“You are not merely the greatest ambassadors that Israel has around the world – you’re champions of truth,” Netanyahu told the Christian media in Jerusalem.
By: United with Israel Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem on Sunday, urging attendees to “tell the truth about who wants peace and who doesn’t want peace.”
“Look at our neighbors. Look at what President Abbas is doing. I mean, he’s rewarding terrorists. Pay for slay. The more they kill – the more they get paid,” Netanyahu pointed out. “He has on his law books a rule, a law that says that if you sell land to Jews – you’ll be executed. Some peace and some coexistence.”
While this is the truth, the mainstream media neglects to address these crucial issues.
“People have to say the truth,” Netanyahu urged the reporters. “You are ambassadors of truth. You’re not merely the greatest ambassadors that Israel has around the world – you’re champions of truth. And if there’s one thing that I can ask you to do is to tell the truth. Tell the truth about our history, tell the truth about our present, tell the truth about who wants peace and who doesn’t want peace.”
Israel habitually receives negative coverage around the world, as outlets focus solely on its supposedly negative aspects and conceal its shining points, such as the fact that it is the only true democracy in the Middle East.
“You can also tell the truth about something else: Israel is a robust democracy. It supports and protects the rights of all: the rights of Jews, Christians, Muslims – of all,” the Israeli premier underscored. “And we are the only ones who do so in a very broad radius. I think there’s something unusual for Christians because Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community thrives and grows.”
Christians Thrive Only in Israel
Highlighting the plight of Arab Christians under Palestinian rule, Netanyahu discussed the flight of Christians from the Palestinian Authority.
“You know the town of Bethlehem? Yes. You have a connection to it. We all do. And among other things, we have a connection to King David, the history of Ruth as you know, but also the story of Jesus,” he said.
When Israel handed over Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority the Christian population was roughly 80 percent of its residents. Now it’s about 20 percent.
“That change happened because in the Palestinian Authority areas, as well as throughout the Middle East, Christians are being constricted, they’re being pressured, also they’re being persecuted,” Netanyahu declared.
However, “Israel is the one country that protects the human rights of all. We protect the religious rights of all. We don’t just protect Christian religious sites – we protect Christian people. Christians should enjoy all the freedom to worship as they please in the Middle East and anywhere else and the only place in the Middle East where they can do so is Israel.”
“We have no better friends in the world than our Christian friends and I take this opportunity to thank you for your steadfast support. You are standing up for Israel and you are standing up for the truth and we stand up for you,” he concluded.