Persecution watchdog Open Doors remains committed to reaching believers on both sides of that wall. I spoke with Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, about his perspective on helping Christians on both sides of the conflict.

“We’re committed to strengthening Christian believers all over the world,” he told me, “Not only working with Palestinian Christians who are being persecuted – in this case, not only religiously but culturally, sensing pressure from both the Israeli army and the Islamic militants, but also the entire Christian community. Not only does Open Doors support Palestinian Christians, but also Messianic believers.”

Carl points to the rise in persecution of Messianic churches by Orthodox Christians, and notes that Open Doors sees its role as “providing resources and encouragement” to all believers in the area. The Christian community overall, he says, “just wants to live in peace and promote peace.”

When I first arrived at the Palestinian Bible Society on the West Bank, I couldn’t help but notice the posters depicting Palestinian martyr Rami Ayyad, displayed on the doors and windows of the building. It is a reminder of the brutal Gaza strip murder that rocked the Palestinian Christian community less than a year before, when armed militants bundled bookstore owner Rami Ayyad into the back of a car and shot him to death. The act sparked fear and anguish in the Christian community, leaving believers to wonder about their future in this land.

“Joy and Agony”

For Grace Zoughbi , a native of Bethlehem who attends Bethlehem Bible College, the tension between her cultural and religious identity surfaces daily. I asked her to share her perspective of life in the town of Christ’s birth this Christmas. Here is what she wrote.

I am a twenty-one-year-old Arab, Palestinian Christian young lady. My story began in Bethlehem and continues to grow and flourish in this land, the land of the Bible where everything once began.  What a joy to live in the little town of Bethlehem, and what an agony at the same time!

Being a true Bethlehem native is such an honor but also a challenge: the tiny Palestinian Christian minority is asking God for the strength to continue love and pray for those who are around them and those who are against them. Especially as this Christmas season is approaching, we’re anticipating that  the Prince of Peace Himself will dwell again with a new and refreshed incarnation, that would be more than enough to make up for what we’re going through from lack of freedom, restricted movements,  high unemployment rate, difficult economical situations and a massively huge wall looping around our city…