This piece was first published on the Hebrew-language website Mida on January 14, 2018, rendered into English by Avi Woolf, and republished here with permission. The original article can be found by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
While the Christian community in Israel is thriving and prospering, Christians living in the Palestinian Authority suffer from violence and unending persecution.
Last Christmas eve, the Muslim mayor of Nazareth, Ali Salem, decided to cancel celebrations in the city. He justified his decision as an act of protest against President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. However, we can assume that the coming Nazareth elections were a factor in his decision, as Salem is trying to get more votes from the city’s Muslims, who now constitute a majority since so many Christians have left in recent years.
The mayor’s decision aroused a great deal of anger among the Arabic-speaking Christians in Israel. Among the leaders of the protest was the Brit Aḥim (Brothers’ Covenant) organization which distributed protest letters on the subject to decision makers in Israel, Christian parties, and Israeli and international media outlets.
Among other things, the letter stated that “the mayor of Nazareth’s decision is a cynical exploitation of Christian residents and it does harm to Christians in Israel and their holiday, harm to the economy of the city, and harm to relations between the religions. . . . We want to remind Mr. Salem that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago and the Holy Books and history cannot be changed for political needs detached from reality. It’s time that the Christian community, which for the most part respects the state of Israel and sees itself as a partner in its construction, not be captive to radical political parties both in the Arab sector and the Christian community.”
In the wake of pressure from Israel and international media coverage, the mayor reversed his decision, but he moved the main stage [where public festivities were held] from its regular spot to another location in town. But Ali Salem is not the only one to take steps after the declaration of the American president.
Thirteen prominent Christian religious figures, including the Armenian patriarch, the patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, archbishops from the Coptic, Syriac, and Ethiopian churches, and the manager of the Latin patriarchate in Jerusalem signed a letter attacking the [White House’s Jerusalem] declaration. A few days later, they were present at a Christmas reception at the [Israeli] Tourism Ministry and were even hosted at the traditional gathering at the Israeli presidential residence for the New Year, and met with the mayor of Jerusalem.
Among Israeli Christians, there is a radical and vocal minority that promotes anti-Israel activity, with the prominent participation of the head of the Greek Orthodox Council in Nazareth (funded by the state of Israel), Bishop Atallah Khana. The bishop has been known to have called on Christian youth to enlist in Hamas and even recently met with Syrian President Bashar Assad.