Assyrians in Israel (; ) are Assyrians living in

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, totaling approximately 1,000 individuals.

History

The Assyrian presence in the Israel mainly originated from those who fled the Assyrian genocide from Tur Abdin in 1915. Many found refuge in what was known as the "Syriac Quarter" in Bethlehem and the since destroyed "Syriac Quarter" in the Old City of Jerusalem, squeezed between the Armenian Quarter and the Jewish Quarter at the Old City’s southern end. It is estimated that 65% of Syriacs who inhabited the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

at the beginning of 1967 left the region (mostly Jerusalem and Bethlehem) in the following years.

Religion

Assyrians are predominantly

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

of the East and West Syriac Rite. The majority of Assyrians in Israel are adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church, while a smaller community of Catholic Assyrians also exists.

Orthodox Assyrians

Syriac Orthodox Church

The Syriac Orthodox Church is the largest Assyrian church in Israel, covered by the Archbishopric of Israel, Palestine and Jordan under the spiritual guidance and direction of Archbishop Gabriel Dahho. The most notable monastery in Israel is the Monastery of Saint Mark in Jerusalem. The Syriac Orthodox Church also has sharing rights to the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

and minor rights to the Tomb of the Virgin Mary where they possess an altar on the western side of the holy site.

Catholic Assyrians

Syriac Catholic Church

The Syriac Catholic Church has a Patriarchal Exarchate formed in 1892 and is based out of the Church of Saint Thomas in Jerusalem. As of 2015, there are 3 parishes in Israel with an estimated 3,000 adherents.

Chaldean Catholic Church

Since 1903, the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

has been represented in Jerusalem by a non-resident patriarchal vicar. In 1997, the Chaldean Catholic Church established the Territory Dependent on the Patriarch which was previously governed as the Patriarchal Vicariate of Jerusalem within the Patriarch's own archeparchy.

References

External links

Jewish Virtual Library - Christian Communities in IsraelIsraeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs site on Christian communitiesInvisible Christians of the Holy Land
{{Demographics of Israel * Ethnic groups in Israel Ethnoreligious groups in Israel West Asian diaspora in Israel