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JNZ999 says:
My wife and I were toched by your story on The Lost Boys and would love to help unite Joseph and his Mom.
How can we help?
Jeff
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DrPendergrass says:
If you could pass my name and information on to Joseph Taban Rufino from your "Lost Boys" story:

My name is Dr. David Pendergrass and I am professor at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus. I run a molecular biology program in Overland Park, KS, very close to where Joseph lives. I have been very successful in getting many students into medical school from this program. If it is all desirable, I can help Joseph as well.

Please call 913.897.8400 and ask for Dr. Pendergrass.
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greatlake30 says:
Thank you for this incredible story. I feel compelled to help this incredible men. I would also like to help sponsor Joseph to return home to visit his mother. Can you please let me know how I can help? Is there also a way to support him in his desire to go to medical school?
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Hzrglm says:
We were moved by the lost boy reuniting with his mother on Skype. Where can we send a donation to help him visit
his mother.?.
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nbilan replies:
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I am also inspired and am interested in donating to Joseph who will visit his mother. Please post a way we could send him money.
Thank you kindly.
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rwalker853 says:
Thank you Bob Simon for your historical reporting...I wish I could get you assigned to do a story on "Who is Alah Dat?"
He was an Afghan volunteer who was brutally killed /murdered by the Taliban because he worked for a security company in charge of protecting our US troops in Afghanistan. I believe the story of these security companies is necessary to educate the american people about what is happenning in afghanistan.
All security companies in Afghanistan are required to carry DBA(Defense Base Act insurance) I have all the facts and witnesses that will verify my facts.
Mr Dat's family claim was denied. We are allowing a US insurance company to profit, when it never did any investigation into his death.
I believe americans would be outraged to hear his story. We are allowing the Taliban to win twice. First, by his murder a message is sent to other
afghans desiring to help rid their country of the Taliban. "Do not work for the Karzai or US Government or this is what we will do to you."
Second, we are allowing the Taliban to win a propaganda battle by being able to say we dont care about the afghan volunteers and we dont honor our claims, when all the facts are Mr. Dat was murdered beacuse he received income from a security company protecting our troops.
Americans do not want to be remembered this way and and I know americans would want to compensate and honor Mr. Dat's death for the bravery and courage this Afghan exhibited by joing our war against the tyranical Taliban. Mr. Dat deserves better than this and so does his family and all Afghans desiring to bringing democracy to Afghanistan. He joined our war and we won't honor his death for helping us try to The actual cost is minor compared in american standards of death and injury policies.
Please have someone contact me I will provide all contact information and arrange for CBS to get the whole story and documents.
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hafften says:
Thanks for your fine reporting, Bob. Sharing this news: http://www.kairosusa.org/
When "60 Minutes" aired its segment on the decline of Christianity in the Holy Land, millions of Americans became aware of the plight of the Palestinian people. American Christians were introduced to the Kairos Palestine document, "A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering," a summons from the Christians of Palestine to world Christians to stand with the Palestinian people in their nonviolent struggle for their human and political rights.
A NEW INITIATIVE
We write to inform you of a new initiative of U.S. Christians in response to one of the most urgent situations facing the church today--the need for a just peace in Israel and Palestine. Since its inception one year ago, Kairos USA has received an extraordinarily high level of interest and enthusiasm. This is an indication that we are in a Kairos time--a moment of grace and opportunity. Today we officially launch "Call to Action: U.S. Response to Kairos Palestine."
http://www.kairosusa.org/
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haimdror says:
Suggesting Bob Simon to have a close look into the straightforward facts here :
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/04/06/the-christian-era-in-the-middle-east-is-over/
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owldog says:
There few people to defend the righteous underdog against a culture or well-armed, well-financed European Ethnic Supremacists. Bob Simon has my support and love.
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bestaussiechick says:
A Rusty Hatchet Job
by Naomi Ragen on May 5th, 2012

The accusations of a mass exodus of Christians from Israel are not supported by facts.

Bob Simon, veteran reporter for the prestigious CBS news program Sixty Minutes is upset with us. Apparently, our Ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, called his producer to complain about Simon's unaired show on Christian Palestinians, calling it "outrageous [and] completely incomprehensible" especially "when Christians all over the Middle East's Muslim world were being oppressed and massacred."

It wasn't the criticism, but the timing. "I've never gotten a reaction before from a story that hasn't been broadcast yet."

"There's a first time for everything, Bob," Oren answered.

Now that the segment has been broadcast, let me offer Oren my congratulations. He was dead on. The piece would have done credit to the Minister of Palestinian Propaganda.

To be fair, fairer than Simon at least, he does acknowledge right at the beginning of his program that "one place where Christians are not suffering from violence is the Holy Land." Nevertheless, Simon goes on to say, they are leaving in droves because of the Israeli occupation, painting the alarming spectre of Christian holy places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem "without local Christians."

While one might argue, wrongly, that Simon is weighting responsibility for this equally between Muslim extremists and the Israeli "Occupation" even that would be incorrect.

