LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 27/2010

Bible Of The Day
Matthew13/10-16: " The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 13:11 He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. 13:12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. 13:13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. 13:14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
13:15 for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes,
hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.’* 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 13:17 For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Fears of violence high in Tripoli/By: Matt Nash/October 26/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 26/10
Saudis push Lebanese PM Hariri to quit, Lebanon near abyss/DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
Congress: Merging Hizbullah with Lebanese Army is Best Scenario/Naharnet
French paper tracks Hezbollah arms trail/Ynetnews
Lebanese Shoots and Wounds Siddiq in Germany, Report/Naharnet
Berri from Paris Denounces March 14 Rejection to Refer False Witnesses to Judicial Council/Naharnet
Bombs Found Hidden in Majdal Anjar Ditch/Naharnet
Hariri right man to lead Lebanese Cabinet - Assad/Daily Star
Marouni: People have lost trust in national dialogue/Now Lebanon
Baroud: I will Reveal the Name of Any Officer Who Doesn't Perform his Duty/Naharnet
Hariri Starts Official Visit to London on Monday/Naharnet
Assad: Any Indictment in a Split Country is Destructive, Hariri 'The Best' for This Period/Naharnet
Sami Gemayel: Syria wants Hariri to Abandon his Allies and the STL/Naharnet
Finance Minister Rayya al-Hassan to critics: We did not commit any mistake/Now Lebanon
Contacts between Paris and Washington Ongoing over STL/Naharnet
US Officials: We Are All the Way with the STL Even if This Leads to Lebanon Instability/Naharnet
Suleiman Likely to Give 'Criminal Chamber' Final Say over False Witnesses/Naharnet
Qatari Emir: Situation in Lebanon Will Continue Like This, Politicians Tend to Exaggerate Things/Naharnet
Sapper Dead, Four Hurt in Yater Cluster Bomb Blast/Naharnet
Berri meets with Kouchner/Now Lebanon

Saudis push Lebanese PM Hariri to quit, Lebanon near abyss
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 25, 2010, In a sudden about-face, the Saudis Monday, Oct. 25, urged Lebanon's pro-Western Prime Minister Saad Hariri to step down without delay and make way for an administration dominated by pro-Syrian ministers and Hizballah. King Abdullah, according to debkafile's Middle East and Beirut sources, sees no other way of saving Lebanon from tipping over into civil strife over Hizballah's demand to disband the international tribunal probing the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
Last week, Hariri confided to US Deputy Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman he was close to resigning and giving way to the Saudi King, long a friend of the Hariri family, now siding with its antagonists. When Riyadh saw he was sticking to his guns, the Saudi mouthpiece Asharq al-Awsat published an article of a sort rarely seen in the Arab media telling the Lebanese prime minister in no uncertain terms that he had choice in the matter. Chief Editor Tariq Alhomayed warned Saad Hariri that he had run out of options and the only thing left him was to follow his father's example and resign as prime minister as Rafiq Hariri did in late 2004. (A few months later, Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in Beirut.)
"Afterwards," said Alhomayed, "you will become, wherever you may be, a sanctuary" because only then will the Lebanese public and Arab leaders appreciate the threat against them.
debkafile's sources spell out this "threat" as the Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah conspiracy to break up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in time to pre-empt the indictments of nine senior Hizballah security officials for involvement in the assassination due to be published before the end of the year.
Asharq al-Awsat acknowledged that no Lebanese leader stepping into Hariri's shoes would be able to invalidate the tribunal's legitimacy or dismantle it because this would condemn Lebanon to the anarchy of civil war. Nonetheless, the writer stood by the demand for Hariri to remove himself from office without delay as the only viable option left in the unfolding crisis.
Our sources note that a new Lebanese government under the thumb of Damascus and Hizballah will waste no time in annulling the tribunal and so be free to parrot the Hizballah charge that Israeli intelligence was behind the Hariri murder. When the tribunal asked Hizballah for evidence of its charge earlier this year, it received no answer. Raising it again may well have the effect of precipitating a renewed Lebanese-Israeli clash of arms which a new government would not raise a finger to prevent.
Also Monday, it was reported in Beirut that two employees of the Lebanese Alfa cell phone company had provided evidence under questioning that for the thirty-two days of the 2006 Lebanon War Israel had controlled the company's exchanges.
debkafile's intelligence sources report that Hizballah is laying the ground for the speech its secretary Hassan Nasrallah is preparing to deliver in the coming days. He has promised to produce evidence that Israel was responsible for the Hariri murder and trumped up a case against Syria and Hizballah by means of its command of Lebanon's telephone system.

