West Bank persecution not systematic, says Messianic Jew
The shrinking Christian population in the Holy Land extends beyond Israel and has been declining for decades, undermining claims of systematic Israeli persecution of Christians, according to Stuart Rothberg, a licensed professional counselor, former missionary and U.S. Army chaplain, and Jewish follower of Jesus.
Rothberg has served as a pastor in churches in Illinois, Ohio, and Louisiana. He has led more than 30 tours of Israel and has engaged extensively with a wide range of people groups in the Holy Land, including Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, Druze, and Messianic Jews.
Rothberg was unsettled by a report Baptist Standard published in February regarding the persecution of Palestinian Christians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
“The decline [in the Middle East] is not solely due to Israel’s presence in the land since 1948,” Rothberg said. “[It] is due to instability in the area. It’s due to economic hardship. … In fact, the Christian population inside Israel has grown since Israel came back into the land in 1948.”
According to data on Jewish News Syndicate, the Christian population in Israel has grown slightly in recent years, reaching roughly 180,000 to 185,000 people (around 1.8 to 1.9 percent of the population.)
Most Christians in Israel are Arab Christians who are Israeli citizens, comprising roughly 75 to 80 percent of the Christian population. Although the Christian population has increased modestly in absolute numbers, Christians make up a small and relatively stable minority of Israel’s population.
In contrast, Christian populations across much of the broader Middle East have declined in recent decades due to factors such as war, economic instability, and religious persecution by extremist groups. 2020 statistics indicate the Middle Eastern Christian population diminished to 4.2 percent, with an estimated decline to 3.6 percent projected by 2050.
Not settlers, but rightful inhabitants
Rothberg explained how he does not view Israeli settlers as people in a foreign land. Rather, he believes they can inhabit the land under the Law of Return, a law passed by the Knesset, Israel’s house of representatives, in 1950. The law grants every Jew the right to return to Israel and is based on scriptural interpretations of Jewish repatriation.
“The term ‘settler’ is a little objectionable to me because it implies temporariness, intransigence … as someone who doesn’t belong there, [like] we’ve just settled on another’s land,” Rothberg said.
He approaches the movement from a biblical perspective, beginning with the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:18; 17:7–8). In his online blog, Rothberg describes this covenant as unconditional and everlasting.
“From a biblical perspective, God gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, they are not settlers or occupiers there. They are people [being] brought back to the land,” he said.
“So, the land right, if you want to call it a ‘right,’ is given by divine sovereignty,” he continued.
He acknowledged how this occupation results in the displacement of native populations: “When you say: ‘Wait a second. There have been people in the land already,’ … that is a big [issue.] Anyone who has a heart can’t move too quickly over that,” he continued.
Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank are referred to as “Living Stones,” representing the oldest continuous Christian population in the region, with roots tracing back 2,000 years to Pentecost.
“Archaeology proves the Jewish presence in the land way before [1948],” Rothberg said. He cited the Sifting Project, an effort to excavate the remains of the first and second temples.
“Since starting this, they have found half a million artifacts dating back to the Second Temple Period. … So, this idea of coming into a land that is not yours is not only disputed by the Bible, but by almost daily archaeological finds,” Rothberg asserted.
Acknowledging the violence
According to data provided by the Israeli Defense Force, the number of attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank rose by 27 percent in 2025. Officials at the IDF’s Central Command said they felt a sense of failure for their inability to mitigate the increasing violence.
“I do want to validate the very burdensome and oppressive circumstances under which many Palestinians live. I do not want to deny that and act like it’s unimportant for us,” Rothberg said.
Despite these instances of persecution, Rothberg doubts whether they are linked to systematic Israeli government interference: “There’s sporadic persecution of Christians by extremists, for sure, but this is definitely not government-supported policy,” he said.
“In Israel, there’s a church on every corner. … You can construct an eight-foot-high cross. Individuals may harass you, but the government will protect your freedom of religion,” he continued.
Though Israel is considered a Jewish state, the Knesset and Israel’s Declaration of Independence ensure the free practice of religion for all, regardless of religious affiliation.
According to the 2023 International Religious Freedom Report, Israel’s basic laws form a constitutional framework recognizing Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Baha’i Faith, and the Druze religion.
The Institute on Religion and Public Policy notes how political unrest in the region has resulted in the distrust of those who do not follow Jewish Orthodoxy and the government sponsored preference of Orthodoxy. The Israeli Supreme Court is addressing these issues.
One such example is the 2024 reversal of the Haredi exemption, which prevented ultra-Orthodox men from being drafted into the military.
Dehumanizing checkpoints
Military checkpoints and barriers erected by the Israeli Defense Force have been a major source of contention. The checkpoints exist to control the movement of Palestinian people and goods within the occupied West Bank.
Rothberg views these checkpoints as dehumanizing and degrading. “They put enormous pressure on the Palestinian people,” he said.
Despite this pressure, Rothberg is unsure of an alternative: “Tell me what the alternative is,” he said.
The wall, also called the West Bank Barrier or Separation Barrier, began construction in 2002 in response to suicide bombings and security concerns during the Second Intifada.
“Since it went up, terrorist attacks on Israeli children and innocent civilians have gone down. Doesn’t the government have a responsibility?” Rothberg said.
“Even though these security measures make life for Palestinians oppressive and burdensome, they’re necessitated in order to protect the citizenry from terrorism,” he said.
The bottom line
Rothberg acknowledged there are things in the Old Testament God commanded related to how the Israelites were to treat the inhabitants of Canaan “that don’t make a lot of sense to me. And I think one part of what he proclaimed is that [the] land belongs to Israel,” he continued.
“I don’t have the answers,” Rothberg said. “I don’t think there is a solution until Jesus returns.”
“As a Christian, I would commiserate with hurting Palestinians. I would pray with and for them, I would try to help and provide for them, and I would sympathize with them. I wouldn’t propose to have a solution, but I would want to open my hand and heart and offer Jesus. That’s the best I could do as a Christian,” he continued.
“As Christians, we cannot be a primarily political people, and we cannot show favoritism to one people group. As a Jew going to Israel, I don’t show favoritism to Jews in the land. [I] visit with and minister to all kinds of people groups. … We are not political. I am not going to be pro-Israel to the extent of being anti-Palestinian.”
Baptist Standard spent several weeks seeking comment from Messianic Jews living in Israel and along or in the West Bank. No responses were received from those efforts.