Christians in Jerusalem

[EasterIssland]

found this in Twitter today about the current situation of Christians in Jerusalem (West bank and East Jerusalem) and the struggles they’re going through

https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/christians-in-holy-land-desperate-over-lack-of-work-and-upsurge-in-religious-hatred

The situation for Christians is especially desperate as most of them work in the tourism sector, which has been at a standstill since the conflict began.

The source told ACN that for Christians “wearing a cross can get you into trouble.
“Sometimes you have to hide your identity in your own homeland to avoid problems.
“The presence in the area of groups with increasingly radical elements makes our situation even more difficult.”

https://rossingcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Rossing-Center-Harrasment-on-Christians-2023-Annual-Report-Digital.pdf

ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS IN ISRAEL AND East Jerusalem.
By Rossing Center

The situation for Christians across the ME has been serious for a long time. Both Christian and Jewish minorities have been persecuted and their numbers declined dramatically in most ME states over the last century. As this report states
'The only country in the region with a growing Christian community is Israel, where the Christian population grew by 1.4% in 2020. Somewhat paradoxically, since Jews do not recognize Jesus, Christians in Israel benefit from the only functioning democracy in the Middle East because their religious freedom as much as guaranteed. According to the Israel Bureau of Statistics from December 2021, 84% of Christians surveyed said they were satisfied with life in Israel.'
Since Hamas took over in Gaza the persecution of Christians increased with the only christian bookshop blown up & the owner murdered. Many escaped to Israel & Egypt & the population declined by about 2/3rds.
Christians are routinely tortured, imprisoned & executed in Iran.
www.eurasiareview.com/16032023-christians-in-the-middle-east-a-persecuted-and-forgotten-people-analysis/

Thank you for sharing. I've long had a place in my heart for Palestinian Christians. Awful to see them, along with most other Palestinians, having such a hard time. I couldn't figure out if the extremists targeting them are Islamic extremists or extreme Jewish Zionist settlers? I know that generally Christians and Muslims in Palestine have very good relations. But, maybe some extremists are the exception?
It's sad to see one of the oldest Christian communities in the world under such strain. Crazy Christian Zionists have really betrayed them.
I've been following Rev Munther Isaac, who is doing great work.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israels-attacks-on-christians-in-palestine-on-the-rise/3094139#:~:text=In%20recent%20years%2C%20there%20has,carry%20out%20attacks%20with%20impunity.

www.jerusalemstory.com/en/blog/israeli-attacks-christians-jerusalem-are-denounced-clergy-and-christian-residents

https://www.timesofisrael.com/political-climate-sparks-notable-increase-in-attacks-on-israels-christians-ngo/amp/

Thanks for your input. However, as the title says this about Christians In Jerusalem and not in anywhere else in the Middle East.
also, whilst they might have been protected in the past, they’re not anymore protected and there have been several attacks against them as several organisations are denouncing in their reports

Lovely.

Yet another "let's blame the Jews" thread.

I think @SharonEllis has a valid point. I work with some Christian refugees from the ME. The only place they're able to worship and live freely, is Israel. It's not perfect, but at least they can live their lives as Christians.

This board is conflict in the middle east. If you are not prepared to look at the wider context of the persecution & in some places genocide of christians in the region then we can only conclude your intent is to stir up hatred of Jews. What is noticeable about inter- community tension in Israel is that it is one of the few places where civic & political leaders do condemn attacks on Christians whereas in other places including Gaza leaders orchestrate the attacks.

Thank you. This is my experience too.

I have Christian Friends in the West Bank and Gaza, and they, like their Muslim friends are only terrorised by Israel and Zionist American settlers.

If you are genuinely concerned about Christians then why would you not be concerned about their plight in other parts of the Middle East ?