As I vivid recollect, back in 2001-2 during the height of the Intifada, I was receiving alarming e-mail messages several times a day from Christian organizations decrying the rape and kidnapping of local Christian girls by Palestinians as means of converting them; the use of Christian homes in Bethlehem by Tanzim sharpshooters who targeted homes in Gilo, in the hope that Israeli fire would devastate Christian communities; the desecration of Christian shrines and churches by Palestinian gunmen, including the repulsive siege of the Church of the Nativity, in which dozens of priests and unarmed Palestinians were held hostage by terrorist gunmen, while arguably the holiest shrine in Christendom was trashed by Arafat's men.

Oddly, none of this found its way into the Sixty Minutes segment, which was at pains to point out that "Bethlehem is on the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Christian section of Jerusalem is also under Israeli control." The numbers in Bethlehem are "bleak," Simon tells us.

Even that is deceptive.

Uri Dan wrote in the Jerusalem Post on Jan. 11, 2002: "Altogether from 1994, when Arafat took power, ten thousand Christians emigrated from Gaza, Judea and Samaria." Once a Christian stronghold, by 2002 Muslims outnumbered Christians in Bethlehem four to one.
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bestaussiechick replies:
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Nevertheless, the mass exodus theory and the fear mongering statements of about the survival of Christian culture in the Holy Land is not borne out by statistics. Back in 2001, Dan reported that the Arab Christian population was 61,000, about 2 percent of the entire Arab population. According to 2009 statistics of the CIA world population handbook, Christians numbered 196,000, or 2.8 of the Arab population. Moreover, as Ambassador Oren pointed out, the exodus of Christians is from PA controlled West Bank. Arabs in the Israeli town of Nazareth, for example, are thriving.

Still, Oren freely admitted Christian communities are living under duress.

But that was not enough for Simon. He has to point the finger of blame, otherwise, what's the point of his pointless rehashing of this non-story? Quote Simon: "And this duress is coming from Muslims, not from the Israeli occupation?" Yes, Oren confirms.

In case viewers might find Oren's contention convincing, Simon makes sure to nudge them in the "right" direction: Mitri Rahed says: "Great selling point. Easy to sell to the American public."

Giving a little more credit to the American public, I'm sure they prefer Oren's goods to Simon's shoddy alternative. After all, when was the last time a Christian church was desecrated by Israelis? The last time Jews raped Christians girls to convert them to Judaism? The last time the Israeli authorities shook down a Christian businessman?

As for Christians in East Jerusalem, I do not deny they are in a difficult position, but the causes seem far different to me than Simon presents them. In a recent article about an Arab from East Jerusalem who is among those to be honored for distinguishing himself as an IDF soldier, the article pointed out that he lived in fear that his Muslim neighbors might find out, and was forced to tell them he was away at school and hide his uniform when he goes home.

One of the most offensive segments is the heart-tugger interview with Christie Anastas, a Christian Arab in Bethlehem. Already informing viewers that Israel's security wall - might I point out, since Simon does not, that the security wall was put up by Israel after Israelis were forced to stop painting doves and bury hundreds of dead in suicide bombings and other terror attacks - has turned Bethlehem into an open air prison, Simon heavy-handedly tries force her to give the "right" answers.

Simon: "How do you live with this?"

But she fails to take her cue: " It's not easy but you get used to it, because you have to," she says.

Too bad Simon didn't ask any Israelis what they were force to get used to for security reasons. I'm sure Ms. Anastas doesn't have her pocketbook checked every time she goes into a store, or have to look around her for bombs when she gets on a bus ...

And it's so hard to leave Bethlehem to enter Jerusalem, Simon says, bringing up the old bromide of the terrible waiting at checkpoints, as if there never was an intifada or suicide bombers, or snipers shooting at the roads from Jerusalem to Gust Eztyion, threatening residents lives. As if my windshield hadn't be smashed by a rock while passing through Bethlehem on the way home to Jerusalem from a wedding in Efrat.

Just listen to yourself, Mr. Simon! If you want to be critical, at least come up with something original. The Palestinian propagandists and terror supporters have beaten that horse to death. Worse than being false, it's downright boring.

But no. Simon remains boring until the end. He brings up the call by virulently anti-Jewish and anti-Israel Christians in 2009 in Kairos which called Israeli occupation "a sin." It was endorsed by 13 Christian denominations, including all those who called for divestment from Israel, and many of whom embrace replacement theology which says the Christians are actually now the chosen of God, and unbaptised Jews have lost that role.

Michael Oren points this out to Simon, suggesting that these groups have "gone beyond legitimate criticism ..."

"What does that mean...?" Simon blusters, apparently flabbergasted at this perfectly reasonable statement. So Oren has to spell it out for him: "accusing us of crimes historically associated with anti-Semitism."

