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{{Palestinians}}
{{Palestinians}}
The '''Palestinian Christians''' are [[Christians]] of any denomination who have ethnic or family origins in [[Palestine]]. In both the local dialect of [[Palestinian Arabic]] and in classical or modern standard [[Arabic language|Arabic]], Christians are called ''Nasrani'' (a derivative of the Arabic word for [[Nazareth]], ''al-Nasira'') or ''Masihi'' (a derivative of Arabic word ''Masih'', meaning "Messiah").<ref name=Emmett74>{{cite book|title=Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth|author=Chad Fife Emmett|year=1995|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=74|isbn=0226207110}}</ref> Christians comprise less than 5% of Palestinians living within the borders of former [[Mandate Palestine]] today and an estimate of 30% worldwide.
The '''Palestinian Christians''' are [[Christians]] of any denomination who have ethnic or family origins in [[Palestine]]. In both the local dialect of [[Palestinian Arabic]] and in classical or modern standard [[Arabic language|Arabic]], Christians are called ''Nasrani'' (a derivative of the Arabic word for [[Nazareth]], ''al-Nasira'') or ''Masihi'' (a derivative of Arabic word ''Masih'', meaning "Messiah").<ref name=Emmett74>{{cite book|title=Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth|author=Chad Fife Emmett|year=1995|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=74|isbn=0226207110}}</ref> Christians comprise less than 5% of Palestinians living within the borders of former [[Mandate Palestine]] today and an estimate of 30% of all Palestinians in Palestine and worldwide.


== Denominations and leadership ==
== Denominations and leadership ==

Revision as of 21:15, 23 March 2010

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The Palestinian Christians are Christians of any denomination who have ethnic or family origins in Palestine. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in classical or modern standard Arabic, Christians are called Nasrani (a derivative of the Arabic word for Nazareth, al-Nasira) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih, meaning "Messiah").[1] Christians comprise less than 5% of Palestinians living within the borders of former Mandate Palestine today and an estimate of 30% of all Palestinians in Palestine and worldwide.

Denominations and leadership

Today, the majority of Palestinian Christians live abroad. It is known that Christians make up between 40,000 and 90,000 people, or 1.1 to 2.4% of the population of the Palestinian territories. Most are in the West Bank, though there is a community of 5,000 in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Christians in Israel number between 144,000 and 196,000, or 2.1 to 2.8% of the total population,[2] and about 8.8% of the non-Jewish Arab population.[3]

The majority of Palestinian Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, one of the 16 churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. This community has also been known as the Arab Orthodox since the 1890s. There are also Maronites, Melkites, Jacobites, Roman Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Copts, Anglicans and other Protestants among them.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theófilos III, is the leader of the Palestinian and Jordanian Greek Orthodox Christians, but Israel and some church members have refused to recognize his appointment.[4] If confirmed, he would replace Patriarch Irenaios, whose status within the church became disputed after a term surrounded by controversy and scandal given that he sold Palestinian property to Israeli Orthodox Jews.[5] Archbishop Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia is the highest ranking Palestinian clergyman in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, is the leader of the Palestinian Roman Catholics. The Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem is Suheil Dawani,[6] who recently replaced Bishop Riah Abou Al Assal. The Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and Jordan is Dr. Munib Younan. Elias Chacour of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church is Archbishop of Galilee.

History

Background and early history

Estimates of the number of Arab Christians in the Arab world vary. Christians today make up 9.2% of the population of the Near East. In Lebanon they now number around 39% of the population, in Syria about 10 to 15%. In Palestine before the creation of Israel in 1948, estimates ranged up to as much as 40%,Template:Factdate=February 2010 but mass emigration has slashed the number still present to 3.8%. Palestinian Christians in Israel constitute 2.1% (or roughly 10% of the population of Arab citizens of Israel). In Egypt, they constitute between 9-16% of the population (the government claims 6%). Around two-thirds of North and South American and Australian Arabs are Christian, particularly from Lebanon, but also from the Palestinian territories, and Syria.

