Israel’s Arab Christian community is being urged by its leadership to participate in the upcoming Knesset elections, with candidates from several factions competing for their votes. “For Christians here in Israel, the church has influence, but it is not great, because the Christians are largely secular, and more modern like secular Israelis,” Shadi Halul, a Christian candidate for Yisrael Beytenu, told The Jerusalem Post. “The influence of religion and the heads of the churches on political issues is very low. With us, we always say that religious leaders should not intervene in politics. They need to deal with spiritual and religious matters.” He added that “Voting for the United Arab List is like voting for Islamic State. This party creates calls for a clash with the Jewish population, for provocation and separatism, and this is not what we want as Christians. Therefore anyone who votes for this party betrays Christians and betrays Christian needs. Christians see themselves as part of this state.” Read More
