Take A Stand For The Holy Land
Contact: Philip Farah,
(703) 593-7982
pfarah52@gmail.com
Christian groups seek to stop Israel’s land confiscation
Washington, DC, November 19, 2024 – Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Friends of Sabeel North America have launched a campaign to protest Israel’s confiscation of Christian and Muslim property and escalation of violence against Palestinians. The campaign is endorsed by fifteen organizations, including groups from nine major US denominations.
Called Take a Stand for the Holy Land, the movement aims to increase awareness among American Christians of the land theft and persecution affecting members of their own faith community. Throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israel is emptying the most fertile land of its Christian and Muslim inhabitants and using their property to build and expand segregated settlements, which are forbidden on occupied territory under international law. In Gaza, residents of the north are being evacuated as Israelis hold planning meetings to resettle the region.
This process of replacing one population with people of a different group is defined as ethnic cleansing, and it is enabled by US tax dollars.
In East Jerusalem, families have seen their possessions thrown to the street while settlers move in and take over their homes. In other parts of the West Bank, Christians with century-old land deeds have been told their land now belongs to the state of Israel. In 2023, the Israeli army evicted eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank. More villages were driven out in 2024, and in May Israeli media reported that “since the war began, entire areas of the West Bank have been emptied of their Palestinian communities.” Dozens of Christian families have left the Bethlehem area during the same period, with similar trends in Jerusalem and other towns. These losses are devastating for the rapidly dwindling Christian population. If action is not taken soon, indigenous Christian communities in the Holy Land may cease to exist.
Christian communities near Bethlehem are in the spotlight as local families fight their eviction. This area is home to the largest concentration of indigenous Christians of the Holy Land. One example is the Kisiya family, which has been fighting Israeli confiscation of their land for twelve years despite clear documents proving ownership of the land purchased by their grandparents. Their property is in a beautiful valley designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was home to a beloved restaurant frequented by Israeli and international customers, as well as those living nearby, until it was destroyed by Israelis four times. The family has been locked out of their land for months by a new gate installed by illegal settlers who want to take over the property.
The Kisiyas and other Bethlehem families face expulsion in part because they are Christians in an area eyed for Israel’s expansion of Jewish-only settlements. According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ), the Greater Bethlehem area has shrunk to 13 percent of its original size due to the expropriation of land for illegal settlements. Land confiscation is accompanied by severe restrictions on movement and commerce, leaving the local economy impoverished and enriching the settlers.
Palestinian Christians have lived in this region for millennia. Many are descendants of the first Christians, and they are asking for support from the international community to remain on their ancestral land.
Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes, power plants, schools, water supplies, and infrastructure is funded by US taxpayers. Christians in the U.S. and elsewhere are urged to stand with people of every faith against these crimes and to insist on equal rights for all in the region.
In addition to the main sponsors, the Take a Stand Campaign is endorsed by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network, Justice for Palestine and Israel Community of the Alliance of Baptists, Franciscan Action Network, Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Christians for Ceasefire, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Disciples of Christ Palestine Israel Network, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network, Pax Christi USA, American Friends Service Committee, Joining Hands for Justice in Palestine and Israel, and Partners for Palestine. For more information, visit www.pcap-us.org/tas.