Fear and faith in the Holy Land
Only a few weeks ago, on September 30th, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was made a cardinal at the consistory. His flock in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Cyprus, including the Vicariates for the Migrants and Asylum Seekers, and the Hebrew Speaking Congregation, celebrated the news. In hindsight, the red that he received on that occasion, which signifies the blood of the martyrs and his willingness to suffer for the Church, could not have been more apt.
One week later, on October 7th, Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,400 Israelis, and the subsequent Israeli strikes on Gaza left 3,600 Palestinians dead. There are 10,000 wounded, and more than 150 Israelis remain in Gaza as hostages.
Like the rest of the population, the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine have been living in a state of fear.
And in Gaza, 150 Catholics and 350 Orthodox Christians have taken refuge in the Catholic Parish of the Holy Family, along with a priest and women religious from three congregations. They account for half of the Christian population in Gaza, including Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants.
Despite Israel’s recommendation that residents of northern Gaza evacuate, Sister Nabila Saleh, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Rosary and ACN’s local project partner, says that she is not going anywhere. “We need medicine. Hospitals have been destroyed. Our school has also been damaged, but we’re not leaving. People have nothing, not even the essentials. Where would we go? To die in the street? There are old and disabled people here. Where can they go? We will stay with them. Pray for us and for this madness to end,” she told ACN.
Sister Nabila has not slept for days, and the news that between 100 and 300 people died in the parking lot of an Anglican hospital on October 17th caused her deep suffering. Plus, the sisters’ school is in a neighborhood that was destroyed by airstrikes.
An Israeli invasion of Gaza is one of the major fears of Christians in the region: because of what that would mean for civilians in Gaza, and Hamas’ possible reaction. The group claims to have 5,000 rockets, and even though 85 percent of them have been intercepted by radars and protection systems, the rest are enough to do terrible damage to the Israeli population, including in Jerusalem.
West Bank: Many were already poor; now they are desperate
The estimated 37,000 Christians still in the West Bank are also living in fear. Israel is in a state of war. More than 90 percent of tourists have already left the country, and future pilgrimages are being canceled until January 2024. This will create a terrible economic crisis for many Christian families, since about 70 percent of Christians work in the tourism sector. “Many earn a living as souvenir vendors, bus drivers, receptionists, and so on,” said George Akroush, an ACN project partner based in Jerusalem.
Another major problem is the closure of checkpoints into Israel. Many Christian families prefer to live in the West Bank, because they have better access to education for their children, but they commute to Jerusalem to work. Due to the state of emergency, they have not been allowed to enter Israel since October 7th.
“Those who suffer from chronic illness are in a terrible situation, but even necessities, like food, rent, water, and electricity is a challenge. Many were already poor, but now they are desperate,” said Akroush.
The West Bank is also home to the Beit Jala Spiritual Formation Center, a project of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem that is supported by various organizations, including ACN. The Center was officially inaugurated a few weeks ago. It was meant to be a place where seminarians and lay people could work and study together. But now, it is operating as a branch of the Latin Patriarchate, and many staff members who cannot travel to Jerusalem are working remotely from there.
Jerusalem, a city of peace in a state of war
The situation is also very difficult in East Jerusalem, which is home to an estimated10,000 Christians. About 40 percent of them are also dependent on the tourism sector, and many have lost their jobs. The tourists have left, and the hotels are being used as quarters for reservists or to accommodate Israelis who fled parts of Israel close to the Gaza borders. Many Christians who worked at the hotels are now unemployed.
“But faith remains strong in their hearts, and there are many signs of solidarity; some of those who kept their jobs are donating 15 percent of their income to poorer families. The crisis is bringing the Catholic community closer together, but their health condition is still alarming,” said Akroush.
Father Artemio Vitores, a Spanish Franciscan who cares for the Cenacle church, told ACN that he doesn’t want to be “too pessimistic,” but that “very little about this situation is peaceful. Jerusalem should be a site of peace and harmony for everybody. Itis a Holy City for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. But this is so difficult! Peace is a gift from God, but it requires people’s cooperation.
We trust in God that this situation will not get worse. We must ask the Lord, and Mary, the Queen of Peace, to prevent violence and intolerance from reigning, instead of harmony and love, and to allow pilgrims to return to the Holy Land in peace and joy. Do not forget us in your prayers!”
Evil cannot have the last word
Finally, there is also a Christian community spread out over parts of Israel, a community that includes visitors, students, volunteers, and 110,000 foreign workers.
They have all experienced the terrorist attacks up close, as well as the pain and anguish of family, friends, and colleagues.
Holly is one of them. She is an American who was in Jerusalem when the world as she knew it collapsed. “These past few days have been terribly long and tiring. My heart aches because of the inhumane and unthinkable atrocities carried out by Hamas.” The day of the initial attack saw the highest number of Jews murdered in a single day since the Holocaust. It is unimaginable.”
Her family and friends immediately helped find her a seat on an airplane home. “But on Sunday, I received a message that changed all those plans in less than a minute,” she said. A humanitarian organization asked her to look after displaced Jewish families from Sderot, which is on the border with Gaza.
“I had to stay. I want to help in any way I can. Telling my parents was very difficult, and we were all holding back tears as I shared the news. But they have been very understanding, and that means a lot to me.
I lived in Poland for three years, and I saw where the Holocaust took place. As a believer and a Christian, I have asked myself many times why does evil occur? But today I can help, so I must do so.”
From Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel, ACN is receiving stories of pain and fear, but also of faith, sacrifice, and generosity. This is the Christian way of saying that evil should not have the last word.
When Cardinal Pizzaballa was named Patriarch of Jerusalem, he wrote a message to the Christians of his diocese: “The pallium reminds us that through our baptism, we chose to take on the yoke of Christ, the weight and the glory of the cross, which is love given unto death and beyond.”
Lebanon: “We don’t want another war”
Another great fear is that a mass offensive might drag Lebanon into the war, which would trigger an escalation of violence and death that could spread throughout Lebanon and Syria. And both countries have suffered enough from war.
In Lebanon, which was already in political and economic crisis, there is anxiety, fear, and preparation. Some Christians in the south of the country are seeking refuge in Beirut.
Marielle Boutros, a young Lebanese woman who works with ACN in Lebanon, said, “What we are witnessing now in Gaza and in southern Lebanon is bringing back old fears. We feel haunted by the war of 2006. As Christians living in Lebanon, we pray for the victims and their families, but we are also worried for our own nation. We don’t want to see Lebanon dragged into another war. My generation has already lived through two wars. We are not ready to go through it all again.”
A war that could involve all the Middle East
It isn’t only Lebanon. Christians in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and other countries in the region look at this conflict with trepidation. During a visit to ACN headquarters in September, the Patriarch of the Melkite Catholic Church, His Beatitude Youssef Absi, highlighted the importance of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the entire Middle East. “The Palestinian issue is the main issue. This is very clear to all of us here. Without a solution for that, there is no solution for the Middle East,” he said.
Political turbulence, Islamic extremism, and socioeconomic discrimination have led to a wave of Christian emigration in all these countries. “The second intifada led to the emigration of 500 families from Palestine. I am very sorry to say that if this war doesn’t end soon, we will see another strong wave of emigration from the Holy Land. Therefore, we should do all we possibly can to save what can be saved in this critical time,” said George Akroush.
—Maria Lozano
