holy Land. The problem for that narrative is that Israel's local Christian population has increased from 34,000 in 1949 to 130,000 today, an increase of 282 percent.

This increase did not stop H.B. Sabbah from chiding the U.S. for its support of Israel, declaring that it is bad for Palestinian Christians. “American policy must change in the Middle East," he told CNN. "If truly the American administration is Christian, go back to the commandment of love. You love Israel. That's very good. But you [should also] love the Palestinians if you're Christian. Jesus said, love everyone.”

It is hard to believe that after recent events, Christians in the Middle East fear American policy more than they do the prospect of jihadist violence, but His Beatitude Sabbah is a former Catholic Patriarch — in Jerusalem no less — so who are outsiders to argue?

And not only is he the former Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, H.B. Sabbah served as International President of Pax Christi, a Catholic charity organization for eight years, from 1999 to 2007. (The fact that he was able to hold onto this position in light of what he said during the Second Intifada — documented below — is a shock.)

The problem is that Sabbah is simply not the type of person CNN should rely on as a source for information about the Middle East.

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License and only License: Words of Evasion and Dishonesty from Palestinian Christian Leaders

CAMERA/Snapshots
15 December 09

If anyone had any doubt whatsoever about the intellectual, spiritual and theological bankruptcy of Palestinian Christian leaders such as Naim Ateek, Michel Sabbah, Mitri Raheb, and now sadly enough, Munib Younan, they need only look at the most recent “peacemaking” statement issued by these (and other) leaders.

The document (“A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering”), issued in Bethlehem on December 11, 2009, includes all the shop-worn tropes offered by these leaders for the past decade: The conflict is all Israel’s fault the Palestinians are innocent. Israelis sin, Palestinians make mistakes. Palestinian violence is justified, Israeli violence is not. And yes, the fighting will miraculously come to an end once Israel ends the occupation. (Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan used to steer clear from such craziness, but apparently, not anymore.)

In sum, the document is a tour de force of dishonesty, self-pity and blame that has been the hall mark of Palestinian Christian commentary about the Arab-Israeli conflict for the past decade.

This should come as no surprise. The enablers of these pastors in the United States – mainline denominational leaders and activists in these churches – have given these pastors no reason to change their tune, but have instead publicized and defended statements like this as part of their “peacemaking” efforts in the Middle East.

One of the most obvious aspects of the document is the refusal of its authors to attribute any consequence to Palestinian behavior.

For example, the pastors condemn the security barrier built to stop suicide attacks from the West Bank. They also lament the Israel’s attack against Hamas in the Gaza Strip during last winter, making no mention of the years’ worth of rocket attacks into Israel from this territory. They also bemoan the checkpoints that make it harder for Palestinians to participate in Israel’s economy.

Is this suffering real? Yes. Of course it is. But at what point will leaders of the Palestinian Christian community start to address the role Palestinian violence played in bringing about the construction of the security barrier, the attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the checkpoints?

Apparently, not any time soon. The document obliquely acknowledges Palestinian violence in the following passage:

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