Christians Report Lowest Growth Rate In Israel

By Judith Sudilovsky
Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS/ENInews) Christians have the lowest growth rate among the Israeli population, according to a recent report from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.

According to the Jan. 6 report, the Christian growth rate of 0.9 percent lags behind the Jewish rate of 1.7 percent and the 2.7 percent growth rate among Muslims. Christian Arabs have a growth rate of 1 percent, while the rate among non-Arab Christians is 0.7 percent.

About 154,000 Christians live in Israel, representing about 2 percent of the population, according to the bureau.

The percentage of Christians in Israel has remained relatively stable since the mid-1980s, noted Wadie Abunassar, director of the International Center for Consultations and a consultant for the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations.

About 80 percent of Christians living in Israel are Arabs, with the remainder mainly Christians who immigrated to Israel with Jewish members of their families under the Law of Return, which allows any proven Jewish person to immigrate to Israel.

The estimated birthrate for Christian women is also the lowest among the religious groups. The average number of children expected to be born to a Christian woman is 2.1, compared to a Muslim woman (3.8), a Jewish woman (3.0) and a Druze woman (2.5).

But though their relative numbers in Israeli society are low, Christian Arab students consistently have the highest success rates on college-entry examinations compared to other sectors of Israeli society.

Comments

[Lorne Newman]

11:37 PM on 03/18/2013

Israel gets criticized for providing such a free environment for Christians that they achieve similar standards of living as Christians in Europe with social and economic mobility. A lower rate of growth is a response to a society that is not ruled by conservative, traditional restrictive views of reproduction.
Christians who live under the Palestian Authority or Hamas on the other hand are subject to daily humiliation and pressure to convert to Islam. This is why Bethlehem is turning into a Muslim stronghold.

[Charles W Noble]

02:29 PM on 01/25/2012

We need to have a program that flies Christians from all around the world to this holy land so that their views are fully represented among the world's great religions in this holy site.

[Lorne Newman]

11:14 PM on 03/18/2013

The country isn't a 'site'. As someone who lives in Israel, I often meet Christians from different denominations and different points of view.

[Charles W Noble]

03:55 PM on 03/19/2013

huh?  All country's are also sites Lorne.  Don't be so sensitive man.  

[leaderspeakUSA]

02:16 AM on 01/24/2012

As I read the comments posted here; I am still amazed at the level of ignorance exercised by those who falsely equate the Catholic religion with followers of Israel's Christ (Christians is the name given those who follow and worship Jesus the Christ as the God of Israel and Creation). Jesus Christ Himself rebuked anyone for thinking He resides in buildings made with men's hands, to His followers to love their enemies even if it meant dying in the same way He did and, to love Israel for the sake of the Gospel for that land belongs to God alone and is the promised inheritance of all who love the risen Christ Jesus in the time to come.

[Tylerious]

04:01 PM on 01/23/2012

I am totally devastated...

[SoldAmerican]

04:22 PM on 01/21/2012

"Christiani­­ty was not content with erecting an altar of its own. It had
first to destroy the pagan altars. It was only in virtue of this
passionate intoleranc­­e that an apodictic faith could grow up. And
intoleranc­­e is an indispensa­­ble condition for the growth of such a
faith.”

[SoldAmerican]

04:20 PM on 01/21/2012

Christianity grows like a virus.. ITs the largest predatory religion in the world. Sheesh!

[really12]

08:06 PM on 01/24/2012

What do you mean "it's the largest predatory religion in the world?"

[Macphil]

12:05 AM on 01/27/2012

Missionaries. They are everywhere man! Asia, Africa, Middle East, Preying on ignorance and offering bribes to join the club. E.G. Burmese hill tribes in refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border.

[Cynthia Rays]

11:50 PM on 01/20/2012

At a meeting in Bethlehem on December 11, 2009, a group of Palestinian Christians and church groups issued the Kairos document which is a prayerful call to end the occupation of Palestine by Israel.
http//www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/other-ecumenical-bodies/kairos-palestine-document.htm.

[anton123]

12:22 AM on 01/21/2012

Would they be brave enough to call to end Palestinian terror against Israel too? :-)

[Macphil]

12:08 AM on 01/27/2012

"Would they be brave enough to call to end Palestinia­n terror against Israel too? :-) ... ",

.. he says, while conveniently ignoring Israel government's institutional terror against the Palestinian people

[57th State]

08:44 PM on 01/20/2012

Religion is such a SHAM. You'd think by now the majority of people would have caught on.

