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World News

'If we don't act soon we might not have a Christian community in the Holy Land': Urgent call for action against Jerusalem's Israeli extremists

by Heather Preston

There are calls for immediate action to be taken to ensure the safety of Christians in Jerusalem following ongoing attacks by radical groups.

It comes after the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem accused Zionist extremists of driving believers out of the city through vandalism, violence and intimidation.

Russel Rook, director of the Protecting Holy Land Christians campaign tells Premier what day to day life is like for Jerusalem's Christian community.

"It's being spat at as you walk into a church. For a priest - it's having a rock thrown at you. It's having your church vandalised. 

"It’s fire bombings, it's the radical extremist who walked in to the church in Gethsemane last year and tried to set fire to the church in broad daylight. These are dramatic, terrible things that are happening."

The Christian population in the Holy Land has dropped from 12 per cent at the turn of the century to just 1 per cent today as persecution has forced many to seek refuge elsewhere in the world.

According to Rook, the numbers are even more extreme in Jerusalem’s Old City, which has sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

"The numbers are absolutely frightening," he explains. "We have to face the reality that if we don't do something soon, if we don't stand up for our brothers and sisters, in the birthplace of the church, within a few generations, we won't have the living, breathing Christian community that makes Christ present in the Holy Land.”

Religious leaders and the Protecting Holy Land Christians campaign are calling on the State of Israel to uphold and protect religious freedom and take action against extremist groups to ensure Jews, Muslims and Christians are all free to worship safely.

"The rule of law needs to be just that - it needs to dictate how life is lived in the Old City of Jerusalem. And when people commit crimes, they need to face the consequences of those actions. Those things need to be policed, justice needs to be maintained, and vulnerable minorities like the Christian community need to be protected," Rook added.
 

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