French paper tracks Hezbollah arms trail
Le Figaro reveals well oiled machine focused on Syrian weapon deliveries to Shiite group
Ynet Published: 10.26.10, 14:48 / Israel News
share
French newspaper Le Figaro published a special in-depth report Tuesday, revealing how Syria and Lebanon are both allowing and aiding Hezbollah in building up its arsenal.The report unveils three Hezbollah logistical units based in Syria and Lebanon, which oversee the safe delivery of Iranian-sponsored weapons to the Shiite group.
Thank to these units' operations, Hezbollah is now believed to be in possession of over 40,000 rockets. The organization currently has some 10,000 members.
Le Figaro maintains that "Unit 108" heads weapon shipments form warehouses on the Syria-Lebanon border to Hezbollah bases. The unit, whose headquarters are located just outside Damascus, has both regular servicemen as well as a reserve forces. Another distribution unit is "Unit 112,' whose men handle the actual delivery of weapons to various Hezbollah strongholds. Deliveries are restricted to night time. The third link in the supply chain in "Unit 100": The unit comprises of Hezbollah weapons specialists and their Iranian counterparts, who travel between the militia's various bases in Lebanon and Iran. The paper said that both sides consider Hezbollah training in Iran as crucial, since the topography of south Lebanon prevents the true training needed for missile launching systems. Le Figaro further maintains that since the end of the Second Lebanon War Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Guards have become closer than ever. The assassination of Imad Mugniyah, and Israel's assertion that Syria has been supplying Hezbollah with Scud missiles, has prompted the group to tighten security around its senior operatives, and its weapons delivery array. The complexity of this system, said the French paper, illustrates Hezbollah's importance to Syria. A senior security source in Paris told Le Figaro that "a targeted Israel action against Unit 108 sites under is still possible." The security source maintained that since the end of the 2006 war, "Hezbollah has been able to completely rehabilitate its weapons cashes, tunneling under the Syrian-Lebanese border, in an effort to create escape route for its operative, in case of another altercation with Israel."
Hezbollah, according to the report, has recently gained naval capabilities, as it "Unit 87" is now training divers.

Report reveals alleged Hezbollah arms supply route
October 26, 2010
According to “confidential reports,” the French Defense Ministry has information about Hezbollah’s arms supply route to Lebanon through Syria, French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Tuesday. The daily said that Hezbollah has three logistical units specialized to transport weapons, including 40,000 rockets as well as an arsenal large enough to equip around ten thousand fighters. According to the paper, the Hezbollah units are as follows:' Unit 108, which is based in Damascus, is responsible for transporting arms and ammunition from Syria to other checkpoints based on the Lebanese-Syrian borders. Arms storage units are reportedly located in Halab, Homs and Tartous in Syria.
- Unit 112 is tasked with delivering arms to Hezbollah’s caches in Lebanon and supplying ammunition to the party’s fighters located especially in the Bekaa.
- Unit 100 is tasked with transporting Hezbollah fighters and Iranian experts between Lebanon, Syria and Iran through Damascus’ airport.
Le Figaro reported that “there is a possibility that Israel might attack arms caches belonging to Unit 108 in Syria.”
-NOW Lebanon

Lebanese Shoots and Wounds Siddiq in Germany, Report
Naharnet/The so-called key witness in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri Zuheir Siddiq was reportedly shot and wounded in Germany.
The website "Beirut Observer" on Tuesday quoted sources as saying Siddiq survived an assassination attempt a "few days ago."It said Siddiq was hit by three bullets and was taken to hospital in "critical condition."The website said authorities identified one of the assailants as a resident from southern Lebanon.The report could not be independently verified.
Two weeks ago, Siddiq had revealed to New TV that he had entered the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's witness protection program. He also said that he had contacted the international investigation with the assistance of Syria's military intelligence chief Ghazi Kanaan, who had committed suicide in Syria in 2005 under mysterious circumstances.
Last week, Naharnet had asked the court's registrar from the international court's headquarters in the Hague if the tribunal's witness protection program had begun operation, but the official refused to answer the question. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 13:45

