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November 21, 2003
A way to build bridges
Letters
Editor: We would like to bring the community's attention to the
Jewish Christian Friendship Circle, a subcommittee of the Israel
Action Committee that was formed to counter media bias and misinformation
regarding Israel and the conflict in the Middle East. We have members
from Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, Surrey, Abbotsford
and Maple Ridge.
Children in Arab countries are being taught to hate. On June 27,
2002, the official Palestinian television film entitled Child
Martyrs and Lovers of their Homeland was broadcast. The Palestinian
Authority Ministry for Youth and Sport oversees summer camps where
children are subject to incitement and are trained to use weapons
for attacks against Israel. Bomb factories are built close to schools,
exposing children to danger. These activities are prohibited by
international law and pose a severe threat to children. Palestinian
textbooks paid for by Canadians and Europeans show Jews as bloodthirsty,
evil sub-humans. In Egypt, a TV series based on the lies of the
19th-century Protocols of the Elders of Zion is being aired
weekly.
Christians are being persecuted as well as Jews. Churches are being
defaced and people brutalized. Bruce Balfour, a Christian missionary,
was arrested and accused of spying for Israel. In many countries,
Christians are denied their rights and treated as inferior citizens.
Jewish sources have documented the large-scale persecution and martyrdom
of Christians in Islamic lands.
In the Friendship Circle, there is mutual regard and respect. We
are working together to build bridges and fight the common enemy
of hatred and lies. Members of the Friendship Circle are ready and
willing to speak with church groups, write articles and letters
and distribute packets of information. These materials have been
produced by Christian as well as Jewish organizations. (The Bridges
for Peace Web site – www.bridgesforpeace.com
– is an excellent resource and produces a weekly update on
Israel.) We welcome new members.
Sally Rogow and Joyena Abraham
Vancouver
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