Justus Reid Weiner
On the heels of the Gaza disengagement, which was
intended to empower the Palestinian Authority to improve the lives of
its people, few journalists have reported on the acutely trying times
facing the Christians residing in areas "governed" by the Palestinian
Authority. In his book, Professor Weiner, Scholar in Residence at the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, provides an in-depth look into the
nearly uninterrupted persecution of Christians throughout the decade
since the Oslo peace process began.
Living amidst a xenophobic Muslim population plagued by endemic violence
bordering on anarchy, the Christians have shrunk to less than 1.7
percent of the population in the Palestinian areas. “Tens of thousands
have abandoned their holy sites and ancestral properties to live abroad,
while those who remain do so as a beleaguered and dwindling minority,"
Weiner said.
And here is the rest of it.
"Their plight is, in part, attributable to the adoption of Muslim religious law (Sharia)
in the Constitution of the Palestinian Authority. Moreover, the
Christians have been abandoned by their religious leaders who, instead
of protecting them, have chosen to curry favor with the Palestinian
leadership." Professor Weiner's book reveals and analyzes why this
persecution - largely ignored by the international community, the media,
and even the human rights organizations - has metastasized to the
extent that it threatens the very existence of this 2000-year-old
community.
Professor Weiner earned his Juris Doctor degree at the University
of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law and is a member of
the Israel and New York Bar Associations. Weiner previously taught as a
Visiting Assistant Professor at Boston University Law School. Currently
he teaches courses on international and comparative law at Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. His scholarship has appeared in leading law
journals and intellectual magazines.
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