Orthodox Christians for Palestine: An Interview with Joseph Galiano

What is the current situation of Christians in Gaza?

As of September 2025, the Israeli military has told all citizens of Gaza City to evacuate, which includes the parishioners of St. Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church. To further the ignominy, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said that "Gaza City... will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun," referring to two cities that were previously destroyed in an Israeli military campaign. This, of course, directly impacts the parishioners at St. Porphyrios, which is the third oldest church in the world, as well as the civilians of all faiths (elderly, women, children) who have been sheltering in the church since the start of the war.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, and his Latin counterpart, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, have released a joint statement to raise awareness worldwide on this issue, and to condemn the forced mass displacement of civilians. Along with having already killed three percent of the Christian population since the start of the war, these actions from the Israeli military suggest there is a deliberate effort to erase Palestinian Christian identity in Gaza by forcing the abandonment of a historic church with no promise of return.

Despite these deterrents, many Christians in Gaza are courageously refusing to leave. Some believe evacuating is a "death sentence". As Theophilos and Pizzaballa wrote in their statement:

Since the outbreak of the war, the Greek Orthodox compound of Saint Porphyrius and the Holy Family compound have been a refuge for hundreds of civilians. Among them are elderly people, women, and children. In the Latin compound we are hosting since many years people with disabilities, who are under the care of the Sisters Missionaries of Charity. Like other residents of Gaza City, the refugees living in the facilities will have to decide according to their conscience what they will do. Among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months. Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.  

It is of the utmost importance to raise awareness of the suffering of Palestinian Christians to gain support worldwide, and to dispel the narrative of Christian Zionism that falsely claims Israel protects minorities, while in turn, it commits atrocities.

Tell us about your organization, Orthodox Christians for Palestine. 

Orthodox Christians for Palestine (OCP) is a humanitarian movement started by members across various Orthodox jurisdictions. We believe that the Orthodox Church can play a critical role to lasting and genuine peace and our community cannot stay silent or ignore the sufferings of Orthodox Christians in Palestine, as well as those of other faiths. Specifically, we are focused on taking actions such as working with Bishops and Priests to name Palestine or Gaza during the Great Entrance in the Divine Liturgy, fundraising for humanitarian needs, supporting Palestinian children brought to the US for medical treatment, updating parishioners across Orthodox Churches as to the current situation in Palestine, supporting scholarships for students from Gaza to study at American universities, and participating in eccumenical initiatives for justice and peace. 

The OCP condemns violence on both sides, including the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th. We also underscore that innocent Palestinians are and have been disproportionately impacted by this conflict since the creation of the modern state of Israel.

How did OCP get its start?

OCP felt that there was a need to have a more vocal stance within the Orthodox Church to advocate for our suffering Palestinian brothers and sisters. Most of us come from the Antiochian Orthodox Church, and there is a proud legacy of our hierarchs, including Metropolitan Philip, advocating directly with Presidents on the plight of the Palestinian people.

Since the demographics of the Antiochian Orthodox Church have changed significantly over the past years with more converts coming in from diverse backgrounds (as opposed to being historically Arab) we felt there was also an opportunity to raise more awareness on this issue and dispel common misconceptions for newcomers.

Furthermore, Orthodoxy has a long history of actively standing alongside oppressed and victimized peoples, across different religious and ethnic backgrounds. For instance, Archbishop Damaskinos of Greece was the only head of a European church to condemn Hitler’s final solution for the Jews. He issued fake baptism certificates to Jewish people, enabling them to escape detection, and ordered priests and nuns to hide them from the Nazis.

As he was threatened with execution by the German leadership, he made a powerful rejoinder that has reverberated for decades: “Our leaders are hanged, not shot. Please respect our traditions.” To this day, he is honored in the Garden of the Righteous in Israel’s Holocaust Memorial museum, Yah Vashem.

Our hope is that examples like these can inspire us out of our complacency and to mobilize our communities to help our battered Christian and Muslim Palestinian brothers and sisters.

When did you first become aware of the suffering of our Palestinian brothers and sisters?

While many people have become more aware of the suffering of Palestinians only recently, largely due to the circulation of horrific scenes in Gaza from social media, members of our group have been involved in this issue for decades. For any reader who is interested in understanding more about the history of this conflict, we highly recommend reading The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi.

What's the situation on the West Bank?

While the public is largely aware of the atrocities committed in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank is deteriorating with many Palestinians fearing what is to come. Overall, the situation can be described as covert ethnic cleansing through, but not limited to, settler violence, home demolitions, forced displacement, restriction of movement, and land confiscations. Here are just a few recent examples for readers:

• This summer, Israeli settlers have attacked Palestine’s last remaining fully Christian village, Taybeh, and set fire to a historic Greek Orthodox church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), homes, and olive groves.
• The Israeli government has recently given approval for a controversial project that would cut off the West Bank from East Jerusalem, both of which are Palestinian territories. This would permanently cut the West Bank in half, restrict the movement of Palestinians to see their loved ones or travel for work or medical care, and further illustrates the diminishing and fragmented control Palestinians have over their historic land.
• Since October 2023, Israel has escalated its subjugation of the West Bank through further restrictions on the movement of Palestinians through arbitrary violence at checkpoints, surveillance, and collective punishment for a crime that one Palestinian might commit. This is exacerbated by an inequitable legal system where Israeli settlers are governed by Israeli civil law, and Palestinians are subjected to military rule where civil and human rights are rarely protected.

How can our readers learn more and support your work?

We’d invite readers to learn more about Orthodox Christians for Palestine and follow us on social media. In addition, you can watch our interview on Orthodox Christian TV.

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