Christian clergymen in Syria: Targeting Maaloula part of Israeli scheme

Christian clergymen have designated the latest events that rocked the town of Maaloula as part of an Israeli scheme that is inseparable from a wider plot against Syria, affirming that Christians in Syria are deeply embedded in the Syrian unique social fabric.

”Targeting Maaloula unveils the identity, mindset and intentions of those who attacked it,” Leader of the Evangelical Church in Aleppo, Pastor Ibrahim Nseir said in an interview with the Syrian TV Friday.

”Those who attacked Maaloula know nothing about God, Islam, Quran, not even about Christianity…they do not even have a clue about the value of the Syrian history and heritage,” Father Nseir added.

Father Nseir played down the terrorist attempts to drive Christians out of Syria, dismissing them as ”a futile attempt by all standards” as the Syrian Christians have their roots running deep in the Syrian history and society.

He added that the Muslim-Christian coexistence poses a real threat to the concept of ”the religious state of Israel” which made Maaloula a target for the attempts to rip apart the Syrian fabric.

Father Gabriel Dawood, a priest at the Syriac Orthodox Church in Damascus said that targeting Maaloula, with its sacredness, heritage and symbolism, coincided with Pope Francis’ call to proclaim last Saturday a day for fasting and prayer for peace in Syria.

”Targeting Maaloula is an attempt to strike tolerance and moderation as being the essence of religions,” he pointed out, adding that Christians in Syria are an essential part of it and not ”passing strangers.”

Father Dawood affirmed that targeting certain areas in Syria belies the allegations that have been promoted since the onset of the crisis about ”freedom and democracy.”