by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – In a Christmas message, Israel’s prime minister pledged that his Jewish nation will protect Christians following an arson attack near a Latin Catholic parish church in Jenin, in the West Bank, also known Biblically as Judea and Samaria.
Benjamin Netanyahu noted that while the Christian community elsewhere in the region is dwindling “due to systematic discrimination and oppression,” it is “growing in Israel.”
While Jerusalem’s city municipality distributes Christmas trees every year, “by contrast, a few days ago, in the Palestinian town of Jenin, Palestinians burned a Christmas tree in the Holy Redeemer Church,” Netanyahu stressed.
“That’s the difference,” he added. “Israel stands up for Christians across the region, wherever they face widespread discrimination and persecution.”
CHURCH CONFIRMS ARSON ATTACK IN JENIN
He spoke after church officials confirmed that the Christmas tree and Nativity Grotto at the Holy Redeemer Church of Jenin were destroyed in an arson attack early Monday.
Local priest Amer Jubran called it a “deliberate and fabricated act carried out by outlaws” and described it as “shameful and reprehensible.”
Netanyahu suggested that the attack underscored Israel’s claim that it is “the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community is thriving” and where “Christian pilgrims are embraced with open arms and are so deeply appreciated.”
It has not always been easy. In March 2023, a bill was prepared in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, under which Christians involved in evangelism among Jews could have faced lengthy prison terms. Netanyahu publicly intervened to block the proposed anti-missionary legislation after it sparked an international outcry.
In his video-recorded Christmas message obtained by Worthy News, Netanyahu reiterated that “while Israel’s Christian population is growing, the Christian population in countless areas across the region has been dwindling due to systematic discrimination and oppression.”
NETANYAHU CITES REGIONAL DECLINE OF CHRISTIANS
Netanyahu said persecution “has happened in Iraq, it’s happened in Syria, it’s happened in Lebanon, it’s happened in Turkey, and it’s happening in the Palestinian Authority.”
The birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem, once had an estimated 80 percent Christian population, he recalled. “That was when we were there. When we left and gave it to the Palestinian Authority, it has since dwindled from 80 percent to about 20 percent,” he said.
He added that “the persecution of Christians or members of any religion cannot and must not be tolerated,” also citing Muslim militant displacement and deadly attacks against Christians in Nigeria. “That, too, must end—and it must end now,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu concluded: “I’m sending Israel’s Christmas blessings to our Christian friends around the world, and I ask you to know that Israel will always stand with you.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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