Argument · heard from pro-Israel voices
“Bethlehem was Christian under Israel; under the Palestinian Authority the Christians were pushed out”
When Israel controlled Bethlehem it was overwhelmingly Christian. Israel handed it to the Palestinian Authority, and now it is overwhelmingly Muslim. The Christians were pushed out, and the people who protest about Israel say nothing.
Common pro-Israel argument — e.g. Benjamin Netanyahu
Where it's been said
“You didn’t protest when we left Bethlehem. When it was controlled by us, it was 80 to 90 percent Christian. We gave it to the Palestinian Authority, and today it’s 80 to 90 percent Muslim. The Christians were pushed out.”
Traps in play:◆ Where does the story start?◆ The exception as proof
Why people find it convincing
- Bethlehem was 84% Christian in 1922 and 28% Christian in 2007, according to the Palestinian pollster PCPSR.
- In PCPSR's 2020 poll of Palestinian Christians, 'a very large minority believe that most Muslims do not wish to see them in the country'.
- Israel's prime minister said it from the UN podium in September 2026.
What's true
The Christian share of Bethlehem has collapsed: from 84% in 1922 to 28% in 2007, in PCPSR's figures. The same survey records real pressure from inside Palestinian society. Between a fifth and a quarter of Christians report hearing curses and accusations of blasphemy, and a fifth to a quarter feel discrimination when looking for jobs or seeking Palestinian Authority services. 'A very large minority believe that most Muslims do not wish to see them in the country.' The wish to emigrate among West Bank Christians is 'almost twice' that of Muslims. A Christian community becoming a minority in the town of Jesus's birth is a real loss, and it is fair to ask why it gets so little attention from many who speak about Palestine.
dataPalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), 'Public Opinion Poll: Migration of Palestinian Christians', fieldwork 27 Jan – 23 Feb 2020 (with the Philos Project) (2020) ✓
Read (summary of findings, 2026-09-28). 995 Christian adults, face to face, West Bank and Gaza, ±3%. Emigration wish among West Bank Christians 'almost twice' that of Muslims; 'the largest percentage' cite economic reasons; occupation measures ('checkpoints, settlers' attacks, and land confiscation'); a majority believe the occupation seeks to expel them; 'a very large minority believe that most Muslims do not wish to see them in the country'; a fifth to a quarter report curses/blasphemy accusations and job or PA-service discrimination; 'the overwhelming majority' feel integrated; about half believe destination immigration laws favour Christians. Background: 'the Christian population of Bethlehem declined from 84% in 1922 to only 28% in 2007'. PCPSR (director Khalil Shikaki) is Ramallah-based; the poll was supported by the Philos Project. Suggestions quoted: 'greater PA capacity to enforce law and order'.
What's left out
The timing. Israel's own census of summer 1967, taken just after it took the West Bank, counted 6,405 Christians in a town of 14,439 (excluding the refugee camp). That is 44%, not '80 to 90 percent'. About 84% was the figure for 1922, under the British Mandate. The same census counted 2,020 residents who came from what had become Israel: refugees of 1948, who changed the town's make-up long before the Palestinian Authority existed. The larger part of the fall, from 84% to 44%, happened before Israel arrived. The further fall to 28% by 2007 spans both Israeli rule (to 1995) and the Palestinian Authority's, and these figures don't show how it splits between them. Christians themselves put other reasons first. In the PCPSR poll 'the largest percentage' cite economic reasons. Smaller numbers seek education abroad, or 'a safer, more stable, and less corrupt place', or one 'that allows greater liberties and religious tolerance'. They also name 'occupation measures, such as checkpoints, settlers' attacks, and land confiscation', and a majority believe the occupation seeks to expel them. Half believe the immigration laws of destination countries favour Christians, and many have relatives abroad who would help. 'The overwhelming majority indicate that they feel integrated into Palestinian society.'
dataIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population 1967 (West Bank), Volume 1, Tables 2 and 3 — digitized by the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (1967) ✓
Read (Excel tables, 2026-09-28). Table 3, 'The Christians, by sex and locality': Bethlehem 6,405 (Beit Jala 4,271; Beit Sahur 3,730). Table 2: Bethlehem (excl. refugee camp) 14,439 persons, of whom 2,020 originating from Israel territory; Bethlehem refugee camp 1,874. 6,405 / 14,439 = 44% (39% if the camp is included).
dataPalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), 'Public Opinion Poll: Migration of Palestinian Christians', fieldwork 27 Jan – 23 Feb 2020 (with the Philos Project) (2020) ✓
Read (summary of findings, 2026-09-28). 995 Christian adults, face to face, West Bank and Gaza, ±3%. Emigration wish among West Bank Christians 'almost twice' that of Muslims; 'the largest percentage' cite economic reasons; occupation measures ('checkpoints, settlers' attacks, and land confiscation'); a majority believe the occupation seeks to expel them; 'a very large minority believe that most Muslims do not wish to see them in the country'; a fifth to a quarter report curses/blasphemy accusations and job or PA-service discrimination; 'the overwhelming majority' feel integrated; about half believe destination immigration laws favour Christians. Background: 'the Christian population of Bethlehem declined from 84% in 1922 to only 28% in 2007'. PCPSR (director Khalil Shikaki) is Ramallah-based; the poll was supported by the Philos Project. Suggestions quoted: 'greater PA capacity to enforce law and order'.
primary documentBenjamin Netanyahu, address to the UN General Assembly, 24 September 2026 — full text (Jewish Virtual Library) (2026) ✓
Read via fetchsrc (2026-09-28): 'You didn't protest when we left Bethlehem. When it was controlled by us, it was 80 to 90 percent Christian. We gave it to the Palestinian Authority, and today it's 80 to 90 percent Muslim. The Christians were pushed out.'
Where it leads if pressed
Pressed, the argument becomes 'Muslims drive Christians out wherever they rule' (see 'Under Islam, Jews were humiliated second-class dhimmis — and Islamists want to bring it back.' and 'Islam is a cancer destroying the West — Israel is just the front line.'). That speaks over the Christians who were asked, and most of them put the economy and the occupation ahead of their neighbours. The mirror is heard on the other side: 'Christians leave only because of the occupation.' The same poll contradicts that too, with its complaints about hostility and discrimination and its respondents' call for 'greater PA capacity to enforce law and order'. Each side starts the clock where its story works: in 1995 for one, in 1967 for the other (see 'Where does the story start?'). The record runs from 1922, and on the Christians' own account it has several causes at once.
dataPalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), 'Public Opinion Poll: Migration of Palestinian Christians', fieldwork 27 Jan – 23 Feb 2020 (with the Philos Project) (2020) ✓
Read (summary of findings, 2026-09-28). 995 Christian adults, face to face, West Bank and Gaza, ±3%. Emigration wish among West Bank Christians 'almost twice' that of Muslims; 'the largest percentage' cite economic reasons; occupation measures ('checkpoints, settlers' attacks, and land confiscation'); a majority believe the occupation seeks to expel them; 'a very large minority believe that most Muslims do not wish to see them in the country'; a fifth to a quarter report curses/blasphemy accusations and job or PA-service discrimination; 'the overwhelming majority' feel integrated; about half believe destination immigration laws favour Christians. Background: 'the Christian population of Bethlehem declined from 84% in 1922 to only 28% in 2007'. PCPSR (director Khalil Shikaki) is Ramallah-based; the poll was supported by the Philos Project. Suggestions quoted: 'greater PA capacity to enforce law and order'.
dataIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population 1967 (West Bank), Volume 1, Tables 2 and 3 — digitized by the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College (1967) ✓
Read (Excel tables, 2026-09-28). Table 3, 'The Christians, by sex and locality': Bethlehem 6,405 (Beit Jala 4,271; Beit Sahur 3,730). Table 2: Bethlehem (excl. refugee camp) 14,439 persons, of whom 2,020 originating from Israel territory; Bethlehem refugee camp 1,874. 6,405 / 14,439 = 44% (39% if the camp is included).