Most Palestinian Christians see themselves as Arab Christians, although some, echoing similar narratives in the Lebanese Maronite community, reject this label and claim to be descended from Levantine people who were present before the coming of the Arabs, and claim to have lived in what they call Palestine, for thousands of years.[citation needed] In addition, they may also descend from a mixture of Armenians, Jews who converted to Christianity in the first 3 centuries AD, Byzantine, pre-Islamic Arabs (Ghassanids), and Crusaders. [citation needed] The region called Palestine or Israel is considered the Holy Land by Christians, and major Christian holy cities like Bethlehem, Nazareth ,and Jerusalem are located in the Palestinian Autonomy and Israel, respectively.

Interior of the house of a Christian family in Jerusalem. By W. H. Bartlett, ca 1850

During the Ottoman period, the number of Christians approached 30%[citation needed]. Emigration to the predominantly Christian-populated areas of neighboring Lebanon, as well as South America drastically reduced the number of Christians by the beginning of the twentieth century. Prior to the independence of the state of Israel, approximately 25% of Palestine's (excluding Transjordan) Arab population was Christian. This is reflected in the large number of prominent Palestinians that are Christian, including Hanan Ashrawi, Emile Habibi, the late Edward Said, Elia Suleiman, Atallah Mansour, Azmi Bishara, Anis Shorrosh[7], Nayef Hawatmeh, Rifat Odeh Kassis and activist Raymonda Tawil, who is also the mother of Yassir Arafat's wife Suha.[8] The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was a Palestinian resistance group against the "Israeli occupation" founded in 1967 by Palestinian Christian George Habash.[9] Its offshoot, the DFLP, was founded by a Christian also. The Palestinian Authority's first lady, Suha Arafat, was a Christian. The current Palestinian ambassador to the United States, Afif Saffieh, is from a Christian family, as is the ambassador of the Palestinian Authority in France, Hind Khoury. The Palestinian Authority's women's soccer team, which has a majority of Muslim girls also happens to have a Christian captain, Honey Thaljieh, a Christian from Bethlehem. However, the Christians were also often found in the more affluent segments of Palestinian society that fled or were expelled from the country during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War; in West Jerusalem, over 50% of Christian Palestinians lost their homes to the advancing Israeli army, according to the historian Sami Hadawi. [10]

Today, Chile houses the largest Palestinian Christian community in the world, and the second largest Palestinian community outside of Palestine after Jordan. Reports show that around 500 000 Palestinian Christians reside in Chile, most of whom from Beit Jala, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahur[11]. Elsalvador, Honduras, Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries also have significant Palestinian Christian communities, many of whom that have immigrated almost a century ago during the time of Ottoman Palestine, while other Christians were expelled from their homes in 1948 by Israel[12]. During the 2008 Gaza war, Palestinian Christians in Chile demonstrated to voice their frustration of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, they were hoping to direct the government's attention to review their relations with Israel[13]. Latin America is said to have around the equivalence of 3 million Palestinian Christians, or almost 30% of the Palestinian population worldwide.

Recent history

See also: Bethlehem § Christian_population

The proportions of Christians in the Palestinian territories is such that they only constitute around one in seventy-five residents.[14] In May, Reuters reported that 33,000 - 40,000 Christians remained in the West Bank, with around 17,000 following the Roman Catholic tradition and most of the rest following the Greek Orthodox church.[15] Both Bethlehem and Nazareth, which were once overwhelmingly Christian, now have strong Muslim majorities. Today about three-quarters of all Bethlehem Christians live abroad, and more Jerusalem Christians live in Sydney, Australia than in Jerusalem. Indeed, Christians now comprise just 2.5 percent of the population Jerusalem, they once comprised around 40%, those remaining include a few born in the Old City when Christians there constituted a majority.[16]

In a 2007 letter from Congressman Henry Hyde to President George W. Bush, Hyde stated that "the Christian community is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and that expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were "irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community."[17][18]