[really12]

08:07 PM on 01/24/2012

How do you know it's a sham?

[57th State]

11:38 PM on 01/24/2012

Which religion is the real religion?

[Charles W Noble]

04:08 PM on 01/20/2012

Bethlehem is the birthplace of Christianity and we need to bring more Christians there to represent the great religion there.

[Cynthia Rays]

05:12 PM on 01/20/2012

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=22421
"Two millennia after the birth of Christ, this ancient, holy city is quite literally being strangled in the shadow of the barrier wall.

If it continues on its present course, the wall will eventually grow to 439 miles in length – more than four times the length of the Berlin Wall – standing as high as 26 feet in some places. Consisting of hundreds of miles of barbed wire and thousands of tons of concrete, it is the largest infrastructure project in Israel, with a price tag to match. The United Nations estimates that the projected cost of the wall will exceed $1 billion –"

[smcircle]

05:15 PM on 01/20/2012

The cost of keeping terrorists out goes up every day...

[Lorne Newman]

11:23 PM on 03/18/2013

The wall went up as a Direct response to the daily suicide bombing campaign by the Palestinians in cafes, busses and other places where pedestrians gather in Israeli cities.
Aside from your 'quoted' propaganda in the following sentence, it is nowhere near the largest infrastucture project, rather a necessary security installation that has vastly reduced the amount of terror issued by the Palestinian side that avoids Peace negotiations at all cost.

[tallen]

08:38 PM on 01/20/2012

Unfortunately, the muslim population on the west bank has done a fairly good job of cleansing the Christian population, including Bethlehem.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-423126/O-Muslim-town-Bethlehem-.html

[SoldAmerican]

04:21 PM on 01/21/2012

Good for them.. Only Muslims have managed to keep the predatory Christianity at bay.

I only wish the Buddists and Hindus and Sikhs of Asia manage to do the same. Keep these christian buggers away.

[Charles W Noble]

01:13 PM on 01/23/2012

Isreal is not controlled by Muslims Tallen. So that is an absurd accusation.

[Naor]

03:17 PM on 01/20/2012

Muslim Israelis are still reproducing at a faster rate than Jewish and Christian Israelis. One day this issue will reach the boiling point.

[Cynthia Rays]

05:39 PM on 01/20/2012

"The Republican National Committee adopted a resolution calling for “a united Israel governed under one law for all people.”
The resolution passed last week at an RNC conference in New Orleans. Some liberal bloggers suggested that it effectively called for a single state in Israel and the West Bank, with citizenship rights extended to all...
“There is no interpretation possible other than that the RNC is also advocating complete Israeli annexation of the West Bank, including granting citizenship to the Palestinians living there,” wrote Mitchell Plitnick, the blogger who first reported.

Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/150031/#ixzz1k2b4pjun

[Teacher 15]

08:45 PM on 01/20/2012

The RNC can adopt all the resolutions it wants, there won't be "a single state in Israel."

Its significance seems murky, in any case. Sean Spicer, RNC's spokesman, stated the resolution "does not bind the party or represent its position. The only thing that matters is what's in our platform," which calls for two states, with Jerusalem as Israel's capital
[buzzfeed.com]

[Naor]

12:37 PM on 01/21/2012

Ugh...no thanks.

[LCDTV]

07:18 PM on 01/20/2012

one man can do a lot of damage. hush hush hush someone is calling your name. it is time for you to step up to the plate and do your duty for the jman.

[moflard]

12:35 PM on 01/20/2012

Given the history I can't say I'm too surprised Jewish people aren't rushing to convert to Christianity.

[smcircle]

05:16 PM on 01/20/2012

Why would they?

[Tylerious]

04:05 PM on 01/23/2012

Well, they used to do it all the time. Of course, that was only after being tortured nearly to death...

[Galilee]

11:12 AM on 01/20/2012

Christians in Gaza under Palestinian rule are fearing for their lives from Muslims.
Where is that report on Huffpo?

[LCDTV]

07:19 PM on 01/20/2012

this is article is about isreal not about the gaza strip. what is your next question?

[Galilee]

07:30 PM on 01/20/2012

Where is that report on Huffpo?

[Lorne Newman]

11:27 PM on 03/18/2013

Where is the honest reporting? Oops. I just realized my mistake with that comment on this site.

