FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jonathan Robbins, Executive Director

United Christian Communities Inc.

305 Madison Avenue, Suite 440

New York, NY 10017

United Christian Communities Inc. Launches Effort to Prevent the Disappearance of the Christian Presence in the Holy Land.

United Christian Communities Inc., a New York based charity, today launched a project to preserve the Christian presence in the Holy Land.  

The Christian communities of the Holy Land are in severe decline.  The Christian population of Bethlehem has declined from 85% of the total to 12% and that of Nazareth from 60% to 35% according to estimates.  This pattern of decline extends throughout the Holy Land.  Many factors, including emigration due to social, economic, and religious pressures, raise the possibility we may soon witness a Holy Land without a Christian presence. 

“In response to the threats to the survival of the Christian communities in the Holy Land, United Christian Communities strives to build ties between the Christian communities outside the Holy Land and those in the Holy Land,” according to Jonathan Robbins, the Executive Director of United Christian Communities.     

“The primary areas we focus on are informing people about the situation of the Christian communities in the Holy Land, encouraging travel to the Holy Land to create personal connections with the Christian communities there and supporting charities in the Holy Land that focus on health, education, and development and that we believe will have the most impact on the people in those communities.  In essence, we aim to connect those in need in the Holy Land with those most able to help them.”

He continued that “we believe the best way to effect positive change to preserve the Christian communities in the Holy Land is to coordinate efforts with those on the ground, and to engage the Christian communities outside the Holy Land with those in the Holy Land.” 

Supporters of the Christian communities in the Holy Land through United Christian Communities will be included among those who participate in the dedication of the Christian Forest on Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration.  “That effort will demonstrate the commitment of the Christian communities outside the Holy Land to the survival and support of the Christian communities in the Holy Land”, says Mr. Robbins.  Those supporters will be honored, and their participation in the dedication of the Christian Forest will be memorialized, in the Book of Dedications maintained in the Holy Land.

More information about United Christian Communities Inc., its partners in the Holy Land, and the situation faced by the Christian communities in the Holy Land can be found at www.UnitedChristianCommunities.org , along with ways in which those concerned can stand with United Christian Communities to help those in need.

Contact:

Jonathan Robbins

Executive Director

United Christian Communities Inc

Tel: 212 957 1911

Fax: 212.957.1912

jrobbins@unitedchristiancommunities.org