“For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.” (Isaiah 14:1)
At a meeting of the top Christian Arab officials in Israel, Father
Gabriel Naddaf said, “The Christian public wants to integrate
into Israeli society.”
Gabriel Naddaf said, “The Christian public wants to integrate
into Israeli society.”
At a recent conference in Jerusalem, leading Israeli Christians gathered to set themselves apart from their Muslim counterparts and declare their affinity for the Jewish state in which they reside. At the conference, entitled “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The advent of an independent Christian voice in Israel,” representatives of the community reiterated one by one, “We are not Arabs, we are Christians who speak Arabic.”
Father Gabriel Naddaf of Nazareth, spiritual leader of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, spoke first. ”I am here to open the public’s eyes,” he said. “If we want to refrain from lying to our own souls and to the general public, we must say clearly and unwaveringly: enough!
“The Christian public wants to integrate into Israeli society, against the wishes of its old leadership. There are those who keep pushing us to the margins, keeping us the victims [of a] nationalism that is not our own, and of a conflict that has nothing to do with us,” Israel Hayom reported.
Naddaf also quoted the founder of the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, Maj. Ihab Shlayan, as saying: “The Christians will not be made into hostages, or allow themselves to be controlled by those who wish to impose their nationality, religion and way of life upon us. We will not agree to hide behind the groups that control the streets. We want to live in Israel — brothers in arms and brothers in peace. We want to stand guard and serve as the first line of defense in this Holy Land, the Land of Israel.”
The Christian community in Israel is the only growing Christian community in the Middle East. It sees its roots in the Jewish people, and blames the Arab invasions of the 7th century for destroying its unique culture. “It is unthinkable that our children will be raised on the history of the Nakba and on the hatred of Jews, and not be taught their history,” Naddaf said.
Source: breakingisraelnews
Lees: Arabische Christenen van Israël, identificeren zich steeds meer met de Joodse Staat
Read: Israeli Newspaper: Must Protect Christian Arabs With Our Lives
