When the Cross is Spat On
Nation First speaks the truth about Israel’s persecution of Christians.
Dear friend,
I have long stayed silent on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in public discourse—not because I lack conviction, but because I have always loathed the way tribal and religious wars from the Middle East have spilled onto Australian streets and into our politics (and into the politics of other Western nations). But silence can be mistaken for consent. And the truth—especially when it concerns our Christian brothers and sisters—must be spoken, even if it costs me readers, and followers.
Israel is persecuting Christians through targeted bombings, shootings, and desecration of holy sites, with clear complicity from its authorities.
On Palm Sunday 2025, Israel bombed Gaza’s only Christian hospital, killing civilians and destroying vital medical infrastructure without evidence for its military claims.
Multiple Christian churches have been attacked or destroyed, with priests, nuns, and worshippers assaulted or killed, including inside active church compounds.
Inside Israel, Christians face daily abuse, with assaults, spitting, and anti-Christian graffiti becoming widespread and tolerated by state officials.
Christians must stop blindly supporting Israel and start defending fellow believers, because silence in the face of injustice is betrayal.
What Israel has done, and is doing, to Palestinian Christians and Christians within its own borders is beyond dispute for those who are willing to look. The systematic targeting, harassment, and in many cases, killing of Christians and desecration of their holy sites under the watch of Israeli authorities—and increasingly, with their active complicity—is a crisis Western Christians can no longer afford to ignore.
On Palm Sunday just gone, Israel bombed the al-Ahli Arab Hospital—the only Christian hospital in Gaza. Run by the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the hospital had become Gaza’s last fully functioning medical centre. Israel claimed it was being used as a Hamas “command and control centre.” No credible evidence has been provided to support this claim.
A child died during the rushed evacuation as a result of the bombing. Nearby St Philip’s Church was also damaged. The bombing destroyed the hospital’s surgical unit and oxygen generation facility. And all this on the holiest Sunday before Easter.
This is not an isolated incident. The same hospital was struck by an Israeli missile in October 2023. While Israeli authorities initially denied involvement, the Episcopal Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum—a Godly man whom I have met and worshipped with—confirmed that Israeli officials had warned the hospital to evacuate in the days prior—effectively acknowledging responsibility. Church leaders made clear that evacuation was impossible, as those sheltering there had nowhere safe to go. The hospital was a sanctuary for thousands and the October 2023 strike actually hit a courtyard where children had been singing for peace just hours earlier.
Also, in October 2023, Israeli airstrikes obliterated the St Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church, killing 17 Christians—many of them children—who had sought sanctuary. In December of the same year, Israeli snipers killed Nahida and Samar Anton, a mother and daughter, at the Holy Family Catholic Church. They were walking between buildings inside the church compound when they were shot. Seven others were wounded trying to protect them. There was no firefight, no excuse. No warning was issued. They were murdered in cold blood.
The Vatican, the Orthodox Patriarchate, and even United Nations observers have raised the alarm: Israel has destroyed or severely damaged at least five Christian institutions in Gaza in the past year alone, including schools, hospitals, monasteries, and churches. Even the convent of the Missionaries of Charity, housing 54 disabled people, was bombed. Life-saving equipment was destroyed. Those residents are now displaced and without respirators. This violence is not merely collateral. It is targeted, systematic, and relentless.
It is not only in Gaza or the West Bank where Christians suffer. Within Israel proper, Christians are spat at, cursed, assaulted, and harassed—daily. I saw this myself, on two pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Our groups were spat on and verbally abused for carrying crucifixes. One incident nearly turned into a riot when Serbian Orthodox pilgrims stood their ground.
These experiences are backed by hard data. The Rossing Center’s 2024 report documented 111 anti-Christian incidents in Israel—up from 89 the year before. Attacks included assaults on clergy, desecration of cemeteries, and physical intimidation of nuns and priests.
The Times of Israel—not exactly a hostile outlet to the Israeli state—confirmed that almost half of Christian youth in Israel now want to leave the country due to this increasing hostility. Church leaders—including Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Bishop William Shomali—have warned that senior Israeli political leaders have created a permissive environment where Jewish religious extremists feel free to harass Christians with impunity.
Graffiti reading “Death to Christians” now appears in Jerusalem. Armenian priests have been attacked. Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in Christendom, has seen Christian access restricted by authorities and pilgrims manhandled by Israeli police. I also witnessed this firsthand during one of my pilgrimages.
This Christian persecution didn’t start in 2023. It didn’t start with Gaza. It started in 1948, with the Eilabun Massacre, where 12 young Christian men were executed by the Israeli military. Their families were forced into exile. They were allowed back only after Vatican intervention. A memorial to the victims was later vandalised and practically effaced. History has a pattern. And the pattern is this: Christian presence in Israel is tolerated in theory—but is under assault in practice.
