Understanding How Local Christians View Their Situation

The social profile of local indigenous Christians provides the background for those who are trying to understand how they assess their present situation and prospects for the future. Several elements have shaped the social structure of the local indigenous Christians, during the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st centuries. This has caused them to become a distinct group in terms of religious, cultural, social and political position in the Holy Land.

The Ottoman government granted the Holy Land a special position as an independent district within the Ottoman Empire due to many interested countries and rivalry over the Christian Holy Sites, associated with the life of Jesus and early Christianity in the Holy Land. These actions gave the Christians additional power in the country and allowed them to gain more rights that benefited the Christian presence there.

Social challenges that present-day Palestinian Christians face are negatively shaping the Christian presence and identity in the Holy Land, in particular in Jerusalem. The status of Jerusalem is at the core of Palestinian-Israeli relations and it is here that officials make political, social, economic, and religious decisions that affect the Christian community.

Decisions about the status of Jerusalem have repercussions throughout the entire country. Jerusalem has the “highest churches per capita” rate the world over; the ratio being around one church per 170 Christians in the city. This has implications for the continuity of the Christian community in Jerusalem, one of the most important cities in Christianity, as there are many church buildings but few “Living Stones,” who are the local Christians. Church officials and experts are concerned that the disappearance of community life in Jerusalem’s churches and lack of social activities is leading to Christian emigration.

During the British Mandate, the Christian community in Jerusalem increased in size in 1922, the total population of Jerusalem was 28,607, of which 14,699 were Christians (51.4%). The percentage of the Christian population reduced from 29,350 in 1944 to 10,982 in 1961 and by 1966, the Christian community declined to 10,320 inhabitants (18.2%). Thus, from 1922 to 1966, there was a 33% decrease in Christians living in Jerusalem. This decline is partly attributed to the 1948 War, the establishment of the State of Israel and the subsequent division of Jerusalem into east and west parts. Another decline in Jerusalem’s Christian population occurred after the 1967 war. With Israeli control of all Jerusalem, the Christian population fell to 4.8%. Because of the transition from Jordanian authority to Israeli government and also a high unemployment rate, many of the remaining Christians left Jerusalem. Others sought refuge in the Old City of Jerusalem and stayed in monastery compounds and church institutions.

Many of the Christians emigrated because of the political-economic conflict and the Christian population in Jerusalem also reduced because of the comparative high birth rate of Muslims and increase of Israeli Jews living in the city. According to the Sabeel Survey (2006), the total population of the Christian community in Jerusalem was then 8,000. Additionally the population of the Christian community in the West Bank faced dramatic demographic changes; the population of Christians there was around 43,290 in 2006, while the population of the Christians before 1948 was 59,160.

Due to the policies the State of Israel has imposed on Palestinian Christians (as part of the whole Palestinian population), a further dramatic decline in the Christian population has occurred that is attributed to their emigration to other countries. It seems as if the Israeli government’s goal is to empty the Holy Land of non-Jews. This is especially apparent in Jerusalem where it is imposing negative procedures and policies on the Palestinian Christian community that challenge the Christian presence in the Holy Land. These challenges are categorized below.