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OAN Commentary by: Richard Pollock
Thursday, February 26, 2026
We’re now entering one of the most important periods for the Christian, Jewish and Muslim calendars. This year, the religious holidays of Easter, Purim and Ramadan all coincide near each other.
Unhappily, however, during this time we also are now witnessing the newest antisemitic hit on Jews. The charge: that Israel is harming its Christian citizens.
In fact, the reverse is true. Christian communities in Israel are thriving. But throughout the Middle East, Christians have been fleeing in large numbers as they suffer physical attacks and the desecration of their holy sites, including the firebombing of churches.
For decades, Christian communities in the Middle East and in sub-Sahara Africa have been victimized by violent Islamists, including by Palestinian terrorists.
In his exhausting, two-and-a-half-hour interview with Tucker Carlson, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee who represents the United States in Israel, pointedly rebutted the broadcaster’s claim that Christians are badly treated in Israel.
Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister who received his bachelor’s degree in religion before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary told Carlson he was spreading a vicious lie: “Christianity is growing in Israel. Okay, there is a big lie that goes out there. But let me finish this because I keep hearing that Christians are really not treated well in Israel.
“That’s simply, that’s a lie…It is a lie. There were 34,000 Christians in Israel in 1948. There are 184,000 Christians here today,” he informed Carlson.
Among the holy sites which are protected by the State of Israel that’s of deep significance to Christianity include the Via Dolorosa, the Room of the Last Supper, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth; and the Mount of Beatitudes, and Capernaum near Lake Kinneret in the Sea of Galilee.
All are permitted to be operated with dignity and autonomy.
In truth, the most important question about Christianity in the Middle East is the dramatic disappearance of Christians who continue to flee Islamic terrorists throughout Middle East.
The Ave Maria School of Law published a dramatic article describing the attacks on Christians. Dated from 2014 it was titled, “The Genocide of Christians in the Middle East.”
There have been more recent exposés. In January 2024 Baylor University published an article titled, “Is this the end for Mideast Christianity?
Or take the April 2024 headline from the Christian Mission Network News titled, “Egyptian Christians Attacked By Islamic Extremists.”
Here is the Philos Project’s 2025 headline: “Why the Christian population in the West Bank is dwindling.”
Here is a Jerusalem Post article from December, 2025: “’Every year they burn trees’: Jenin church firebombing renews scrutiny of Palestinian Authority”
And look at this sad 2025 Christian article titled, “Are There Any Christians Left in Bethlehem?”
Bethlehem. For that’s the holiest place in all of Christianity.
I want to go to Bethlehem because it dramatically exposes the Palestinian contempt for the Christian faith.
Let’s go to the date of April 2, 2002.
On that day, 250 Palestinian terrorists swarmed into Bethlehem Manger Square and forcefully entered the Church of the Nativity, one of the most sacred and holy sites in all of Christianity.
The armed Palestinians brought into the sacred place assault rifles, explosive devices and booby traps.
The terrorists believed Israeli forces who were following them wouldn’t enter the square. When IDF troops did so, the terrorists surged into the church, under the assumption that soldiers would not follow them inside.
On that, they were right. Out of respect of the revered Christian site, the IDF never entered the Church of the Nativity throughout what turned out to be a 39-day siege.
The day after the invasion of the Church of the Nativity, the Franciscans as Custodians of the Holy Land denounced the terrorists, stating, “the problematic situation created in and around the Basilica is the result of the violent invasion effected by armed men who thereafter barricaded themselves there.”
The Palestinian terrorists occupied the church grounds and at one point set fire to it.
During the siege, the Baptist Press reported, “The Palestinian gunmen continue to prevent 50 or more priests and nuns from leaving the ancient Manger Square church regarded as the birthplace of Jesus by various sectors of Christendom.”
Eventually, after 39 days, an agreement was concluded that sent the terrorists into Europe and to the Gaza Strip.
But that story really is incomplete. Because it turns out the ugly attack on the church occurred during what was known as the “Second Intifada” where Palestinian terrorists bombed Israeli cafes, bus stops and Israeli places of worship with impunity.
(Views expressed by guest commentators may not reflect the views of OAN or its affiliates.)
Richard Pollock is a former New Left activist and was a roommate with Chicago 7 defendant Rennie Davis. He understands New Left strategy and tactics. For four decades, Richard was an investigative reporter based in Washington, D.C. Among his positions, he served as the senior investigative reporter for the Washington Examiner, the Daily Caller News Foundation, and at OAN. While at OAN he served in the Washington, D.C. bureau and hosted its investigative reporting specials. He is semi-retired and his posts from D.C. can be read on Substack.com
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