"Radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George, which dates back to the 5th century. Taybeh is the last remaining all-Christian town in the West Bank. These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites. In the face of such threats, the greatest act of bravery is to continue to call this your home. We stand with you, we support your resilience, and you have our prayers. The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches calls for these radicals to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh."

Cardinal Pizzaballa stood alongside the other church patriarchs today in the Christian village of Taybeh, in the West Bank. 

 The visit comes in response to a series of violent attacks by Israeli settlers on the village, including set fire to St. George Church and the Christian cemetery.

Part of their statment: "'Radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George, which dates back to the 5th century. Taybeh is the last remaining all-Christian town in the West Bank. These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites. In the face of such threats, the greatest act of bravery is to continue to call this your home. We stand with you, we support your resilience, and you have our prayers.

The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches calls for these radicals to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh." 

Fr. Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of the Church of Christ the Redeemer in Taybeh stated that more than 10 Christian families have already left the village due to fear of ongoing violence and harassment by settlers.

Ihab Hassan  "To our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world: Speaking out against Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank— which also targets the Christian community—is not a political stance; it’s a moral one."

@IhabHassane

Statement of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem during the Solidarity Visit to Taybeh

July 14 2025

We, the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem, are here today in Taybeh in solidarity with the local community following an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks against them and their presence. We ask for the prayers, attention, and action of the world, particularly that of Christians globally.

On Monday, 7 July 2025, radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George, which dates back to the 5th century. Taybeh is the last remaining all-Christian town in the West Bank. These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites. In the face of such threats, the greatest act of bravery is to continue to call this your home. We stand with you, we support your resilience, and you have our prayers.

We give thanks for the local residents and firefighters for extinguishing the fire before our holy sites were destroyed, but we join voices with the local priests - Greek Orthodox, Latin, and Melkite Greek Catholic - issuing a clear plea for support in the face of repeated, systematic attacks from these radicals, which are only growing more frequent.
In recent months, the radicals have led their cattle to graze on the farms of Christians on the east side of Taybeh - the agricultural area - rendering them inaccessible at best but at worst damaging the olive groves that families depend on. Last month, several homes were attacked by these radicals, lighting fires and erecting a billboard that said, translated into English, “there is no future for you here”.

The Church has had a faithful presence in this region for nearly 2,000 years. We firmly reject this message of exclusion and reaffirm our commitment to a Holy Land that is a mosaic of different faiths, living peacefully together in dignity and safety.... READ MORE  https://www.lpj.org/en/news/statement-of-the-patriarchs-and-heads-of-the-churches-in-jerusalem-dur

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

 

 

2025-07-08 Israeli settlers set fire to the St. George Monastery and the Christian cemetery in the Christian village of Taybeh, West Bank—one of the oldest Christian sites in Palestine.

Israeli settlers set fire to the St. George Monastery and the Christian cemetery in the Christian village of Taybeh, West Bank—one of the oldest Christian sites in Palestine.

 

Ihab Hassan

@IhabHassane

Christian families from the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank shared these photos of Israeli settlers storming their property, herding their cows through their land—and today, these settlers set fire to the St. George Monastery and the Christian cemetery.

 

Settlers' Fires Threaten Taybeh’s Heritage: Priests Urge Immediate International Intervention

2025-07-08

 

https://nabd10.ps/en/news/settlers-fires-threaten-taybehs-heritage-priests-urge-immediate-international-intervention 

Taybeh - "Nabd ElHaya" – In a statement released today, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the priests of the Churches of Taybeh – Latin, Melkite Greek Catholic, and Greek Orthodox – issued a clear call to the world, expressing deep concern over the increasing and repeated attacks, documented by Israeli settlers, targeting the town's land, holy sites, and properties, amid official silence that exacerbates the sense of danger and lack of protection.

On behalf of themselves, the townspeople, and their parishioners, the priests strongly condemned these attacks, which threaten the security and stability of Taybeh, as well as targeting the dignity of its residents and the sanctity of its land.

The statement, signed by Father Daoud Khoury, Father Jack-Nobel Abed, and Father Bashar Fawadleh, described the situation in the town as "a series of dangerous, systematic attacks" that no longer just threaten the town’s security, but are directly aimed at undermining the dignity of its Christian residents and disrupting their historic and religious heritage.... READ MORE  https://nabd10.ps/en/news/settlers-fires-threaten-taybehs-heritage-priests-urge-immediate-international-intervention

Munther Isaac منذر اسحق

 

@MuntherIsaac

 

The full letter of the urgent appeal from the priests of Taybeh in the wake of the increased settlers attacks on the village. 

 

@GovMikeHuckabee   any response about the pleas of your siblings in Christ? This is the result of your "Judea and Samaria" policy: total immunity to settler violence.

 

 

Saving NYC's Washington Street: First Arab-American Neighborhood In Grave Danger

http://savewashingtonstreet.org/

First Arab-American Neighborhood In Grave Danger
Lower Manhattan Was Once The Center of Arab Life in U.S.

Most Americans, and even many Arab-Americans, are unaware that Lower Manhattan -- along Washington Street from Battery Park through the 9/11 Memorial to Chambers Street -- was once the center of Arab-American life in the United States, then called "Little Syria" or the "Mother Colony."

Obscured from history as the result of the construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the World Trade Center, its physical destruction was compounded by vanishing memory within the Arab-American community, reinforced by an atmosphere unprepared to acknowledge that the Arab-American story of hard-work and community -- both Christian and Muslim -- began at the very location the violent tragedy occurred.

Fortunately, by a kind of miracle, three buildings remain and are physically connected: 103 Washington Street, an Arab church that served as a Irish bar for many years; 105-107 Washington Street, a community house inaugurated by the governor of New York to serve the Little Syria neighborhood; and 109 Washington Street, a tenement building still containing apartments.

Tens of millions of tourists every year will walk between Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum -- all through historical Arab New York! -- and these three buildings deserve to be preserved as landmarks to leave some general trace of an ethnic neighborhood that has been devastated like no other in the city.

Save the Community House

The most urgent priority is to send letters to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission encouraging them to preserve the "Little Syria" Community House at 105-107 Washington Street. Community Board One in Lower Manhattan passed a resolution encouraging this action, but the Commission needs to hear from more Americans that this disappearing heritage and this building are valued. There is a danger that this building could be demolished in the coming months, and we need to act quickly.

Lobby for Recognition

Unlike nearly every other ethnic neighborhood in New York City, Little Syria has no signs, no memorials, and no statues to recall the tens of thousands of immigrants who passed through. We believe that the 9/11 Museum should acknowledge the long Arab history at the location in order to dispel stereotypes, and that the city should erect an informational sign communicating this heritage to the millions of tourists who shall walk within this neighborhood