JERUSALEM — With all eyes on the war between Hamas and Israel and the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, many people around the world have ignored the threat posed to Israel by its northern neighbor, Lebanon.
Since the October 7 Hamas massacre, Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization and militia with 60,000 troops, has launched rockets and armed drones at communities in northern Israel from its perch in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces often respond to attacks by launching rockets across the border.
Hezbollah attacks, sometimes numbering in the dozens a day, have caused damage, casualties and fear in the towns, villages and kibbutzim (communal farms) that dot Israel’s mostly rural northern border. This has affected the lives of all Israelis who live near the Israel-Lebanon border, including tens of thousands of Christians.
“It’s a war of attrition,” said Archbishop Rafic Nahra, patriarchal vicar of Israel and auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Church. Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, describing the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. “People’s lives are affected. It’s a very difficult situation.
Although some Christians visit Israel on solidarity missions or serve as volunteers with Israeli farmers and others in need, they rarely visit regular Christian holy sites.
“There is very little tourism,” explains Father Nahra. “A few Asian groups but almost no Americans or Europeans.” It’s a blow to the country’s 185,000-strong Christian community, which relies heavily on pilgrimages. “All those who worked in hotels, in Christian stores, who make items sold to pilgrims, do not work.” Even the large inn managed by the Sisters of Nazareth is closed.
Perhaps more worryingly, violent attacks by Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south “have affected trust between Arabs and Jews,” Father Nahra said. Most Israeli Christians are Arab or live in Arabic-speaking communities.
Since the start of the war, he noted, “Jewish employers have become much more reluctant to hire Arab employees” due to security concerns or sectarianism – or both. “Some of our young people are considering leaving the country.”
Daily life compromised
Hezbollah’s continued attacks directly affect the ability of Israeli Christians to conduct their daily lives and even pray.
At Christmas, Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at St. Mary’s Church in Iqrit, an ancient Melkite (Greek Catholic) village depopulated by the Israeli army in 1948. The missile seriously injured an 86-year-old Christian man, while a second missile injured the first responders who came to his aid. The church itself was not damaged.
“Since then, Iqrit has been a closed military zone,” said Nemi Ashkar, whose family once lived in Iqrit. It’s too dangerous to hold religious services. Even if the church cemetery remains open, “it’s risky to gather there. Now the number of mourners is limited to around 10 people.
Iqrit is only a few kilometers from the Lebanese border.
Ashkar, who lives in Kfar Yasif, a Christian-Muslim-Druze village in the western Galilee about 21 kilometers from the Lebanese border, said villagers heard detonations coming from Lebanon and Israel day and night . It’s no surprise that Israelis are afraid to venture north and take their vacations and business elsewhere.
“Our business largely depends on human trafficking coming from the center of the country, from Tel Aviv,” said Ashkar, whose family owns a winery. ” Times are hard. »
Neveen Elias, an Aramean Christian who lives in Jish, about 4 km from the Lebanese border, said it was impossible to maintain a routine. The village is located on the northeastern slope of Mount Meron, where the IDF reportedly maintains an air base often targeted by Hezbollah.
“We suffer daily from rockets, from the noise of rockets from Lebanon to Israel and vice versa. Rockets also cause forest fires,” Elias said.
Due to the dangerous situation, residents must stay near bomb shelters, but there are not enough to house the entire population of the village for an extended period of time. Although the local school has bomb shelters, they cannot accommodate everyone at once.
“The Home Front Command said that all classes should take place in the school shelter, so now the school is operating in shifts,” Elias explained. Half of the children study from 8 a.m. to noon; the rest from noon to 4 p.m.
With half a day of learning, “parents can’t work and children don’t have enough time to learn.” Following the pandemic, when Israel closed schools for long periods, the conflict with Hezbollah exacerbated an already bad situation, Elias said.
“Children need to meet and socialize outside the home, but this is impossible. »
War Dilemmas
The deteriorating security situation is also affecting everything from commerce to places of prayer.
Today, Jish worshipers pray in a relatively secure part of the church. Although not a true bomb shelter, it is much more secure than the church’s many-windowed sanctuary. When Hezbollah began to attack, parishioners fled the sanctuary to the sound of air-warning sirens.
Another war-related dilemma is where to hold weddings.
“For us, it’s wedding season,” Elias said. The ceremonies and festivities traditionally last up to a week, with families arriving from all over.
“My cousin is getting married in August and a lot of family and friends who live elsewhere are afraid to come to Jish,” Elias said.
When asked if the wedding could take place elsewhere, Elias was skeptical. She explained that parties would typically be held outdoors and much of the food for the parties and the wedding itself would be homemade. The cost of a catered wedding at a town or village venue would be prohibitive and against local customs.
Although the majority of Elias’s angst is directed at Hezbollah, she is also upset that the Israeli government has not offered the residents of Jish war-related financial aid, nor made plans to evacuate residents if the conflict intensifies.
So far, about 60,000 mostly Jewish residents of the northern border have been evacuated and housed in hotels across the country.
But not the residents of Jish, where many Aramean Christians, including Elias and his son, are proudly Israeli and serve in the Israeli army.
“We suffer like everyone else in the north, Jews and Druze. We serve in the IDF, we coexist with the Jews who live near us. Is this discrimination? I’m sad to say yes.
Elias – who is a reserve soldier in the IDF’s Home Front Command – worries about his soldier son, who spent three months in southern Israel before moving to the Syria-Lebanon border.
“Having a son in the military makes our lives even more stressful. I often hear how Hezbollah tries to attack its units. I pray all the time that this war will end soon,” Elias said.
“Iranian proxy”
Shadi Khalloul, who heads the Aramaic-Christian Association in Israel, said no one should be surprised that Israeli Christians serve in the Israeli army.
“Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy that promotes the Islamic revolution and the values of Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran poses a threat to Christians throughout the region, particularly in Lebanon and Syria. This is a threat to us in Galilee.
If Iran-backed Hezbollah is not stopped, Khalloul said, “we will not be treated any differently than how Christians have been treated in other Islamic states.” Find out how Christians are treated in Iran.
