Tag: Israel

Pence’s plans to help Middle East Christians overshadowed by political storm

January 19, 2018 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Al-Azhar, Arabs, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bethlehem, Churches, Copts, Donald Trump, Egypt, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Jordan, King Abdullah II, Middle East, Mike Pence, Palestinian Territories, USA, West Bank

US Vice President Mike Pence’s postponed trip to the Middle East goes ahead this weekend amid myriad tensions and a fast-shifting diplomatic landscape. Pence’s trip is a shortened version of the one planned for last month, which was abruptly cancelled when protests erupted at President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem . . . Read More

Trump’s Jerusalem move rejected by Arab Christian leaders, who fear backlash

December 11, 2017 Israel Bethlehem, Donald Trump, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Middle East, Palestinian Territories, Tel Aviv, West Bank

Church leaders in the Middle East have voiced grave concerns at US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city and move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There are an estimated 200,000 Christians in the Holy Land, of whom around 50,000 live . . . Read More

More than 80 countries ‘favour’ one religion over others – Pew Research Center

October 5, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Apostasy, Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Central Asia, China, Comoros, Converts, Cuba, India, Iran, Islamic extremism, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Maldives, Mauritania, Middle East, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Africa, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Over 80 countries favour a specific religion, either officially as a state religion or tacitly through special treatment, according to a new report by the US-based Pew Research Center. Islam is the most common state religion – 27 countries have it as their official religion, including 16 of the 20 . . . Read More

Israel: Messianic congregation reports abuse from Orthodox Jews

September 12, 2017 Israel Greek Orthodox, Israel, Jerusalem, Messianic Jews, Orthodox Jews

An Orthodox Jewish group shouted abuse as they protested outside a meeting of Messianic Jews in Arad, southern Israel, reports Middle East Concern (MEC). At the end of August the Messianic group, Hasdey Yeshua, were meeting in a warehouse when 20-30 members of the ultra-Orthodox group, Gur Hassadim, arrived and started swearing . . . Read More

Jordanian King ‘will protect Arab Christians’

May 8, 2017 Jordan Israel, Justin Welby, King Abdullah II, Middle East

The Archbishop of Canterbury is visiting Israel. In this picture (2013) he and is wife are just leaving the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Photo: Getty Images / Ilia Yefimovich

King Abdullah II of Jordan said that he will protect the existence and identity of Arab Christians, when last week he met the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who is on a 12-day tour of the Middle East. King Abdullah II spoke of Jordan as a model of harmonious coexistence between . . . Read More

Inquiry finds ‘no evidence’ of World Vision Gaza links to Hamas

March 27, 2017 Palestinian Territories Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestinian Territories

An Australian government review has found no evidence of allegations that an aid worker siphoned off millions of dollars to Hamas while he was working for a Christian charity, reports The Guardian. In August 2016, Israel accused Mohammad El Halabi, head of World Vision Gaza, of diverting millions of dollars a . . . Read More

Israel resettling Eritrean refugees in 3rd country

November 29, 2016 East Africa, Eritrea, Israel, Migrants, Refugees, Rwanda, Uganda

Eritreans seeking asylum in Israel are being given the option of resettling in a third country, often Uganda and Rwanda, . But Israel’s ‘policy’ of transferring arrivals from Africa has been criticised. Andie Lambe, executive director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative, an NGO that has conducted extensive research into . . . Read More

Arab and Jew ‘cross the divide’ through shared faith

October 3, 2016 Israel Arabs, Israel, Jerusalem, Jews, Palestinian Territories

Hisham*, an Arab, and Miriam*, a Jew, are both 16. They grew up in Israel in a climate where suspicion, even full-blown hate, has set the tone of each towards the other. The boy and girl are friends now – their friendship has this one thing in common: a faith . . . Read More

Charity clears mines from Jordan River path

May 17, 2016 Israel Armenians, Churches, Israel, Jordan River, Palestinian Territories

Seven historic churches near the Jordan River site of Jesus’ baptism are to be cleared of mines, making way for more pilgrimages and furthering inter-communal reconciliation. A British charity, the Halo Trust, is undertaking the work on the Israeli side, west of the river, in an area unsafe since the . . . Read More

Bulldozers unearth church ruins, keep digging

April 8, 2016 Palestinian Territories Gaza, Israel, Palestinian Territories

When construction crews building a shopping centre in Gaza unearthed the ruins of what appeared to be a Byzantine church about 1,500 years old, local authorities did not halt the work to preserve the site. Instead, bulldozers continued in early April to prepare the site, wiping away the traces of . . . Read More

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