JERUSALEM — When Shadi Khalloul, a prominent member of Israel’s ancient Aramean-Maronite Christian community, learned on Oct. 7 that Hamas terrorists had killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 240 others, he feared no only for the security of Israel but also for the well-being of his own community in northern Israel.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, is considered a terrorist organization by the US government. An Islamic fundamentalist movement often compared to the Islamic State (IS) group, it has vowed to destroy Israel and spread Islam and Sharia (Islamic law) worldwide.
“Our community existed here before the Arab conquest” of the Holy Land in the 7th century, “and we faced the genocide brought on by that Islamic invasion,” Khalloul told the Register. “This is exactly what we saw on October 7.”
Khalloul, whose Arabic and Aramaic-speaking community is considered “Israeli Arab” by the Israeli government but is not ethnically Arab or Palestinian, said Hamas poses a danger to all.
When Palestinians and their allies chant “From the river to the sea,” he said, “it means they don’t want Israel to exist. What Christians don’t realize is that for Islamic jihadists, all non-Muslims are infidels. If Israel ceases to exist here, we Christians will cease to exist.
Khalloul, a major in the Israeli reserve army, believes that broad international Christian support for an immediate Israeli ceasefire is tantamount to “supporting the devil” because it would only serve to embolden Hamas. He called on Christians “to stop supporting ideologies that support the annihilation of Israel.”
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and the return of hostages kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.
While many of Israel’s 180,000 Arabic-speaking Christian citizens do not feel comfortable speaking publicly against Hamas or in favor of the Israeli military, most feel a sense of belonging to Israel. and to share his destiny.
In December 2023 survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, 73% of Arabic-speaking Christians said they “felt an integral part of the State of Israel.” Among Muslims, the figure was 62 percent, while 80 percent of Druze Israelis, who practice a branch of Islam, expressed a sense of belonging.
These numbers increased sharply after the Hamas massacre, according to the December poll.
Arabic-speaking Israelis have gone to great lengths to ensure that relations between Jews and Arabs remain peaceful. On October 7, the parliamentarian Mansour Abbaswho leads the Islamic Raam party, called on “all Arab and Jewish citizens to exercise restraint, behave responsibly and patiently, and maintain public order.”
When Hamas urged Israeli Arabs to rise up against Israel, Muslim lawmaker Ayman Odeh told a reporter: “Any call for militant actions and the start of a war between Arabs and Jews inside Israel is something we will not accept. »
The Catholic accent
For its part, the Catholic Church in Jerusalem has focused most of its wartime statements and efforts on the heartbreaking plight of Palestinian Christians in Gaza. The remains of this already declining community – there were only 1,000 Christians in Gaza before the war – found refuge in two churches in the north of the territory. Their small enclave was repeatedly hit by Israeli airstrikes and sniper fire after Hamas used the surrounding area as a launching pad for its attacks. More than 20 Christians in Gaza have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to church officials, and the community is left homeless.
In the West Bank, Israel’s heightened security measures and a shortage of tourists in Bethlehem have made life more difficult for Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims.
Father Ibrahim Nino, media director for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, said the patriarchate recognizes that Israeli Christians are also suffering from war – Hamas has launched more than 11,000 rockets into Israeli cities – but unlike Palestinians in the West Bank. or Gaza, these residents have access to Israel’s economic safety net.
“Our main concern at the moment is to improve the living conditions of people in Gaza and the West Bank, but different offices of the Patriarchate are trying to find solutions for Christians in Israel. It’s a work in progress,” Father Nino said.
George Akroush, director of projects at the patriarchate, noted that Christians living within Israel’s 1948 borders “are largely affected by the total paralysis of the tourism sector, in which many of them work, not to mention the difficulties economic effects caused directly and indirectly by the war. .”
The patriarchate and various dioceses are trying to help Israeli Christians in need “within their limited means,” Akroush said, adding that unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the Israeli government provides some support to its citizens. in the form of unemployment benefits and assistance. to small businesses affected by the slowdown due to the war.
Politicize Jesus?
Despite their fears for innocent Muslims and Christians in the West Bank and Gaza, many Arabic-speaking Christians in Israel believe that pro-Palestinian activists, whether government or Christian leaders from abroad, are downplaying Israel’s legitimate concerns. in terms of security.
“The fact that South Africa criticized Israel for its war crimes while hosting Hamas leaders is a travesty,” said a Christian resident of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, who requested anonymity. “The very idea that Hamas, which raped dozens of women and girls, beheaded people and burned them alive, is a legitimate resistance movement is ridiculous. »
Joseph Haddad, a Greek Orthodox Christian who defends Israel, is disturbed by pro-Palestinian activists claiming Jesus was a Palestinian and sharing memes like “If Jesus were alive today, he would be under the rubble in Gaza” .
During Christmas time video, Haddad stated that Jesus was born to Jewish parents and that Palestine did not exist during Jesus’ time. “Actually, there weren’t even any Arabs,” Haddad said. “The Arabs invaded and conquered the Holy Land in 636 CE. There were no Arabs. Jesus therefore could not be Palestinian or even Arab. Today there are people who try to politicize, to promote their own program. But making Jesus a political argument is a mistake.
Others strongly disagree. Artist Rana Bishara, a Palestinian Christian living in Israel, created a work of art which depicts the Child Jesus in an incubator, lying on a Palestinian scarf, in artificial blood. The installation was displayed near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem around Christmas.
“Christ is affected by the Israeli bombs that are costing the lives of people and children in Gaza,” Bishara told reporters, referring to the danger posed to three dozen Palestinian infants when the IDF’s actions cut off the electricity at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza in November. Five babies died.
Economic difficulties and fear
John Zaknoun, a member of the Aramean Christian community, says his community is proudly Zionist – believing that Israel has the right to exist and defend its citizens.
“We support the state; we support the Israeli army. We are an integral part of the state. But because we are still seen as Arabs, others look at us with suspicion,” he said. “However, I served in the army; I worked for the Ministry of Finance, and now in tourism.
The company Zaknoun works for is in difficulty because of the war, because 60 to 70% of tourists come from abroad.
Like other Israelis, he dreams of peace but doesn’t believe it will come anytime soon.
“My Christianity does not allow me to hate people. But I really hate the teachings and actions of Hamas-ISIS, which even Arabs here understand to be terrorist in nature. I don’t think they will change. They believe that the whole Earth should belong to them. When we look at the situation, there are two options: either Israel will cease to exist, or Hamas will disappear. »
The most painful part of the war for Zaknoun is how it affected his family. Her 16-year-old daughter can’t get the images of October 7 – which she saw on social media – out of her head. Zaknoun’s 2-year-old granddaughter became fearful and less verbal.
“Our children feel fear,” he said. “Children in Gaza feel fear. »