Most Christians in Gaza blame the Israeli occupation pre-2005, the current siege on the city and the war on Gaza 2009 to be the reason for their Exodus from Gaza. During the recent war on Gaza, two churches, Baptist and Catholic, were slightly damaged by Israeli shelling, and many Christians including 15 year old Christine Turk [19], lost their lives during the Gaza offensive. There had been reported attacks on Palestinian Christians in Gaza from small Muslim extremist groups, most notably Ramy Ayyad, but Gaza Pastor Manuel Musallam doubts the attacks were religiously motivated[20]

After Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam in September 2006, five churches, among them two Greek Orthodox churches - as such, not affiliated with either Catholicism or the Pope - were firebombed and shot at in the West Bank and Gaza. No one was hurt and no one claimed responsibility.[21] Former Palestinian Prime Minister and current Hamas leader Ismail Haniya condemned the attacks and police presence was elevated in Bethlehem, which has a sizable Christian community.[22]

Armenians in Jerusalem, identified as Palestinian Christians, have also been attacked and received threats from Israeli and Jewish extremists. In September, two Armenian Christian clergy were expelled after protesting against Jewish extremists for spitting on holy Christian objects.[23]

In February 2009, a group of Christian community activists within the West Bank wrote an open letter asking Pope Benedict XVI to postpone his scheduled trip to Israel unless the government changes its treatment.[24] They highlighted improved access to places of worship and ending the taxation of church properties as key concerns.[24] The Pope began his five-day visit to Israel & the Palestinian Territories on Sunday May 10, planning to express support for the region's Christians.[15] In response to Palestinian public statements, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor criticized the political polarization of the papal visit, remarking that "[i]t will serve the cause of peace much better if this visit is taken for what it is, a pilgrimage, a visit for the cause of peace and unity".[25]

In November 2009, Berlanty Azzam, a Palestinian Christian student from Gaza, was expelled from Bethlehem and was not allowed to continue her studying, after there was only two months left for her degree. Berlanty Azzam said the Israeli military handcuffed her, blindfolded her, and left her waiting for hours at a checkpoint on her way back from a job interview in Ramallah. She describes the incident as "frightening" and claims to have been treated like a criminal, and denied her education by Israel, only because she is a Palestinian Christian from Gaza. [26]

In December 2009, prominent Palestinian Christian leaders released a historical document, the Kairos Palestine Document. The document declares the Israeli occupation on Muslim and Christian Palestinian land as a "sin against God". It calls on churches and Christians all over the world to consider it and adopt it and to call for the boycott of Israel. The Palestinian Christian document claims that leading Israel into isolation is the only way there can be a peaceful solution in the Holy Land. The isolation of Israel will be pressure on Israel to abolish all apartheid laws that discriminate against Palestinians and non-Jews. [27]

Christian exodus

See also: Palestinian diaspora and Arab diaspora
A pre-1948 celebration of the Feast of St. Elias, on Mount Carmel, on July 20

Christians began to emigrate from Palestine in large numbers in the mid-19th to early-20th centuries to escape both poverty and the religious persecution of Christians by the Ottoman Empire.[28][29][30] Over the past few decades, a considerable number of Palestinian Christians have emigrated, mainly to Australia, the United States, and Canada. The Palestinian Authority is unable to keep exact tallies.[15] As well, Muslim Palestinians have higher birth rates than the Christians, which strongly affects the demographics.[5][2]

The causes of this Christian exodus are hotly debated, with various possibilities put forth.[14] Most Palestinian Christians blame the Christian Exodus from the Holy Land on Israel. [31] Reuters has reported that the emigrants left for better living standards rather than any other reason.[15] The BBC has also blamed the economic decline in the Palestinian Territories as well as pressure from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the exodus.[2] A report on Bethlehem residents stated both Christians and Muslims wished to leave but the Christians possessed better contacts with people abroad and higher levels of education.[32]

An opposing view holds that Muslim fundamentalist pressure against Christians has played a role.[14] For example, public use of the political slogan "After Saturday comes Sunday" (abel es-sabbat jibel-ahad)-- meaning that "after the fundamentalists finish the Jews, they'll deal with the Christians"-- is cited.[33][34][35] The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies issued a report in May 2005 blaming Islamic pressure for the exodus, stating that "Christian cemeteries have been destroyed, monasteries have seen their phone lines cut, and convents have been broken into".[16] But Palestinian Christians deny this, and continue to insist that Muslim-Christian relations in the Holy Land are great, and there is no persecution against Christians from their "Palestinian Muslim brothers". [36]