Congress: Merging Hizbullah with Lebanese Army is Best Scenario
Naharnet/A report issued by the U.S. Congress suggested diplomatic and security strategies to end the issue of Hizbullah arms. The report, titled "Hizbullah: Background and Issues for Congress," was released by the Congressional Research Service, and placed at the disposal of members of Congress and its committees. It also discussed the meetings of the Lebanese national dialogue on a defense strategy and the International Tribunal for Lebanon and the performance of the March 14 forces as well as U.S. military aid to the Lebanese army.
The report said Hizbullah's policy suggests that the Shiite group will seek to preserve the role of Resistance in the national defense of Lebanon and will resist any Lebanese or international effort aimed to disarm the party. Hizbullah continues to define itself primarily as a resistance movement and remains a vehement opponent of what he sees as illegal interference by the Americans and Israelis in Lebanese affairs and regional, Congress said. Among the suggestions, the report said, was to merge Hizbullah into the Lebanese Army, but it pointed to Hizbullah's rejection to this offer. The report, however, finds this option could complicate U.S. policy in dealing with Hizbullah given that Hizbullah is classified by Washington as a terrorist organization but thought this may be the "best scenario" to resolve the Hizbullah issue. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 10:02

Berri from Paris Denounces March 14 Rejection to Refer False Witnesses to Judicial Council
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri denounced March 14 forces' rejection to refer the false witnesses' issue to the Judicial Council which he described as the "highest judicial authority." "Lack of trust harms the image of the judiciary and suggests the use of discretion in dealing with it," Berri told the daily As-Safir from France.
He said he was concerned over some of the positions of leading figures in the March 14 coalition. Berri arrived Monday in Paris on an official two-day visit during which he will hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy and a number of top French officials. He was welcomed at the airport by French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, Lebanese Ambassador to France Boutros Assaker, French Senator Bernadette Dupont, Lebanese embassy staff and a number of Lebanese expatriates. The speaker has said a Cabinet session scheduled for this week should be decisive regarding the issue of false witnesses "as the issue can no longer bear any delay." An-Nahar newspaper said Sarkozy will reaffirm during his meeting with Berri on Thursday France's support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 08:09

Sami Gemayel: Syria wants Hariri to Abandon his Allies and the STL
Naharnet/MP Sami Gemayel noted on Tuesday that Syria aims to establish good ties with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on condition that he abandon his March 14 allies and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He told LBC during his ongoing trip to the United States that Washington assured him that it supports the international tribunal and Lebanon's sovereignty, denying allegations that the U.S. position towards these matters had changed. Gemayel stressed that Lebanese officials must choose whether they want to be pawns for foreign powers or capable of making their own decisions. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 13:37