Duh.
Realityone replies:
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Re bestaussiechick above.
More arrant nonsense.
The KEY point about the wall is that it is NOT built on Israeli land. IT IS BUILT ON PALESTINIAN LAND, in some cases MANY KILOMETRES from the border. The (ex)owners/users of this land no longer have access. Effectively this land has been STOLEN.
Is bestaussiechick not aware of this? If YES then clearly he is defending outright thievery. If NO, shouldn't he take simple steps to find out the TRUTH before following orders and sounding off?
In virtually any country in the world a householder is allowed by law to protect their property. They CAN lock their doors, and fence off their garden - in the name of security. What they CANNOT do - in the name of security or for any other reason - is to lock their NEIGHBOUR'S doors, and put their garden fence in the middle of their NEIGHBOUR'S garden.
For these reasons, and others, the wall has been declkared ILLEGAL by the International Court of Justice.
Were the Israeli government to dismantle this illegal wall, and then, if they wished, rebuild it on Israeli land, they would deserve, and get, unstinted praise and support from at least 80% of peolpe who currently oppose their policies (the other 20%? There are extremists in in all groups - just look at some of the postings to this site!)
Until this VERY OBVIOUS INJUSTICE is corrected, more and more people will regard the pro Israeli government supporters who write in and complain as nothing but extreme racists who deserve only contempt.
owldog replies:
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There few people to defend the righteous underdog against a culture of well-armed, well-financed European Ethnic Supremacists. Bob Simon has my support and love.
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Realityone says:
1. I am on an email list from a web site called "Honest Reporting" (//honestreporting.com.) It is a very aggressive pro Israel site turning out a constant stream of hate. There are probably many others such. "Honest" in the name is newspeak (see George Orwell's "1984") for extremely dishonest. It instructs me (and their thousands of other followers) to complain aggressively to you. They claim to have "exposed" you. They claim,quoting your letter to him, that you invited the Israeli ambassador onto the show, and then "attacked" him. Naturally they do NOT point out that, as your programme made absolutely clear, the ambassador FIRST complained to CBS about the programme (which had not been aired at that time and which therefore he had not seen) and you invitation to him to appear on the show was a follow on to that.
2.It is extremely likely that almost all, if not all, of the critical comments on this particular page are from these extremist racist Israeli supporting thugs - the modern day equivalent in the internet age of Hitler's blackshirts. That is, in my view, because most people would complain to CBS and not to you personally. However (extremely dis)Honest Reporting lists this personal site of yours at the top of its list to complain to. Probably other Israeli hate sites do likewise.
3. A previous emailing from (extremely dis)Honest Reporting about your programme claimed that the "wall" ( seen very clearly in a number of shots in the programme as a large high concrete wall running through built up Palestinian areas) was really chain link fencing! Apparently outright lies are part of the normal menu this organisation, and others like it, offer.
4. Chutzpah is a Yiddish word for bare-faced cheek. Wikopedia illustrates it with a boy being tried for the murder of his parents, and claiming clemency on the grounds of being an orphan! This example may be amusing, but what happens if the judge gives him that clemency? The boy then puts in an appeal and demands an full acquittal (don't ask me on what chutzpah grounds - my brain is not creative enough). If he gets that he will then go further and demand a large amount of compensation. There is no limit until (in this case) the judge says enough is enough. There is a great deal of chutzpah, and giving in to chutzpah and not rejecting it, going on with regard to Israel. For example the idea that Israel should be the one country in the whole wide world that people outside Israel should not be allowed to criticise. What absolute nonsense!. What absolute stupidity to even consider that this is logical! It makes as much sense as a new rule that from now on two plus two equals five. Yet it is constantly promoted, and accepted not only by Israeli supporters but also by others.
5. Mr Simon - don't give in, and don't let CBS give in to this attempt by members of a very small nation to control what is published by your organisation, and by other US media outlets. But it won't be easy. The Israel lobby has been very successful in the past (see the book "The Israel lobby and US Foreign Policy"). The lobby is used to success, and succeeding in having the tail wag the dog. It won't give up easily now. You and CBS will be attacked by Senators, by Congressmen, by investors, by suppliers, and by advertisers. Stay firm. The dog must wag the tail!
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AlNeuman replies:
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Simon is a classic self-hating Jew and badly wants to show everyone how "un-Jewish" he is by producing a transparently and demonstrably dishonest narrative about the situation with Christians in the Mideast.
There indeed is a big problem for these Christians, but it's obviously not of Israel's making. Anyone who has spent any time in the region knows that the elephant in the room is continued Islamofascist intolerance of other religions including Christianity. As a Christian myself, it's beyond obvious that Israel is in fact the ONLY country in the Mideast which actually DOES respect human rights, allows other religions full freedom to practice as they choose, and doggedly fights Muslim hatred and terrorism.

Simon, his producers and network should be completely ashamed of themselves for their shameless distortions and lies about Israel, a courageous little bastion of democracy in a very difficult neighborhood and a beacon to other nations.

It's people like Simon whose "politically correct" lies have caused an increasing number of Americans to turn away from so-called mainstream media, simply because its "journalism" has becoming increasingly dishonest and biased. He's a pathetic liar and embarrassment to serious journalism.
owldog replies:
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There few people to defend the righteous underdog against a culture of well-armed, well-financed European Ethnic Supremacists. Bob Simon has my support and love.

I call Netanyahu a "Self-hating" Jew since he called his Jewish political enemies "worse than Hitler" inspiring other Jews to hate Rabin.
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