Fr. Gabriel Nadaf with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu
Posted on 09/17/2014 10:28:11 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
Israeli Christians' New Nationality: Aramaean, not Arab. 130,000 of Israel's 160,000 Christians, hitherto registered as Arabs, are expected to re-register as Aramaeans; their leaders are ecstatic.
Interior Minister Gideon Saar has instructed the Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) to allow the registration of a new nationality – Aramaean – in the identity cards of Christian citizens who were registered as Arabs until now.
In a letter to PIBA Director Amnon Ben-Ami, Saar wrote that he has “received rulings according to which the existence of the Aramaean nationality is clear and obvious, as required by the Supreme Court's ruling.”
"The conditions required by the ruling for proving the existence of the nationality are present – including historical heritage, religion, culture, descent and language," he determined.
Saar's decision applies to most of the Christians currently living in Israel, or about 130,000 out of a total of 160,000. They applied as a group to the Interior Ministry in 2010 and will now finally be allowed to register as Aramaeans.... [snip]
The Aramean initiative's leader, Fr. Gabriel Nadaf, is unique among Orthodox Christian leaders in that he advocates a strong connection between his community and the state – and for that he has been rebuked by the official Greek Orthodox church, which has sought to have him defrocked.
Arab MKs have also condemned him, calling him “an agent of Zionism who seeks to divide Arabs.” Nadaf has also been threatened with violence, and even death, he told Israeli reporters. But he insists that he represents a sizable portion of the Christian Israeli community.
"We feel secure in the state of Israel,” Nadaf has said, “and we see ourselves as citizens of the state with all the attendant rights as well as obligations.”
(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
So Hooray for Fr. Nadaf. I wonder why the upper Greek Orthodox hierarchy has a problem with that?
Comments?
If it’s OK with Bibi, its OK with me.
They should go back to their historic roots, plus save the historic Christian community in the Holy Land.
ditto that!
I have wanted the Christians in the Middle East to do this for years. It makes so much sense.
Mazel tov!
Kinda cool!
Seems a smart move in several ways to me.
Cool!
If it’s OK with Bibi, its OK with me.
Dittoes!
When islam conquered most of the Levant, they forcibly Arabized the Aramean and Syrian Christians who were living there. That means they forced both the Arabic language and Arab national identity on them. The main goal was to make them convert to islam, which unfortunately many did.
It is good that Orthodox Christians and Maronite Catholic Christians in Israel are reclaiming their Aramean nationality, and are also taking on the full rights and duties of Israeli citizenship. The Greek Orthodox hierarchy in the Holy Land, many of whom falsely identify as “Palestinian”, will eventually come around to see how good this movement really is.
There are also some 100,000 Russian Orthodox Christians in Israel, most of whom have already taken on the full rights and duties of Israeli citizenship.
Israel is the safest place in the greeter Levant to be a Christian, and to openly practice one’s faith.
possible ping. See also the linked article where this priest has encouraged a three-fold increase in Christian enlistment in the IDF>
History. They share a long history with Muslims, having lived side by side for well over a thousand years.
Religion is of course different.
Most "Arab" Muslims in Israel, Lebanon and Syria are probably descended genetically primarily from the same people as the Christians. Arab or Aramean or whatever you choose to call them.
Most of the Muslims are descended primarily from converts from among the natives, not from invaders from the Arabian Peninsula.
I think it might be proper and accurate to say the ISRAEL is the safest place in the Middle East to be a Muslim and to freely practice your faith as you see it.
In fact, I think Israel is among the very few places in the Middle East where Muslims are NOT busy butchering each other.
(YET?)
Second it!
Plus it will make these Christians throw away the dhimmitude nonsense.
Plus it will make Israel much more attractive for those Middle Eastern Christians come move to and not have to FEAR for their lives.
"Duties" include draft registration & mandatory military service ... apparently they WANT to be included in this. I commend them for their dedication and patriotism.
However this shared 1,000 years of history has been the kind of history most indigenous people "share" with their conquerors. The Arabs Muslims (or, rather more predominantly the Ottomans) impose the jizya, the Aramaeans pay it. The Arab culture waxes, the Aramaean wanes. The Arabic language becomes dominant, the Aramaean disappears. Maps show an Arabized cartography; Aramaean landmarks and place-names are forgotten. The Arabs write the history, the Aramaeans lose their destiny.
Wanting to extricate themselves from that "shared history" -- that I understand.
....And also they want to show to the other struggling Christian communites that you can come to Israel to live not only your Christian faith in full, but also be free from all that is Arab.
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