Fears of violence high in Tripoli
Matt Nash, October 26, 2010
Young men from rival neighborhoods in the northern port city of Tripoli recently admitted on the popular LBC political talk show Kalam an-Nas that, should push come to shove, they would take up arms to fight and kill each other. Since the interview, yet another explosion has rocked the mostly Alawi Jabal Mohsen neighborhood in Lebanon’s second largest city, and analysts predict the now decades-old conflict there could soon flare up again, fueled by rising sectarian tensions throughout the country.
A re-run of the show, aired the day after its original broadcast, abruptly cut to an episode of a Lebanese soap opera. A ticker on the bottom of the screen told viewers the sudden change in programming was caused by “technical difficulties.” The talk show, which featured young people from various confessions talking about whether or not they would be willing to fight if civil strife broke out in Lebanon, caused quite a commotion.
Numerous viewers called Information Minister Tarek Mitri to complain about the sensitive topic being discussed, according to press reports.
Mitri in turn called LBC, which agreed to stop airing the episode. Hezbollah and al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, Lebanon’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, both issued press releases condemning the episode.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya described the show as tarnishing the reputation of Tripoli, and distorting the facts on the ground. However, residents in Jabal Mohsen have a long history of violence with their neighbors in the mostly Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh. As a recent press release from the International Crisis Group notes, the neighborhoods “have served as an arena for proxy wars, as external actors back local fighters in a struggle that is less costly and more easily managed that open warfare in the capital.”
At one time well integrated and on amicable terms, relations between the two neighborhoods broke down in the 1980s. In the early part of the decade, the Islamic Unification Movement, which adheres to a Salafist ideology and was led by the late Shaikh Said Shaaban, controlled the city, essentially turning Tripoli into an Islamic emirate. Syrian troops then turned their attention to Tripoli, both to clip Shaaban’s wings and to chase the late Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat out.
Syria struck a natural alliance with the Alawi community, as the ruling Assad family is from the same offshoot of Shia Islam, and used Jabal Mohsen as a base to launch its assault on Tripoli. Since the massacres of the 1980s, animosity remains and violence is somewhat common.
In both late January 2007 and May 2008, when street fighting broke out in Beirut, residents of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh seized the opportunity to go at each other’s throats. In fact, fighting in 2008 in the north lasted far longer than that on the streets of the capital. Unlike the skirmishes in the 1980s, the Sunni groups fighting today are loyal to Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The Islamic Unification Movement, which bore the brunt of the Syrian advance some 25 years ago, is now allied with the opposition against Hariri and his Future Movement. Earlier this year, one Islamic Unification Movement said Hariri’s movement will soon be the “past” movement, the Asia Times reported.
Most Salafists in Tripoli, however, still support the Prime Minister, and on a recent drive through Abi Samra, a neighborhood adjacent to Bab al-Tabbaneh, NOW Lebanon saw posters of Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, who has been a favorite opposition whipping boy as of late, affixed to street lights and electricity poles.
Echoing the recent briefing from the International Crisis Group, former Tripoli MP Mosbeh al-Ahdab told NOW Lebanon he too thinks groups in Tripoli may be mobilized as part of a local and regional power struggle.
“Regionally, what’s going on is that there’s a confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” he said. Both Hezbollah and the Future Movement, in recent years, have been hiring impoverished young men from Tripoli who are “ready to fight, whenever there’s request, I think.”
Ahdab added, “I think everyone moved, as much as possible, confrontation to Tripoli, hired two groups of people fighting each other and ready with all their weapons, and everyone is waiting to see what’s happening regionally.”
Shiekh Bilal Dokmak – a Salafist leader in Tripoli affiliated with Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal, founder of the Salafist movement in Lebanon – somewhat disagreed. He told NOW Lebanon that Sunnis in Tripoli are not armed, however, he then said the real fears of violence in the North should not be focused on Sunni-Shia problems, but rather Sunni-Sunni problems.
The Sunni community is now divided between supporting Hezbollah and Hariri, Dokmak said. He told NOW Lebanon that he is worried about a confrontation within the community because, “that’s what Syria wants.”
For its part, the ICG warned that in Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, “a feeling of abandonment and economic precariousness feed a militia culture inherited from the civil war in two conflicting areas which in fact have much in common.”
Ahdab agrees that poverty in the two neighborhoods – which is also rampant in other parts of the city as well as the entire Northern district of Akkar – plays a role in the recurring violence and is not being addressed by the state.
“Nothing is done within the budget to give financing to Tripoli,” he said. “It’s not very reassuring to see that anything linked to development or education is not taken into consideration while everything linked to small confrontations is manipulated.”

Safadi meets Lebanese-Russian trade delegation
October 26, 2010 /Economy Minister Mohammad Safadi met with a delegation of the Joint Lebanese-Russian Economy and Trade Commission to discuss means of improving trade between the two countries, according to a statement issued by Safadi’s office on Tuesday.-NOW Lebanon

US grants funds to Mine Advisory Group (MAG)
October 26, 2010 /The US State Department Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement granted $200 thousand to the Mine Advisory Group (MAG), according to a statement issued Tuesday by the US Embassy in Lebanon. The statement added that the fund is for the removal of sub-munitions in Lebanon.-NOW Lebanon

Berri meets with Kouchner
October 26, 2010 /NBN television reported Tuesday that Speaker Nabih Berri met with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and discussed with him the situation in Lebanon and the region.Berri arrived in Paris on Monday evening for an official state visit to the French capital The speaker will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday, NBN also reported, adding that head of the French National Assembly will hold a dinner in Berri’s honor Tuesday evening.-NOW Lebanon

Marouni: People have lost trust in national dialogue
October 26, 2010 /Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni told New TV on Tuesday that past national dialogue sessions have not yet generated any productive result, adding that the Lebanese people “have lost their trust” in the dialogue sessions. However, Marouni said that he still believes dialogue is the only way to ensure consensus in Lebanon.
Members of the national dialogue committee are set to meet at the Presidential Palace in Baabda at 11 a.m. on November 4 to resume their talks. The last dialogue session was held in August, in which the committee agreed to continue studying a national defense strategy.-NOW Lebanon

Finance Minister Rayya al-Hassan to critics: We did not commit any mistake
October 26, 2010  (NOW Lebanon) During Tuesday’s Parliamentary Budget and Finance Commission meeting, Finance Minister Rayya al-Hassan said in response to critics that “we did not commit any mistake and we will no longer tolerate [criticism],” NOW Lebanon’s correspondent reported. March 8 figures, primarily Change and Reform bloc MPs, have repeatedly criticized Hassan. Last month, Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun said that the Finance Ministry looks like “Ali Baba’s cave,” adding that employees are working there illegitimately.-NOW Lebanon

