Why Does Israel Persecute Christians? (Ben Swann)

US media never covers the Christian costs of wars. Could this silence be deliberate? Do they not want to offend the vast US Christian population who supply Bilions in tax dollars to Israel?

As attacks on Christians become more frequent, a crisis looms for Israel

Times of Israel - Full Story

Does Israel Persecute Christians? (YES) - Ben Swann Episode 9:

Full Transcript With Links

Most politicians in the United States, at least on the right side of the political spectrum, claim the United States is a Christian country. If that’s the case, why do so many Christians suffer as a result of U.S. foreign military ventures?

Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, there were 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq.

But then the U.S. led destruction of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq immediately left a power vacuum where Islamic religious fundamentalists began regularly targeting Iraqi churches, often during Sunday evening services, killing priests and worshippers. Bombings became a grim weekly occurrence.

The Christian population has since declined in only twenty years from 1.5 million to only a couple hundred thousand.

A similar thing has happened in Syria. Before the U.S.-led regime change efforts against Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the country was home to 1.8 million Christians. However, following the arming of various extremist groups, which fueled religious sectarian violence, nearly 90% of Syria’s Christian population has been displaced or killed.

Today, only 200,000 Christians remain from the original 1.8 million.

It’s true that these Christians aren’t directly targeted or killed by the U.S. but instead by religious extremist groups funded or armed by the U.S.

The American media never covers the Christian costs of these wars— could this silence be deliberate? Given the vast Christian population in the U.S. – whose tax dollars, amounting to billions each year, were sent to support these wars and arm these religious groups?

When Americans think about religious minorities in Israel, the focus always falls on the Muslim population. But there’s another often overlooked group at the heart of the Holy Land: Christians.

In 2024, almost 1 year into Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the situaiton for Christians living in Israel is dire… it is not what the media or even American churches will ever tell you.. But we will

I’m investigative journalist Ben Swann and this is Reckoning: Israel and Gaza.

Before the war, Israel’s Christian minority were already being targeted with dispossession and violence.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, narrow streets line the ancient neighborhood — and Jewish Israeli civilians spitting on and attacking Christian clergy members is commonplace.

Here’s a video from a few days before October 7th, of Christians in the Old City of Jerusalem carrying a cross.

As a group of Orthodox Jewish Israelis walk by — they spit at the Christians.

[[VIDEO]]

Another video from only a day earlier shows Jewish Israelis walking by a Church entrance in the Old City of Jerusalem and spitting in the entrance as a symbolic disapproval of the Christian faith.

[[VIDEO]]

Now, perhaps this is physically harmless but it’s representative of the anti-Christian mindset of some Israelis. It’s become mainstream to believe Christians don’t belong in Israel and only Jewish people do.

Back in April, Brother Matteo Munari was upstairs in his office at the Church of the Flagellation, a church along the path where Jesus is said to have carried his cross on his way to his crucifixion.

[[photos of the church]]

Munari heard a commotion downstairs in the Church and found that Israelis had broken into the church and thrown the statue of Jesus Christ off the pedestal.

[[damaged statue photos]]

The statue of Jesus remained partly intact despite damage to the statue’s face and both legs breaking.

The Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem is identified as the place where the Virgin Mary died. A dozen or so Christian missionaries live there.

[[PHOTOS OF DORMITION ABBEY]]

A few years ago, the mission, the Virgin Mary’s place of death, was attacked and vandalized by Israelis.

The graffiti on the ancient walls read “Death to heretical Christians, the enemies of Israel,” and “May his name and memory be obliterated,” in reference to Jesus.

[[PHOTOS OF THE GRAFFITI]]

According to Haaretz, at a Jewish school, the leader of an anti-assimilation group Bentzi Gopstien told students that it’s quote “mitzvah” or a “good deed” to burn and destroy Christian churches.

[[HEADLINE]]

Gopstien compares Christians to vampires and says they should be expelled from Israel with religious celebrations like Christmas banned.

But this is just a random guy with no political power, right?

Well, not really, here’s Bentzi Gopstien rallying and hanging out with Israel’s current minister of national security, one of the most powerful people in the current Israeli government.

[[PHOTOS]] [[LINK PROVIDED IN ELEMENT DOCUMENT]]

In the Old City of Jerusalem, the Christian Armenian Quarter is the smallest, with the Jewish and Muslim Quarters dwarfing it in size.

[[PHOTOS OF ARMENIAN QUARTER]]

[[FOOTAGE OF ARMENIAN CHRISTIAN CLERGY]]

And in the beginning of this year, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem began experiencing a vast dispossession campaign.

After the war began, Israeli development firms with the protection of armed Israeli civilians and the Israeli military illegally raided church property multiple days in a row with attack dogs and guns.

Bulldozers manned by Israelis were used to destroy the outside of the church in an attempt to — according to the Christian Armenians, further “Judaize” Jerusalem.

[[VIDEO FOOTAGE]] [[IN ELEMENTS DOC]]

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has published an emergency press release that reads:

“The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. This existential-territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem…the police have chosen in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises…We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.”

[[PRESS RELEASE PHOTO]]

So if that’s what’s happening inside of Israel to Christians — the only democracy in the Middle East, what’s happening to Christians where the Israeli military is actively engaged in war?

St. Porphyrius orthodox church is located in Gaza City and it’s believed to be one of the oldest Christian churches in the entire world. St. Porphyrius was a 5th Century bishop in Gaza whose tomb lies under the church.

[[PHOTO OF ST. PORPHYRIUS]]

This was the church before October 7th.

[[PHOTO OF INSIDE CHURCH]]

And this is the church now.

[[PHOTO OF DESTRUCTION]]

On October 19th, the church grounds were hit from all sides by Israeli airstrikes as both Palestinian Christians and Muslims took refuge there.

By what some consider a miracle, the crucifix atop of the church remained untouched. The strike killed 18 people and injured many more.

The Holy Family Church, built in 1974, is Gaza’s only Roman Catholic church and became a shelter for the local Christian community once the war began.

[[PHOTOS OF THE HOLY FAMILY CHURCH]]

It was hit in an airstrike on November 4th.

The Byzantine Church of Jabalia was built in 444 and was considered one of the most important churches in the Levant. It was discovered in 1997 while building a road in Gaza. It’s a religious and archaeological site.

[[PHOTOS]]

The site took years to be excavated and restored and was opened with a celebration headed by the most senior Christian cleric in Gaza.

In October, it was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.

And as a new front in this war opens up in Lebanon — it’s important for Americans and especially Christians to remember that Lebanon is home to a giant Christian community – and the media largely ignored this fact.

[[FOOTAGE OF RECENT ATTACKS IN LEBANON]]

There are 2,405 churches in Lebanon.

Almost 40% of Lebanon is Christian.

Just last week Israeli air strikes in Lebanon killed 350 people including more than 60 women and children.

Should Americans, especially Christian Americans — be allowing billions of their tax dollars to be used to ethnically cleanse, attack and bomb Holy sites and Christian civilians?

Let us know what you think and If you haven’t already, you can follow us on X @truth_inmedia.