• ISRAEL \ Mar 22, 2005
    reads 2192
    Israel's Elite paper, Haaretz, highlights the subject of Christians in Israel and tries to draw attention to this subject, while this community is going through an identity crisis.

    This is the first article in a series on this subject: "In violent situations and also politically, Christians will never win because they're a minority within a minority"

    By Yoav Stern and Jack Khoury, Haaretz, March 22, 2005

  • TOP STORIES \ Mar 21, 2005
    reads 4527
    The Greek Orthodox Church is investigating the reported sale of sensitive Jerusalem property to Jewish organizations, a church official said Sunday, as Palestinian Christians staged a protest.

    The reported sale has sparked an uproar among Palestinian followers of the church, who accuse the Greek leadership of betraying the Palestinian cause.

    By LARA SUKHTIAN, AP, March 20, 2005

    Church leaders seek patriarch's resignation
  • TOP STORIES \ Mar 21, 2005
    reads 4409
    Thousands of Christian pilgrims, waving palm fronds, marched on Sunday from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem to retrace Jesus' triumphant return to the holy city 20 centuries ago.

    The procession, which inaugurated the Christian holy week leading up to Easter Sunday, was much larger than recent years, with many foreigners drawn to the region by a lull in violence.

    News 24, March 20, 2005

  • ISRAEL \ Mar 18, 2005
    reads 1883
    The question of who should represent Israel's Christian Arab community has become a major issue for community leaders and academics recently, and there have been numerous discussions on this issue in Haifa over the last two weeks.

    The answer that those involved in the discussions have come up with is unequivocal: An action committee, comprised mainly of lay Christians rather than religious leaders, should be established to represent Christian Arab interests vis-a-vis both the government and the international community.

    By Jack Khoury and Yoav Stern, Haaretz, March 18, 2005

  • NORTH AFRICA \ Mar 12, 2005
    reads 8415
    Casablanca's "Morocco Times" writes about ?a rumour quickly taken over by the media, and according to which massive numbers of Moroccans converted to Christianity under the influence of Anglo-Saxon, protestant missionaries, who went as far as distributing ?conversion kits? to Moroccans living abroad on the way back to Morocco for the holidays.

    "The country's press goes to much trouble to write about a tiny minority, it is necessary to analyse the reasons which led them to do so"

    By Houda Filali-Ansary, Morocco TIMES, March 9, 2005

  • TOP STORIES \ Mar 12, 2005
    reads 4275
    The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that the Greek Orthodox Church elections for Patriarch, in which Irineos was chosen, were illegal and must be held again.

    Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen, who has been following the story closely, reports that the Church finds itself in a quandary as a result of the ruling.
    Shimon Cohen, Arutz 7, March 9, 2005

  • FEATURES \ Mar 05, 2005
    reads 7318
    One of the biggest landowners in Israel, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is in financial trouble. After decades of selling and leasing land cheaply, the current patriarch is launching a campaign to `redeem' property, assisted by well-known lawyer Gilead Sher. Sher replaced the disgruntled Mira Bornstein, who sued her former client for millions of shekels.

    By Asaf Carmel, Haaretz, March 4, 2005

  • ISRAEL \ Mar 02, 2005
    reads 5132
    Some 75 percent of Christian students in the village of Maghar have not returned to school in the three weeks since clashes between Christians and Druze residents of the Upper Galilee village, Deputy Education Minister Michael Melchior said Wednesday.

    According to Melchior, there are about 1,000 students of all ages still absent from their classes.

    By Jack Khoury and Yoav Stern, Haaretz, March 2, 2005

    75% of Maghar's Christian students still absent from school
  • PERSIAN GULF \ Mar 01, 2005
    reads 5710
    Vivian Gilmer and Marie Bush were conducting mission efforts with a group in the United Arab Emirates. The rest of the group was expelled from the country, but the two women's passports were confiscated.

    "While in custody, they have demonstrated faithfulness to Christ and continued to proclaim the truth of Scripture"

    Baptist Presss, March 1, 2005