Interview SOS Chrétiens d’Orient
“The Christians of the Holy Land face both Hamas persecution and Israeli harassment.”
François-Xavier Gicquel, Director of Operations at SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, warns of the gradual disappearance of Christians from the Holy Land and the Middle East, caught between Hamas persecution, Israeli pressure, and sectarian violence. He calls on Europeans to revive a diplomacy rooted in their Christian heritage and to offer concrete support to these endangered communities.
Matisse Royer: Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
François-Xavier Gicquel (SOS Chrétiens d’Orient): SOS Chrétiens d’Orient is an NGO founded in 2013 that now operates in eight countries — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Armenia — with the mission of helping Christian communities remain on their land, the land of their forefathers.
Matisse Royer: Can you describe the current presence of SOS Chrétiens d’Orient in the Holy Land, particularly in the areas affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
François-Xavier Gicquel: SOS Chrétiens d’Orient has been working in Jordan since 2015, from the Syrian border to the Red Sea, among all the Christian communities of the country. Since the beginning of the war, we have carried out two humanitarian aid missions in Gaza, but our objective this year is to strengthen and expand our presence there.
Matisse Royer: What are the main difficulties faced by Christian populations in this region today?
François-Xavier Gicquel: It depends on which part of the region we’re talking about. If we speak of the Holy Land in particular, Christians face two major problems. The first, in Gaza for example, is obviously persecution by Hamas. The number of Christians there has almost been divided by ten since Hamas came to power, due to daily persecution. But there is also persecution from the Israeli authorities. As Palestinian residents, Christians of the Holy Land are considered Arabs and therefore endure the same harassment, humiliation, and daily economic and social hardships as other Palestinians.
If we look at the broader Middle East, the situation varies by country — we could talk about it for hours. In Lebanon, we know the sad and devastating economic crisis, which followed first a political crisis, then the economic collapse, the explosion at the Beirut port, and finally the recent military crisis that hit the country. In Iraq, we’re dealing with sectarian violence. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the civil war has never really ended. Sunnis and Shiites fought for ten years, which led to the emergence of mafia-like groups that targeted the weakest — namely Christians, who are isolated — through kidnappings, ransom demands, land seizures, daily humiliation, and so on. Then came the rise of the Islamic State, which followed the same logic. Even today, tensions remain beneath the surface, and these mafia groups persist, making life miserable, especially for minorities.
In Syria, we know the situation well. After the iron-fisted years of Bashar al-Assad, former Al-Qaeda affiliates came to power last December. Since then, there have already been atrocities committed — first against the Alawites, then against the Druze — as well as terrorist attacks against churches. Whether the government itself is responsible is impossible to say. I can’t read hearts and minds. What is certain, however, is that these acts are committed by groups close to the government, groups that once supported it. The key question is whether the government has the capacity and the will to put an end to these acts of violence. The future of Syria’s Christians depends on that.
In Jordan, the situation is relatively good for Christians, but tensions still exist due to the geopolitical context and the presence of radical minorities who sometimes subject Christians to discrimination and humiliation. That’s the general picture in the surrounding countries.
Matisse Royer: How does this conflict concretely affect Christian communities in Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem? How do they live their relations with Jewish and Muslim communities?
François-Xavier Gicquel: I should say first that I’ve never personally been to Gaza, so I don’t have firsthand experience there. But for Christians in Gaza or the West Bank, they are Palestinians like the others. They suffer the same bombings, the same attacks. Sadly, we frequently see churches hit by Israeli airstrikes, or Christians shot by Israeli soldiers. They endure what all Gazans and West Bank residents endure.
I was recently in southern Lebanon, and I witnessed many villages completely destroyed — including entirely Christian villages, without any Shiite presence, which means they couldn’t even be suspected of harboring Hezbollah fighters. Yet they were razed to the ground. We can see that Israel’s policy is indiscriminate regarding the populations living in these territories.
As for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, this war — though tensions have existed for a long time — has exacerbated those tensions, making life very difficult for Arab residents. Discrimination exists, and therefore Christians suffer the same. There are also, of course, attacks by extremist Jewish groups — every year we see spitting, insults against Christian processions and buildings, or the return of taxes previously lifted from Christian religious properties. That is the overall situation of Christians in the Holy Land.
Matisse Royer: Is there a real risk of the complete disappearance of Christians from the Holy Land?
François-Xavier Gicquel: Disappearance, I’m not sure — Christians have always lived there. We’re not just talking about a religion but about a people who have inhabited these lands for millennia. Will they disappear? I don’t know. Many show extraordinary faithfulness and resilience. Will their numbers decrease? Yes, certainly. Will it decrease drastically? Unfortunately, yes, there is a real risk. We see this pattern across the entire region. The fact that it is also happening in the Holy Land shows that it’s not merely about one religion, such as Islam, but part of a broader dynamic — the reduction of Christians to minority status. And that’s profoundly sad, because Christians are not meant to be a minority in their own countries; they are part of the national mosaic.
In Syria, Christians are an integral part of the nation — Syrians of Christian faith. The same is true in Iraq, where most Christians are of Assyrian origin — the very roots of the country’s people. Though numerically smaller, they remain full citizens. Yet today, these populations are being divided and reduced to minority status, which limits their rights, visibility, and representation. This is what makes it so difficult for Christians to defend their rights, to imagine a future on their land, or even to be recognized as full citizens of countries that have always been theirs.
