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Evangelical Christian and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee last week wrote a letter that criticized the Tel Aviv government for discriminating against Christians, focused mainly on evangelical missionaries who, he said, have repeatedly been denied tourist visas.

Huckabee, who was appointed ambassador by President Donald Trump, sent the scathing letter to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, warning that if the restrictions against evangelicals continue, the US may take reciprocal action against Israelis seeking US visas.

Instead of responding to the concern about anti-Christian policies in Israel, which go far beyond evangelical missionaries, Arbel responded that Huckabee is not a team player. Avoiding addressing the issue at hand, Arbel, using typical Israeli doublespeak, criticized Huckabee for deviating from “accepted working norms” and not acting in “mutual trust” with Israel.

What Arbel was saying is that Huckabee should stand by Israel and ignore any Israeli policy or law that exposes its fundamental discrimination against all non-Jews and denies Muslims and Christians their rights.

Days later, Huckabee expanded his concerns to speak out against the violent Jewish settler attacks that have taken place in Taybeh, one of the few remaining Palestinian Christian villages in the West Bank.

The US ambassador expanded his concerns to speak out against the settler attacks that have taken place in Taybeh

Ray Hanania

Most evangelical Christians in the US long ago abandoned the Christians of historic Palestine as part of their blind support for Israel, ignoring all the Tel Aviv government’s abuses, injustices and violence. Now, Huckabee has taken the first steps to restoring these important ties.

Palestinian Christians have long been the target of attacks by Israelis. But two weeks ago, the attacks reached a new level of violence when Jewish settlers targeted a church, businesses, homes, farms and vehicles in Taybeh.

It took a few days and the interior minister’s failure to acknowledge Huckabee’s concerns, but the US ambassador expanded those concerns on Friday to address the growing violence against Christians by Jewish settlers.

In his original letter, Huckabee explained that he was angry because Israel’s government had stopped giving automatic visa approvals to certain evangelical groups and had instead begun investigating their activities.

Why is Israel denying visas to evangelicals? It is only speculation, but it could be because the Israeli government’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has seen it murder more than 60,000 people, mostly civilians and including many women and children, has stirred the conscience of the world. This includes evangelicals, who up until recently have been distant from the suffering of Christian Palestinians.

Possibly, evangelical Christians are now returning to the true foundation of their faith, which is to support those who are suffering, not to defend the oppressors.

Huckabee’s expansion of concern from evangelicals being denied tourist visas to Palestinian Christians being targeted in the West Bank, including recently in Taybeh, could represent a pang of consciousness on his part. It could also reflect a change in policy from the White House and President Trump, who in the past has said much about the Israeli hostages in Gaza and their suffering but has been very cautious about empathizing with Palestinian suffering.

The assaults against Christians go beyond the actions of Jewish settlers and reflect fundamental policies in Israel, which treats all non-Jews, especially Palestinian Muslims and Christians, as second-class citizens inside Israel and as unimportant in the Occupied Territories.

The assaults against Christians go beyond the actions of Jewish settlers and reflect fundamental policies in Israel

Ray Hanania

Over the years, land confiscations have been a major problem that have forced many Palestinians to flee Israel’s harsh environment of oppression and civil rights violations. Among the victims are Christians, who until now have gone unnoticed. Israel’s confiscation of lands to build settlements exclusive to Jews is rarely reported on and generally goes under the radar.

For example, my family, hardcore Christians from Bethlehem, have been constantly battling Israel’s anti-Christian bureaucracy in an attempt to regain control of their land. My family’s land in the West Bank, near East Jerusalem, which is today surrounded by Jewish-only homes in the illegal settlement of Gilo, was placed under severe restriction shortly after Israel’s government annexed the area after the 1967 war.

Despite dozens of trips to the “Tabu,” the Israeli land registry office, my family was constantly pushed aside. After waiting hours, they were always told no one could see them. My mother’s great-grandfather and his sister purchased the land in the 1890s and I covet the original Ottoman land purchase document.

In 1970, despite our protests, Israel took unilateral action and demolished the house on the 33 dunums (8.5 acres) of land, sealed the water well and destroyed a small road. The land, which is adjacent to a small village called Sharafat, had more than 160 olive trees that my family allowed the village’s Muslim residents to harvest free of charge every autumn.

It has been clear since 1968 that the more that Israel’s government discriminates against Christians — a topic that is rarely reported on in the media — the more American Christians have become silent and separate from Palestinian Christians.

So, Huckabee’s surprise expressions of concern are welcome. Many mainstream Christian organizations that have in the past ignored Palestinian Christian suffering may now end their public silence.

If the evangelical movement were to speak up for these Christians, it could result in a seismic shift that undermines the growing extremism among many Israeli Jews.

Unfortunately, until now, when concerns were expressed for Christians, especially in a political context by pro-Israel activists or leaders, it was usually a narrow concern. Huckabee’s interventions raise awareness of the challenges Palestinian Christians face, as well as broader issues, including discrimination against Muslims.

• Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached on his personal website at www.Hanania.com. X: @RayHanania