Hariri right man to lead Lebanese Cabinet - Assad
Talks on ‘false witnesses’ look set to be postponed again
By Elias Sakr and Hassan Lakiss
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad said Monday Prime Minister Saad Hariri was the appropriate person to lead Lebanon’s government under the current circumstances as ministers looked set to again postpone talks over the issue of “false witnesses.”
Assad told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat in an interview to be published Tuesday that his personal relation with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz was a guarantee to seeing solid relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Assad also denied that Lebanese politicians who recently visited Damascus raised the issue of a government change.
Assad’s supportive remarks of Hariri’s role come after tensions surfaced again in ties between Hariri’s coalition and Damascus following a statement by Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji al-Otari describing the March 14 coalition as a “house of cards.”
Otari’s comments last week broke a period of calm that was gradually established following Hariri’s first visit to Damascus in December 2009 following a Syrian-Saudi rapprochement after four years of broken ties since former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s murder.
Earlier Monday, Assad discussed with former Prime Minister Omar Karami in Damascus the latest developments in Lebanon after visits last week by Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt and Speaker Nabih Berri to Syria.
Echoing statements that followed Assad’s discussions with Jumblatt and Berri, a statement released by Karami’s press office said the Syrian leader conveyed to Karami the need to maintain a calm dialogue in Lebanon in order to confront an Israeli plot to instigate Sunni-Shiite strife.
The statement added that Assad underscored the strength of Syrian-Saudi ties that worked in favor of calm in Lebanon while denying any Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.
A Syrian-Saudi and inter-Lebanese brokered solution to the political standoff between Hariri and Hizbullah has yet to materialize as ministerial discussions over the issue of false witnesses await President Michel Sleiman’s mediation for a compromise between rival parties on the issue.
March 8 parties accuse witnesses who later recanted their testimonies before the UN investigators of misleading investigations into Hariri’s case.
Hizbullah and its allies argue that putting those witnesses on trial would set straight the course of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probe, but March 14 parties insist that such a probe cannot be carried out before the release of the STL indictment when testimonies would be made public.
March 8 ministerial sources told The Daily Star the coalition’s ministers would not object to postponing discussions over the issue of “false witnesses” that were likely to take place Wednesday to a later date.
“We want to believe that Saudi-Syrian accord concerning Lebanon can still lead to a solution that is acceptable by all parties and can accomplish justice without instigating strife as believed by Jumblatt,” the ministerial source said.
The sources added that postponing talks was aimed at granting Sleiman more time to reach an understanding over the issue of “false witnesses” and avoid a Cabinet vote that could lead to a sharp political divide that might threaten the Cabinet’s unity.
However, the sources said the March 8 coalition’s acceptance of such a formula should not be interpreted as a sign of their willingness to make concessions or to relinquish their earlier demand to refer the issue to the Justice Council.
March 14 parliamentary sources said the alliance’s ministers insist that the issue of “false witnesses” fell under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese judiciary rather than the Justice Council as reiterated by the Justice Ministry’s report.
The sources said the March 8 coalition was trying to pressure Hariri to make concessions or face a vote in Cabinet.

Deputy Minister Charges Archbishop with Anti-Jewish ’Libel’
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu/Arutz Sheva
The Catholic Synod in Rome last week was “hijacked” by anti-Zionists, Deputy Minister Danny Ayalon has charged. Ayalaon also was “appalled” at an Archbishop’s statement that the Chosen People concept no longer applies only to Jews.
"We express our disappointment that this important Synod has become a forum for political attacks on Israel in the best history of Arab propaganda," Ayalon said. "The Synod was hijacked by an anti-Israel majority."
He called on the Vatican to distance itself from the “libel” in remarks by U.S. Archbishop Cyrille Bustros, a Lebanese native who chaired the Synod committee that summarized its criticism of a Jewish presence in united Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.
The cleric also told reporters that the Biblical promise that the Land of Israel is for Jews, as the Chosen People, was "abolished by the presence of Christ." He added, "For Christians, one can no longer talk of the land promised to the Jewish people… There is no longer a favored people, a chosen people; all men and women of every country have become the chosen people.”
"We are especially appalled at the language used by Archbishop Bustros during his press conference," Ayalon remarked. "We call on the Vatican to distance themselves from Archbishop Bustros' comments, which are a libel against the Jewish People and the State of Israel and should not be construed as the Vatican's official position. These outrageous comments should not cast a shadow over the important relationship between the Vatican, the State of Israel and the Jewish People."
After two weeks of discussions, the Synod called on the international community "to end the occupation of Arab lands." Bustros added, “The theme of the Promised Land cannot be used as a basis to justify the return of the Jews to Israel and the expatriation of the Palestinians."
Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the Synod clerics who expressed concern over the dwindling number of Christians in Israel were "committing a sin towards the truth" by forgetting to mention that "Israel is the one country in the region that is welcoming to Christians."
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

