Jewish Nationalism in Israel Fuels Growing Attacks on Christians

Send us Fan MailThe Rev. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, says Jerusalem’s status as a city that is home to two peoples and sacred to three faiths has never been more endangered in the modern era than it is today. Recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, she discusses the Israeli government’s intentional erosion of the historic status quo that has governed Jews, Christians and Muslims’ access to the holy sites in Jerusalem and the dramatic rise in attacks on Christians.  Though both pre-date the current government, Cannon says they have escalated under the new government and reflect rising Jewish nationalism that is undermining religious tolerance and human rights. Churches for Middle East Peace is a coalition of more than 30 church communions in the United States that advocates for just, comprehensive, long-last resolutions to conflicts in the Middle East, and the obstacles.