Palestinian Christians urge American evangelicals to see their plight

Palestinian Christian leaders are urging American evangelicals to look beyond their support for Israel and recognize the difficult reality faced by Christians in the Holy Land. Father Munther Isaac, director of the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice, fears for the future of Christians in Palestine, citing not only the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also the actions of some fellow Christians. He argues that the existence and experiences of Palestinian faithful are largely invisible to American evangelicals who support the return of the Holy Land to Jews. "Our experience has been when pastors and lay people come to Palestine, see the walls, see the settlements, meet with families struggling just to survive in their land, that’s when their eyes are opened," Isaac said. Isaac and Father Bashar Fawadleh, from the last entirely Christian town in the occupied West Bank, Taybeh, want to reach evangelicals involved in Christian Zionism. This movement views the modern state of Israel as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy but, they contend, ignores Palestinian Christian communities and contradicts the Christian ethos of loving one's neighbor. "Theology has been weaponized," Isaac stated, adding, "These are Christians who are funding and supporting the major threat on our existence in the land today." Isaac, who grew up in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, notes that Jewish settlements have encroached on land where he played as a child, and the separation wall now prevents him from walking to Jerusalem. The expansion of settlements and Israel's increased support for building on Palestinian land have displaced Muslims and further fragmented the Christian population in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, estimated at around 50,000. Fawadleh reported that over 90 people have left Taybeh in the last three years, reducing its population to about 1,200 residents. Roland Bassir, whose cement factory outside Taybeh faces daily attacks from settlers, expressed a desire to leave the town due to the lack of a future for himself and his children. The Christian leaders are troubled by the moral and financial support for settlement growth coming from adherents of Christian Zionism.

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