Christians in the Holy Land have been hit with a number of frightening attacks in recent months.
Zionist thugs have attacked Christian graveyards, invaded Masses and set churches on fire.
Now, with Holy Week upon us, Christians there are living in fear as the terror ramps up.
Many Christian leaders have blamed the ultra Zionist government for endorsing the increased violence through their aggressive rhetoric and refusal to punish extremists.
In his Palm Sunday sermon, the Latin Patriarch said:
We have witnessed in recent weeks many incidents of violence in this city, including against churches and Christian symbols. But we must not be afraid of those who want to divide, those who want to exclude or who want to take over the soul of this Holy City. They will not succeed, because the Holy City has always been and will always remain a house of prayer for all peoples (Is 56:7). No one will be able to possess it exclusively. As I keep repeating, we belong to this city and no one can separate us from our love for it, just as no one can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:35).
To those who want to divide, we will respond with the desire to build unity. To those who express hatred and contempt, we will respond with the healing power of love. To those who wish to exclude, we will respond by seeking to meet and welcome.
We will never give up our love for what this City represents: it is the place of Christ’s death and resurrection, the place of reconciliation, of a love that saves and overcomes the boundaries of pain and death. And this is also our mission, as Church of Jerusalem: to build up, to unite, to break down barriers, to hope against all hope (cf. Rom. 4:18), to bear witness with serene confidence to a way of life freed from the shackles of any form of fear.
Therefore, in our hearts, in the hearts of the Christians of Jerusalem, there is no room for hatred and resentment. We do not want to hate or despise. The love of Christ that has conquered us is stronger than any opposite experience. And this is, and remains, our strength; this is and always will be, despite our many limitations, our witness.
In a joint statement, Christian leaders in the city condemned the climate of terror.
“As we have all seen in recent months, escalating violence has engulfed the Holy Land. Local Christians in particular have increasingly suffered adversities similar to the ones about which St. Peter wrote.
Some of our holy sites and cemeteries have been desecrated, and some of our ancient liturgies, such as the Palm Sunday procession and the holy fire ceremony, have been closed off to thousands of worshipers. This is in spite of our agreements to cooperate with the governing authorities and to accommodate any reasonable requests that they might present.”
Nonetheless, Christians have been seen celebrating in Jerusalem during Palm Sunday regardless, in defiance of Zionist terror.
During a 2018 appearance in Rio de Janeiro, Benjamin Netanyahu told Evangelicals:
If you are a Christian in the Middle East, there’s only one place where you are safe. There’s only one place where the Christian community is growing, thriving, prospering. That’s in the State of Israel.”
Attacks against Christians have occurred not just as places of worship, Zionists have also attacked Christian businesses.
In recent years, Israeli police have also targeted Christians attending church, policing attendance at Holy Week events and preventing Christians from passing through security points.
Interestingly, more than a few of these terrorists have actually been American Zionists who do not want to see Christians in the Holy Land, as was the case in a recent church attack.
As well as recent proposed laws aimed at criminalising the spreading of Christianity, the state’s hostility to anything non Jewish is becoming increasingly problematic. Just today, a number of Arab states have angrily condemned attacks on Mosques within the city.
