The Forgotten Minority in the Holy Land

Most of the debate over the Middle East is about the conflict between Jews and Muslims. Another group seems mostly invisible. While gallons of ink are poured out about Hamas and Israel, Judaism and Islam, you hear very little about these forgotten people who are rapidly disappearing from the Land of Christ's birth -- the Christians.

In 2019 The Catholic Register described their plight in an article titled Holy Land Christians: Threatened With Extinction, but Still Bearing Witness:

...the Christians of the Holy Land — who are often forgotten in this crisis, as they are ignored by worldwide media, and whose number has been reduced to an alarming level — struggle every day for their own religious identity.
“Many people just don’t know that there are Christians in the Holy Land; Christians who fight and suffer to survive and to stay here,” Father Johny Bahbah, a parish priest in the Diocese of Jifna — a village mentioned in the Bible that used to be predominantly Christian — told the Register. “For most people nowadays, Palestine refers to Arabs, who can only be Muslims.”

Christians used to represent about 10% of the population. Now its about 2%. Caught in a vice of laws and policies from both Muslims and Jews, the Christian communities of the Holy Land are shrinking and may disappear entirely. The violence, persecution, and discrimination come from both the major players with the Christians caught in the middle. 

A few days ago, Catholic News Agency reported on Israeli settlers targeting the last Christian town on the West Bank:

In a disturbing and increasingly frequent pattern, the Palestinian town of Taybeh, located east of Ramallah and known as the last remaining town in the West Bank inhabited entirely by Christians, faces ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers targeting residents, their property, and farmlands.

According to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, in recent weeks settlers have established a new outpost on the eastern edge of Taybeh atop the ruins of a farmhouse whose owners were displaced roughly a year ago.

The outpost was erected in a vital agricultural zone, spanning around 17,000 dunums (roughly 4,200 acres), which serves as a key economic lifeline for the town. The area hosts thousands of olive trees, poultry and sheep farms, and wide fields used for seasonal crops. It forms the bulk of Taybeh’s total land area of about 24,000 dunums (about 5,900 acres).

Christians are also targeted by Muslims as the Lindisfarne Center reported a few days ago:

The war in Gaza has not merely devastated that territory. As the Lindisfarne Centre has reported previously it has placed Christians in Gaza in an impossible situation – caught between two sides in a conflict they do not wish to be part of, but expected to show support for Hamas. It is almost impossible to know what is really happening in Gaza, but there are reports in Palestinian media of Hamas’ executing ordinary Palestinians who they view as insufficiently loyal. What is clear, is that once the fighting ends, the exodus of Christians from Gaza which has been happening for several decades is likely to significantly increase.

As we have written before, any attack on an Islamic area, no matter what the circumstances and regardless of how provocative its own prior actions may have been, typically leads to a deep emotional feeling of Islamic brotherhood. The ummah (Islamic community) rallies to the support of what it sees as a family member under attack.

People cannot seem to debate rationally about the war between Muslims and Jews, particularly questioning of Israeli policies. Any criticism of Israel brings forth a tidal wave of accusations of anti-semitism and hate. You can condemn the terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah, but if you dare to criticize Israel the big guns come out. 

The reality is that criticizing Israel's policies and war actions is no more anti-semitic than criticizing the pope and the magisterium's modernism is anti-Catholic. Civil discourse is disappearing as people entrench themselves in their positions and stick their fingers in their ears as they sing la-la-la! Both sides are guilty of war crimes and atrocities, and the Christians are caught in the middle. 

Will those who worship Jesus Christ completely disappear in the land of His birth? It certainly seems possible. My husband and I continue to pray an additional rosary every day for peace in our world, our nation, our neighborhoods and our families. 

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us.