Palestinian Priest Says Israel is Pushing Christians Out of Holy Land

At a symposium in Germany last week Father Firas Aridah, pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Jifna, West Bank (Palestine) called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine declaring that Israel continues to unjustly displace Palestinian Christians from their homes causing many of them to leave the Holy Land which has been their beloved home for centuries. The Israeli occupation over the past few decades has been continually, radically, and systematically dechristianizing the Holy Land.

During my Summer stay in Palestine I was living in the Bir Zeit Parish which is the immediate neighbor of Father Aridah's Parish. We had frequent contact. He is a fine Catholic parish priest working in a vibrant Christian Palestinian community in the heart of West Bank--Palestinian Territory.

The article is posted on the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Website.