(RNS) — At a session of the Israeli Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee on Monday (May 5), Aida Touma-Sliman, a Christian legislator from northern Israel, sounded the alarm about a disturbing pattern of harassment of Christians in the country. During Holy Week, many Christians from the West Bank were denied entry into Jerusalem, and on Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter, Israeli police prevented worshippers from reaching churches.
The disruptions were a continuation of a sharp increase in attacks against Christians documented in a March 2025 report by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue that showed rising incidents of violence: clergy spat on, church property vandalized, crosses desecrated and pilgrims harassed. In many cases, police were slow to respond — if they responded at all.
“If this country respects all religions,” Touma-Sliman said, “what is happening against Christian clergy should have caused a huge uproar and upended the country.”
Touma-Sliman also condemned the Israeli government’s glaring failure to recognize the death of Pope Francis. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a lower-level aide to Francis’ funeral, along with the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, while the leaders of some 130 other nations attended. The excuse given — that the funeral fell on the Jewish Sabbath — rang hollow, especially in light of the Israeli ambassador’s presence at the service.
The Israeli government sent only a bland, formal message of condolences on the day of Francis’ death, and even a perfunctory tweet from the Foreign Ministry was quickly deleted under pressure from far-right coalition members.
This relative silence, particularly from a nation that brands itself a defender of religious freedom, was not simply a diplomatic oversight. It was a calculated act of disrespect, and a concession to elements of Netanyahu’s coalition, many of whom revile the pope for his moral clarity, especially when it came to Palestinians. As Touma-Sliman warned, “It sends a dangerous message that encourages demented extremists to continue their attacks on religious sanctities.”
Pope Francis prays in front of a Nativity scene that was crafted in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Dec. 7, 2024. The Nativity scene caused controversy because it featured baby Jesus in a kaffiyeh. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
From the beginning of the Gaza conflict, Francis called the congregants of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the only Catholic church in the strip, offering comfort to them as they sheltered against Israeli attacks on that city.
But he also offered solace to both Christians and Muslims enduring unimaginable devastation. At his final Christmas in St. Peter’s Square, he oversaw a Nativity Scene in which baby Jesus was wrapped in a Palestinian kaffiyeh — a quiet but powerful statement. In an extraordinary gesture of solidarity, the pope bequeathed his popemobile to Gaza so that it can be converted into an ambulance.
A solemn Mass was held at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, and Christians and Muslims came to grieve a man they saw as a rare Western leader willing to speak truth to power. “A person who thinks only about building walls, and not building bridges,” he once said, “is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”
While it might be argued that these very acts motivated Netanyahu to withhold proper recognition of Francis’ death, Netanyahu publicly expressed condolences for U.S. President Jimmy Carter, a sharp critic of Israeli policies.
Wadie Abu Nassar, a Catholic from Haifa and coordinator of the Forum of Christians in the Holy Land, called the government’s response to the pope’s death a betrayal: “He was the leader of the most important church in the world. … He has followers among people who are Israeli taxpayers. The man deserves some respect.”
A view of the funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
The silence is not just about the pope. The Israeli government’s refusal to protect its Christian citizens, who have built schools, hospitals and cultural institutions, is more than neglect. It is complicity. Netanyahu’s response is about a deeper moral erosion taking place as nationalism, religious identity and political expediency take precedence over shared citizenship.
Touma-Sliman on Monday demanded a clear national policy to combat religious hatred and racism in Israel, holding the police accountable for their role in fostering a culture of impunity. “The police must bear full responsibility for their violent, arbitrary practices and degrading behavior, especially during religious occasions,” she said.
But this is not an Israeli question alone. The global church and the world at large must not look away, but honor Francis by heeding his call: Demand peace, uphold dignity, and reject the normalization of hatred, whether against Palestinians or against the Christians trying to serve them.
History will remember this moment. It will remember who stood for respect and who deleted it out of fear. It will remember which governments chose silence over truth, walls over bridges, and expedience over principle. It will remember Francis for how he lived: boldly, compassionately and unflinchingly on the side of the oppressed.
(Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, is the author of “State of Palestine NOW” and the publisher of a website for Christians in Jordan and Palestine. Follow him on X @daoudkuttab. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of RNS.)