A Christian Response to Synod Declaration on the Chosen People
by Pastor Ken Garrison (ret.)
Recently a Catholic synod led by Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros declared that the promise made by G-d to Abraham and
Almost 2000 years after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem... behold, the Jewish people are still with us...and have...become a vibrant nation state.
his descendants to give them the land of Israel was abolished by Jesus. Specifically, Archbishop Bustros declared that “For Christians, one can no longer talk of the land promised to the Jewish people…. There is no longer a favored people, a chosen people; all men and women of every country have become the chosen people,.” Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, “Catholic Cleric; Jesus Cancelled Biblical ‘Chosen People’, Arutz Sheva, October 24, 2010.
This position affirmed by Archbishop Bustros is a simple restatement of the ancient Catholic Church position of replacement theology which is a faulty interpretation of the Bible and it has been demonstrated to be historically incorrect. When G-d initiated the beginning of redemptive covenants with Abraham, He promised Abraham (i) blessing; (ii) global ministry and (iii) the land of Israel (G-d made Abraham and his descendants special stewards of the land). These promises were eternal.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be G-d to you and to your descendants after you.” (Genesis 17:7)
It is difficult to understand how Archbishop Bustros could misinterpret such simple words as "descendants" and "everlasting".
Later the Jewish people had sinned so grievously that G-d was about to allow the Babylonians to drive them out of the land of Israel. Even under such circumstances G-d declared the eternal nature of His relationship with the Jewish people.
“Thus says the L-rd, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The L-rd of hosts is His name; If this fixed order departs from before Me,” declares the L-rd, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the L-rd, “If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” declares the L-rd. (Jeremiah 31:35-37)
Beyond these references, we have bold affirmation of the same thing made in the New Testament by none other than the Apostle Paul and, believe it or not, written to the mother church which Archbishop Bustros serves.
“I say than, G-d has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” (Romans 11:1)
Lest we mistake who Paul is talking about, later in the same dissertation, he identifies his subject as those who are seen as “enemies of the gospel” so we know that he was not speaking of Christians as descendants of Abraham.
“From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of G-d’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of G-d are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:28-29) Therefore we declare that the position advanced by Archbishop Bustros is Biblically inaccurate.
Historically speaking, the statement is equally absurd. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD/CE, when the doctrine of replacement theology was advanced by the so-called “Church Fathers” like Tertullian and Origen, any observer might think that the descendants of Abraham were being eliminated from the human community, at least, as a national entity. We now live almost 2000 years after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the partial exile of the Jewish people living in the land at that time. Behold, the Jewish people are still with us and even more amazing is the fact that they have, once again, become a national state, indeed a vibrant one. Their continued existence and the ingathering leading to statehood in 1948 is one of the most astounding miracles of our age. One of the surest signs of a religious system in “rigor mortis” is its inability or unwillingness to recognize error in its system of thought and to make corrections in accordance with obvious Biblical and/or historical reality. The Roman Catholic Church as reflected in the statement of Archbishop Bustros is demonstrating this sad characteristic.
Finally, Archbishop Bustros declared that “all men and women of every country have become the chosen people”. From a Christian perspective, this “state of being chosen” may be considered correct if we think in terms of individuals being reconciled to G-d.
Chritianity, however, focused on the Kingdom of G-d which is G-d’s means of providing reconciliation to the nations of the human community. In this ministry, the nation of Israel stands at the center of the process. G-d’s election of Israel stands. Their right to the Land of Israel stands. Indeed, there is no real hope for peace within the human community until the Kingdom is realized and this will not occur unless and until the Jewish people live in and control Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the surrounding areas. They serve the human community by being the gatekeepers of the Kingdom (Remember G-d’s promise to Abraham that he would become a blessing to all the families of the earth). This is why G-d made Abraham and his descendants stewards of the land in the first place. They have been the “chosen people” since the time of Abraham: they are now the “chosen people” and they will always be the “chosen people”.
I am one Christian who is eternally thankful for their faithfulness in this capacity.
(for Israeli Foreign Ministry response, click here)
Comment on this story