Christians in Israel have expressed strong outrage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of Pope Francis’ death, formally submitting a letter of protest on Friday. The Forum of Christians in the Holy Land, representing “hundreds of Christian citizens of Israel,” condemned the Foreign Ministry’s failure to issue an official condolence message, calling the omission “disrespectful to Christians in Israel and around the world.” The forum also highlighted the Christian community’s vital contributions to Israeli society across medicine, education, academia, technology, public service, and culture, and urged the government to safeguard its status and role.
The protest followed controversy just after the Foreign Ministry deleted condolence posts that had briefly appeared on its official social media channels shortly after the pope’s passing. The posts were removed within hours, with reported instructions to Israeli diplomatic missions to erase related content. Adding to the backlash, Israel chose not to send a senior official to the pope’s funeral, instead dispatching only its ambassador to the Vatican.
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