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Significant army service is a big deal in Israel. So much so that many young Israeli Jews will postpone their mandatory conscription for one year after high school in order to attend a pre-military preparatory training camp, to make sure they are as prepared as possible. Already years ago, Maj. (res.) Shadi Khalloul, a regular contributor to Israel Today, recognized that the key to greater Christian integration into Israeli society was encouraging young Christians to volunteer for military service. Israel’s minorities are not required to join the Jews in physically defending the State of Israel, but many, like the Druze,...

The Arabic-speaking (though ethnically Aramean) Christian community in Israel celebrated on Monday the promotion to the rank of Major of one of its own in the Israel Defense Forces. More and more local Christians have been volunteering for the IDF in recent years as groups like the Israel Christian Community (ICCI) encourage military service as the best way to integrate into the Jewish state. In a Facebook post marking the promotion of Maj. Eddie Jamalia, the ICCI told “everyone who tried (and is trying) to prevent our integration into Israeli society, in the IDF and the security forces (in particular),...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Israeli Christians Moving in a New DirectionPosted By Joseph Puder On October 21, 2013 @ 12:22 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 22 Comments Israeli Christians surveying the current situation faced by Christians throughout the Arab Middle East have come to the realization that the Jewish State of Israel is the only country in the region that protects its Christian minority.  It prompted a recent conference in Jerusalem titled, “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The Advent of an Independent Christian Voice in Israel,” that took place on Monday, September 23, 2013. The speakers included Father (Fr.)...

Last weekend, Father Gabriel Nadaf, 39, a Greek Orthodox priest from Nazareth, challenged a boycott against him and attempted to enter the church there to recite a prayer and light a candle. He was accompanied by Israeli Border Police officers and supporters, who came to ensure his safe passage into the church. Nadaf was excommunicated by the Orthodox Church Council after he expressed his belief that Christian youth in Israel should fully integrate into Israeli society, serving in the IDF or in the National Service. Since then, he and others, like Father André Alamiya, have been the target of virulent...

Almost 65 years after Jews who were dispersed around the world returned to their homeland ― following a departure that lasted nearly two millennia ― a report released by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) confirms that the Christian population in the Jewish nation is alive and well, despite the nation's more dominant Jewish and Muslim religions, growing to 158,000 (roughly two percent of the total population). While thousands of Christians celebrated Christmas among various observances taking place across the Promised Land, a CBS statistical breakdown divulged that 80 percent of the Christians living in Israel are Arab. The remaining...