The Jerusalem Post has stated that the "shrinking of the Palestinian Christian community in the Holy Land came as a direct result of its middle-class standards" and that Muslim pressure has not played a major role according to Christian residents themselves. It reported that the Christians have an public image of elitism and of class privilege as well as of non-violence and of open personalities, which leaves them more vulnerable to criminals than Muslims. Hanna Siniora, a prominent Palestinian human rights activist, has attributed harassment against Christians to "little groups" of "hoodlums" rather than to the Hamas and Fatah governments.[14]

In a 2006 poll of Christians in Bethlehem by the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue, 90% reported having Muslim friends, 73.3% agreed that the Palestinian Authority treats Christian heritage in the city with respect, and 78% attributed the ongoing exodus of Christians from Bethlehem to the Israeli travel restrictions on the area.[37] Daniel Rossing, the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs' chief liaison to Christians in the 1970s and 1980s, has stated that the situations for them in Gaza became much worse after the election of Hamas. He also stated that the Palestinian Authority, which counts on Christian Westerners for financial support, treats the minority fairly. He blamed the West Bank barrier wall as the primary problem for the Christians.[14]

The United States State Department's 2006 report on religious freedom criticized both Israel for its restrictions on travel to Christian holy cites and the Palestinian Authority for its failure to stamp out anti-Christian crime. It also reported that the former gives preferential treatment in basic civic services to Jews and the latter does so to Muslims. The report stated that, generally, the ordinary Muslim and Christian citizens enjoy good relations in contrast to the "strained" Jewish and non-Jewish relations.[5] A 2005 BBC report described Muslim and Christian relations as "peaceful" as well.[2]

The Arab Human Rights Association, an Arab NGO in Israel, has stated that Israeli authorities have denied Palestinian Christians in Israel access to holy places, prevented repairs needed to preserve historic holy sites, and carried out physical attacks on religious leaders.[38]


Important Christian Palestinian figures

See also: List of famous Palestinians

Clergymen

Politicians

Cultural figures

Other

  • Yousef Beidas: Founder of Intra Bank
  • Hind Khoury: Palestinian Delegate-General to France
  • Sirhan Sirhan: Assassin of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy
  • Daniel Saba George: Palestinian Christian Militant of the Al-Aqsa Brigades
  • Chris Bandak: Jailed Palestinian Christian militant of the Al-Aqsa Brigades (Accused of killing two Israelis)


