Christians are persecuted widely across the Arab and Islamic world. Christian communities have played a vital role in the Middle East. Middle Eastern Christians are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate, as they have today an active role in social, economic, sporting and political spheres in their societies in the Middle East. Scholars and intellectuals agree Christians in the Middle East have made significant contributions to Arab and Islamic civilization since the introduction of Islam, and they have had a significant impact contributing the culture of the Mashriq, Turkey, and Iran.

But Israel is a different story. In December of 2023, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of the Israeli Government published data on the country's Christian community. According to the Report, approximately 187,900 Christians reside in Israel, which represents 1.9% of the population. This fact represents a growth of 1.3% compared to the previous year, consolidating an upward trend that has been maintained over the last two years.

The Christian population in Israel has experienced constant growth. In 2021, their number rose to 182,000 with an increase of 1.4%, and in 2022, the registered growth was 2%, reaching 185,000 according to the CBS' data. Of these, 75.3% are Arab Christians, representing 6.9% of the total Arab population.

As opposed to the trend in many countries of the Middle East, where Christian populations are decreasing and Christian persecution is increasing, Israel reflects a different reality, according to the Israeli Government. The country is not included in the list of the 50 principal countries where Christians suffer extreme levels of persecution, according to "Open Doors" Annual Report.

That's important. Open Doors' World Watch List top 50 alone, reports that 317 million Christians face very high or extreme levels of persecution globally. Israel is not on the list.

While mainline protestant churches and orthodox churches rail against Israel for its warlike policies in Gaza, they are free to say that without fear of being arrested. Hamas and the power lords in Iran would have them arrested and killed in an instant.

A recent documentary film which you can see at this link here: https://rumble.com/v56d7yi-the-sunday-people.html shows Palestinian Muslims advising their Christian neighbors to convert to Islam before it is too late because all non-Muslims will have to be executed as human sacrifices for the sake of Allah (God of Islam).

Christian leaders tried to appeal to the global media to get the international community involved in safeguarding and protecting the Christian minority and their holy places. Sadly, the media do not care when Christians are murdered and persecuted. Too many "journalists" in the West try to preserve the image of Islam as a "religion of peace" therefore they ignore the persecution of minorities all over the Arab-Muslim world.

No one in the media seems to care about the brutal persecution of Christians in the Arab-Muslim world. I make no apology for the graphicness of this video.

If you want to better understand the conflict in the Middle East, I highly recommend following filmmaker Pierre Rehov here on X (formerly Twitter): @rehoov

A lot of people blame Christian Zionism for the problem, calling it evil. Not true says Middle East scholar, Dr. Gerald McDermott.

Some evangelical leaders in the Middle East suggested as much in their August 5 "Collective Call to the Global Church from Middle East Evangelical Leaders," he says.

Here is their key statement:
We unequivocally reject all forms of violence against civilians to achieve justice (Jeremiah 22:3; Romans 3:15-18), and strongly condemn all religious, political, and social ideologies that hinder a lasting peace including antisemitism, islamophobia, and Christian Zionism.

McDermott responds; "Let me first say that I agree that "violence against civilians" is evil. I presume these evangelical leaders mean violence that targets civilians, for most Christians agree with Christian just war theory that distinguishes between intentional targeting of enemies in a just war and unintentional killing of civilians. Even God did things, like miraculously springing Peter from prison, that resulted (unintentionally?) in violence against innocents (Herod putting Peter's guards to death) in Acts 12.

"I will assume that these evangelicals agree that the vicious attacks on Jewish civilians on October 7 were evil because Hamas terrorists (and those who accompanied the soldiers) targeted civilians -- men, women, and children. Even the elderly. They raped women and decapitated babies. It doesn't get any more evil than that!

"There are different kinds of Christian Zionists, but they all agree that Jews, like every other people, have a right to a homeland -- and that the Jews have a right to live in what has been their ancestral home for upwards of four thousand years.

"Christian Zionists support Jews being able to have their homeland in what is called Israel because we believe that is biblical," says McDermott.

You can read his full exposition here: https://virtueonline.org/christian-zionism-evil

Let us be clear: antisemitism is evil. Full stop. In a full-blown war between Israel and Iran the whole world would lose. Of course Israel has nuclear weapons and will use them if forced to do so.

END