Matisse Royer: Do you have direct contacts with local Churches? What message are they conveying today?
François-Xavier Gicquel: Yes, of course. We are beginning our work in the Holy Land by developing a network already well established through our work in Jordan — particularly with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Church. As for the rest of the region — Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan — yes, we are in contact with all the Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Churches. We speak with patriarchs and bishops, and on a daily basis we work directly with priests. That’s what makes us unique: our offices are located on the ground, and we live among them. So, unlike organizations that give advice from offices in Paris, we share their daily struggles and truly feel their pain. It’s important to remind them that they have a vital role — as witnesses, as cultural bearers, and as spiritual anchors. Their brothers and sisters, and indeed the world, depend on them, because Christ asked us to bear witness to His message. We must remain strong in adversity and never lose hope. That’s why we chose not merely to offer words of encouragement, but to live among them — to show that we will not abandon them, that we will stand beside them all the way, and do our best to help them continue carrying Christ’s message.
Matisse Royer: “Christian NGOs = crusading logic”: how do you respond to that?
François-Xavier Gicquel: What we do is the exact opposite of what we’re accused of. Our main priority is to strengthen national cohesion. We don’t view Christians as a minority in a majority, or as an isolated bubble within an Arab cultural sphere. To us, Christians are the original inhabitants of these lands — even if today they are majority Muslim or Jewish, in Israel’s case — and they have their full and rightful place there. Not as a minority struggling to survive or as a rival faction — they are one of the integral components of these nations. Whatever position Westerners might take, that’s a lasting reality. We are not there to change the political landscape or the demographic balance of these countries. We are there to enable Christians to live peacefully alongside their Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Israeli, and Palestinian brothers and sisters — not in a logic of confrontation, but of shared construction.
Matisse Royer: What is your reading of the role of Western powers — and especially Europe — in the (mis)management of the conflict?
François-Xavier Gicquel: What shocks me in France is that it’s unable to take a clear position on this conflict, which reveals much. France has always had a clear Arab policy, based on balanced and measured positions. Since October 7, we’ve seen constant reversals. That reflects both a perception problem and a lack of understanding of the region — as well as a lack of political courage — which causes French authorities to give in to street and public pressure rather than acting in line with our long-term geopolitical interests and the common good.
The American position is also surprising. We knew Donald Trump as a fervent supporter of Israel, yet even he seems taken aback by the radicalism of the Israeli state and Mr. Netanyahu. This demonstrates both the weakness of the West and the radicalization of Israel, which has caught an unprepared West off guard with such a brutal escalation.
Matisse Royer: The AfD in Germany is adopting a more neutral stance. Should the French right follow the same path?
François-Xavier Gicquel: Absolutely. It’s essential to maintain a certain distance and balance in geopolitics. Many nationalist or sovereigntist parties in Europe — particularly in France — often align themselves either for reasons of political rebranding (which aren’t sustainable long term) or due to ignorance of the topic, reacting emotionally in the short term. One cannot respond to an international conflict without taking into account history, national interests, and the common good. Prudence is essential — we must not blindly align with one camp.
What should guide us are two things: the pursuit of the common good and the absolute defense of human dignity and the value of human life — as Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, reminds us. Violations of human life occur both on the side of Hamas and on the side of the Israeli authorities. We must adopt a balanced and just approach.
Matisse Royer : Do Europe’s “Judeo-Christian roots” justify unconditional support for Israel?
François-Xavier Gicquel: I don’t believe in the expression “Judeo-Christian roots” as the foundation of Europe. Europe is first and foremost the heir of the Hellenic and Roman worlds, enriched by Germanic and Celtic contributions, and deeply shaped by Christendom. The Jewish people have played an important and fruitful role, but this was co-constructed — not a foundational identity. In foreign policy, two compass points must guide us: our interests (and it’s hard to see Europe’s interest in the destruction of Gaza or the West Bank and the ensuing migratory consequences) and the pursuit of the common good, which entails the principle of a “just war” — as Saint Augustine taught, meaning proportionality. As Europeans, we cannot support a war that is not just.
Matisse Royer: Should European diplomacy be rooted in the Christian heritage?
François-Xavier Gicquel: Yes. The Christian heritage doesn’t dictate sides, it dictates principles: presence, service to the common good, witness, and the doctrine of “just war” — proportionality, human dignity. It means denouncing any attack on human dignity and life, wherever it occurs.
Matisse Royer: What are your current volunteer missions?
François-Xavier Gicquel: We currently have missions open in Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Ethiopia, Armenia, and Egypt. Missions in Syria are suspended pending clarification of the situation but will resume as soon as possible. Volunteering is at the heart of our work: presence, reconstruction, daily projects, sharing joys and sorrows. We invite young Europeans to build tangible fraternity and live a deeply human and spiritual experience alongside Eastern communities.
Matisse Royer: Where do you find hope, and how can we act concretely?
François-Xavier Gicquel: First, in Christ — we are never alone. And in the results of eleven years of action, whose fruits we can see: from the family to the neighborhood, from the village to the wider community. The union of the spiritual and the material sustains our determination to continue.
Two main paths :
Support initiatives serving Eastern Christians — through prayer, volunteering, and donations to help them envision a future on their land.
Political engagement: educate yourself (in geopolitics and Christian doctrine), take part, and urge elected officials to promote a European policy that is both engaged and balanced in the Middle East — one that guarantees stability, peace, and lasting prosperity.
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