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The Arab Orthodox are Arab Greek Orthodox Christian communities which have existed in Greater Syria since the early years of Christianity. During the Palestine Mandate they were prominent in many of the major cities including Jaffa, Nazareth, Haifa and Jerusalem and also formed the majority of Christians in Arab villages of the Galilee.
Arab discontent[]
The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem has traditionally been run by Greek-speaking Orthodox Christians from Greece or Constantinople (Istanbul). In the 20th century many of those who made up the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre were not only Greeks but Greeks from Samos Island. Patriarchs Damianos I and Timotheos I were accused of "flooding the Patriarchate with Samiotes." The local Arabs and their local clergy (who were married, unlike the Greeks in the Brotherhood who refused admittance to any married men), began to rebel and their cause dovetailed with Arab nationalism.
In 1909, Arab Orthodox Christians formally petitioned the Ottoman highest authority demanding more Arab inclusion in the upper ranks of the Patriarchate. Eventually, several Arab Christian Orthodox conferences were held to promote this cause:
- The First Arab Orthodox conference was held in Haifa on July 15, 1923.
- The Second Arab Orthodox conference was held in Jaffa on October 28, 1931.
- The Third Arab Orthodox conference was held in Jerusalem on September 23 and 24,1944.
- The Fourth Arab Orthodox conference was held in Jerusalem on March 23, 1956
- The Fifth Arab Orthodox conference was held in Amman on December 8, 1992.
In addition, especially during the Mandate, there were Orthodox clubs in Haifa and elsewhere and Orthodox scouting groups.
Arab Orthodox were leaders of the Palestinian National Movement, formed the leadership of the Arab portion of the Communist Party of Israel and later Rakah and edited the leading newspapers in Mandatory Palestine including Filastin, edited by the Isa brothers (Daoud Isa), and Al Carmel which was edited by Najib Nassar. Khalil Sakakini, a prominent Jerusalemite, was also an Arab Orthodox as was the PFLP founder George Habash and George Antonious, author of The Arab Awakening.
The 1948 war[]
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a number of Greek Orthodox villages were affected, including:
- Bassa
- Ramla
- Lydda
- Safed
- Kafr Bir'im
- Iqrit
- Tarbikha
In addition around 20,000 fled Haifa, 20,000 fled West Jerusalem, 700 fled Acre and 10,000 fled Jaffa. However prominent members remained such as Tawfik Toubi, Emile Toma and Emile Habibi and they went on to be leaders of the Communist party in Israel.
Recent history and current events[]
The Greek Orthodox Arabs make up the largest Christian demographic in the West Bank, Jordan and Syria.
There have been numerous disputes between the Arab Orthodox and the Greek-Orthodox leadership of the church in Jerusalem from the Mandate onwards. Jordan encouraged the Greeks to open the Brotherhood to Arab members of the community between 1948 and 1967 when the West Bank was under Jordan.
Land disputes and political ones have been common since 1967, with the Greek priests portrayed as collaborators with Israel. Land disputes include; The sale of St. John's property in the Christian quarter on April 11, 1990. The transfer of fifty dunams near Mar Elias monastery. The sale of two hotels and twenty seven stores on Omar Bin Al-Khattab square near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
A recent dispute between the Palestinian Authority and the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Irineos has led to the Patriarch being pushed aside because of accusations of a real estate deal with Israel. This dispute, between the Greek leadership and the local Arab authorities, is the latest manifestation of the phenomenon of the Arab Orthodox.
The Arab Orthodox Society still exists in Jerusalem.
References[]
- Sir Ronald Storrs, The Memoirs of Sir Ronald Storrs. Putnam, New York, 1937.
- Itamar Katz and Ruth Kark, 'The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and its congregation: dissent over real estate' in The International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 37, 2005.
- 'Orthodox Shun Patriarch Irineos' [1]
- Seth J. Frantzman, The Strength and the Weakness: The Arab Christians in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 War, unpublished M.A thesis at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.