When I started this blog, I had decided to stay away from anything political, contentious and anything that would possibly offend or be misconstrued. I shied away from all the elephants in the room, not wanting to ignite a firestorm. I have received beautiful letters of solidarity and friendship from many of my readers along with personal texts and emails. On the other hand, I have chosen to delete several messages from “trolls” who are either antithetical to Zionism (the belief that Jewish have the right to return to their ancient and ancestral homeland), to the Jewish faith and to Israel’s position to fight against evil and terrorism militarily.

The Israeli Defense Forces are not just fighting an existential war against terror and evil to protect the Jewish nation, but they realize they fight to protect other ethnicities, innocent civilians, both within Israel and abroad. So in the next article or two, I hope to address the elephant in the room. The Christians in Israel and Syria who are being heavily persecuted by the radical Islamists.

Christians in Israel make up about 5% of the population. They are divided mostly into Eastern/GreekOrthodox (Melkite); Latin/Roman Catholics and Maronites; Arameans; with a smattering of Anglican, Baptist and other believing sects. The majority are Arabic speakers. Many are indigenous to this land, the original Christians; others are refugees from persecution in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries.

Bethlehem in Judaea is the birthplace of Jesus, the second holiest site in Christianity. The city was 98% Christian just two decades ago. It lies in the mostly Palestinian part of what is called the West Bank, just about 8 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies. Jewish people holding Israeli passports are not allowed entrance to this territory without a special tourist permit. Today the Christians total less than 2% of the total population, most of them being clerics.

The Muslims who live in this once Christian area have what we call their own “mafia.” They impose large taxes –jizzia or protektzia – upon small the Christians – mostly multi-generational, family owned business, artisans and sellers of religious objects, restaurants, cafes and hotels in return for having no harm come to their places of livelihood, homes or family members. It is extortion followed by violence.

Unfortunately, this all too often has gone unseen or has been couched under “Arab on Arab violence” and has not been curtailed by Israel or the Palestinian Authority. In addition, as Christian families flee for safer cities within Israel or abroad, the Muslims move in. Because of the newer, Muslim majority, Palestinians who are unfavorable towards Israel, more radical Muslim mayors have been elected. The Israeli Jews seem to be too busy fighting other wars to address this serious problem.

The radical Islamists even seem to have sway over the different Bethlehem churches. At Christmas celebrations, since the tourism has sharply declined from the time of the pandemic to today, Christmas celebrations have been curtailed or cancelled by the local authorities. Lights displays are no more. Christmas trees in the town square have been replaced by martyrs trees (decorations are the faces of Palestinian terrorists eliminated by the IDF while committing an attack). Traditional nativity scenes have been replaced by displays of “Christ in the Rubble,” a political statement. Negative propaganda put out against ‘the occupation’ by the Churches are part of the protektzia. Look it up. See for yourself. Martyrs tree, Bethlehem. Christ in the rubble.

We live in the Northern part of Israel, the gorgeous and mostly peaceful Galilee region. Small Jewish kibbutzim and moshavim and medium sized towns are being surrounded by an ever-growing Muslim presence. Our city is less than a half and hour drive from Nazareth. This city, most famously known as the place where Mary was visited by an angel and where Mary, Joseph and Jesus lived and worked as an observant Jewish family of carpenters, is another one of the holiest sites for Christians worldwide. The largest Catholic Basilica Cathedral in the Middle East, the Church of the Annunciation, is located in the heart of Nazareth. In Israel. The city also has a large Orthodox presence, centered around Mary’s well. In 2010, Nazareth was 99% Christian.

Nazareth received most of its income from Christian tourism. There are more convents and monasteries in Nazareth than any other Israeli cities outside Jerusalem. They used to be beautiful, welcoming places. Now, most are hidden behind tall, barb-wire topped walls for protection. In Nazareth, too, the Islamists have taken over. Threats against Christian businesses have become commonplace. Targeted killings have occurred since 7 October. Unfortunately, Israel expects the local governing bodies to police their own towns, but the mayor of Nazareth is now Muslim. For the past several years, the Christmas celebrations have either been curtailed or cancelled altogether. (Nazareth also boasted the largest Christmas tree in the MidEast with Christmas markets and parades.)

Large concrete walls throughout the city have been painted with Palestinian flags, swastikas, slogans against the “occupation,” and pictures of the martyrs, aka eliminated terrorists. They are often whitewashed, only to reappear, making the city a most unwelcoming place for non-Muslims. John and I personally know families from Nazareth who have left for our pluralistic, safer-feeling cities like Haifa, Karmi’el and the Kryot and for immigration to Canada and the United States. One family who we know, left without a word one weekend, after receiving numerous death threats. We still have no idea where they went.

