Athens reaches out to Syria via Greek Orthodox community
Author: Sean Matthews
Publication Date: 20/10/2020
Source: Al Monitor
The appointment this spring of Greece’s former Syrian ambassador as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' new special envoy for Syria is being viewed as a sign of Greece’s renewed geopolitical interest in its southern neighborhood and of its desire to establish a greater role in a country to which it has deep historic ties.
How U.S. hawks’ fixation on Iran endangers Middle East Christians
Author: Elda Mamedov
Publication Date: 31/10/2020
Source: Eurasianet
As fierce fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues into a second month, neoconservatives in Washington are pushing the United States to side with Azerbaijan. Their rationale – involving Iran and Israel, as so many of Washington’s priorities in the Middle East do – is facile, naïve and dangerous to the region’s minorities.
Court in Iran Denies Christians Custody of Adopted Daughter
Publication Date: 1/10/2020
Source: Morning Star News
A appeals court in Iran last week denied a Christian couple custody of their adopted daughter after they faced criminal charges for their faith.
Sam Khosravi and Maryam Falahi, converts from Islam, had adopted 3-month-old Lydia from an orphanage in February 2019. Before a welfare organization finalized the adoption, government security agents arrested them in July 2019 in a raid of their home in Bushehr in southwest Iran.
200 displaced Iraq Christian families return to Nineveh
Publication Date: 13/11/2020
Source: Middle East Monitor
As many as 200 displaced Iraqi Christian families have returned from the Iraqi Kurdistan region to their areas of origin in the Nineveh governorate, an Iraqi official has confirmed.
Iraqi priest doubles down on Christianity’s survival in the Middle East
Author: Inés San Martín
Publication Date: 9/11/2020
Source: Crux Now
Ever since the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), there’s been rising alarm regarding the future for Christians in the Middle East. A Catholic priest who recently returned to his village in northern Iraq after six years in Rome described what he found as “shocking,” but doubled down on the need for Christians to survive.
COVID-19: St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai reaches out to over 6,000 workers
Publication Date: 19/11/2020
Source: Gulf News
The St Mary’s Catholic Church has reached out to over 6,000 underprivileged workers and families with meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The little town of Bethlehem is slowly getting smaller because of expanding Israeli settlements.
Author: Judith Sudilovsky
Publication Date: 15/10/2020
Source: America Media
At the tail end of the summer harvest season, Palestinian farmer Nakleh Abu Eid, 80, walked through what remained of his fruit orchard in the Al Makhrour area of the largely Christian village of Beit Jalla, filling a basket with figs and green grapes.
Abbas discusses occupied territories situation with Pope Francis
Publication Date: 24/10/2020
Source: Middle East Monitor
In a phone call on Friday with Pope Francis, Palestinian Authority (PA), Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his commitment to peace and his readiness to resume talks with Israel, Wafa News Agency reported.
Lebanese Christian cleric to Hariri: avoid 'secret deals' in forming cabinet
Publication Date: 25/10/2020
Source: Reuters
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric urged Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Sunday to avoid back-door deals and to quickly form a new government that will start lifting the country out of financial crisis.
‘We Must Defeat All Conspiracies’: Archbishop Atallah Hanna Condemns French Targeting of Islam, Muslims
Publication Date: 28/10/2020
Source: Palestine Chronicle
Palestinian Archbishop Atallah Hanna condemned the targeting of Muslims in France and around the world through degrading paintings and cartoons.
