“The victims are ‘too Christian’ to excite the Left, and ‘too foreign’ to excite the Right.”

[eissa]

The world is watching helplessly and silently the disappearance of the oldest living churches - as if their long history of enduring wars, conquests, schisms, peaceful co-existence and conflicts with Muslims is about to expire. The ancient communities of believers, some of whom still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, are withering away along with their once glorious civilizations in a genocidal cultural war of eradication.

When ethnic or religious groups are subjected to systematic violence and persecution because of who they are, their plight should be addressed urgently, because this is how genocide starts.



More here: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/03/14/Middle-Eastern-Christians-death-exodus-betrayal-and-silence-.html

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. Good, thoughtful piece.

The plight of the Yazidis at least excited some military response and partially prevented their massacre and destruction.

But in the short term, I don't know what is to be done for the Assyrians and those other ancient peoples whose cultural legacy is being destroyed by barbarians. Slow, grinding war to drive ISIS out, I guess.

And an interesting criticism of Obama for only addressing the Middle East as "the Muslim world." I like the call for him to insistence on religious tolerance--Saudi Arabia, anyone?

Also interesting is pointing out how the behavior of the Lebanese Falangist Christian militias kind of gave Christian militias a bad name.