Until the last five years, there were Christian majority Northern Israeli towns: Shefaram, Deir Hanna, Deir Al Assad, and Ibillin. Here, too, these towns are facing the same predicament. The “Arab mafia” has moved in. As an interesting aside, the word Deir, is Aramaic, for monastery. These towns from the 4th century once centered around ancient Byzantine Churches supported by the indigenous Christian population. Deir Hanna is the Monastery of St. John. Deir Al Assad, is the monastery of the lion, or St. Mark’s Monastery. The Muslim Arab population who moved in did not bother to change the original Christian name of the town. There is the clue, the reminder.

The problem of Islamic persecution of Christians is not just a phenomenon in Israel. It has happened throughout the Middle East. Entire countries have persecuted and killed and expelled almost their entire Jewish and Christian populations: Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Just this past week the Egyptian government took over all property rights to St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.

Located at the foot of Mt Sinai , it is the oldest, continually inhabited Christian monastery in the world. Founded in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian, St. Catherine’s is home to some of the most ancient icons, relics and manuscripts. The Greek Orthodox monks have preserved the spiritual integrity of the site for over 1500 years. The monastery is said to be built around the burning bush of Moses/Exodus fame. It is now part of Egypt’s public domain. They have also appropriated 73 smaller Christian sites surrounding.

Because it has been a site for pilgrims from throughout the world, the government is considering turning this into a resort tourist area. Since 1980, the monastery has submitted documents of ownership for the 74 places including receipts, land rights and tax documents. The state has refused to recognize any of this. The monks are now being ordered to pay rent for use of the properties. The monks yesterday, Pentecost Sunday (the birthday of the Church) closed their doors to any and all outsiders. See Acimena.com for more information.

In Syria, the new rebel government that ousted Assad are now seen to be the ‘good guys.’ Formerly one of the heads of alQaeda, the new Syrian president has labeled himself a moderate and recently has had a seat at the world’s negotiating tables. This past week has seen Syrian Islamic terrorists going from village to village murdering Christians and Druze. Local sources confirm massacres in minority communities. Young women are being raped and taken against their will. Entire villages are being emptied and burned in areas of southern Syria near the Israeli border.

In response, Israel has launched targeted airstrikes aimed at stopping the attackers and preventing further atrocities. The international community has said nothing about this Syrian Islamic extremist violence against vulnerable religious minorities. We ALL must demand coverage by the press, truth from the international arena and accountability from the Syrians.

Nigeria has been hard hit as Islamist radicals are wiping out entire villages of Christians. These are actual genocides as complete and targeted minority populations are being massacred. Women and children beheaded. Congregants bolted into their churches as they gathered for Mass. Last week, Fr. Alphonse’s Alina, Nigerian pastor of Catholic Church in Fairbanks, Alaska returned home for a visit. His Mass was attended by over 200 people. While traveling to another village in the northern part of the country, Fr Alphonse’s was kidnapped by the jihadists group, Boko Haram. They desire to see Nigeria turned into an Islamic state, and the current government is doing nothing. Bishop Steven Maekawa has asked for continued prayer for the father’s safe release.

This Islamist jihadi madness is not localized in Israel (think from the River to the Sea chanters). Paris was overtaken on Saturday once again by thousands of Muslims at prayer around the Eiffel Tower. Tourists had no access. This occurred after riotous jihadists burned tired and cars and broke windows throughout the city just nights prior. Innocent women passengers were pulled out of cars and raped. Stores were broken into and looted and buildings and monuments grafittied. All this to further the freeing of Palestine.

London is a nightmare. Marchers, demonstrators, a literal infiltration into the highest of government offices are part and parcel of the agenda. Today, on the streets of Brussels, Belgium a dramatic reenactment was held of the 7 October massacre in Israel. Blood and bodies on the ground and people staging the kidnappings. All to the background of French music and keffiyeh covered “actors.” There are similar weekly demonstrations throughout Europe. Truly the Intifada (aka wipe out Israel and the Jews) is being globalized. Los Angeles riots throughout the weekend show not only a protest against ICE and deportation of illegals but a stand of solidarity with Gaza. It’s time to wake up, people….

As an aside, I’ve spent the last hour scouring YouTube for footage of these events. Footage I saw just this morning. As soon as a video showing pro-Palestinian rioting or violence is posted, it is taken down. Apologies for this. I shall continue my search-