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The Psapling

by Pocholo Tolentino

As Red Wednesday comes upon us, it behooves one to consider the plight of the faithful under oppression which seeks to see their peace and compassion as sites of violent repression and erasure.  As Filipino Christians, we must live the truth that the grace and compassion of God goes beyond borders and finds our siblings everywhere, and that Christ’s light is always among the persecuted and the unjust corners of the world. And nowhere is this more (in)visible than the erasure of Palestinian Christians.

When people think of Palestine and its people, we are quick to assume the majority Arab Muslim population. But this racialized oversimplification overlooks the facts. In the West Bank, Christians of numerous denominations make up some 1-2% of the population while about 1,000 remain in Gaza (as thousands left after Hamas assumed control of the strip).

Small in number, but these are the people who are among the earliest Christian communities. And today, these are the people who remain in their home and holy land amid centuries of foreign control.

Palestine carries a history of diversity, of many ethnic groups and religions living in general harmony. An 1878 Ottoman census counted about 403,795 Muslims, about 43,659 Christians, and 25,001 Jews (both foreign-born and local-born). While this census is likely to be an undercount, as the people had a political interest to not be entirely counted by its then rulers, it more than proves the diversity which Palestine always had. Yet they’ve been displaced, as occupation and colonization violently scattered the natives from their own homes. Now, approximately half of Palestinian diaspora are actually Christians.

We cannot be swayed so easily by the propaganda of colonial rule and imperialist expansion that the people of Palestine were ever a simple monolith, rather than the diverse population they are—as with any and all indigenous peoples of the world. And to abide by the Christian ethic is to not compromise our value for any human soul—Christian, Muslim, Jew, or otherwise.

Yet, heads of state such as US President Donald Trump rallies under the banner that Christianity, the religion which has an approximate recording of 69% of the USA’s population (more than two-thirds), is being persecuted. This agenda only seeks to draw out a sense of victimhood among a massive voter base in order to feel threatened and under fear, creating conditions which frame him as the savior of Christians. This tactic should not be unfamiliar to many of us, to weaponize religion. While useful for fascistic power grabs, their agenda becomes clear when the Trump administration labels attacks from an attack which killed two people in a church, and the US President leapt to speak of military intervention, saying that the US “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.” 

This is relevant because it is this weaponization of religion which we must avoid as we approach any who speak of persecution. Because it is true that Nigeria experienced a terrible attack, but the nation of more than 230 million which has a population with a nearly even split of Muslims and Christians (35-45% Christians and 50-55% Muslims) carries a more nuanced phenomenon occurring here. Both of these major religious groups experience terror attacks, Islamic extremists or otherwise. And this, we must mourn, pray, and address. We cannot allow such violence to perpetuate against Christians and against Muslims for peace to prevail. But to use such tragedies as an opportunity to warmonger is to dehumanize even the Christians as mere tools for political gain, ironically tarnishing the value of Christianity. Meanwhile, Palestinian Christians are erased for the benefit of colonial destruction, becoming the vague “Arab Muslim” who have less value and are therefore permissible to death—because they are non-Christian. 

The onus is on us now to recognize persecution and oppression, where Christianity becomes a useful label for those who we must help, and the Muslims we must hate. Can we allow that to be how we define our faith? This begins by knowing at least a few names as we look through certain moments and figures in time, not because Christians are our priority, but because it can only benefit the colonizers to forget every Palestinian, majority or minority.

As Catholics, we are reminded of the Palestinian Saints, such as Saint Mariam Baouardy and Saint Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, who, after being beatified for decades, became canonized under Pope Francis. How often do we pray with their intercession, or know to even speak their names.

We remember Palestinian Christian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh of Al Jazeera, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2022 in a refugee camp while wearing a blue press vest during coverage of a raid in a refugee camp. An icon of journalism in the occupied territories of Palestine for her bravery. And do we know the name of Issa Daoud al Issa, whose family of Palestinian Christians had given him the strength to write of resistance under the publication Falastin, which he founded and wrote under. Being a journalist of the prominently known publication from 1911 and onward, his family and his work saw continuous attacks and censorship under both Ottoman and British rule.

Throughout the last 18 months of the late Pope Francis’s life during the ongoing crisis in Gaza, he made it a duty to speak with the parishioners of Gaza daily. In the few hundred Catholics that remain stuck within the besieged Gaza Strip, they found hope in being remembered not only by the Vatican’s patriarch. And yet, many remain silent and unaware.

Similarly, there are places like the Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, which was known as Ephraim within the history of the New Testament, where Jesus was said to have stayed after he raised Lazarus from the dead. It remains one of the few fully Christian communities in the holy land, and yet in early July of 2025, Israeli settlers set fire near the historic St. George’s Church and the cemetery. Such attacks are not uncommon in the West Bank, and yet never heard of in the mainstream, much less in the Filipino Christian’s consciousness. Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip sees air strikes against its churches such as the Holy Family Church, martyring three Christians. Attacks such as these are against international law, protecting places of worship, and as such constitutes a war crime.

All of this only scratches the surface, as it primarily serves as a reminder of what we cannot continue to ignore as what is now officially recognized by not just the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, but also 86% of the 500 worldwide members of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and B’Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) all report that the actions of the Israeli government constitute a genocide. From this, we are forced as conscientious human beings to face the unjust reality for so many of our siblings—as humanity and under God—and ask if we are willing to do something about it.

The apartheid regime under Zionism of the Israeli government fundamentally perpetuates the colonial lie that they—the colonizers—are surrounded by a monolithic people, a vague “Arabs” who all inexplicably hate them and must be eradicated, rather than the full diversity of the indigenous Palestinians who seek liberation.

In so doing, they erase Palestinian Christians from the picture, as they are attacked and displaced. Dehumanized for political gain.

Yet, wherever Palestinians go, they grow seeds of hope, whether it’s in their homeland or as diaspora, as martyrs, or in life. It is an honor to be able to write about them at all as they continue the struggle to be seen not only as Christians and not only as Palestinians, but as Palestinian Christians. From the latest figures, we see that from October 7th of 2023 and November 20th of 2025, at least 69,546 Palestinians have been killed—an undercount with thousands still under rubble. For every moment that this genocide continues, Muslims, Christians, Palestinians—human beings—are being turned into mere statistics. There, we see the persecution and silencing of people—when we can’t even name them.

^{Pocholo Tolentino is the Associate Editor for Internal Affairs of The Access Point and writes opinions under the column “The Psapling”.
The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of the publication.}