Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church: There are more than 160,000 Christians in Israel, some 2 per cent of the countrys population. Of these, 80 per cent are Arabs and the rest primarily immigrants from the former Soviet Union who, though having met the criteria for Jewish status that entitled them to settle there, are members of the Russian Orthodox Church, according to The Star. Canadians may look askance at his decision. Though only about 1 per cent of Canadas population is Jewish, Hanukkah lights are prominently displayed in many public places. But then Canada has a less complex history of Christian-Jewish relations and Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is only a few miles from Jerusalem. This year Bethlehem has again been in the centre of Christmas celebrations attracting pilgrims from all over the world. But its also far from Jerusalem where there was little of whats normally associated with Christmas. Secular Tel Aviv had more but, alas, only in the commercial not the religious sense. But when a Christian member of the current Knesset, Israels parliament one of 12 Muslim and Christian Arabs who sit there , proposed that a Christmas tree be placed on the site, the speaker refused, arguing that in view of the history of Christian persecution of Jews the symbol has negative connotations here. But family dynamics may have also played a part, for though the speaker himself is an observant Jew, his father is a prominent Orthodox priest in Russia. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.