The airwaves are awash with inflammatory claims — and recently, a particularly egregious one surfaced on Tucker Carlson’s show, amplified by figures like Orthodox nun Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos.
The narrative: that Christians in Israel face systematic persecution, land dispossession, and violence under Israeli occupation. This isn’t just misleading; it’s a dangerous and calculated distortion of reality, weaponizing faith and identity to fuel division and demonize a nation. It’s time to expose this outrageous lie for what it is: a cynical manipulation designed to obscure complex truths and promote a divisive agenda.
Mother Agapia, speaking from Bethany in the West Bank, recounted personal experiences of having her movement restricted and the impact the security barrier has on daily life. She stated, “We are closed off in Bethany from going to our convent in Jerusalem because of the wall built on Palestinian land,” and further claimed that there is a “Christian home for boys that the Israelis just took over.”
These anecdotes, while deeply personal and undoubtedly impactful on individuals, risk painting a sweeping, monolithic picture of persecution that does not hold true for all Christians in the region, particularly those living as citizens within Israel proper.
Shrinking and Growing
The issues described are largely a function of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its associated security measures, not systemic religious persecution against Christians by the Israeli state. The security barrier, for instance, was constructed by Israel primarily to prevent terrorist attacks that had claim numerous lives. While its route certainly impacts Palestinians, including Christians, describing it purely as a tool of “persecution” rather than a security response (however controversial its specific path) is a significant misrepresentation.
Let’s be honest: the narrative of Israeli persecution against Christians crumbles under the weight of verifiable facts. Across vast swathes of the Middle East, ancient Christian communities are tragically vanishing — persecuted, driven out, and even massacred by jihadis with extremist ideologies and authoritarian regimes in places like Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.
Yet a remarkable and often-ignored truth stands in stark contrast: the Christian population within Israel has not only survived but thrived. Since the modern state of Israel was established in 1948, their numbers have grown, not shrunk. This isn’t persecution; this is an unprecedented anomaly in a region otherwise defined by religious intolerance and the tragic decline of ancient Christian communities.
Cherrypicking Facts
Mother Agapia’s comments on “armed resistance” and her rhetorical question, “What is Hamas? Hamas are people who have had their homes taken from them … basically in an open-air prison for the last 20 years,” illustrate a particular, highly contentious narrative.
While recognizing the deep human cost of conflict and displacement, this framing deliberately downplays Hamas’s stated Islamist ideology and its history of targeting civilians. To equate their actions with legitimate “resistance” without acknowledging their extremist goals and the terror they have inflicted is to dangerously misrepresent a far more complex and violent reality.
Indeed, reports from places like Gaza paint a starkly different picture of genuine religious oppression. Under the rule of Hamas, an Islamist extremist organization that many nations have designated as a terrorist group, the once-vibrant Christian community has dwindled to a tiny fraction of its former size. Strict religious codes are enforced, Christian expression is suppressed, and conversion from Islam is often met with severe repercussions. Churches in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed not by Israeli “persecution” of Christians, but as collateral damage in urban warfare initiated by Hamas’s terrorism. This is actual persecution.
Yet, the narrative pushed by people like Mother Agapia and echoed by some media outlets conveniently overlooks these critical facts. Instead, it directs all criticism toward Israel, a nation where Christians not only live freely but also enjoy greater civil liberties and economic opportunities than in many surrounding areas.
Furthermore, Mother Agapia touched upon Christian Zionism, suggesting it “disregards local Christian communities.” While debates around Christian Zionism are valid and complex, leveraging this theological discussion to bolster claims of Israeli persecution against all Christians ignores the broad spectrum of Christian opinion and the significant role of Israeli law in protecting religious freedom for all its citizens.
This isn’t about defending every policy or action of any nation. Every country faces internal criticisms and challenges, and Israel is no exception. However, it is about defending truth itself against a calculated disinformation campaign that twists reality, exploits genuine human values, and demonizes a country based on fabricated grievances and a willful disregard for facts. The strategic goal of this false narrative is transparent: to sow discord, to isolate Israel on the international stage, and to undermine its legitimacy by falsely portraying it as an oppressor of religious minorities. It leverages emotional appeals and historical resentments to build a case that simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Don’t fall for the outrage bait. Demand facts. Expose the lie. Because the truth, however inconvenient for some, is the only foundation upon which genuine understanding and lasting peace can be built.
Amine Ayoub is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco.
