Christian Community Raises Alarm Over Growing Religious Disregard

By Elias Zarina | Founder of the Jerusalemites’ Initiative

On the occasion of Eid al-Adha, Al-Qasrawi Food Products Company, headquartered in Hebron (in Judea and Samaria), published a promotional video and poster designed by an advertising agency called “Kayan.” The campaign controversially used the iconic image of the Last Supper, replacing the holy Christian figures with a lamb, and transforming the sacred Passover table into a display of the company’s products.

The imagery sparked outrage across social media platforms, with widespread condemnation of what many saw as a deeply offensive desecration of Christian religious symbols. In protest, young Christians in Bethlehem collected the company’s products from local stores and publicly burned them as an expression of their anger and frustration.

This incident highlights a broader pattern of marginalization faced by Christians in the Palestinian Authority territories. Christians there often experience institutional neglect, systemic discrimination, and a lack of equality before the law, in part due to the absence of genuine separation between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

Since 7 October 2023, Christians in the Palestinian Authority have been subjected to increasing societal pressures. They were reportedly barred from celebrating Christmas and were instead coerced into showing solidarity with Gaza and Hamas. Decorations were prohibited, Christmas trees vanished from homes and public spaces, including the central square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. On Holy Saturday, scout groups were prevented from using musical instruments during the traditional reception of the Holy Fire, a ritual in which Christian clergy bring the flame from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to churches around the world. This ban has been in place for nearly two years.

The near-total collapse of tourism since the war has also dealt a severe blow to the Christian community in Bethlehem, where the local economy depends heavily on pilgrims and visitors. As a result of these combined pressures, societal, political, and economic, around 140 Christian families have reportedly emigrated from the Palestinian Authority territories.

Regionally, the situation is just as alarming. Christians and other non-Sunni minorities, such as the Druze in Syria, have come under mounting pressure since Ahmad Al-Sharaa took control. These groups are reportedly being forced to either convert to Islam, pay the jizya (a historical tax on non-Muslims), or leave their homeland. In Egypt, the government has reportedly confiscated thousands of hectares of land owned by the Coptic Church in the Sinai Peninsula.

This systematic targeting of Christians and other minorities across the Middle East appears aimed at altering the region’s demographic and geopolitical balance by emptying it of one of its most ancient and vital communities.

I call upon the European Union, Australia, Canada, and the United States not to facilitate the mass emigration of Christians from the region. Instead, I urge these nations to support sustainable, long-term solutions that enable Christian communities to remain in their ancestral homelands. This includes financial and moral support, as well as diplomatic pressure on local governments ,particularly the Palestinian Authority, which receives generous aid from the EU and the US , to integrate Christians into decision-making structures and safeguard their rights.

The views expressed in this op-ed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SyriacPress.