What I feel is that with the comparison of what happens in other countries we are dismissing the attacks the Christians are suffering in Israel
just because they’re prosecuted in Iran and have been protected in Israel doesn’t mean Christians now can be prosecuted in Israel. A place that used to be safe for them is not safe anymore. And not because of hamas but because of other Israelis

I'm so sorry if it seems that way to you. I really haven't read any posts that way at all. There's a massive distinction to me between extremist Zionist settlers and Jews. Most of the latter are not the former.
I take as I find in life, and couldn't care less about anyone's religion or race or whatever. People are people to me. Many of the greatest critics of Israeli actions are in fact Jews.

I certainly am. Apparently Christians and Muslims were great neighbours in most of the Middle East for centuries. I don't know much about it, but I know that changed in Iraq and elsewhere after the invasion there. We can blame Tony Blair and co for that.

I think you need a very black & white way of thinking to see it that way.

I think you need a very black & white way of thinking if you feel that we can’t talk about attacks against Christians in East Jerusalem as well.

Palestinian Christians specifically do face attacks from extremist settlers (who don't care that they're not Muslim; they care that they're not Jews). However they also face oppression from islamists. there's a reason for substantial Christian representation in secular Palestinian nationalist movements.

christians are also more likely to emigrate. (By the way this is also true in Lebanon, so the phenomenon is more complicated than Israeli-Palestinian politics.) Bethlehem, for example, has seen a huge change in demographics; it's now 90% Muslim where it used to be majority Christian. This is not due to settler violence but the economic and social impact of the occupation and its particular geographic position (it's cut off between settlements and the separation barrier, and before that by checkpoints.) The settlers in this area are not violent, in fact they pride themselves on not being (though they are willfully blind to the impact of their presence).

The situation in Jerusalem itself is complicated and always has been, and there are layers beyond the conflict itself such as disputes between different Christian denominations. When it comes to Christians in general, not specifically Palestinians, there's also been several cases of Christians trying to infiltrate the Jewish community, that is, missionaries posing as Jews. This is an incredibly sensitive issue in Israel. (It is not illegal to be a missionary, but it is such a sensitive issue that when BYU, the Mormon university, opened a Jerusalem center, the students were given a specific order not to evangelise and it is very strictly enforced.) When one of these incidents happens, it can result in reactions towards the Christian community.

Where did I say you couldn't talk about it? The link I posted includes references to Christians having various difficulties in Israel. Any society under threat, as Israel is, tends to have an increase in inter-communal tension. It would be weird to expect that not to happen in some way. Its hardly surprising when the roots of antisemitism are in christianity and there are religious extremists in Israel. But there needs to be some balance. All societies experience communal tension & prejudice, what matters is how those things are dealt with. Israel has a pretty good record in the wider context of the Middle East.

I lived in Jordan for 2 years and can categorically say the above statement is untrue. Christians in Jordan make up about 4% of the population, and are very free to practise christianity. They are automatically exempt from (islamic) religious studies if they go to state schools, are granted all of the religious holidays off school and have their own religious curriculums and in fact schools. There are two towns that are almost exclusively christian. There is no difference between muslim/christian at all, the relation is very good. I knew many who had family in Palestine too and they said the same thing. Corey Gil Shushter did a christian Palestinian edition and they all said they are free to practise with the Muslims but under occupation of Israelis, which targets them.

Jordan is the other exception, isn't it? They have official protection in Israel & Jordan but I don't think anywhere else. @Corinthiana 's experience is still valid. The refugees she has worked with can speak of their experience - they may not necessarily be experts in the detail of the whole picture in the ME. Equally some Palestinian Christians may have had good experiences in Gaza but objectively there is strong evidence that Hamas has not protected Christians and there has been persecution from Islamist extremists.

This thread is about Christians in Jerusalem. If you want to talk about their plights in ME, by all means, start a new thread. I am already looking forward to it.

Others on the thread seem happy to discuss this in wider terms than just East Jerusalem and have experience and knowledge of the subject. Seems wise to listen to what they have to say?

Never said it wasn't but you seem to want to distract from what is the subject of this thread. Why?