Israel’s ethno-religious extremism knows no bounds. Both the persecution of Muslims and Christians has only risen. The persecution of Christians in Israel isn’t even as recent as the horrific massacres, raids and attacks throughout occupied-Palestine, including Bethlehem, and the brutal execution of parents in front of their children on Christmas Day this year. In 2022 Israeli settler-colonists violently seized land owned by a Christian Church in East Jerusalem, aided and protected by the Israeli police.
Christians, also in East Jerusalem, have been forced to continue camping outside their Church out of fear their house of worship will be similarly seized by Israeli settler-colonists. They were camped outside over the holidays while you and I celebrated Christmas inside with our families. They’re still outside while I’m writing to you - trying to protect the house of God. Unfortunately the Christians in Gaza couldn’t protect their Church from being destroyed by Israeli bombardment and in addition to losing their Church, several of the congregation lost their lives.
The Israeli legislature has proposed prior bills as recent as earlier this year that would criminalize Christians sharing their faith with a 1 year prison sentence. If a Christian is accused of converting a minor, they would face a 2 year prison sentence. In addition to this heinous assault on individual religious freedom, the law would make other forms of sharing the teachings of Christ through books, podcasts, or other forms of media illegal. While Netanyahu publicly reassured the world that no law would advance at the time, he isn’t in charge of the legislature. The Israeli legislature passes all laws as well as electing the prime minister. It’s clear that there are multiple voices in the Israeli legislature that want to advance their agenda of persecuting Christians.
As Pope Francis has said recently of the horrific genocide of Palestinians “we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism”. Christians face persecution as I’ve never seen in recent years. This is the government you wholeheartedly support and continue to supply with my tax dollars in the form of weapons to continue the genocide of Palestinians.
This is the briefest snapshot of the clear hatred and persecution Christians are facing throughout occupied-Palestine. I’ve spoken in depth to you already about my concerns of the rising hate crimes, desecration and destruction of Mosques, and Islamophobic hate against Palestinian Muslims, but it’s clear at this point you don’t really care. Maybe you can see yourself in the Palestinian Christians, and see that they are being violently persecuted by Israel, too.
You need to do everything within your power against Israel’s ethnoreligious extremism fueling the barbaric genocide of Palestinians as their ethnic cleansing campaign reaches new heights at the end of 2023. You can start by calling for a ceasefire right now.
