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Christians in the Holy Land

Click here to read: Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society by Justus Reid Weiner. 

What's it like to be a Christian living under the Palestinian Authority?  

In a recent study, soon to be released by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), Professor Justus Reid Weiner examines the status of Christians under Palestinian control and discovers that there has been a serious deterioration since 1994, when Israel handed vast areas over to the PA under the Oslo Accords. Professor Weiner discovered that freedom for Christians in these areas is restricted as a result of the institution of Sharia law (Moslem religious law as opposed to secular civil law) by the PA, which ensures that non-Muslims are placed on a lower level in the social order (see pages 5 and 20 of the report).

Sharia law, as applied in the PA areas, is a symptom of the overall radicalization of Islam (see pages 23 - 25). This radicalization can be seen in the educational curriculum within the PA school system and is apparent not only in the complete denial of Israel's right to exist, but also in the overall denouncing of all non-Moslems (see page 8).

Prior to 1994, when Israel controlled these areas, Christian Arabs were part of the pluralism and democracy that marks Israeli society and Israeli rule. In stark contract, since 1994, Christians in PA territories have no independent authority to which they can appeal; no independent judiciary, no freedom of press, no High Court run under Western jurisprudence.

Particularly disturbing is that the leadership of the Christian community has largely abandoned its flock, either because it felt that identification with Palestinian issues rather than Christian issues were of higher importance, or because the leadership was coerced into “toeing the line” by the PA (see pages 22-23).

Professor Weiner documents two particularly poignant stories that go far in summarizing the overall plight of Christians under the PA:

• The picture of an Armenian priest held prisoner in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002 by Fatah militiamen.
• The story of the El-Achwal family: the father converted to Christianity, and was then repeatedly imprisoned, tortured and finally murdered.

Other important points that come out of this comprehensive study include:

• Christian emigration results not only from the restrictions of the Israeli security services, but primarily due to PA persecution (see page 5).
• Extortion, particularly in the Bethlehem area, is rampant. The PA security forces are part of the problem and so cannot be relied upon for protection (see pages 11-12).
• Christians in the Bethlehem now number around 30,000 – less than 33% of the population.
• Christian women are regularly abused; rape, forced marriages (see page 14).
• Torture is an ever-present reality – as described with the El-Achwal story. And yet, it goes largely unreported. The US State Department reports, for example, consistently ignore details of human rights’ abuses in PA controlled areas.

Finally, Prof. Weiner’s work is not an isolated piece of research. Further documentation can be found in Cain’s Field by Matt Rees and at Terrorism Information Center and at The Prism Group. Sadly, the reactions of charities and campaign organizations, including Christian Aid, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have been distinguished by their silence. Western society continues this silence for fear of complicating the simplistic views held by many regarding the Palestinian Authority. In a world where persecution, discrimination, torture and even death is common place, the plight of Christians living under the Palestinian Authority has yet to receive the attention of the world. Until the international community addresses their situation, continued persecution, even resulting in death, is likely to continue.

Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society is available in hardcopy from the JCPA and will shortly be available via Amazon.