Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History Volume 5 Issue 2 Nov. 2015 Article 7 11-2015 Palestinian Christians and Their Identity and Resistance in the 20th Century Brandon Moist Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/aujh Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Moist, Brandon (2015) "Palestinian Christians and Their Identity and Resistance in the 20th Century," Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History: Vol. 5 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. DOI: 10.20429/aujh.2015.050207 Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/aujh/vol5/iss2/7 This article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Moist: Palestinian Christians, Identity and Resistance in the 20th Century Palestinian Christians and Their Identity and Resistance in the Twentieth Century Brandon Moist Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Each year as Israelis celebrate their Independence Day, Palestinians and Arabs within or “the Catastrophe.” In a (اﻟﻨﻜﺒﺎ) Israel and the surrounding Arab States remember al-Nakba poem entitled “The Story,” Kemal Nasir tells a brief story of the lost dreams of the Palestinians 1 who lost their state during the Israeli War of Independence, or their Nakba.0F One thing that stands out about the poem is that it was written by a Palestinian Christian, one member of a roughly ten percent Palestinian Christian minority sprinkled throughout Palestine. In fact, Palestinian Christians have been often overlooked when it comes to the historiography of the Israel-Palestine conflict. They are often only briefly mentioned in studies of Palestinian resistance and Israeli-Palestinian relations, or only certain figures that were Palestinian 2 Christians are mentioned (such as Khalil al-Sakakini).1F However, to better understand the broader story of the Palestinians and their struggle to have an independent state, it is imperative to study Palestinian Christians alongside their Muslim counterparts. From many sources available, including the documents from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), newspaper 1 Kemal Nasir, “The Story,” Famous Inspirational Poems, accessed February 2, 2015, http://www.inspirationalstories.com/poems/the-story-kamal-nasir-poems. 2 Greshom Gorenberg, “Foundation Myths,” The Washington Post, November 5, 2000, accessed March 20, 2015, http://search.proquest.com.proxy-ship.klnpa.org/docview/409066196/881C2A0C3B8B4E55PQ/1?accountid=28640. An example is the book, One Palestine, Complete, which heavily examines the role of Khalil al- Sakakini in Palestinian nationalism but does not elaborate much on other Christian involvement in forming Palestinian identity and their roles in the Palestinian resistance to Israel. 1 Published by Digital Commons@Georgia Southern, 2015 102 Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History, Vol. 5, Iss. 2 [2015], Art. 7 articles, speeches, and periodicals written in the mid-20th century, we can tell that Palestinian Christians, as a whole, were active members of the Palestinian community. In particular, they were ardent nationalists in promoting Palestinianism (and in some cases Pan-Arabism), and they worked and struggled alongside their Muslim brothers. Some have argued that it is important to show that the struggle of the Palestinians is not just a Muslim struggle; rather it is a joint Muslim-Christian struggle.3 This paper aims to reveal that Palestinian Christians were both socially and politically active throughout the 20th century in many ways, such as their involvement with Muslim-Christian Organizations, political activism, and in the creation of a Palestinian identity. By participating in the social and political process, Palestinian Christians played a crucial role in the history of Palestine and the Palestinian struggle for a state. Many Palestinian Christians have historically felt a connection with the land that is presently Israel. This connection is felt not only by the fact that many Palestinian Christians have historic family roots in the area, but they also feel a Biblical connection as well.4 This should come as no surprise since all three major monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) have ties to Israel, in particular the city of Jerusalem. This connection with the land is also the source of many conspiracies theories that Christians have come up with that accuse Israel of destroying Christian holy sites in order to better control the population. One example of this is the road to Emmaus, which was the site where Jesus first appeared after his resurrection according to the Bible.5 One photographer who was trying to photograph the site found it was 3 Meir Litvak, Palestinian Collective Memory and National Identity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), 148, accessed January 28, 2015, http://www.ship.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=515032. 4 A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December 1945 and Janurary 1946 for the information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, vol. 2, A Survey of Palestine (Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1991) , 881. 5 Luke 24: 13-35 (New International Version) 2 https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/aujh/vol5/iss2/7 DOI: 10.20429/aujh.2015.050207 103 Moist: Palestinian Christians, Identity and Resistance in the 20th Century occupied by new housing complexes and development projects.6 This only added to the evidence that Palestinian Christians use to try to justify their claims that their religious heritage is being destroyed. With Jerusalem being one of the most central cities in the Christian faith, and the most likely to have Christian residents, it is important to note that Palestinian Christians have strong populations in cities other than Jerusalem. These cities include the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.7 Bethlehem, in particular, contains one of the largest populations of Christians in the West Bank.8 Jaffa is another city in modern day Israel that contains a segment of Palestinian Christians and it is most notably a center of anti-Zionist movements with the newspaper Filistin having its base there.9 It should be noted that the heaviest centers of the Palestinian Christian population is centered on cities and urban environments. This can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire as many Christians living in Palestine had a major role within the local economy and governments.10 Even as the Ottoman government began to lose control of its provinces during the late 19th century, Palestinian Christians’ experiences in local governments and business led them to become prominent businessmen who would play a role in Palestinian economics and 6 Joseph C. Harsch, “Christians in Jerusalem,” The Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 1980, accessed March 29, 2015, http://search.proquest.com.proxy- ship.klnpa.org/docview/1039139656/2824FA2FEABA4706PQ/2?accountid=28640. 7 Ibid. 8 Francis Bloodgood, “Palestine’s Christian Remnant,” Christian Century, 66, no. 42 (1949): 1227. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, Ebscohost, accessed April 10, 2015. 9 Gudrun Kramer, A History of Palestine: From the Ottoman Empire to the Founding of the State of Israel (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008), 91–92. 10 Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal, The Palestinian People: A History (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003), 13. 3 Published by Digital Commons@Georgia Southern, 2015 104 Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History, Vol. 5, Iss. 2 [2015], Art. 7 government going into the Mandate period.11 Another notable demographic statistic that can be of some importance is that marriage rates among Palestinian Christians were much higher than their Muslim counterparts in urban settings.12 The general trend presented through this data and through historical means is that Palestinian Christian populations are often based in urban societies and, they are well integrated into local economies and political structures. Palestinian Christians have also had a heritage of being fairly well educated. In A Survey of Palestine, a detailed study created in 1945–1946 on the demographic make-up of Palestine, it shows that Christians pride themselves in education and that they created Orthodox societies in Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Haifa to promote education.13 It is important to note that these organizations were formed in cities and in contrast, statistics from the time period show that most of the Arab education in Palestine was being done in rural communities. This is proven by the fact that the document stated that approximately 15,299 students were being enrolled in public schools in urban settings, whereas 34,334 students were enrolled in public schools in rural settings.14 Another demographic piece of information that is important to understanding Palestinian Christians is their denominational make up. Palestinian Christians are usually found to be either members of the Greek Orthodox Church or Roman Catholic Church.15 This is true for Christians that can be found in Galilee, the coastal Israeli cities, and as well in the West Bank.16 11 Paul Lewis, “Jordan’s Christian Arabs, A Small Minority, Play a Major Role,” The New York Times, January 7, 1987, accessed March 23, 2015, http://search.proquest.com.proxy- ship.klnpa.org/docview/426397502/F1084395C0054E5CPQ/1?accountid=28640. 3.