Setting the Record Straight on Taybeh

26 Tammuz 5785

Addressing another aspect of the Huckabee "blood libel"...

UPDATE!  The Israel Police spokesperson announced on Monday evening, "Contrary to false reports and following recent foreign media coverage regarding the alleged arson within the archaeological site of the Church of Saint George in the village of Taybeh, we wish to clarify that these reports are factually incorrect, lack any evidentiary basis, and risk misleading the public."  The spokesperson added that “findings gathered on the ground unequivocally show that no damage or harm was caused to the church site itself.”  

[See US envoy:  I did not blame Jews for Taybeh fire.]

Via "Bree A Dail on X"... 

Posting from @ElishaYered’s account of what happened in Taybeh. Is this about grazing rights dispute?

Were @LPJerusalem and @GovMikeHuckabee misled? 

 “In recent days, a despicable and false blood libel has been raging around the world against the settlements, reminiscent of dark periods in Europe, and it has so far managed to deceive quite a few lovers of Israel in the US.

Before we get into the details, let’s emphasize and clarify: No “nationalist crime” event by Jews was carried out, no church was set on fire, and no cemetery was desecrated. Exactly the opposite—Christian Arabs from the village of Taybeh set fire to open areas four times in one week to prevent Jews from grazing there.

Here are the facts:

• The cattle herders at Rimmonim Farm in Binyamin have been suffering for a long time from harassments, attacks, and arsons in the grazing areas, including from the village of Taybeh—a nearby Christian village.

• On 03/07, Arabs from the village set a fire in the grazing areas to prevent the possibility of Jewish grazing there. Additional arsons also occurred on 07/07, 08/07, and 11/07.

• The event that sparked the uproar happened on 07/07. For the second time that week, Arabs from the village set a fire that began spreading rapidly. The farm’s residents rushed to the scene with motorized blowers and fire beaters—the ultimate tools for dealing with fires in open areas—and managed to gain control of the blaze. At the same time, the flames also spread toward the village, but the farm residents insisted on fighting to extinguish that hotspot as well, even though they could have easily said “let them eat the porridge they cooked,” and they stopped the fire just before it reached the line of houses, where, among other things, there is a church and an ancient cemetery.

• Throughout the entire event, no damage was caused in any way to the church or the cemetery, and they certainly weren’t “completely set ablaze” or “suffered heavy damage”—thanks in part to the residents who fought the fire with their bare hands. This is a fact, not an interpretation. See the drone photo that shows it clearly.

• This is where a wild blood libel began, aimed at turning the arson event from Arab-Christian terror into “Jewish terror.”

• Photos of Jewish youths battling the flames with blowers and beaters were published by Israel-haters and branded as “settlers fanning the flames they ignited.” Widespread condemnations ensued, large Christian delegations visited the site, and senior US administration officials called for the Jewish arsonists to be brought to justice.

• But what’s the big problem? To date, not a single complaint has been filed with the police. I’ll repeat that: The police have been investigating the event for a week to uncover the truth and catch the arsonists, a global campaign is underway, and in the village—where they are supposedly 100% convinced that Jews set the fire and even openly fanned the flames—they simply refuse to file a complaint with the police.

Do you have any idea why?

In the attached documentation: Tweets of the delusional blood libels about “fanning the fire,” actual fire extinguishing using blowers, the farm’s cows in the grazing areas, and a drone photo of the church that was “completely set ablaze.”

NO CHURCH BURNING AT ALL!!!!

In point of fact, the "church" in question is an archeological
site, not an active place of worship as seemed to be portrayed by Huckabee.  And he had to know that because he is standing
in front of it in the CBS video!!