“You who live in the United States, if you are pro-Israel on behalf of the Palestinian children, I call unto you: Give further friendship to Israel. They need your friendship. But stop interpreting that friendship as an automatic antipathy against me, the Palestinian who is paying the bill for what others have done against my beloved Jewish brothers and sisters in the Holocaust and elsewhere.

“And if you have been enlightened enough to take the side of the Palestinians–oh, bless your hearts–take our side, because for once you will be on the right side, right?  But if taking our side would mean to become one-sided against my Jewish brothers and sisters, back up. We do not need such friendship. We need one more common friend. We do not need one more enemy … for God’s sake.”

–Abuna Elias Chacour, archimandrite in the Melkite Church in Israel