JERUSALEM, 21 Jan. - (ANA) - Senior church leaders in Jerusalem have warned against outside interference that they say threatens the Christian presence in the Holy Land and across the Middle East, following a meeting earlier this month between a pro-Israel Christian group and the US ambassador to Israel.

 

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Patriarch and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem cautioned that individuals promoting what they described as "damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism" risk undermining Christian unity and deliberately misleading the public.

 

The statement did not explicitly identify the incident that prompted the warning, referring only to "recent activities". However, sources told The New Arab that the remarks were directed at a meeting held on 9 January at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, attended by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

 

The meeting was reportedly organised by retired Israeli army colonel Ehab Shalyam, an Eastern Orthodox Christian citizen of Israel who founded the Forum for Christian Enlistment in the Israeli military and leads the Zionist group Israeli Christian Voice.

 

Kegham Baliam of SaveTheArQ, a movement seeking to protect Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter, described the churches' statement as "unprecedented", saying it was unusual for church leaders to be "this direct" in addressing threats to the community.

 

He suggested the warning was a response to efforts by members of certain Christian groups to advance a Zionist political agenda.

 

According to its mission statement, Israeli Christian Voice advocates for formal recognition of the Christian community in Israel, Syria and the occupied West Bank, which it refers to as "Judea and Samaria", while emphasising that Christians should be identified as "distinct from Arab".

 

Khalil Sayegh, a political analyst and co-founder of the Agora Initiative, told The New Arab that the group's Arabic-language messaging frames Christians as a persecuted minority in the Holy Land.

 

"Claiming to represent Christians in Israel and the West Bank," Sayegh said, "Their message is that Christians need to have more power, and the way to power is to be on the Israeli side."

 

The Jerusalem churches’ statement referred to "local individuals who advance damaging ideologies" and who "have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally".

 

Critics argue that Zionist organisations presenting themselves as representatives of Christians in Palestine-Israel are appropriating Christian beliefs to justify military occupation while marginalising Palestinian Christians.

 

Sayegh said the meeting with Ambassador Huckabee was particularly concerning, given his lack of engagement with recognised church leaders or official religious authorities. Instead, he said, Huckabee met with individuals described by Israeli Christian Voice as "Christian leadership figures", whom Sayegh characterised as lacking legitimate authority.

 

"The announcement from the Jerusalem churches serves as a reminder that it is the churches and their leaders who represent the Christian people," Sayegh said, "not these groups funded by Zionists and the Israeli government to speak on behalf of Christians while distorting the picture of Israel as the sole protector".

 

The statement also warned more broadly against Christian Zionism, which Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) describes as “a political and theological ideology that misuses Christian texts to support the modern nation-state of Israel”.

 

A particular strain of evangelical Christianity in the United States adheres to the “prosperity gospel”, the belief that supporting Israel will bring personal and financial rewards.

 

Christian leaders in Jerusalem have long expressed concern over the growing political and financial backing Israel receives from such groups, arguing that it translates into international support for policies that entrench apartheid.

 

On 1 January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met evangelical leaders during a visit to Palm Beach, Florida, praising what he described as the “deep and historical partnership between Jewish Zionism and Christian Zionism” that enabled the establishment and success of Israel.

 

Sayegh said Shalyam’s ability to secure a meeting with the US ambassador pointed to political backing "likely coming from the Israeli government". On 12 January, Shalyam was photographed alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog with members of a Zionist-aligned Eastern Orthodox clerical group.

 

Ambassador Huckabee, a hardline evangelical Christian and former pastor, has long been associated with the Zionist movement, including visits to Israeli settlements and ties with extremist settler groups.

 

The warning from Jerusalem’s church leaders comes amid growing Israeli efforts to reshape international public opinion as scrutiny intensifies over Israel’s treatment of Palestinian Christians.

 

While groups such as Israeli Christian Voice claim the main threat to Christians comes from “Islamist intimidation and Arab political control”, bodies such as the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine accuse Israel of systematically eroding the Christian presence.

 

Christians made up around 12.5 percent of the population of historic Palestine before 1948, compared with roughly 1.2 percent today across Israel and the occupied territories.

 

During the war on Gaza, churches were repeatedly bombed and at least 44 Palestinian Christians were killed, according to the committee.

 

Zionist organisations, some of them funded by the Israeli government, including Ataret Cohanim, continue efforts to take control of church-owned properties near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, close to the Christian and Armenian quarters.

 

Palestinian Christians argue that the recent meeting at the US embassy cannot be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a broader, coordinated campaign to appropriate the voice of a shrinking community to advance a Zionist agenda.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/21 January 2026 - - -