Syrian and Iranian Christians continue to face increasing persecution


A leader of Israel’s Christian minority has been stabbed to death by a man dressed as Santa Claus, prompting the arrest of six locals in connection with the murder, church and police officials said Saturday, January 7.
The “Jewish terrorist” who tried to murder members of an Israeli Messianic family on account of their faith has been declared fit to stand trial.



A hard-line Jewish ultra-Orthodox group in Israel has launched a campaign against Christian missionaries and Jewish Christians, known as Messianic Jews, who they view as a security threat.
Israeli authorities continue to investigate an arson attack on a Jerusalem church building that church officials say has long been a focal point for anti-Christian sentiment in a Jewish ultra-Orthodox-leaning neighborhood.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to meet every two weeks to continue U.S. backed direct negotiations for the creation of a Palestinian state within a year despite serious differences that remain between the two sides.
Palestinian Christians on Tuesday, October 7, urged prayers as they observed the second anniversary of the day that militants murdered the director of the only known Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip.
Iran on Monday, September 28, “test” fired long range Shabab-3 and Sajjil rockets that could potentially reach Israel and U.S. military bases in the Gulf region, Iranian media said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for a new global currency to replace the dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency.
The European Union and dozens of countries have pledged to speed up social support for Holocaust survivors and the search for art and other items that were stolen during World War II by the Nazis. At a meeting in Prague, they agreed to establish a special European institute to deal with these issues and education.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has lost the presidential election, his challenger said, a development that was expected to be welcomed by Christians seeking more religious rights and the United States, where President Barack Obama seeks new relations with the strict Islamic nation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni looked set to become Israel’s second female prime minister as her centrist Kadima party won Tuesday’s parliamentary election, exit polls showed.
The top official of Hamas publicly thanked Iran Monday, February 2, for helping his militant group to achieve “victory” over Israel in the Gaza Strip but said his group would need more support to “liberate” all Palestinians and Jerusalem.
Israeli forces appeared to withdraw from the Gaza Strip Tuesday, January 20, in time for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the United States’ 44th president, but militant group Hamas said it would rearm, suggesting its conflict with Israel was not over.
The militant group Hamas has rejected a cease fire with Israel and Iran said the country has no “right to exist,” after Israeli forces killed a Hamas minister and struck a United Nations compound in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution calling for an “immediate cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip. The United States abstained in the vote as the council passed the resolution 14-0. However, Israel continued a military offensive Friday, January 9, saying it has an obligation to protect its citizens, including one million Israelis who face threats from rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas militants.
At least two people were injured when rockets fired from Lebanon landed in the north of Israel early Thursday, January 8, officials said, raising fears militants of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group were preparing to support fighters of Hamas, who have fired rockets from Gaza.