American Christians at Odds Over Support for Israel After Errant Shrapnel Hits Catholic Church at Gaza City

Errant shrapnel from an Israeli military strike at Gaza City that hit a Catholic church last week has renewed a fractious debate among Christians over their support for Israel in its war with Hamas, drawing in a wide range of voices from a Protestant editor at a popular satirical website to Pope Leo XIV himself.The accidental strike on Holy Parish Family at Gaza City resulted in three deaths and several injuries, including to the parish’s priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who suffered a leg injury. President Trump expressed his dismay after the incident to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who immediately phoned the Vatican to express remorse and send condolences to the families of those killed in the attack. The Israeli Defense Forces reported shortly after the bombing that fragments from a shell fired at Hamas terrorists mistakenly hit the church. A spokesman said the forces would conduct a more extensive investigation to identify the cause of the error.“The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them,” the IDF wrote following the incident. Nonetheless, the strike drew significant reproach among Catholics who called it a targeted hit on a minority religion caught in the crossfire of a larger conflagration. The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem issued a statement saying that “the time has come” to do whatever is necessary “to stop this tragedy, which is humanly and morally unjustified.”“This horrific war must come to a complete end — so that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity,” the head of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who attended Mass at the Gaza City church on Sunday, said.On Sunday, Pope Leo also called for an end to the ongoing conflict, listing the names of the casualties during his Mass at the Vatican.“Sadly, this act adds to the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza. I again call for an immediate halt to the barbarism of the war and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” the pope said without mentioning Israel by name, earning some rebuke for being vague.With nearly 200,000 Christians living in Israel, the plurality being Catholic, an estimated between 500 and 1,000 Catholics live at Gaza City, where the sole Catholic church in the region is situated. Thursday’s was Israel’s second accidental strike on the church, which has operated since the 1960s, since the war began in October 2023. While services proceeded at the parish on Sunday, the incident revived internecine arguments among Christians over support for Israel. On Saturday, the Babylon Bee’s managing editor, Joel W. Berry, a long-time commentator on Christian theology and supporter of Israel, triggered voluminous reaction when he tweeted that Catholics in Gaza are only alive because they back Hamas.“This won’t be easy for people to hear, but there are only about 200 professed Catholics still living in Gaza and they all support Hamas,” Mr. Berry said in an X post on Saturday, arguing that Christianity can only exist underground in Gaza. “Anyone allowed by Hamas to practice openly is allowed to do so only because they aid and support the terror regime,” he wrote, stirring up a swarm of criticism among critics. Mr. Berry doubled down on Sunday, arguing that the church has not admonished Muslim countries attacking Arab Christians, only Israel. “Anyone who supports Hamas and the extermination of the Jewish people is not a Christian, no matter what they profess, or where they go to church,” he said.Even with sustained support, however, Israel does not get a free pass from Protestants. Over the weekend, Mr. Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, an evangelical who has led tours of Christian groups through the Holy Land, expressed his frustration with Israeli security after Jewish settlers targeted Christians in the West Bank and vandalized a church in the town of Taybeh.“I work for ALL American citizens who live in Israel-Jewish, Muslim or Christian. When they are terrorized or victims of crime I will demand those responsible be held accountable w/ real consequences,” Mr. Huckabee said in a post. As Israel defends Christian and Druze minorities in Syria, opposition to the Jewish state may come down to religious perspective over whether war is a necessary evil, or it may just be age-old hatred.“Most Catholics are not outraged over what Joel Berry said, even if they disagree with him,” a social commentator and Catholic, Frank McCormick, said on X. “This is an orchestrated attempt to cancel him because he’s been a strong proponent of Israel and has openly criticized antisemites on this platform.”

American Christians at Odds Over Support for Israel After Errant Shrapnel Hits Catholic Church at Gaza City

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