Holy Land risks becoming “Christian Disneyland”

A Benedictine Abbot has warned that Christianity within the Holy Land risks becoming a façade for tourists quite than an energetic and living faith, citing the decline of the local Christian population and increased pressure from Israeli authorities and settlers.

Dom Nikodemus Schnabel, chatting with Aid to the Church in Need, noted that the Christian population within the region stands at around two per cent and even this small minority is split along denominational lines.

The abbot said, “If you’re thinking that of probably the most secularised regions in Europe – just like the Czech Republic or the previous East Germany – even there Christians are rather more quite a few than here.

“It could be very, very vibrant with many various Churches and traditions. The paradox is obvious – the place where an important events of our faith occurred risks losing its indigenous Christians.”

Many Christians in predominantly Muslim countries have fled the region in the previous couple of many years as a result of conflicts akin to the Iraq war, the Syrian civil war and Israel’s wars in Lebanon.

In Israel, Palestinian Christians often face stringent restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities and are also not immune from attacks carried out by Israeli settlers.

Last yr the Christian town of Taybeh was subject to numerous settler attacks and although Israeli authorities condemned the actions of the settlers, those responsible haven’t yet faced justice.

Nikodemus warned that with out a local Christian presence, the Holy land would change into a “Christian Disneyland” – a spot where foreign Christians could come and see the holy sites and a number of the ancient orders of monks, but wherein there aren’t any Christian families and no normal Christian life.

The abbot spoke especially concerning the plight of Catholic refugees in Israel, of whom there are estimated to be nearly 100,000.

The refugees, he said, often face “modern slavery” and “inhumane conditions”. Female refugees are, he argued, incentivised to abort pregnancies as having a baby may lead to lack of employment, which in turn can result in lack of a visa sponsor and deportation.

On the apparent rise in anti-Christian sentiment amongst certain Jewish groups, Nikodemus said that while many Jews stood up for the best of Christians, the expansion of hostility from sections of the Jewish community “can now not be considered marginal”.