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Christian Officials Accuse ‘Israel’ of Holiday Discrimination

Christian Officials Accuse ‘Israel’ of Holiday Discrimination
folder_openZionist Entity access_time2 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

A spokesman for Christian churches in the Holy Land accused the Zionist regime of discriminating against Christian tourists during the normally busy Christmas holiday season.

The Tel Aviv regime last month closed the borders of the occupation entity to foreign tourists in response to the outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant.

But this week, Zionist officials decided to make an exception for "Birthright," a popular program that provides free trips to the occupied territories to young Jews from around the world. Groups from the United States are expected to arrive next week, with participants all fully vaccinated and remaining in small "capsules."

For now, restrictions remain in effect for other foreign tourists, including Christian pilgrims who traditionally have flocked to sites like occupied al-Quds, Nazareth and Bethlehem, the biblical town in the occupied West Bank revered by Christians as the birthplace of Prophet Issa [PBUH].

Wadie Abunassar, a spokesman and adviser to churches in the Holy Land, said various denominations were upset over the selective treatment and he accused the Tel Aviv regime of discriminating against Christian pilgrims.

"Racist discrimination should never be accepted in any way!" he wrote on Facebook. "I urge the ‘Israeli’ authorities to treat all those who want to visit equally without any discrimination between religion."

An official with the Catholic Church said church officials were shocked and angry by the ‘Israeli’ decision. He said the church, along with other denominations, have appealed to the ‘Israeli’ Tourism Ministry to allow Christian pilgrims to come for the holiday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

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