Are there people living in Isreal who practice Christianity?

Answer 1

There are many.


We are worth a Son to God.

Answer 2

(It's Israel, not Isreal, although it is very, very real).

There was a large minority of Christian Arabs among the Moslems before the Israeli state was born in 1948. Many of them fled as refugees to Lebanon and the West Bank (part of Jordan at the time), but others congregated in and around Nazareth where they felt safe. Nazareth is still a predominantly Christian Arab city.

In the West Bank, Bethlehem is the main centre of Arab Christians although very many have emigrated under the pressure of recent years and they are now in a small minority among Moslems. The village of Taybeh, near Ramallah, is the only 100% Christian Arab village in Palestine. Most of the Palestinian cities including Gaza and East Jerusalem have Christian minorities, including evangelical ("born again") Christians. Between the Moslems and the Israelis they are the most persecuted and misunderstood in the world.

There are also Syriac Christians who speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and have lived in this land far longer than the Arabs, who arrived in the 6th century. No-one knows who they originally were; they may be the remnants of the first Jews who converted to Christianity. In Israel, however, they are regarded as Arabs. So are the Samaritans who have lived in the West Bank since long before Christ's time. Also the Greeks and Armenians who have lived in Israel proper and in Palestine for centuries (though most Armenians arrived after 1915). These two groups are Christian - Armenia was the world's first Christian country and most Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox by denomination.

There are also many foreign Christians who have arrived in recent years to run churches, to study, to do charitable work or to evangelise, though proselytization is illegal in Israel and evangelising to under-18s is punishable by five years in jail, although I don't know of a case where this has been enforced.

Not least there is a growing number of Messianic Jews, about 8000. These are Jews who have come to believe that Jesus (Yeshua) was and is the Jewish Messiah (Meshiach). Most of them are American, Russian or other Jews who brought their faith with them when they immigrated to Israel. They don't call themselves Christians as that is a pejorative term among Jews, and seem to see themselves as Jews first, Christians second. Unfortunately their increase is far outnumbered by the Arab Christians who are leaving, if we include the West Bank.

Also regrettably, they have very little contact with their Arab fellow-believers, though there is some slight movement in this direction.

I know many people, especially Jews, will contest the veracity of much of this, even the existence of "Palestine" and "Palestinians". People cannot even agree on basic historical facts and terminology in Israel/Palestine. I welcome any comments or disagreement via my profile page.

Answer 3

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2004, 76.2% of Israelis were Jews by religion. Muslims made up 16.1% of Israelis, 2.1% were Christian, 1.6% were Druze and the remaining 3.9% (including Russian immigrants and some Jews) were not classified by religion.

Official figures do not exist as to the number of atheists or otherwise non-affiliated individuals, who may comprise up to a quarter of the population referred to as Jewish. According to one study, 6% of Israeli Jews define themselves as haredim (or Ultra-Orthodox); an additional 9% are "religious" (predominantly orthodox, also known in Israel as: Zionist-religious, national-religious and Kepot Srogot); 34% consider themselves "traditionalists" (not strictly adhering to Jewish Halakha); and 51% are "secular". Among the seculars, 53% say they believe in God.

Answer 4

Sure, but not many as you would think. If your were to ask someone in Israel if they knew any christians they would answer 9 people to maybe one Christian that they met or know personally.

Answer 5

yes there is thier are people who practice Christianity all over the world.

Answer 6

Yes, thousands; they are called Messianic Jews/Christians.

Answer 7

Israel's People Religion Breakdown:

Jewish 76.5%, Muslim 15.9%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9%

As of 2003.

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

Yea

Answer 10

a significant percentage of Palestinians are Christians.

Answer 11

Of course. Jerusalem has many. many Christians of very conceivable sect.