“Because of the economic pressures, many Christian families when they get the chance, are leaving for a better life abroad,” Pastor Jack Sara, senior pastor of the Jerusalem Alliance Church in Old City Jerusalem, told Release International.
There are no more than 5,000 evangelical Christians remaining in the West Bank and Gaza, revealed a new report by Release International, a UK-based organisation serving the persecuted church around the world.
Remaining Christians face pressure from all sides including a hostile Muslim culture, continuing tensions over the disputed territories, the recent offensive on Gaza, and ongoing economic distress, the ministry reports.
“We are the forgotten church,” laments one Palestinian pastor to Release International.
“No,” corrects another pastor, “We are not the forgotten church; we are the beaten and forgotten church.”
The sense of hopelessness fuels the mass exodus of evangelical Christians out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
According to the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ), Bethlehem and Nazareth have “experienced a dramatic exodus of Christians in recent years”. The ECLJ also recognised the “significant difficulties” faced by the Christian minority in the Holy Land.
“The exodus of these Christians is not only a human and cultural tragedy but it is also a loss for the Palestinian population and for the stability of the area,” the ECLJ states.
For Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, the daily pressure is often harder to deal with than the occasional physical violence.
