Earlier this week my old friend, columnist Bob Novak, wrote yet another column arguing that Christians in the Middle East were suffering because of – Israel! The cause of the suffering, according to Bob, was the Israeli security fence, which he claimed was dividing Christian communities and, thus, causing hardship. The column is hogwash! As a Christian who has toured the fence several times, I can tell you that Israel has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid unnecessary hardship in Palestinian Muslim areas, as well as in the dwindling Christian communities.

Yes, I did say “dwindling.” The Christian population of the Holy Land has been in constant decline for decades, but not because of Israel. Islamic radicals are constantly threatening Christians in the region. Their slogan-threat is “First the Saturday people (the Jews) then the Sunday people (Christians).”

A case in point is what is happening in the West Bank right now to the office of the YMCA in Qalqilya, a Hamas stronghold. The London Daily Telegraph reports it was firebombed recently and that Palestinian authorities are providing no security. Muslim leaders have written the city council, demanding the YMCA be closed. The deputy mayor, a Hamas member, said even the name is provocative since the “C” stands for Christian. By the way, the YMCA does no proselytizing and devotes its resources to providing wheelchairs to Palestinian children!

The next time my friend Bob Novak wants to write about the pressure Christians are facing in the Holy Land, he might want to actually talk to the jihadists who want all Jews and Christians dead.

The “Challenge Ahead Of Us”

I don’t know how many of you may have tuned into ABC News last night, but I was seeing red – and white and blue – by the time the segment on our national anthem was finished. In an attempt to make the Star Spangled Banner relevant to the burgeoning population of illegal immigrants, some musicians are remaking our national anthem – in Spanish – and they have also changed some of the words to “soften war references.” It’s called, “Nuestro Himno,” or “Our Anthem.” And get this -- a “remix” version will be released in June that includes lines in English condemning U.S. immigration laws!

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s wonderful for immigrants to learn our national anthem. But this is just more evidence of the problem confronting our nation with massive illegal immigration. If immigrants want to learn to sing the Star Spangled Banner, they should sing it in English, not Spanish, and as it was orginially written, not rewritten to fit some politically correct mindset. As immigrants have always done, they should learn to speak English and learn American history.

Needless to say, Charles Key, Francis Scott Key’s great, great grandson, has strong feelings on the new Spanish version. “I think it’s a despicable thing that someone is going into our society from another country and…changing our national anthem.” I suspect millions of Americans agree.

Throughout this entire debate, I have felt that the White House was tone deaf in not condemning the mass protests of illegals, the foreign flag waving, etc., etc. That’s why I was so heartened when President Bush finally spoke up today. On the new Spanish version of the national anthem, the president said, “I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be citizens of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English.”

During the Rose Garden session today, the president was asked about the planned economic boycott on Monday that is being orchestrated by the illegal immigration lobby. He denounced that, too, as do I. In fact, Monday would be a great day for the rest of us to do a little extra shopping.

President Bush also said, “One of the things that's very important is, when we debate this issue, that we not lose our national soul. One of the great things about America is that we’ve been able to take people from all walks of life bound as one nation under God. And that’s the challenge ahead of us.” On that point, we agree.