Palestinian Christians: Difference between revisions

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Most Palestinian Christians see themselves as [[Arab Christians]], although some, in a similar way to the [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] [[Maronites]], reject this label and claim to be descended from people who were present before the coming of the [[Arab]]s. The region called Palestine or Israel is considered the [[Holy Land]] by Christians, and major Christian holy cities like [[Bethlehem]] and [[Nazareth]] are located in Palestine and Israel respectively.
 
Prior to the establishment of the state of [[Israel]], approximately 10% of Palestine's population was [[Christianity|Christian]]. This is reflected in the large number of prominent [[Palestinian]]s that are Christian, including [[Hanan Ashrawi]], [[Emile Habibi]], [[Edward Said]], [[Anis ShoroshShorrosh]], [[George Habash]], [[Nayef Hawatmeh]], Suleiman Hodali, [[Afif Safieh]], and activist [[Raymonda Tawil]], who is also the mother of [[Yassir Arafat]]'s wife [[Suha Arafat|Suha]]. However, the Christians were also often found in the more affluent segments of Palestinian society which generally fled or were expelled from the country in conjunction with the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]]; in West [[Jerusalem]], over 50% of Christians lost their homes to the advancing [[Israel]]i army, according to the historian [[Sami Haddad]] [http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/pubs/20020312ib.html]. Many Christians also have left the region in recent years due to increasing pressure from hardline groups to Islamicize the region, according to the [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] [http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/051219a.asp?option=print]. Through the years, Christians have emigrated mainly to Latin America, the United States, and Canada.
Some explain the difference between Christians' and Muslims' rate of emigration not by personal preference but by the idea that Christian emigrants are usually more successful in being accepted in historically Christian Western countries than Muslim ones.