See also

Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians

References

  1. ^ Chad Fife Emmett (1995). Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth. University of Chicago Press. p. 74. ISBN 0226207110.
  2. ^ a b c d "Guide: Christians in the Middle East". BBC. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  3. ^ "POPULATION, BY RELIGION AND POPULATION GROUP" (PDF). Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. 2004. Retrieved 05.07.2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ Meron Rapoport (11 February 2007). "Government's precondition for Greek Orthodox patriarch's appointment: 'Sell church property only to Israelis'". Retrieved 2007-12-15.
  5. ^ a b c International Religious Freedom Report 2006: Israel and the Occupied Territories. United States State Department. Accessed May 10, 2009.
  6. ^ Come and See, The Christian website from Nazareth - Suheil Dawani enthroned as Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem
  7. ^ Evangelist minister and Islam critic charged with arson in Alabama
  8. ^ Jonathan Cook (10 January 2007). "Israel's Purging of Palestinian Christians". Antiwar.com. Retrieved 05.07.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ Fringe groups to join Cairo talks. By Elliott D. Woods. The Washington Times. Published February 25, 2009.
  10. ^ Don Wagner (12 March 2002). "Palestinian Christians: An Historic Community at Risk?". The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. Retrieved 05.07.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ 'You See How Many We Are!'. David Adams http://www.1worldcommunication.org/youseehow.htm
  12. ^ Palestine in South America. V!VA Travel Guides. http://www.vivatravelguides.com/south-america/chile/chile-articles/palestine-in-chile/
  13. ^ Pro-Gaza protests rage on worldwide. Press TV. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=80673&sectionid=351020202
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Derfner, Larry (May 7, 2009). "Persecuted Christians?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 10, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ a b c d Nasr, Joseph (10 May 2009). "FACTBOX - Christians in Israel, West Bank and Gaza". Reuters. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  16. ^ a b c Jonathan Adelman and Agota Kuperman (May 24, 2006). "The Christian Exodus from the Middle East" (PDF). Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  17. ^ Shelah, Ofer (29 May 2006). "Jesus and the Separation Fence". YNET. Retrieved 05.07.2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ Robert Novak (25 May 2006). "Plea for Palestinian Christians". The Washington Post. Retrieved 05.07.2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Reprinted at 'Churches for Middle East'.
  19. ^ Al Kalel, Easen (January 3rd, 2009). "The eighth day of the war on Gaza". Realistic Bird. http://realisticbird.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/the-eighth-day-of-the-war-on-gaza/ (
  20. ^ Musallam, Manuel (November 27th, 2007). "Christians And Muslims Coexist In Gaza". IPS news. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40241
  21. ^ Five churches bombed and attacked AP via Yahoo! News 16 September 2006 (Link dead as of 15 January 2007)
  22. ^ "Pope Apologizes for Remarks About Islam". New York Times. 17 September 2006.
  23. ^ Hagopian, Arthur (September 9, 2009). "Armenian Patriarchate protests deportation of seminarians". Ureknet. http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=57786&s2=10
  24. ^ a b Holy Land Christians urge pope to call off visit. MSNBC.com. Published February 22, 2009.
  25. ^ "Palestinians seek papal pressure on Israel". The Guardian. May 8, 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Flower, Kevin (December 9, 2009). "Israel court: Deported Palestinian student can't return". CNN news. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/09/gaza.student/index.html
  27. ^ Qumsiyeh, Mazin (December 25, 2009). "16 Christian Leaders Call for an End to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine". Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural Understanding. http://www.ccun.org/Opinion%20Editorials/2009/December/15%20o/The%20Kairos%20Palestine%20Document%2016%20Christian%20Leaders%20Call%20for%20an%20End%20to%20the%20Israeli%20Occupation%20of%20Palestine.htm
  28. ^ Albert Habib Hourani; Nadim Shehadi (1992). The Lebanese in the world: a century of emigration. Centre for Lebanese Studies (Great Britain), Centre for Lebanese Studies in association with I.B. Tauris.
  29. ^ Between Argentines and Arabs: Argentine orientalism, Arab immigrants, and the writing of identity, Christina Civantos, SUNY Press, 2005, p. 6.
  30. ^ Arab and Jewish immigrants in Latin America: images and realities‎, by Ignacio Klich, Jeff Lesser, 1998, pp. 165, 108.
  31. ^ Sabella, Bernard (February 12, 2003). "PALESTINIAN CHRISTLANS: CHALLENGES AND HOPES". Al-Bushra Palestinian Christians. http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm
  32. ^ Sharp, Heather (22 December 2005). "Bethlehem's Christians cling to hope". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  33. ^ Amrani, Israel (March/April 1993). "Hanan Ashrawi". Mother Jones. Retrieved August 20, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ Shragai, Nadav. "The bubbling volcano of teeming old Jerusalem". Haaretz. Retrieved August 20, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Meir-Levi, David (January 5, 2005). "Bethlehem's Christian Exodus". FrontPage Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  36. ^ Mattar, Mattar. "Palestinian Christians Are Not Suffering at the Hands of Muslims". Multaqa. http://www.multaqa.org/pdfs/View1-9-05.pdf
  37. ^ "Americans not sure where Bethlehem is, survey shows". Ekklesia. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 05.07.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  38. ^ "Sanctity Denied: The Destruction and Abuse of and Christian Holy Places in Israel" (in Arabic). Arab Human Rights Association. Retrieved May 10, 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ Edward Said: Secular Protestant. By Mark Walhout. Christianity Today. Published September 1, 2001.
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