Palestinian Christians

About 200,000 Palestinian Christians currently reside in the Holy Land, descendants of some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christianity's most holy site, as well as the Via Dolorosa, the route Christ is believed to have walked to his crucifixion, are located within Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel forbids Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza to enter Jerusalem without permits, which are extremely difficult to obtain. Christian Palestinians who are citizens of Israel also suffer from widespread discrimination.

Philip Farah, The Huffington Post

Open Letter from a Palestinian Christian to the United Methodist Church

As an American of Palestinian Christian origin, I urge the United Methodist Church to heed the Palestinian Christian Kairos call for divestment from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation. The Kairos call is certainly one of defiance, but it is also, in its own words, truly a message of “faith, hope, and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering.” It is based on a simple premise: Righteous people ought not to profit from unjust practices inflicted upon their fellow human beings.

on May 9, 2016

Ma'an News Agency

Orthodox Christian Palestinians Mark Holy Saturday

Orthodox Christian Palestinians marked Holy Saturday across the occupied Palestinian territory on Saturday, with thousands of pilgrims attending the "Holy Fire" ceremony in East Jerusalem's Old City on the eve of Orthodox Easter. The ceremony, celebrated by Palestinian Christians across the Holy Land, takes place each year on "Holy Saturday," or "Saturday of Light" in Arabic...

on April 30, 2016

Victor Gaetan, National Catholic Register

Christians in Palestine: Life Defined by Borders, Walls and Expropriation

Good news for Christians in the Holy Land generally comes with a subtext of anguish. The only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip — a 26-mile-long slice of territory on the Mediterranean squeezed between Israel and Egypt — managed to get permits for 857 Christians to travel to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. That’s about 66% of Gaza’s entire Christian population of 1,300, which includes some 130 Catholics.

on April 6, 2016

Allison Deger, Mondoweiss

Extremists Vandalize Jerusalem Church With Hebrew Threats: ‘Death to Heathen Christians’

For the second time in a year, Israeli vandals targeted a Christian church in Jerusalem Sunday with extremist anti-Christian graffiti. Assailants tagged the religious site with threats in Hebrew: “Death to the heathen Christians, “the enemies of Israel”, “Let his [Jesus’] name and memory be obliterated” and “Christians to Hell.”

on January 18, 2016

Fact Sheets

IMEU

Palestine: 2015 in Review

Over the course of 2015, Israeli soldiers and police continued to use excessive, deadly force against unarmed Palestinians demonstrating against Israel's repressive, nearly 50-year-old occupation regime, as well as Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis. Live ammunition and massive amounts of tear gas were widely used against unarmed Palestinian protesters, injuring thousands.

on January 14, 2016

Ben Norton, Salon

“Christmas Has No Place in the Holy Land”: Far-right Israeli Leader Wants to Expel Christians…

“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

Natasha Noman, Mic

Palestinian Christians Have Got as Much Christmas Spirit as Anyone — See for Yourself

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

IMEU

Discrimination & Hate Crimes Against Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land

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

Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, Haaretz

Bethlehem Celebrates Another Occupied Christmas

At this holy time of the year, Bethlehem, the city of the Nativity, stands at the center of attention of the whole world. What the world might overlook as it watches is that the very city where Jesus was born celebrates yet another occupied Christmas. This year, Israel, a self-proclaimed “safe haven” for Christians, has presented to Bethlehem a few unwelcome Christmas gifts.

on December 23, 2015