JERUSALEM – Catholic soldiers were among three dozen young Israeli servicemen and women invited to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, April 26. The meeting was a rare opportunity for Christians serving in the Israeli military to share their views and experiences with an Israeli government leader.
“I am here in the Prime Minister’s Office with an extraordinary group of young men and women. These are Christian soldiers, men and women in the Israel Defense Forces,” Netanyahu said in a video. “They fill all the important positions in our incredible Army, and they do incredible work.”
Of the approximately 185,000 Christians with Israeli citizenship, up to 1,000 serve in the IDF. While some are drafted, most work as volunteers.
The meeting was scheduled at a time when Israel faces growing criticism over the country’s treatment of Christians in both Israel and southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah. On April 19, an IDF soldier destroyed a statue of Jesus in the village of Debel in southern Lebanon. The same week, a video showed an IDF vehicle destroying a large solar energy panel near the same Lebanese Christian village.
According to the Religious Freedom Data Center, an Israeli non-governmental organization that tracks these incidents, 180 anti-Christian incidents were also recorded in Israel in 2025 – ranging from spitting on Christian pastors to damaging church property.
Unlike other Middle Eastern countries, Israeli law grants full rights to its small Christian community. But in recent years there has been an increase in Christian emigration from both Israel and Palestine due to wars, financial instability, and anti-Christian acts by both Jews and Muslims.
appointment of special envoy
Reflecting the growing crisis between Israel and Christians around the world, on April 23 the government appointed diplomat George Deak, an Orthodox Christian, as special envoy to the Christian world. Deak previously served as Israel’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
In a statement announcing Deak’s appointment, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Israel “greatly values its relations with the Christian world and its Christian friends around the world. I am confident that George, a respected and experienced diplomat, will contribute greatly to strengthening the friendship and relations between the State of Israel and the Christian world.”
During Sunday’s meeting with troops, Netanyahu said that “Israel fights for the rights of Christians in the Middle East” and that “Israel has Christian soldiers who fight to protect Israel and our Christian brothers, throughout the region, throughout the region and beyond.”
Netanyahu said he was “impressed” by the soldiers’ personal stories, “their commitment, their sacrifices, their achievements.”
Juergen Buehler, head of the Evangelical International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, said it was gratifying to be invited to the meeting, where 17 evangelical Christian soldiers and about 20 Arab Christian soldiers spoke at length with the prime minister.
Buehler said, “It was an extraordinary meeting, which lasted at least an hour and a half. First of all, the Prime Minister went and greeted each soldier individually. It was a very open discussion.”
When given the opportunity to share some of the challenges of being a Christian IDF soldier, “An Arab Christian soldier told Netanyahu that he doesn’t face any challenges in the IDF because he’s a Christian, but when we go home, it’s a different reality,” Buehler said.
Buehler said the gathering was especially important after a series of incidents in southern Lebanon.
“One purpose of the meeting was to signal to the government that Christian soldiers are appreciated. Christians here are a minority within a minority, so it provided a unique window for the government to see why we serve. We are Zionists, but there are some issues when you are a minority.”
Buehler said the soldiers told Netanyahu the government should work harder to raise the profile of Israel’s small Christian population.
Buehler said, “Israel needs to make sure that the next generation of Israelis are taught that Christians are part of the State of Israel and that there are many Christians around the world who stand with Israel.”
Shadi Khalloul, a Maronite Christian from northern Israel, agreed.
“Israel needs to normalize that there is a place for Christians in this country, and it needs to stop Jewish and Muslim extremists. These extremists like we saw in southern Lebanon do not represent Israelis, the IDF, or the Jewish spirit,” said Khalloul, an IDF veteran.
