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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 584

Palestinian Christians

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads Christmas morning service at the Christmas morning Mass at the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine, in the Nativity Church Complex, in Bethlehem in the West Bank on December 25, 2024. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)
December 25, 2024, 5:50 pm
Bethlehem marks second subdued Christmas, amid pall of ongoing war
Latin patriarch, after visiting Catholics in Gaza, urges faithful in West Bank city to ‘not give up,’ as pope in Vatican laments ‘bombs on schools and hospitals’
By AFP and ToI Staff
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa (C) poses for a picture with people and children at the Holy Family Church in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City on December 22, 2024. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)
December 24, 2024, 2:38 pm
Latin patriarch visits Catholic community in Gaza for second time since war’s start
Pierbattista Pizzaballa visits Holy Family parish in Gaza City, home to some 400 sheltering Christians, for an early Christmas Mass; reports worse conditions than he saw in May
By ToI Staff
Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at the Catholic Holy Family Church in Gaza City, on March 31, 2024. (AFP)
March 31, 2024, 8:41 pm
Palestinian Christians mark muted Easter in Gaza and Jerusalem
Small gathering held in Holy Family Church in Gaza City near Shifa Hospital, while main service at capital’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre draws only a modest crowd
By AFP and ToI Staff
Catholic leaders, including Custos Francesco Patton (L), stand around a vandalized statue of Jesus, March 24, 2023 (Filippo De Grazia)
March 30, 2023, 5:45 am
As attacks on Christians become more frequent, a crisis looms for Israel
Church leaders point to inhospitable political atmosphere as they lock compounds at night; government ministries insist they are actively combating ill-treatment
By Lazar Berman
Sally Ibrahim Azar, the first female pastor in the Holy Land of the Lutheran Church, poses for a picture at the Lutheran Church in the Jerusalem's Old City, on January 25, 2023. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)
February 8, 2023, 3:57 pm
First female Palestinian pastor hopes to inspire women to break more ground
Trailblazer Sally Azar recounts ‘indescribable moment’ she was ordained at Jerusalem Old City’s Lutheran Church last month, laments community ‘getting smaller by number every day’
By Rosie SCAMMELL
Sally Ibrahim Azar, center, a Palestinian Christian and Council member of the Lutheran World Federation is applauded by clergy after she was ordained as the first female pastor in the Holy Land, in the Old City of Jerusalem, January 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
January 22, 2023, 10:02 pm
First Palestinian woman ordained as pastor at Lutheran church in Jerusalem
Sally Azar, who will be one of five ordained women in the Middle East, to head English-speaking congregation at the Church of the Redeemer
By AP
Amira Mansour (C) dances as Samir Damouni plays the Oud during a community Christmas dinner for elderly residents at the only majority-Christian Palestinian refugee camp, in Dbayeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, December 21, 2022. (AP/Bilal Hussein)
December 23, 2022, 2:18 pm
Lebanon’s Christian Palestinian refugee camp balances complex identities
Dbayeh camp keeps low profile during Christmas, and is regarded with suspicion by other Palestinians for its position during country’s civil war
By ABBY SEWELL
A Palestinian Scout marching band parades during Christmas celebrations outside the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, December 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
December 24, 2019, 4:24 pm
Thousands arrive in Bethlehem as Christmas festivities begin
Worshipers from around the world come to Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born; city’s hotels at full capacity, PA minister says
By AP and ToI Staff
Hanadi Missak, a 48-year-old Christian woman, adjusts the ornaments on her Christmas tree, during an interview in her house in Gaza City, on December 22, 2019. (MAHMUD HAMS/AFP)
December 23, 2019, 8:19 pm
In Gaza, a somber Christmas after permits row
Church leaders say normally straightforward process of getting travel rights to visit Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank has become very difficult
By AFP and ToI Staff
A Palestinian dressed as Santa Claus holds balloons at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed/File)
December 22, 2019, 11:48 pm
Facing backlash, Israel says it’ll allow Christian Gazans to go to Jerusalem
PA official says 55 Christian Palestinians from the coastal enclave have so far received permits to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank during Christmas
By Adam Rasgon
Bethlehem's Manger Square on December 24, 2018. (Adam Rasgon/Times of Israel)
December 25, 2018, 1:49 am
Thousands celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem with waning Christian Palestinians
Community makes up less than 1% of West Bank and Gaza population, according to PA; in past 50 years, thousands have emigrated, Lutheran pastor says
By Adam Rasgon
A couple poses for a picture in front of the Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, inside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 12, 2018. (Thomas Coex/AFP)
December 17, 2018, 2:15 pm
Bethlehem church mosaics sparkle in time for Christmas
Experts clean, repair surviving fragments of 12th century masterworks at famed Church of the Nativity, some of which were covered by soot for centuries
By Clothilde Mraffko
Restoration experts work on a mosaic inside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, December 6, 2018. (Majdi Mohammed/AP)
December 10, 2018, 3:43 pm
Church of the Nativity renovation lifts Christmas spirit in Bethlehem
West Bank site is undergoing $17 million restoration of mosaics, frescoes, and infrastructure, in a move Christian authorities hope will boost tourism, reduce emigration
By AP and ToI Staff
Illustrative: A view over Gethsemane and the Church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem. (Sebi Berens/Flash90)
February 5, 2018, 2:16 am
Palestinians slam Jerusalem move to end tax breaks on churches, UN properties
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate says municipality trying to ’empty’ city of Christian institutions; PA spokesman calls decision ‘a new aggression against our occupied capital’
By Khaled Abu Toameh
Christian worshipers pray near the 14-pointed silver star at the Grotto, believed to be the exact spot where Jesus Christ was born, in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on December 21, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)
December 22, 2017, 11:06 am
For many Palestinian Christians, Trump is a Christmas killjoy
Despite overall increase in religious tourism to Israel and West Bank, dozens of groups cancel after US president’s Jerusalem recognition
By Shatha YAISH
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