Faith is fading out in Gaza
Christian presence dwindles around a 1,600-year-old shrine
Candles softly illuminate the decorative tapestries as incense and the harmony of hundreds singing in unison fill an overflowing church on a Sunday morning.
Despite the packed pews at Gaza’s Church of St. Porphyrius weeks before Christmas, Christianity is not booming here. Rather, worshipers at the 1,600year-old shrine say they may be the last group of Christians in Gaza, where they have lived and prayed since the birth of Jesus.
The Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the highest unemployment rate in the world are prompting Christians to leave the besieged area in droves, some using the holiday season to their ad-
vantage. Although Israel rarely grants permits to leave the Palestinian territory, dozens of Christians are allowed to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem during Easter and Christmas, and some take the opportunity to never return home, so they can start a new life elsewhere.
The population that spanned 3,000 Christians in Gaza a few years ago has been reduced to 1,200, and worshipers say the area could be entirely devoid of the religious denomination within two decades.
“People might think we’re leaving because of Hamas, but no, it’s because of ... (Israeli) policies on Gaza,” Jaber Jilder, an official with the Greek Orthodox Church said, referring to the militant group that governs Gaza and is labeled a terrorist group by the United States and others.
Israeli sanctions on Gaza have made freedom of movement and goods almost non-existent and have contributed to an economy that the World Bank said is on the “verge of collapse.”
A United Nations report this year said the Israeli-Hamas conflict in 2014 and the blockade will make the Palestinian territory “unlivable” by 2020.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frequently defended the blockade, saying it stops weapons from being smuggled into Gaza and to Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
“Most of our community have no opportunities. There are no jobs, especially after university,” Jilder said. “I hear this Christmas, about 50 people will leave Gaza ... but they won’t return.
“As soon as there is a way for me to leave, I will go,” he said.
There is a sadness when conversation drifts to the future of Christianity in Gaza, and there’s anger, too. A community that has survived two centuries through times of war and natural disasters feels like it is on its last legs.
“We don’t want to leave, but we are forced to because of the economic and political situation here,” said Luzil Asaree, a worshiper sitting in the courtyard of the church after the service. “It’s sad, Christians have been here since the beginning of our religion.”
The Christian population in the West Bank has also been on the decline for similar reasons, said George Abueed, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem.
“Palestinian Christians ... receive no tolerance or mercy from the Israeli occupation. Their land has been confiscated, their houses have been destroyed,” he said. “Same discriminatory measures for everyone, Christians and Muslims.”
That claim of discrimination by both religious groups has led to a feeling of unity. During the fighting in 2014, the Church of St. Porphyrius was opened by the Christian community as a shelter for hundreds of Muslims. Many Christians say that they feel respected under Hamas’ rule and that the militant group regards them as an important religious minority. “The government here has helped us, and we can go to them if we have problems,” Jilder said. “We face the same problems, the same bombs.”