A total of 144,000 Christians live in Israel, of whom 117,000 are Arab and 27,000 are new immigrants, according to a report released yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) ahead of Christmas. In 2003, Christians constituted 2.1 percent of Israel's population.

Approximately 98 percent of Israel's Christians live in urban settlements, with 20 percent in Nazareth, 12 percent in Haifa and 10 percent in Jerusalem.

Approximately 11 percent of all 12th-graders in the Arab education system are Christian, and they lead the population in attainment of matriculation certificates.

By Moti Bassok, Haaretz, Dec 24, 2004

Long before the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Open Doors founder and author Brother Andrew began to provide training and support to churches in that region. The man who gave Arafat a Bible for his daughter's first birthday says that Christ?s love is the solution to the Middle East conflict.

Janet Chismar, Senior Editor for Faith, Cross Walk, Nov 15, 2004

Urban Bethlehem, with a population of about 61,000, is now surrounded by nine Israeli settlements, roads restricted to Israelis, a multitude of checkpoints, 78 physical obstacles, and an Israeli barrier nearing completion on two sides of the town to protect against suicide attacks and other violence, the report said.

The Assoicated Press, Dec 22, 2004

Among the roots of ancient olive trees, archaeologists have found pieces of large stone jars of the type the Gospel says Jesus used when he turned water into wine at a Jewish wedding in the Galilee village of Cana.

They believe these could have been the same kind of vessels the Bible says Jesus used in his first miracle, and that the site where they were found could be the location of biblical Cana. But Bible scholars caution it'll be hard to obtain conclusive proof - especially since experts disagree on exactly where Cana was located.

The Associated Press, Dec 22, 2004

Thousands of believers flocked Saturday night to attend Benny Hinn's crusade at Tel Aviv's Yad Eliahu stadium - among them foreign workers, Messianic Jews and Christian Arabs.

The following is a report written by an Israeli who attended the crusade. It is brought to you un-changed as it was published in Haaretz.

By Daphna Berman, Haaretz, 20/11/200

Athletes in Action, a ministry for reaching out people with the good news of Jesus through Sport Evangelism visited Galilee this month. During one week they were able to meet some 2000 young people in different schools and sport clubs and even get a TV interview on the national cable Arabic Station.

Special For Come and See, Nov 12, 2004

Arafat, 75 was flown from Ramallah to a Paris hospital for treatment of an undisclosed blood disorder and was announced that he had fallen into a coma Nov. 3.

At Ramallah's Holy Family Catholic Church, Father Ibrahim Hijazin acknowledged that one of the main concerns of Christians at the moment is how Islamic groups will react in the face of a power vacuum within the Palestinian National Authority.

By Judith Sudilovsky, Catholic News Service, Nov 8, 2004

A yeshiva student who spat at the Armenian archbishop in Israel and at a 17th-century cross during last week's procession marking the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem's Old City has met with heads of the Armenian community and apologized for his actions, police said Sunday.

The Knesset Interior Committee held an emergency meeting to discuss the harassment of Christian clergymen in Jerusalem. Committee chairman MK Yuri Stern said the content and the tone of the way in which Christianity is mentioned in schools must be changed.

By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz, Oct 18, 2004

The church will be built on land donated by the emir of Qatar, in a residential district of the capital, Doha. The emir has also donated land to Anglicans, Copts, Orthodox and Protestants to build their own churches.

Although Islam is the majority religion, the country has some 60,000 Catholic immigrants, especially from the Philippines, Palestine, Lebanon, and India.

Zenit, October 12, 2004