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CMI BRIEF December 2012 Volume 11 No.8

Christians in A threatened community?

Mural from the Armenian Christian Palestinians constitute one of the oldest Christian Quarter in . Photo: Nefissa Naguib communities in the world, and their presence in Palestine dates back to the Roman Era. In modern times, they have been instrumental in shaping a Palestinian national identity, and their influence on Palestinian society far exceeds their numbers. Christian Palestinians also have a history of large-scale . Their survival as a community in Palestine is threatened.

Christian Palestinians constitute one of the that Palestinian emigration, both Christian and oldest Christian communities in the world, and Muslim, is a result of the hardships caused by their presence in Palestine dates back to the ’s occupation. Israeli authorities contend Roman Era. In modern times, they have been that Muslim radicals force to leave instrumental in shaping a Palestinian national and the Palestinian Authorities does little to protect them. This dispute is part of the Israeli- society far exceeds their numbers. Christian Palestinian battle for international sympathy, identity,Palestinians and alsotheir have influence a history on Palestinian of large-scale and challenges Israel’s strong support among emigration. Their survival as a community in Christian communities in the West. Bård Helge Kårtveit Palestine is threatened. With less than 49 000 people left in the , and Earlier this year, the US news program 60 Researcher Gaza, there are fears that places like and Jerusalem have very few Christians left from the West Bank. Fearing a story that would in the near future. Minutesblame Israel made for a thestory hardships on the flight of Christian of Christians Palestinians, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Conflicting narratives contacted the head of CBS News in an attempt The plight of Christian Palestinians is a matter of to kill the story. After it was aired, the program heated debate. The Palestinian Authority argues ignited massive protest from political groups CMI Brief DECEMBEr 2012 Volume 11 No.8 Christians in Palestine – retaining a voice and a presence

and individuals in the US, who accused the news off from the city, and Northern Bethlehem, once Brief facts - channel of inciting hatred against Israel. a thriving commercial district, was transformed Christians in into a ghost-town. Bethlehem hotels and the Palestinian A long history of emigration souvenir-shops - the lifelines of many local Territories While this dispute is centered on more recent families - were left empty. events, Christian emigration from Palestine dates • History in Palestine dates back more than one hundred years. From the The Separation Wall has been complemented back to early late 1800s, economic depression and political by new policies banning West Bank- suppression triggered large-scale migration from residents from entering Jerusalem, a network • Est. 49 000 people in Palestine and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. of checkpoints and roadblocks restricting the West Bank, East Equipped with extensive western contacts, Palestinian movements within the and Gaza Mission School education and knowledge of Bank, and a denial of West Bank residency (2006). European languages, local Christians lead for Palestinians who hold foreign passports. These and other measures have strengthened • The Christian triangle of Since then, both Christians and Muslims have a structural drive towards further emigration, Bethlehem, Beit Jala and theemigrated first waves in large of emigration numbers, especiallyfrom Palestine. during a drive to which internationally oriented, well- is home to periods of political hardships. During WWI, educated middle class Christian Palestionians appr. 22 000 Christians. many young Palestinians left for have been particularly responsive. to escape conscription in the Ottoman army. • 50 % belong to the Greek After the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967, The flight of the middle class Orthodox Church, 15 % thousands of people left Palestine in search of Between 2001 and 2005, more than 3000 to the Roman Catholic freedom and safety, primarily in the . out of 25 000 Christians left the Bethlehem Church, 10 % the