Christian Groups Use Christmas to Demonize Jews and Israel

Christians march together to show solidarity with Israel, with supportive signs in many different languages including Spanish. Photo: Anav Silverman / Tazpit News Agency.

A new report from NGO monitor discloses the fact that some NGOs are using the holiday season to slander both Jews and Israel.

The report, titled “O Boycott All ye Faithful,” highlights organizations such as Christian Aid, Kairos Palestine, War on Want, Amos Trust, Sabeel, War on Want, ARIJ and Adalah-NY, all known for their support of the Palestinian Authority and anti-Israel stance.

The report states: “These organizations often use offensive and inflammatory rhetoric in Christmas carols, holiday messages and cards, nativity scenes, and other products.”

It also notes that many of the NGOs are funded by European and other governments. Sabeel is funded by Sweden (via Diakonia) and the Netherlands (via ICCO and Kerk in Actie); War on Want by UK, EU, and Ireland; ARIJ by EU, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, UK, and Spain; Christian Aid by UK, Ireland, Norway, and EU. As funders, these governments are enablers and share the moral responsibility for the actions of the NGOs says the report.

Examples cited by NGO Monitor include:

• War on Want, which receives British government funding, which sent Christmas cards that depict the security barrier paired with religious Christmas images. The reverse side of the card’s image includes the following text: “Bethlehem is one of the many Palestinian towns devastated by Israel’s illegal Separation Wall… Bethlehem, city of peace, has been disfigured by tanks and soldiers on its streets.”

• Kairos Palestine a Christian Arab group, published a 32-page “Christmas Alert” together with Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ). The text includes “distortions on the situation of Palestinian Christians, interlaced with biblically-based sermons. One of these compares the situation of the Palestinians today with the ‘Parable of the Vineyard and the Tenants.’ This parable invokes classic antisemitic deicide themes: the tenants (the Jews) reject the word of God (the owner of the vineyard) and kill his son, causing their land to be taken from them and given to “others.” This document casts modern day Jews as the evil tenants, and the Palestinians as Jesus, whom the tenants seek to kill.”

• Israel Palestine Mission Network, Presbyterian Church (USA), published its Daily Advent Devotional 2012, which demonizes Jews. For example: “Our Advent/Christmas traditions fit this allegory.  A loving God sends prophets to Israel to guide them to justice and righteousness.  The prophets are rejected, persecuted and often killed.”