Israel a Haven for Christians Amid Islamic Persecution in Middle East

April 11, 2012

As radical Islamic groups are rising to power across the Middle East as a result of the so-called Arab Spring, Christians are fleeing persecution in droves. However, CBN News reports, there is one safe haven still left in the region -- Israel. Since Israel's re-founding in 1948, the number of Christians has increased by 1,000 percent. "Christians are in every aspect, every realm of Israeli society," says Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. "They're in the Knesset. They're on the Supreme Court, they're in academia. The Israeli Defense Forces was at one point printing out Hebrew versions of the New Testament because there's so many Christians swearing in for duty." Oren said Arab Christians living in the Jewish state were among the most educated and prosperous in the Middle East. "And we protect them," he said. Israel's overall acceptance of Christians remains a stark contrast to the Palestinian-controlled areas of Gaza and the West Bank, where Christians are frequently persecuted and even killed.