In the lead up to Christmas, The Age (23/12), reported on the exodus of Christians from the Middle East.

In Bethlehem the Christian population has dwindled from 80% of the population after WWII, to just 25% today. The report stated that in Jerusalem some Orthodox Jews spit on passers-by wearing crucifixes. In Gaza Christian shops have been firebombed. In Egypt a string of businesses owned by Coptic Christians were burnt down in riots in the southern province of Qena.

Due to the violence in the country, as many as 600,000 of Iraq’s one million Christians have fled the country following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.  Some of this violence has come from Islamic extremist groups.