Upsetting Christian Fundamentalists
JVL Introduction
Israel (initially) stopped the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and another priest from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday when they planned to hold only a small private prayer, which was already a sharp contrast to the major and crowded celebrations of this, most important part of the Christian calendar. Even this was too much for the Israeli State, claiming security concerns while their war with Iran was ongoing.
It is one more incident that is weakening the ties between Israel and the Christians, including some fundamentalists in the USA, who back Trump who backs Netanyahu. It seems some people are leaving the fundamentalist church and joining Catholic or Orthodox churches instead.
Some cite the attacks on Christians, such as spitting and the destruction of churches in Gaza and the West Bank. Some had supported Israel believing that, as Jews, they would better protect churches than would Muslims. History has long shown that Muslims have protected Christian places over worship over centuries – but that is another issue.
This is the birthplace of the Christian saviour and Israel’s treatment of Christians and their institutions is beginning to loosen Christian ties to the Israeli state.
LL
This article was originally published by The Forward on Wed 1 Apr 2026. Read the original here.
Israel closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and set off a Holy Week firestorm
Concerns over Israel’s treatment of its Christian residents have been chipping away at American support for the state
Loading article text…
. . . “Strickland responded with a theological ramble about Jesus being truth incarnate, culminating in implying that Israel is trying to get rid of Christians the way the Jews of the New Testament killed Jesus”
I haven’t heard this lately . . . I gave up believing in the Christian omnipotent & omniscient creator when I was a teenager.
But my understanding of the events of the time was that ‘The Jews’ preferred Barabbas to Jesus because he, Barabbas, was opposed to the Roman occupation . . .
The accusation that ‘The Jews’ killed Jesus was, I thought, the reason for antisemitism (even though Jesus was a Jew) and had, like Zionism, its origin in Christian theology.
However, surely it was neither the Jews nor the Romans but GOD itself that must bear responsibility for the crucifixion because, atleast according to some Christian exegesis, the Lord moves in mysterious ways . . . and had a cunning plan . . .
E&OA