Christians in Jerusalem's Old City 'under threat' from settlers

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Christians in Jerusalem's Old City say their presence at the geographical heart of their faith is under threat from intimidation and aggressive property acquisition by hardline Jewish settlers.

According to church leaders, priests are being verbally abused and spat at, and property vandalised.

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The churches say they are facing onslaught on three fronts: a war of attrition waged by hardline settlers; unprecedented tax demands by Jerusalem city council; and a proposal to allow the expropriation of church land sold to private developers.

Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem and the most senior Christian leader in the Holy Land, told the Guardian: "Today the church faces a most severe threat at the hands of certain settler groups. The settlers are persistent in their attempts to erode the presence of the Christian community in Jerusalem.

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At Mount Zion, just outside the Old City walls, undeveloped land owned by the church and often referred to as the "Greek garden" is regularly vandalised, according to Moni Shama, a church caretaker.

Trees have been uprooted, garbage left, graffiti scrawled on stones and paint thrown inside the ancient Chapel of Pentecost, he said. Three years ago, a Greek Orthodox seminary at the site was set alight.

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The Greek Orthodox church, the oldest Christian presence in the Old City, is also deeply concerned about attempts to gain control of properties it owns close to Jaffa Gate, the main entrance to the Christian and Armenian quarters.

A court ruling is expected later this year on a disputed sale of the historic Imperial and Petra hotels. The church has challenged a deal made by an official under the previous patriarch, which it claims involved bribery and conspiracy and was therefore invalid.

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In a separate development but one that church leaders say is part of a pattern of targeting Christians Jerusalem city council issued churches with a demand in February for nearly $200m (143m) in back taxes. In protest, the church denominations closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for an unprecedented three days, during which thousands of pilgrims were locked out.

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This doesn't really surprise me, based on what I saw from settlers I had encountered. Daoud Nassar, a Palestinian Christian that started Tent of Nations, is dealing w/ similar harassment and destruction of his property from settlers and IOF.

I live in Jordan and visit Israel/Palestine often.

Just met a Christian woman in Palestine last month who invited me into her home. The stories of the wall being built in the middle of the street in front of her home dividing her from her family are incredible. She said that Israeli soldiers regularly sleep in her empty room upstairs without her consent and that the only way she can keep them out is if she rents it to a tourist. She says Palestinian leadership is just as bad. "They're just the same as the Israelis." When I left, I walked down the street as tear gas was being shot ahead of us and with Israeli soldiers on the streets pointing their guns in our direction. Another Christian family stopped us outside their home and talked to us about Palestinians being shot in Gaza. They were afraid. That's regular life.

In Jordan, about half the population are refugees from the '48 or '67 wars (including their descendants). Many of them are Palestinian Christians. They despise the Israeli government. I've spent some time at Tent of Nations too. They were nice. It was difficult though to separate what was fact from what was being exaggerated. I have no doubt they have been treated terribly, but I remain skeptical of some of their specific claims.

Of course, many Christians there are treated well. Israel is a wonderful place. The government there is often very good. But they treat way too many people like dirt, Christian or otherwise. I've never understood why so many Israel defenders are so quick to dismiss the claims of Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians.

A sign outside of the Greek orthodox church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Same church. Different sign.

The church in Nazareth. The beginning of a wedding.

In particular, many Arabs in Orthodox churches in Israel are upset that their leadership is selling land to Israeli Jews. They openly resent the fact that their church leaders aren't Arab, but are foreigners mostly from Greece and are making decisions about land and property against what they believe to be their own national interests. Christians there are not happy with their own leadership, nor are they happy with the Israeli government. Both tensions feed into the other.

I would be skeptical of anything you hear about what Christians in Israel think without talking to them first. "Christians in Israel" are a number of different groups too with often opposing viewpoints. Interesting place.

craigernaught said:

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I've never understood why so many Israel defenders are so quick to dismiss the claims of Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians.

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I think dispensational theology is a major reason. When you think that the nation of Israel's existence is leading us to the return of Christ, you can excuse all the wrong things.

I think dispensational theology plays a part but I don't think it's the driving concern. I think many people find common cause in Israeli opposition to Arabs. Mutual hatred for Arabs, Muslim or Christian, is shared by many. Plus, many people love to be wildly pro-Israel just to piss off liberals.

I met a pretty nutty Christian guy in Petra a few years ago. He bought me lunch. He was a pastor from America and stayed a few extra days in the area after a church trip to the Hold Land. He told me that all the Arab priests in the Orthodox churches in Israel were actors. They were acting in order to gain sympathy from ignorant westerners. Assuming that they couldn't be real Christians because they were Arab was pretty shocking, but it fit in rather perfectly with his view of the world. To him, Arabs were terrible people to be opposed. Christians were to be supported, and therefore, they couldn't be the same thing. He was a extreme case to be sure, but his mindset is rather common.