Israeli intervention in Jerusalem provokes Coptic Christians
A recent run-in shines a spotlight on age-old disputes between Christian denominations in the Middle East.
Ten days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel the protector of Christians in the Middle East, Israeli security was filmed manhandling a Coptic Christian priest in Jerusalem and throwing him to the ground.
"Israel is the one country that protects the human rights of all," Netanyahu had told Christian media leaders from around the world attending the Christian Media conference Oct. 14 in Jerusalem. "We don’t just protect Christian religious sites — we protect Christian people. Christians should enjoy all the freedom to worship as they please in the Middle East and anywhere else and the only place in the Middle East where they can do so is Israel.”
