IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
“Christmas has no place in the Holy Land,” insists Benzion Gopstein, the leader of a far-right Israeli group that has indirectly received support from the government. According to Gopstein, Christians are “vampires and blood suckers” that must be expelled from Israel, the U.S.’ closest ally. “Let us remove the vampires before they once again drink our blood,” he wrote in a recent article on an ultra-Orthodox website.
on December 26, 2015
When people think of Palestine and religion, the Muslim–Jewish conflict invariably comes to mind. But this association overlooks the 11% of Christian Palestinians who also live there — and who endure surprisingly similar prejudices to their Muslim counterparts. "Christians suffer from the same discrimination and marginalization facing the rest of the Palestinian community," the Huffington Post...
on December 24, 2015
Fact Sheets
Christian Palestinians who are citizens of Israel suffer from the same widespread official and unofficial discrimination that other non-Jews do, in everything from land ownership and housing to employment and family reunification rights.
on December 24, 2015
One of the most beautiful memories of my childhood in Jaffa is the Christmas ceremonies, and the trees, when the various Christian communities would prepare colorful celebrations and many would make their way to Bethlehem. Just as during the Muslim festivities of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr, all Palestinians would celebrate together.
on December 23, 2015
Photo Essays
From Bethlehem to Nazareth to the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Christians — a group that many people don't know exist — are taking a breath from the daily struggles of life under occupation to enjoy tree lightings and time with family. Palestinian Christians make up over 10 percent of the Palestinian population worldwide.
on December 23, 2015
Dim lighting and candles softly illuminate decorative tapestries as the smell of incense fills the air and the harmonic sound of hundreds singing in unison drifts onto a busy street next to an overflowing church on a wet and windy Sunday morning. Despite the packed pews at Gaza’s Church of St. Porphyrius just weeks before Christmas, Christianity is not booming here.
on December 20, 2015
The towering Christmas tree on Bethlehem’s Manger Square has officially been lit, but this year’s festivities look set to be dampened by ongoing unrest across the Holy Land. “We cannot forget what is going on, that there are people suffering,” said Father Jamal Khader, the rector of the Latin Patriarchate, which traditionally leads Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations. “People are losing hope in a future of peace.”
on December 6, 2015
Our Israeli Arab Christian bus driver slowly navigated the winding road up into the hill country of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Bruce, a late middle-aged American Jew who had immigrated to Israel narrated our journey over the bus’s sound system as our guide to the Jewish settlements of Tekoa (338 acres, and 1808 people, established in 1977) and Efrat (568 acres, 7454 settlers, established in 1980).
on October 28, 2015
Americans of all faiths and backgrounds are looking forward to Pope Francis' first visit to the United States. The Pope's humility and profound commitment to issues of global peace, social justice and the fight against global warming have made him one of the most popular religious figures in recent history.
on September 21, 2015