International Support For Palestinian Christians In Short Supply – OpEd
Not enough is being done to support Christians in the Arab world, particularly those who are under siege by Israel.
This topic only comes up a few times each year, during the Orthodox religious holidays, which fall on different dates from other “mainstream” Christian churches because of their differing calendars. Although most Christians celebrated Easter on March 31, for example, Orthodox Christians will celebrate it this Sunday.
Labels do not really mean much, of course, except in Israel, where people are segregated based on their religion. If you are Jewish and recognized as such, Israel’s government gives you more benefits and rights than it does to non-Jews who have Israeli citizenship.
In Israel, the proportion of the population made up of Christians has dropped from 2.9 percent to 1.9 percent over the past 75 years in the face of the inherent discrimination that exists against them and Muslims alike. Although the total number of Christians in Israel continues to increase slightly each year, that is not because Israel’s discrimination has eased up.
For example, Israel has locked my family’s land — 38 dunums adjacent to the illegal settlement of Gilo between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Israeli officials have told me directly that I will never be able to secure that........
© Eurasia Review
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