[Cynthia Rays]

10:33 AM on 01/20/2012

During Passover in 2011, Israel closed the border to the wast Bank from April 18th until April 26th, meaning that Christians and Moslems with permits could not get to their worship sites, places of work, to the hospital or to visit family. Easter, the most important holiday for Christians was celebrated from behind a wall on April 24th, not in Jerusalem walking the Via Delarosa or at services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchr.

[GraphicMatt]

10:48 AM on 01/20/2012

And this has what to do with the growth rate of various religions in Israel?

[Cynthia Rays]

05:12 PM on 01/20/2012

People don't want to stay n a place where they are harassed daily. Some of them leave.

[Galilee]

11:05 AM on 01/20/2012

It is closed to protect civilians and tourists from the old habit of Palestinian terrorists to commit mass murder terror attacks on Jewish holidays.

[Macphil]

12:16 AM on 01/27/2012

What about the mass murder of 380 children during the terrorist operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009?

Of course, were not Jewish, so they don't count.

Of course they were not Jewish, so it's not terrorism.

[Cynthia Rays]

09:59 AM on 01/20/2012

Seventy-Six Acres of Lands Confiscated in Bethlehem

"On Thursday, Palestinian families were shocked by the decision to confiscate seventy-six acres of land to the benefit of the Jerusalem Municipality. The land lays behind the Annexation Wall in al-Khass village, in the eastern part of the West Bank city of Bethlehem"... the confiscated lands are very fertile, and that they belong to the villagers who are prevented from reaching them because of the wall."
http://www.imemc.org/article/62863

[Gui Montag]

11:25 AM on 01/20/2012

Better murder some children over it, right Ms. "peace in the valley seeker?"

[Ari B Canaan]

08:16 PM on 01/20/2012

So nice that you're passing off a Palestinian propaganda site as an unbiased source of information. It is anything but.

[Haroldpom]

08:57 AM on 01/20/2012

The population of Christians in Israel is growing. Is there a problem that it is not growing fast enough? The Christians themselves can fix that. They know what they have to do.
The Christians in all of th Arab countries are deceasing. After years of persecution, torture and murder that was expected. How about a column criticizing Muslim persecution of Christians in the ME and the declining populations in West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq and others?

[Cynthia Rays]

09:52 AM on 01/20/2012

Christians in Israel have called upon churches around the world to support them to end the occupation. Through the Kairos document, they have detailed their needs.
Sabeel is the voice of the Palestinian Christians. More information can be obtained about their struggle from
FOSNA.org
Christians in Egypt worked together with Muslims during the demonstrations at Tahrir Square.
The main problem in Israel is not Muslims, it is the occupation.

[Haroldpom]

10:25 AM on 01/20/2012

Are you saying that the Coptic Christians in Egypt are not persecuted by the Islamists and that their churches are not being destroyed.? Left-wing Christian churches affiliated with the World Council of Churches are anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian so that whatever atrocities carried out by Muslims against Christians and Jews escapes their attention. They are blind and deaf to the persecution of religious minorities in the ME and so are you.

[thebosssssny]

02:10 AM on 03/19/2013

Besides aBesides a VERY small percentage of Christians in Egypt who were side by side most Christians wanted Mubarak. And rightfuly so. They are no scared with the MB

[Cynthia Rays]

02:09 PM on 01/20/2012

Why not review what Christian Peacemaker team says about what is happening?
http://www.cpt.org/work/palestine

[Haroldpom]

03:30 PM on 01/20/2012

"CPT Palestine is a faith-based organization that supports Palestinian-led, nonviolent, grassroots resistance to the Israeli occupation and the unjust structures that uphold it. By collaborating with local Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers and educating people in our home communities, we help create a space for justice and peace."
What a load of propaganda. Non-violence? When was non-violence ever a part of Palestinian strategy? They want justice and peace for the Palestinians and the end of Israel. Christians taking the pro-Muslim position despite all the Christian persecution in Muslim lands. The end of Christianity in the ME is at hand. And organizations like the CPT are fighting the Jews instead of the Muslims. Why?
Those inclined to discount the possibility of a Christian-free Middle East would do well to remember that Jews, in the recent past, had a significant place in the Ottoman Empire and Iran. Were it not for the birth of a sovereign Jewish state that took in Jewish refugees thrown out by countries that turned against them, this regional minority might well have disappeared half a century ago. Without an Israel of their own, if the Christians don’t get it right their era in the Middle East may be coming to an end.