- An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed 16 in the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church.
- In 2018, 50% of American Evangelicals identified as Zionists, with many supporting West Bank settlements. Recent events, including the church attack, ought to spark reconsideration of this support.
Israel attack 12th century Christian church
An Israeli aerial strike in Gaza has caused significant casualties among displaced individuals seeking refuge at a church compound, as reported by the Palestinian interior ministry in the besieged enclave. The attack resulted in a substantial number of fatalities and injuries at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church compound in Gaza City. Gaza officials disclosed that at least 16 Christian Palestinians were among the deceased.
Eyewitnesses reported that the air raid appeared to be directed at the 12th-century place of worship, which had become a shelter for both Christian and Muslim residents of Gaza.
Rescuers carry an injured woman after the Israeli air attack on the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City, [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu]
According to witnesses, the attack inflicted damage on the church’s frontage and caused an adjacent structure to collapse, leading to the evacuation of numerous injured individuals to hospitals.
Saint Porphyrius, constructed around 1150, stands as the oldest operational church in Gaza, residing in a historically significant neighborhood of Gaza City. Throughout the years, the church has provided refuge for people of diverse faiths.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed its profound condemnation of the strike.
The patriarchate said in a statement:
“Targeting churches and their institutions, along with the shelters they provide to protect innocent citizens, especially children and women who have lost their homes due to Israeli airstrikes on residential areas over the past 13 days, constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored.”
American Christians Funding Israel
According to a 2018 poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre, 50% of American Evangelicals identified themselves as Zionists, emphasising their belief in the biblical prophecy that ‘demands fulfilment.’ Devoted adherents also subscribe to literal interpretations of the Bible, viewing a prosperous Israel as a necessary condition for an apocalyptic end-time scenario and the awaited return of Jesus to Earth. Frequently guided by influential leaders of megachurches, these grassroots organisations throughout the United States annually generate millions of dollars in funding.
Sondra Oster Baras serves as the head of the Israeli division of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, an intermediary establishment for donors seeking to support settlements.
Her estimate suggests that over 50% of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank receive financial assistance, either directly or indirectly, from Christian communities.
“Our major donors are themselves organisations or ministries or churches. They themselves have raised those monies in small amounts — $5, $20 from a line of people — and put it together, so it’s very much grass-roots,” she says.
Christians may contemplate redirecting their financial support away from Israel for a series of interconnected reasons. At the forefront of these considerations is that Israel is now evidently cutting off the hand which is feeding it. The very recent attack on this ancient church and Christians themselves ought to be a wake up call for Evangelical Christians.
Notably, there have been questions raised by critics regarding whether Palestinian Christians are accorded less significance within the ‘Bible-Belt Christian’ community in the United States, perhaps due to their non-white ethnicity.
At S2J News, we extend our condolences to the Palestinian Christian community, who have tragically lost their loved ones in the wake of this harrowing attack.
