Pope Benedict XVI has said violence is forcing Christians to flee Israel, the Palestinian territories and other countries of the Middle East.

The pontiff also called for respect between cultures and religions.

"The serious difficulties encountered by the Christian community" in Israel and the Palestinian territories "because of lack of security, work, restrictions on movements and poverty are a source of anxiety for us", he said on Thursday.

Al-Jazeera, June 22, 2006

Christian Palestinian have expressed dismay at a resolution submitted to the House of Representatives by Texan congressman Michael McCaul, which claims that they are being persecuted by the Palestinian Authority.

Open Bethlehem's chief executive Leila Sansour, a Christian from Bethlehem, has sent a letter to congress expressing her community's shock at the "gross misrepresentation of the real threat facing Christians of the Holy Land" and has urged congress to "pay heed to the real threat to the oldest Christian community in the world.

Independent Catholic News, June 20, 2006

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national assembly on Wednesday revised a 2-year-old policy on Middle East investments that had provoked protest from grass roots churchgoers and Jewish groups.

To vigorous applause, delegates agreed to a new statement that says Presbyterian holdings pertaining to both Israel and Palestinian territory should "be invested in only peaceful pursuits."

The 2004 assembly authorized "phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel" because of its policies toward Palestinians. Jewish organizations had criticized that action as unfairly one-sided but were content with the new wording.

The Associated Press, June 22, 2006

Before the mass immigration from the former Soviet Union, the Greek Orthodox community in Israel numbered about 40,000, the vast majority of whom were Arabs. The community has tripled in size thanks to the immigrants. New churches have opened and old ones are booming. These immigrants are also very dedicated believers and have pushed the "old-timers" to extend the prayer services.

Lili Galili meets the Greek Orthodox community in the city of Migdal Haemeq - who are lead by a Christian Arab priest.

By Lili Galili, Haaretz, June 16, 2006

An attempt by Muslim clerics to close a YMCA branch office in the West Bank has exposed growing tensions between the Holy Land's dwindling Christian community and the new Palestinian government led by Hamas.

Firebombs were recently thrown into the office of the YMCA in Qalqilya, a Hamas stronghold, forcing the group to move to new premises. Islamic leaders have written to the local council demanding that the YMCA branch office close. Their letter concludes: "The presence of this office will lead to negative consequences.''

By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem, Daily Telegraph, 28/4/2006

One of the most important Israeli columnists writes in Yediot Ahronot about the ciriticism that Henry Hyde and Robert Novak have against the Israeli seperation wall.

Hyde writes that Israel's actions "go beyond the realm of legitimate security concerns and have negative consequences on communities and lands under their occupation," places such as Bethlehem and Beit Jala. He writes of the difficulties Christian residents have reaching holy sites such as a result of the security fence.

Ofer Shelah, YnetNews, May 29, 2006

The Church of Scotland has called on European authorities and the World Council of Churches to clearly identify products from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, a church official said Wednesday.

The decision by the church's General Assembly, meeting in Edinburgh, came after delegates were informed that the church had no investments related to what it regards as oppression of the Palestinians.

The Assoicated Press, May 24, 2006

In a recent conference, Brother Andrew said that terrorists are not born but made. He adds that they become terrorists because no one cares for their souls. Light Force is a book that prompts its readers to be concerned about the souls of terrorists. It also wants its readers to be involved in the struggles of their brothers and sisters in the Lebanese and Palestinian churches.

Light Force is a fair book that is not marked by any mindless emotionalism. Instead, it reflects a strong commitment to Christ, to supporting God's people in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, to loving both Arabs and Jews, and to evangelizing Muslims.

Yohanna Katanacho, Special for "Come and See", May 23, 2006

A Jewish writer is so worried by "Jews for Jesus" giving out tracts in Israel and Proselytizing the people of Israel.

He says that the movement is taking advantage of the weaknesses of Judaism in our day, in order to further weaken it. He writes in Israeli daily Haaretz: "There aren't that many of us left. There are 2 billion Christians in the world, and nearly a billion and a quarter Muslims. There are barely 14 million Jews left alive on this planet. In 1933, that number was 15.3 million. Leave us alone".

This article is brought to you unchanged - as is - to show the perspective of many Israeli Jews towards Jesus and the challenge in reaching out to the Jewish people.

By Bradley Burston, Haaretz, May 23, 2006