Christian advocacy group hails Israel-Emirates deal

August 14, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

CNA Staff, Aug 14, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- An advocacy group for Christians and other religious minorities living in the Middle East has praised an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced Aug. 13. 

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced the diplomatic accord, and released a statement on the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel which included a provision that Israel will “suspend declaring sovereignty” over some areas of the West Bank. 

In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini called the agreement a “historic step in the peace process” in a statement released on Thursday. UAE is now the first Persian Gulf state and, after Egypt and Jordan, the third Arab nation, to have open diplomatic relations with Israel.

“We are pleased that Israel is suspending plans to annex new areas of the West Bank, as the historic Christian communities of the Holy Land have voiced their concern about this issue,” said Baaklini.

Baaklini, however, said that there is still “much more work to be done” for advancing the cause of religious freedom in the Middle East, and that he hopes that Christians in the area are not ignored during the process. 

“We encourage all parties to Middle East Peace Talks to continue to consult with the historic Christian communities of the Holy Land in these negotiations,” he added. 

“IDC hopes that this is a positive step towards establishing a fair and lasting peace among all Middle Eastern nations,” he said.

In February last year, Pope Francis made an historic trip to the UAE, the first by a pope to the Arabian peninsula. While there, Francis signed a joint document on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb. The document condemned “all forms of violence, especially those with religious motivation,” and committed the two leaders “to spreading authentic values and peace throughout the world.”

The UAE has strict laws governing religion, including the death penalty for Musilms who convert to another religion.

Following Thursday’s announcement, leaders from Egypt, Oman, and Bahrain co-signed a letter of support for the agreement. Oman and Bahrain presently do not have embassies in Israel and neither country has ever recognized Israel. 

"I thank Egyptian President al-Sisi, and the governments of Oman and Bahrain, for their support of the historic peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which is expanding the circle of peace and will be good for the entire region,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 14. 

Other states in the region have criticized the accord. Iran’s state news agency IRNA quoted the country’s foreign ministry calling the agreement a “strategic act of idiocy” and “dangerous.” 

A spokesperson for Palestinian National Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian government “rejects and denounces” the agreement. 

“The Palestinian leadership rejects the actions of the Emirati government, considering it to be a betrayal of the Palestinian people and Jerusalem and [the] al-Aqsa [mosque in Jerusalem],” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.

Related Articles

No Picture
News Briefs

Reconstruction of blast-damaged Beirut church brings hope

November 19, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

CNA Staff, Nov 19, 2020 / 06:27 pm (CNA).- The reconstruction of a church in Beirut severely damaged by the massive explosion that rocked the city this summer is a sign of hope to the area’s inhabitants, said a local priest.

Fr. Nicolas Riachy is pastor of the Church of the Savior in Beirut, Lebanon. He told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in a recent interview that the blast not only damaged his church, but caused a local exodus.

“Ten percent of the population of this neighborhood has left, because they can no longer live in their homes,” he said. “I can’t do anything to stop them because I can’t give them security, which is what they want.”

It is becoming more and more difficult to maintain hope, he said, as “those who have money and a foreign passport leave, but we poor people will die here.”

The priest hopes the rebuilding of the church will be a beacon of hope amid difficult circumstances.

On the afternoon of August 4, 2020, a massive explosion ripped through Beirut, as 2.75 metric tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse exploded in the city’s port area.

More than 200 people were killed in the blast, and another 6,000 were injured. More than 250,000 people were left homeless. The blast could be heard in Cyprus, more than 250 km away.

Survivors of the explosion told Aid to the Church in Need that it had left the area economically devastated and the people traumatized. One survivor said it was “worse than a war, because it took out everything at once. The effort of years was lost in seven seconds.”

The incident caused the total destruction of the poor neighborhoods around the port, where migrants and Christian workers who came from the mountains in search of a better life settled.

Riachy said his church lost its roof in the blast. The Greek Melkite church was built in 1890 and is one of the oldest in the city. It has great historical value for Beirut and has a symbolic location on the border between Christian and Muslim neighborhoods.

“We’re a kind of gateway to the Christian quarter,” Riachy said. “To those who want to stay we must give hope, our mission is to bring a light to the darkness we are living in.”

“There’s no Christianity without a cross,” he added. “Our example is Christ. It’s hard to be Christians, but many are still aware that this land is the Holy Land and that we can’t abandon it.”

The church is now undergoing reconstruction work, with the support of Aid to the Church in Need, which has pledged 5 million euros to help Christians in Beirut rebuild after the August explosion.

The cleaning phase of the church is nearly complete, but Riachy said there is still scattered glass and shattered window frames on the sides and entrance of the building.

“If the seasonal rains come it will damage everything. In addition, there’s a crack that must be fixed so that everything doesn’t collapse,” he said.

He voiced gratitude to Aid to the Church in Need for their help, saying the rebuilding efforts would be impossible without outside aid.

“All the homes of my parishioners have their windows and doors destroyed,” the priest said. “And then there’s the economic crisis. The banks won’t let people withdraw their money, now they have nothing. How can they help me rebuild the church?”

Riachy said he hopes the church will help bring hope to the Christians who remain in the city.

“Pope Francis said that a Middle East without Christians is unthinkable,” he added. “I hope this church can continue to be a beautiful testimony of the word of the Lord.”


[…]

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*