Christians in Israel: The View of One Christian IDF Soldier |
I was pleased to see Prime Minister Netanyahu make a lovely gesture to Christian Israelis this week by meeting with Christians serving in the IDF. While he was meeting the group in his office, I was meeting with my son’s former commanding officer, who is not just a Christian, but a Lebanese-born Christian. I’ll refer to him as “N.”
Books can — and should — be written about how and why there are Lebanese Christians living in Israel at all, much less serving in the IDF, and doing so as officers. Simply, during the Lebanese Civil War, a Christian military group known as the South Lebanon Army (SLA) took it upon themselves to fight back against the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hezbollah terrorists, for their own safety and the well-being and integrity of Lebanon.
Following the 1982 Lebanon War that saw the PLO forced out of Lebanon, the SLA allied with Israel to maintain security in the largely Christian southern part of their country. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon on May 24, 2000, knowing that those who fought alongside or in parallel with Israeli troops would face consequences, torture, and even death at the hands of Hezbollah, thousands of SLA fighters and their families were brought to Israel for their safety. That’s how “N” ended up in Israel, where he considers himself a dual patriot of Israel and Lebanon, seeing no contradiction. Not only that, when he was deployed to Lebanon, he saw himself following the footsteps of his father, who fought to keep Lebanon free from Islamic terror and Christians free within Lebanon.
It is telling to see the picture of the Christian Israeli soldiers standing with the Prime Minister, but wearing masks as if it were still COVID. The reason for this is that Christian Israeli soldiers (and their families) are often harassed, and worse, by Muslim Israeli Arabs. Accordingly, they are given special treatment for their safety.
As an example, “N” and other Christian soldiers I have met have been allowed to leave their bases in civilian clothes, not in uniform, to go home where they could be identified. Some leave their IDF-issued guns on base, and others, like “N,” take apart........