131: Why Christians are disappearing from the Middle East, with Amb. George Deek

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Israel’s first special envoy to the Christian world, Ambassador George Deek, joins Haviv for a sweeping conversation about Christians in Israel, Palestinian Christians, the disappearance of ancient Christian communities across the Middle East, and the strange new alliance targeting Israel from both the far left and far right. Drawing on his own family’s extraordinary journey from Palestinian refugees to full participation in Israeli society, Deek offers a powerful argument for responsibility over victimhood -- and for building a future rather than remaining imprisoned by the past.

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This episode is dedicated by Peter Fine of New York to his family in Israel. In his words: “Originally, my family’s name was Zavodnick. They came from Mezritch in today's northwest Ukraine. My maternal grandfather was the oldest of 5 brothers and came to New York via Canada around WW1. He came for many reasonsl but the one relayed to me the most was the fear of Cossacks and not wanting to subscribe to the ‘death sentence’ for Jewish people serving in the Russian Army.

“After immigration to the US was essentially shut down for East European Jews in the 1920s, my grandfather's four younger brothers emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s. Most settled in and around Haifa. Name changes to Bar-Akiva and Zavod followed. They were an incredibly bright, energetic group. They started businesses and kibbutzim while one brother went to Spain in the 30s to fight with the anti-fascists and died in battle.

“I had only a vague awareness of this family growing up in New York as my parents were preoccupied with the daily struggle of making a living, raising kids and caring for indigent relatives stuck in poorer neighborhoods in the city. As a student at NYU in the early 1980s, I met a cousin, Oded, who was a wandering soul and was working in a cafe in the East Village. He opened my eyes to the treasure of my mom’s family in Israel. A backpacking summer in Israel and then Europe in ’83 changed everything. I heard stories of the founding of Israel, relatives who had passed and of course service in various wars. I stayed with family in a kibbutz near the Lebanon border and the Carmel neighborhood of Haifa. We struggled to communicate in broken Hebrew, some English and a bit of Yiddish. I have traveled to Israel many times since and cherish my relationships with cousins there. Their courage, their intelligence and deep belief in the Zionist dream is inspiring. I often wonder how these decent, compassionate souls have been transformed into ‘colonialists’ and ‘imperialists’ by the mob that dominates the media and public discourse in the States. It’s outrageous."

Thank you to Peter for sponsoring the episode and dedicating it to his family and its remarkable story. Many listeners have shared with us their family’s journey through the tumultuous 20th century, helping us all to better understand our collective story.

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Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.