Christianity & Christians in the Jewish State

Israeli Policy toward the Churches and Christian Communities (1948–2018)

The establishment of the State of Israel presented the Christian churches and the Christian World with a complex theological dilemma in light of the traditional Christian belief that the Jews had been condemned to permanent exile and humiliation. However, the Historical and religious resentments were not confined to the Christian side. The leaders of the State of Israel, as representatives of the Jewish people, who for centuries had lived as a minority at the mercy of Christian and Muslim rulers, found themselves in the role of an “emperor” — responsible for attending to the affairs of the local Christian communities, the holy places, and the extensive church properties. 

This inversion of the historical relationship, and the complex and delicate relations between the Christian world and the State of Israel form the central theme of this book. 

Dr. Amnon Ramon is a Senior Researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research specializing in the history of Jerusalem in the modern era, Christians and Christianity in the Holy Land, the Holy Places and East Jerusalem affairs. He is also the deputy director of the Institute for the study of Eretz Israel in Yad Izhak Ben Zvi and lecturer at the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies.

“Dr. Ramon has produced a rich and suggestive account. His achievement synthesizing history, current affairs, and public policy throws down a challenge to scholars outside Israel working on Christian-Jewish relations.” — Raymond Cohen, Emeritus Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

“The book is a treasury of information and an important tool in order to understand the delicate and complex relations between the authorities in Israel and the Christian communities. It constitutes yet another brick in the attempt to build good relations between Jews and Christians in our country.” — David Neuhaus SJ, Superior of Holy Land Jesuits, Former Patriarchal Vicar of Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel

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