Let me be clear: I am no apologist for Hamas. I never have been, and never will be. Hamas is a terrorist outfit—its ideology is violent, Islamist, and incompatible with any civilised society. I condemn its attacks on Israeli civilians uncategorically.
And I am not new to the fight against Islamism. I have spent years warning about the dangers of radical Islam—publicly. I’ve spoken out about sharia law, child marriage, female genital mutilation, so-called “honour killings,” the burqa and niqab in public spaces, and the Islamist subversion of liberal democratic societies. And I have been attacked relentlessly for doing so—by media commentators, activist academics, and Islamic lobby groups.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Australia should not accept migrants from countries where Islamic terrorism and radicalisation are endemic. That includes much of the Middle East and Islamic Africa. This should go for most Western nations. We are importing conflict, not resolving it. And we see the consequences play out on our streets.
So no, you can’t accuse me of being soft on radical Islam. But this isn’t about that. This is about Christian persecution—by a state that many Christians blindly support, without knowing the cost being paid by their own brothers and sisters.
The claim that “Hamas hides behind civilians” has become a catch-all excuse for indiscriminate bombing. But let’s use a simple analogy. If a police officer knowingly shoots and kills a civilian hostage in order to neutralise a bank robber, the officer would be jailed for homicide. And rightly so. Why is Israel, with all its military technology, held to a lower standard than a suburban cop?
Israel is being accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for good reason. The numbers are staggering: Over 35,000 Palestinians dead, many of them women and children. At least 3% of Gaza’s Christian population has been wiped out. Churches flattened. Hospitals levelled. Families erased. You don’t need to support Hamas—or even Palestine—to be horrified by that.
When you see a father sobbing over the broken body of his child—Muslim or Christian—it should break your heart. That is what should stir the soul of every follower of Jesus Christ.
And to those who defend Israel “right or wrong,” based on some confused interpretation of biblical prophecy—remember: the modern state of Israel is not the biblical kingdom of David. It does not operate on divine mandate. It is a secular nation-state, and it can, and does, commit evil acts.
Christianity does not call us to worship nations. It calls us to stand with the persecuted.
Our people—our Christian brothers and sisters—are being spat on, shot, displaced, and bombed. That should matter more to us than any flag.
I know this article may cost me. I know some readers may walk away. But truth is truth. We cannot remain silent as Christian lives and Christian witness in the Holy Land are snuffed out before our eyes.
It’s time to stop just praying for peace—and start demanding justice. Because without justice, peace will never come.
Until next time, God bless you, your family and nation.
Take care,
George Christensen
P.S. If you disagree with my take, please don’t leave Nation First. State your opinion. I appreciate free speech, including those who disagree with my take on this and other matters.
George Christensen is a former Australian politician, a Christian, freedom lover, conservative, blogger, podcaster, journalist and theologian. He has been feted by the Epoch Times as a “champion of human rights” and his writings have been praised by Infowars’ Alex Jones as “excellent and informative”.
George believes Nation First will be an essential part of the ongoing fight for freedom:
“The time is now for every proud patriot to step to the fore and fight for our freedom, sovereignty and way of life. Information is a key tool in any battle and the Nation First newsletter will be a valuable tool in the battle for the future of the West.”
— George Christensen.
Find more about George at his www.georgechristensen.com.au website.
Thank you so much for this George. As an Australian of Middle Eastern Christian descent, it always astounded me how so-called Christians tolerate and cheer on the Israelis when they massacre their fellow Christians. No matter how much evidence you display, they will still blindly support Israel. Thank you for being the first Australian White Christian to call a spade a spade, knowing full well it could cost you. But those who turn from you are the CNN/Fox News types anyway. Thank you a million times. I wish our politicians had the same courage as you but we know who they swear allegiance to (and it isn't Australia).
George,
I use to be a paid subscriber to your channel. I cancelled because I couldn't afford your subscription. I will now find the money to pay for your subscription again because of this article. I appreciate your courage in calling out the Zionist plague upon the world stage. I have never equated Judaism with Zionism. They are not the same. One is a religion ,the other,Zionism, is a manifestation of the worst kind of evil. It is on the same level as the Ku Klux Klan or any other racist movement. It is bigoted to the core. No self respecting Jew would slaughter women and children. No Christian would be or could be complicit in that slaughter. Zionism is not Judaism. Thanks again for this informative article. God bless you.
Bayne Bacon, Pomona Queensland