Who protects the Christians?
Immediately following the Iran ceasefire agreement of April 7-8, 2026, Israel stepped up its massive bombing campaign in Beirut. In addition to millions of Lebanese being displaced, Lebanese Christians continued to be killed in indiscriminate bombings that have been described as “a new massacre.”
For years, Christian Palestinians have continued to have their lands expropriated and face torture or murder along with their Muslim cousins. Syria’s Assad was long considered to be a protector of his Christian communities, as was even Saddam in Iraq, whose well known foreign minister, Tarak Aziz, was a Chaldean Christian.
Few today seem to understand that the beating heart of Christendom was located in the Middle East and that the U.S.-Israeli partnership has contributed massively to its extinction. This partnership continues to do so today, since Iran safeguards its Christian communities and has proven a valuable friend to its tiny neighboring Armenia, the first Christian nation in the world. That small nation has endured millennia of trials to its faithful and is once again threatened by Turkic neighbors with a history of brutal massacres. These are, of course, Turkey, but also Israel’s friend, Azerbaijan. The latter was supported in recently dismembering the ancient lands of Armenia and now threatens further disruptions by linking itself with Turkey in a corridor through Armenia, separating it from Iran, in a project fully supported by the U.S.
Understanding the history of this region should precede going into wars that devastate its populations. When U.S. president Woodrow Wilson wanted to weigh in on what should become of the then collapsing Ottoman Empire, he commissioned an investigation to travel to the region, the Harbord Commission. They were to determine what nation states should emerge based on historical and demographic analysis. The conclusion presented by General Harbord was three nationalities long submerged under the Ottoman yoke that were deserving of their own independent nations: the Palestinians, Kurds and Armenians. (Of course Iran, with its diverse minorities, was never part of the Ottoman Empire and did not participate in the World War.)
So, how does one connect the history which seems so misunderstood today in the U.S.? I suggest two books: From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple and Persona Non Grata by Avery Mann.
The Evangelical Christian leadership in the U.S. seems wholly ignorant of the debt all “modern” Christians owe to those who established the religion and kept it alive under the greatest adversity the world could muster against them. Those still carrying on deserve protection. Middle East Christians don’t seek Armageddon; they seek escape from it.
I for one, in the USA, honor the Christians in the Middle East. Thank you for shedding light in the truth. Not all Americans support the genocide being inflicted by Israel.
Unfortunately, many American Evangelical Protestant groups and individuals, especially those who support Israel for messianic prophecies, have been callously indifferent to the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, such as Palestinian Christians, Lebanese Christians, Armenian Christians, etc. This indifference stems not only from their pro-Israel bias mixed with their messianic beliefs, but also from the fact that the vast majority of Middle Eastern Christians are not Protestant, “European” or “Western”, and they view Palestinian, Lebanese and Armenian Christians as hostile to Israel and in conflict with their messianic prophecies.
In a broader historical context, I see the creation of the American University of Beirut (AUB) , founded by Protestants but now more secular, as a very positive use of what is now termed “soft power”. I have heard the President of AUB make the legitimate claim that AUB was the sole institution in Beirut that allowed the multiple factions (ethnic and religious) to come together under one umbrella. It also served to educate its educators on the true complexity of the Middle East. That included an understanding of the plight of the Christian minorities. The scenario for the American University of Armenia is not identical but also a positive example of the intelligent use of “soft power”.