Book Review

Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society (Paperback) List -available from Amazon $15

Justus Reid Weiner′s latest monograph Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society is essential reading for anyone interested in the universal recognition of human rights. Tragically, as Weiner writes, the voice of one significant community, the Palestinian Christian community’s voice, is consistently lost in the politics of the region. Despite the international importance of the community as the guardians of the most cherished holy sites of Christianity, the community suffers from the reality of a society governed by increasingly radicalized, fundamentalist Islamist beliefs that do not accommodate non-Muslims.

The community has dwindled precipitously as emigration rates rise to the point that the community now faces an existential threat. In Bethlehem alone the once 60% majority Christian population is now only a 20% minority i.e. 30,000 of the 130,000 residents. Weiner extrapolates that this reduction in numbers has impact on the political influence of the community in election outcomes thus reducing their say even further. The dramatic decline has occurred despite the community having had a long history in the region, in fact hundreds of years before the birth and spread of Islam.

Part of the problem is the little known specific statute for non-Muslims defining them under the discriminatory status of Dhimmitude. This status allows the Christian community in theory to survive as long as they pay their taxes, forgo self-defense and accept the protection of the Muslim leadership. Thus they live as ‘imperfect citizens’. Weiner explains that the Palestinian Authority draft constitution states that Sharia law will have primacy over other legal sources. This will only exacerbate the suffering and unease of Christian and other minority communities as they fear the potential official repression of religious minorities. The families already worry that they could starve due to their non-participation in the intifada violence and are forced to enroll their children in expensive private schools to avoid the indoctrination of their children in a ‘culture of death’. The right to sell their property to whomever they wish is proscibed by Palestinian Land Law – there is a death penalty for anyone found selling land to Jews. Vandalism and desecration of holy sites and cemeteries in the West Bank and Bethlehem occur without consequence.  PA security officials do not follow existing laws in the West Bank and Gaza regarding arrest and detention procedures. Mosque sermons malign Christianity and its Arab followers. Christian women feel virtual prisoners in their own homes due to the rise in sexual harassment and rape. Many have had to adopt traditional Muslim clothing to avoid rape, which in Middle Eastern countries has the added trauma of the girl then being seen as unfit for marriage. Weiner writes that Evangelical Pastor David Orviz feels that rape is thus yet another effective method of reducing the Christian population. In one case some Christian males came to the rescue of a girl about to be raped and when one of the attackers were injured only the rescuers  were arrested whilst no action was taken against the attackers.

Yet the international agencies report only alleged Israeli violations in detail and give vague and superficial criticism to the Palestinian Authority. One can only wonder why the international community ignores the Palestinian Authority’s lack of Rule of Law and the general victimization of religious minorities. If there is so much systematic persecution of the Christian population under the Palestinian Authority now, what will happen once statehood is achieved? Weiner in Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society  is a must-read to gain an insight into the increasingly dangerous vulnerability of the Christian minority under the Palestinian Authority.

Leora Ross teaches English at an Australian university