“We want to remain living stones in the Holy Land!”

During their spring visit to Israel and Palestine, the members of the Grand Magisterium's Holy Land Commission were moved by the testimonies of the Latin Patriarchate's administrative staff members. George Akroush, Director of the Latin Patriarchate's Development Office, answered our questions.

What can you tell us about the situation in the Holy Land?
The situation is most critical. We have never faced such big challenges concerning the presence of Christians in the Holy Land before. Unfortunately, most of our people are unemployed following the outbreak of this war in Gaza. The Christian community largely depends on the tourism sector and this is what makes the ongoing conflict so challenging to us in particular. We can even say that 70% of the Christian community is either directly or indirectly dependent on the tourism sector. These people already suffered a lot during the Covid crisis. Then, they could work for only one year before the war started in Gaza. And again, they are suffering now from a lack of income. Indeed, the Israeli authorities have closed the checkpoints, and all the Christians who used to work in Jerusalem have lost their jobs, except for the very few who work for Christian organizations and some schools.

How many checkpoints are there in the West Bank?
Around 900, including what we call “iron which means that even in the city itself you are not allowed to move from one place to another. Travelling from Ramallah to Jerusalem has become impossible, and travelling from Bethlehem to Ramallah is difficult, because we can get stuck at a checkpoint for between three to six hours.

What is the proportion of Christians affected?
At least half of the Christians of the West Bank have been left without any employment. And what is very important to realize is that this does not only affect the people who used to work in hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, and those working with handcrafts, like olivewood, or mother of pearl; it also affects other businesses that also depend on tourism. We have many “patisserie” shops in Bethlehem for example, and these shopkeepers have lost at least 70% of their previous income as well. So, the Church has to deal with a high percentage of unemployment. We anticipate that 74% of the Christian youth are not working at the moment, which is a major humanitarian burden on the Church. We are the only place they can turn to in these harsh times.

The US aid has come to an end. What is the impact of this measure?
After the election of Trump, the American Administration decided to close down the USAID programs to the Palestinian people. Here, we are talking about major sectors that used to be supported by that source of American aid, for example health, education, or infrastructure projects. So, thousands of people lost their jobs, including many Christians. There were about 300 who used to work in the US aid offices, whether that be in Jerusalem or the West Bank. The Patriarchate is the driving force in the Holy Land for job creation, humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, operations and medical procedures. This with all thanks to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

What other organizations support the Patriarchate?
There are many organizations, churches and parishes from all over the world who support us, but not as much as the Order, of course. I think that the second largest support to the Patriarchate is from ACN - Aid to the Church in Need.

What can you say to our Members around the world to motivate them to help the Church right now? What are the concrete priorities?
First, I think that, without the commitment of the Knights and Dames, the local Church cannot sustain its activities that are considered the only lifeline for local Christians. Without the Order, we would not be able to continue our educational mission, pastoral work or the humanitarian intervention programs including job creation. Many families have been left without any source of income for sixteen months. We depend on the Order to pay for the medications for people who suffer from chronic diseases, and to cover the costs of medical operations. We have over 50 Christians studying medicine, for instance; we are helping them, and this is a very expensive operation, however this is a life-changing experience as well where they become independent and can help others in the near future. Therefore, through the Order, we have been able to secure some funds for this vital initiative.

Could you share a few words about your life? What is your hope?
I was born in Jerusalem, and I am Palestinian. As a person and a father of three children, two daughters and a son aged 21, 18 and 11, I have never experienced anything as challenging as this. I will turn 50 next year, and I have survived several wars that have taken place in our region starting from the first Intifada to the Gulf Wars to the second Intifada and over six wars in Gaza. I have been working for the Church institutions for the past 27 years, but I have never experienced a situation like this one. So, now, we really are calling upon all the people who wish to witness a continued Christian presence in the Holy Land to expand their support to us, because it would be really too painful to see the Holy Land, the land of incarnation and salvation, with no Christians. We do not want to turn this land into a museum; we want to remain the living stones of the land of our Lord Jesus.

Pope John Paul II helped bring down the Berlin wall. Do you think that a pope could put an end to the war here?
Both Pope Francis and Pope Leo have said that hope in action consists of rebuilding bridges, and bringing down walls. It is a big dream for us to be able, one day, to live in the Holy Land without walls and without all these complications for Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. We share the same History, and we will have the same future as well. So, peace and justice are the only solutions, for our children to remain in their homeland, for the Holy Land and also to bring back all the Christians who have emigrated to Latin America, Europe and to all over the world. In Chile, for instance, in Santiago, more than 500,000 Palestinian Christians have left the Holy Land because of the political and socioeconomic hardships. Any peace agreement between Israel and Palestine would benefit the Christians first who are caught up in this terrible conflict. Therefore, I pray that one day, a Pope may knock down all the walls here too.

Interview by François Vayne

(June 2025)