Following weeks of pressure from Catholic Arena and others, Israeli leadership appears to have pivoted from its official position that there was no discrimination against Christians in their country.
After posting videos of priests being told to take off their Cross, of churches being invaded and desecrated and of Christians being spat upon, we were inundated with Israelis who claimed that this was not happening and Western Conservatives who claimed that this was perfectly acceptable for varying reasons.
We of course took the side of Christian leaders such as soon the be Cardinal Pizzaballa, who said that this was an urgent and critical issue and that the Israelis were under a government that was tacitly encouraging this behaviour.
Despite the fact that many Israelis on Twitter claimed that nothing was happening at Stella Marris Monastery in Haifa, Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the location today:
The visit is a welcome step but a very small one and one that will only bear fruit if there is an entire culture shift.
Only this week, a hotline revealed that Christians were being denied medical care, spat at in the street and threatened with stabbings in public by Israeli extremists.
