Home          Archives           Jerusalem Center Homepage       View the current issue           Jerusalem Center Videos           
Back

The Sad Exodus of Christians from the Birthplace of Jesus


[Independent-UK] Kim Sengupta and Donald Macintyre - "It is a sad fact, but it remains a fact, that a lot of Christians are leaving," says Victor Batarseh, the Christian mayor of Bethlehem. One charge is that Muslims have been taking over Christian lands with the Palestinian authorities turning a blind eye. Yusuf Nassir, 57, is looking for a way to emigrate. "My house was attacked [by Muslims] over nothing. There was a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian boy, this turned into a communal fight and then around 70 men turned on us." Nicola Lolas, 38, says: "What we are seeing now is organized extortion from some Muslims....In each case they have been forced to pay compensation even though they have done nothing wrong." Mrs. Lolas says: "As an uncovered Christian woman I get insulted a lot more by Muslim men than I used to."
2008-12-24 06:00:00
Full Article

Subscribe to
Daily Alert

Name:  
Email:  

Subscribe to Jerusalem Issue Briefs

Name:  
Email: