Dia-Logos Podcast - Ep 21 - Israel’s Election and the Forgotten Christian Voice

This is interesting, Stefan.

But when our listeners hear us talk about Israel, they're thinking, ah, Jewish.

But what does the map really actually look like?

Yes, let's unpack this one a bit, Brad.

So think about it this way.

Out of a population of just over 10 million people, roughly three quarters are Jewish.

About a fifth of the country is Arab, and most of those citizens are Muslim.

Christians make up just 2% of the population, and then the Jews community is even smaller.

A former president once described Israel as four tribes, secular, national religious, ultra-orthodox, and Arab.

That is why coalitions are hard and why this election is really several arguments happening at once.

Christians sit mostly within the fourth tribe, Arab, but Christian, a minority inside a minority.

Yeah, this is fascinating.

If I think about last week's episode of the Dear Logos podcast, and our listeners can go listen back to that, this is a very interesting thought, this idea of Arab Christians, because then we get confused because now, Stefan, you're also saying Jewish and Israel, but are Jewish and Israel the same?

Bread, no.

And it is one of the most useful distinctions for a foreign listener or to our listeners.

Israeli is what is on your passport, citizenship.

And about one fifth Israeli citizens are not Jewish.

Arab Muslims, Christians, Druze.

They hold the same passport and vote in the same election.

Jewish is more complicated.

It is a religion, a people, and a nationality all at once.

A secular Israeli may never enter a synagogue and still say, without hesitation, I am Jewish.

It is woven into the language, the history, the calendars, and the army.

So when someone says Israel is a Jewish state, a secular Tel Aviv professional, for instance, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, and an Arab Christian in Nazareth hear three different things.

And then since 2018, a basic law, Israel's equivalent of constitutional provision has defined Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.