Greek Early emigrants would help new generations District alone. Since then, an estimated 700 Catholic Church, and the of family members to join them in their host – 900 Christians have left Palestine each rest divided between countries, establishing chains of family migration year. Combined with low birth rates and an more than ten different that continues today making emigration an ageing community, this has served to diminish churches. attractive and feasible option for potential new the Christian presence to little more than a • Primarily employed in emigrants. Today, the Christian Palestinian remaining one perccent of the Palestinian health sector, cultural and is mainly spread throughout the population, casting doubts about their survival educational institutions Americas, Northern Europa, and . In as a community in Palestine. and Palestinian tourism alone, an estimated 90 000 people are believed to descend from Bethlehem emigrants, • Politically engaged, four times the current population of Christians in and widely oriented Bethlehem. Thanks to extensive family networks Theambitious flight ofmiddle-class Christians isPalestinians part of a broader to other towards, left-wing secular abroad, top notch education because of access problem;parts of the the world. flight Thisof well-educated trend has been and movements. to church-based private schools in Palestine exacerbated by a thwarting of the Palestinian and other factors, Christian Palestinians have economy, leaving young Palestinians in want of • Long history of emigrated three times the rate of Muslim employment and economic opportunities in the emigration, with large Palestinians. West Bank. migrant networks in Latin America, North America, A structural drive towards emigration After almost two decades of political stalemate Northern and At different times, Christian emigration has been between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, a Australia. driven by political and economic hardships, and continued expansion of Israeli settlements, and deepening divisions between the • Well-know Christian has been the primary source of such hardships. leadership in Gaza and the Palestinian Palestinians: George inIn recentparticular, decades, during the the Israeli-Palestinian (2000- conflict Authority in the West Bank, the prospects for a Habash, founder of 2005), a period of low intensity warfare between two-state solution are getting slimmer. With a PFLP, Hanan Ashrawi, Israel and Palestinian militants, Israeli military shortage of jobs and economic opportunities, PLO spokeswoman, and measures in the West Bank was a brutal blow and little hopes of a political long-term , Palestinian- against Christian Palestinian livelihoods. settlement, emigration remains an option for American Academic. many Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. In the Bethlehem districts – a Palestinian Christianity stronghold - the local economy is The role of Palestinian Churches heavily dependent on the tourist industry built Among those who remain on the West Bank, around Bethlehem’s biblical heritage. However, local churches are important sources of during the Second Intifada, Israeli isolated the support. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant West Bank from Israel, devastating tourism churches run schools, health clinics, cultural in Bethlehem as well as other sectors of the centres and various charities in the Palestinian local economy. The most important isolation territories. Seeking to halt emigration, local measure was the building of the Separation Wall churches try to ease the economic burden between Israel and the West Bank. In violation on young Palestinians, and build housing of international law, the Wall cuts through the complexes to provide affordable housing Northern part of Bethlehem, and is built like a to young families. Through their various crescent around the town. As a result, large areas institutions, local churches also provide of Bethlehem land has ended up on the Israeli employment to one out of three Christian side, out of the reach of the Christian Palestinian Palestinians in the West Bank. In spite of this, landowners. Bethlehem, which has always poor Palestinians express resentment towards depended on close ties with Jerusalem, was cut some of the churches for not doing enough. The

