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Persecution of Christians in the Holy Land is surging

Persecution of Christians in the Holy Land is surging

Last updated on: July 13, 2024 at 11:05 am by Kathryn Shihadah

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Persecution of Christians in the Holy Land is surging 2024-07-13T11:05:13-04:00 Kathryn Shihadah

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The Palestinians’ struggle in the Holy Land is about their right to their land and to self-determination. It is not a religious struggle. However Israel’s struggle is against anyone who is not “Jewish.” Not just Muslims, but Christians too are seen as the enemy in the fight for what one Israeli human rights organization has called “Jewish supremacy.”

Here are just a few recent headlines about Israel’s mistreatment of the Christian minority.

Christians in occupied Jerusalem see marked surge in Israeli settler attacks

reposted from The Cradle

Settler attacks on the Christian community in occupied Jerusalem have surged since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, according to Hebrew reports.

Hebrew news outlet Channel 13 reported on 12 July that over the past three months, there have been at least 36 recorded incidents of violence or abuse against Christians.

This includes 17 incidents of Israeli settlers spitting on Christian worshippers, nine acts of vandalism, five assaults, and five cases of verbal abuse – all under police protection.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been imposing taxes on Churches and Church property. The Israeli government claims the taxes are routine financial matters, yet the Christian community has accused Tel Aviv of a “coordinated attack on the Christian presence in the Holy Land” and a violation of a centuries-old status quo.

“In this time, when the whole world, and the Christian world in particular, are constantly following the events in Israel, we find ourselves, once again, dealing with an attempt by authorities to drive the Christian presence out of the Holy Land,” wrote the heads of the major Christian denominations in a joint letter to Netanyahu late last month.

Earlier in June, a report released by Israeli NGO Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue reported a significant increase in Israelis attacking Christians throughout 2023.

“The ongoing shift towards the far-right, a growing sense of nationalism, and the emphasis on Israel primarily as a state for the Jewish population have collectively undermined both the legal and perceived sense of equality for any minority within the country,” the report read.

Attacks and restrictions against Christian worshippers by Israeli police are also common in the holy city.

While Christians face an uptick in abuse and oppression under Netanyahu’s far-right government, they have always suffered at the hands of Israel under occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

In 2019, the head of the Sebastia Diocese of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, accused Israeli forces of trying to kill him after he was hospitalized with poisoning following an Israeli tear gas attack on his church.

Episcopal Church protests closure of its Gaza hospital by Israeli evacuation orders

reposted from Middle East Monitor

The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East protested the closure of Al-Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital in Gaza City as a result of the evacuation of several residential districts ordered by the Israeli military, Reuters reports.

A statement issued in the name of the Diocese of Jerusalem said the hospital has been “compelled to close by the Israeli army”.

On Sunday evening, a large amount of firing from drones occurred in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, it said.

“This was followed by an IDF (Israeli military) announcement that the area had been declared a red zone and that everyone should immediately evacuate all the buildings including everyone in the hospital,” the statement said.

Contacted by Reuters, the military offered no immediate comment.

New evacuation orders to Palestinian families and residents of several eastern Gaza City suburbs had caused a new wave of displacement of thousands of people.

In a time when injured Palestinians have few options available for treatment, the closure of the hospital forced Palestinian health officials to move injured and patients to another hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

“We protest the closure of our hospital in the strongest possible terms. In a time of warfare and great suffering, it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying,” the statement quoted Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem as saying.

Archbishop Naoum urged Israel to allow the opening of the hospital and an end to the targeting of civilians. He appealed to warring parties to reach an immediate ceasefire.

Israel denies it deliberately attacks civilians.

World Council of Churches condemns attacks on Sacred Family School, closure of hospital in Gaza

reposted from WAFA

World Council of Churches general secretary, Jerry Pillay, strongly condemned recent attacks on the Sacred Family School in Gaza, which is being used as a shelter for civilian refugees.

“This egregious act against a place of refuge and safety for vulnerable individuals, including children and families, is utterly unacceptable,” said Pillay.

He also expressed grave concern over the forced closure of the Al-Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital.

“We call on all parties to end the violence immediately and agree to a ceasefire. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this tragic time,” said Pillay.

The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, Diocese of Jerusalem, released a statement noting that, in the midst of escalating military activity in the Old Gaza City area of the Gaza Strip, the Al Ahli Arab Anglican Hospital has been compelled to close by the Israeli army.

Suheila Tarazi, hospital director, reported that on 7 July, a large amount of firing from drones occurred in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, immediately followed by an announcement that everyone should immediately evacuate all the buildings including everyone in the hospital.

“Inevitably this placed the injured and the sick in great jeopardy,” said the statement. “To our great dismay, our hospital is now out of operation at a time when its services are in very significant demand and where injured and sick people have few other options for places to receive urgent medical care.”

The statement also expresses deep distress that an ambulance was fired at en route to the hospital. “We currently have no information about the condition of our driver and any patients who were being transported for treatment,” reads the statement.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican archbishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, said: “We protest the closure of our hospital in the strongest possible terms. In a time of warfare and great suffering it is essential that emergency healthcare services are maintained to treat the injured and the dying. We appeal to the Israeli forces to permit us to continue our sacred ministry of medical care and healing. We plead for an end to the targeting of civilians and all vulnerable people and demand all parties agree to an immediate ceasefire.”

The Latin Patriarchate, in a statement on 7 July, expressed grave concern over the news of raids apparently launched by the Israeli army against the Sacred Family School in Gaza.

“Footage and media reports from the place include scenes of civilian casualties and of destruction in the compound,” the statement reads. “While property of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Sacred Family School has, since the beginning of the war, been a place of refuge for hundreds of civilians.”

No religious personnel reside in the school.

“The Latin Patriarchate condemns in the strongest terms the targeting of civilians or any belligerent actions that fall short of ensuring that civilians remain outside the combat scene,” the statement reads. “We continue to pray for the Lord’s mercy and hope that the parties will reach an agreement that would put an immediate end to the horrifying bloodbath and humanitarian catastrophe in the region.”

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