Threatened Christians Flee Middle Eastern Countries

In October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI convened the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops to discuss the situation of the Christians in the Middle East. While some of the speakers blamed the Iraqi regime for not protecting the local Christian population from extremist groups who feel free to attack Christians, they also accused Israel. 

However, the Christian population of Israel has increased! Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor called it absurd that the Jewish state was singled out for condemnation by the bishops since Israel was the only country in the region where Christians were actually thriving. According to statistics, there were some 151,700 Christians in Israel in 2009, compared with 132,000 in 1999, and 107,000 two decades ago.