2 CMI Brief DECEMBER 2012 Volume 11 No.8 Christians in Palestine – retaining a voice and a presence

Greek Orthodox Church in particular which accordance with their own norms, interact with member of the other sex in public places, serve is accused of being unwilling to provide and enjoy alcohol in their cafes and restaurants hasservices vast financialresponding resources to the needs and land of their holdings local etc. To a large extent, this is already a reality for laity. the tiny Christian communities in the Northern part of the West Bank, and for the less than 3000 For many years, local churches were also seen as reluctant to take a stand in the themselves under pressure to conform to Islamic Christiansnorms. This who sense still of live cultural in Gaza, vulnerability and who find is international donors, or jeopardize their strengthened further by the emigration of their Israeli-Palestinianproperties and interests conflict, in Jerusalem.so as not to Since offend young members. the late 1980s, this has gradually changed, and local churches have become more outspoken At the same time, local Christians are reluctant to in their support of Palestinian statehood. In express such worries in public. When Christians 2009 the heads of all the historic churches raise concerns about sectarian tensions, this is in Palestine signed the ‘Kairos-document’ – a seen by many as the illegitimate whining of a joint statement calling for an international spoiled Christian elite. Muslims in Bethlehem, boycott of Israeli products as a response to East Jerusalem and are often poorer, Israel’s occupation and settlement activities in the West Bank and Gaza. Christian neighbours, and thus have a hard lesstime educated, understanding and less their influential sense of thanvulnerability. their Palestinian Islamism - a source of In addition, any focus on sectarian tensions in concern Palestine can be used by Israeli authorities to The churches advocate unity across sectarian divert attention from the Israeli occupation, divides, and stress the destructive effects which is a far greater cause of concern among of Israel’s occupation. At the same time, local Christians. Palestinian society is also ridden with internal tensions, some of which represent serious At times of heightened Israeli-Palestinian concerns among Christian Palestinians. tensions, sectarian tensions are swept aside, as Christian Palestinians emphasize their national Since the early 1980s, Palestinian society has seen the emergence of a culture of Islamic the hardships of fellow Palestinians. Christian piety, characterized by a drift towards pious commitments,leaders strongly and condemned their identification the Israeli with wars on norms of everyday conduct, and conservative Gaza, in 2009 and 2012. In November 2012, a family and gender norms. Often seen as group of one hundred Palestinian church leaders reverberating from the Islamic revolution and Christian community leaders signed a public in , this has been accompanied by the statement calling on European countries to growth of political as an ideology, support President Abbas’s bid for Palestinian and the emergence of Hamas as a political statehood at the UN General Assembly. movement. In response to this, some Christian communities have become more inward- A minority with a voice looking, minimizing contact with their Muslim Within the political establishment, Palestine’s neighbours. These parallel processes have Christian community is seen as a diplomatic fuelled alienation and mutual distrust between asset and a valuable link to Christian Christians and parts of the Muslim population communities in the West. The importance of retaining their presence is widely appreciated. between people of different regional, class- inbased, the West and sectarian Bank. When backgrounds, local conflicts they erupt are the Palestinian Authority to have the Church of increasingly framed in sectarian terms. One ThisNativity was in reflected Bethlehem in the recognized diplomatic as effortsa World of example is the rising number of land disputes Heritage Site by UNESCO earlier this year. A between old Bethlehem landowning families, rare triumph of Palestinian diplomacy, local and immigrant families from other parts of the Christians saw this as recognition of their own West Bank. Locally, these are mainly seen as cultural heritage, both within the Palestinian land disputes between Christian and Muslim Authorities, and within the international families, ignoring other factors. community.

Minority vulnerability Since July 2007, the have Many Christians are alarmed by the popular been split between a -led government in support among their Muslim neighbours for the West Bank, and a Hamas government in Gaza. Hamas and other Islamic movements. They In a community marred by bitter polarization, feel that the Palestinian society is drifting Christian Palestinians have thrown their weight towards a social order based on Islamic norms behind President Mahmoud Abbas and the West and ideals. While some fear infringements on Bank Government, widely seen as representing a their religious freedoms and places of worship, bulwark against political Islam. many Christians are more worried about infringements on their social freedoms. They By their own accounts, the social and economic fear the emergence of a conservative cultural hardships endured under Israeli occupation climate in which they can no longer live in remains the most powerful drive for emigration

3 This brief is written as part of an institutional collaboration between Chr. Michelsen Institute and Muwatin, the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, financed by NORAD.

Editor: Ingvild Hestad. Copy editor: Lisa Arnestad

among Christian Palestinians. At the same community leaders are trying to combat If the West Bank time, sectarian tensions and strong Islamist emigration, and to retain a viable community of is thrown into currents is a source of great concern within the local Christians in Palestine. community. Nonetheless, the readiness among new periods of Christian community leaders to take a clear Christian communities in other parts of the region face similar challenges. Though far political unrest more numerous than in Palestine, Christians and economic standChristians in the that conflict they havebetween a voice rivalling in Palestinian political in , , and see their factions,national politics,reflect a andstrong a stake faith in among its future local own communities dwindle through large-scale paralysis, development. emigration. Within their national settings, they also witness Islamists demand greater Christian An uncertain future If the West Bank is thrown into new periods countries. It remains an open question how Palestinians of political unrest and economic paralysis, influencethis will affect on the the shaping position of of the local futures Christian of their Christian Palestinians are likely to be among communities in Palestine and its neighbouring are likely to be countries. among the first ”to leave. the first to leave. In the meantime, Christian

Further reading Kårtveit, B (2012) ‘A rule of uncertainty. Rights of residency in the occupied West Bank.’ Review of Women’s Studies. Special Issue (1). Institute of Women’s Studies, University. pp. 24-34.

Kårtveit, B.(2010) ‘In fifteen years there’ll be none of us left!” Attachments, resilience and migration among Bethlehem Christians.’ PhD Dissertation, University of Bergen

Lybarger, L. D. (2007). “For Church or Nation? Islamism, Secular-, and the Transformation of Christian Identities in Palestine”, Journal of the American Academy of 75(4): 777-813.

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