Seeking to counter reports accusing Israel of creating a mass exodus of Palestinian Christians from Palestinian areas, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs yesterday
announced the release of a report (
full text) on the size of the Christian population in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza. Here is an excerpt:
What is misleading about the way the story has been told about a diminishing Palestinian Christian population?
1) Population: We are told that the population is small. In reality, though, it has never been large. The most important part of the story is that the significant drop in Christian population in the West Bank occurred years ago. Some Palestinian Christians became refugees in 1948. Others left during Jordanian rule from 1948-1967. Since 1967, when the West Bank came under Israel and later Palestinian Authority administration, the population has not decreased. In fact, according to almost all sources, it has increased – just at a rate slower than it would have increased without emigration. Hypothetic data showing how the population might have increased are speculative and questionable.
2) Percentage: The percentage of Christians in the West Bank has decreased dramatically. This is largely due to the exponential increase in the surrounding Muslim population. Emigration and low birth rate are real, but pale in comparison to the dramatic increase in the Muslim demographic. In many instances, the data used for comparison reference different areas, making the decrease seem more stark than it really is.
