| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 4,500–5,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Jerusalem,Bethlehem,Nazareth,Jish,Haifa,Tel Aviv | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Syriac Christianity(Maronite Church,Syriac Catholic Church,Syriac Orthodox Church) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherSyriac Christians, especiallyMaronites andAssyrians in Israel |
Arameans in Israel (Syriac:ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܒܐܝܣܪܐܝܠ;Hebrew:ארמים בישראל), are aChristian minority residing inIsrael. They are descended from theArameans, an ancientSemitic-speaking people in theMiddle East in the1st millennium BC.[2]
Syriac Christians in theMiddle East espouse anAramean ethnic identity, and a minority still speak variousneo-Aramaic languages, with theEastern branch being widely spoken. Until 2014, self-identified Arameans in Israel were registered asethnic Arabs or without an ethnic identity. Since September 2014, Aramean has become a valid identity on the Israelipopulation census, making Israel the first country in the world to officially recognize Arameans as a modern community. Christian families or clans who can speak Aramaic and/or have an Aramaic family tradition are eligible to register on the census as ethnic Arameans in Israel.[3]
As of 2017, 16 people had registered as Aramean in the Population Registry.[4] According to interviewees in a 2022 article inMiddle Eastern Studies, 2,500 Israelis had registered as Arameans at theIsraeli Ministry of Interior, whereas another 2,000 have applied for changing their national denomination from Arab to Aramean. These 4,500–5,000 people would constitutec. 1.5% ofIsrael's Christian population.[5][6][7][a]
Abraham, the father of Westernmonotheism, was believed to be of Aramean ancestry. The Jews and Christians regard him as the Patriarch of the Jewish people.[8][9][10] Abraham's sonIsaac and grandsonJacob, also each took wives of Aramean descent: (respectively,Rebecca, andLeah andRachel), who originated from the Aramean region ofPaddan-Aram. The Aramean presence in Israel goes back to 1100 BCE, when much of Israel came under Aramean rule for eight years according to the BiblicalBook of Judges, untilOthniel defeated the forces led byChushan-Rishathaim, the King of Aram-Naharaim.[11]
After the Arameans converted toSyriac Christianity they became involved in the expansion of Christianity throughout the Middle-East, which resulted in various Syriac monasteries and churches being built especially inJerusalem andBethlehem of whom theMonastery of Saint Mark, Jerusalem among the oldest. According to a 6th-century inscription Inscription at the Monastery of St Mark's in Jerusalem found during a restoration in 1940, the church is on the ancient site of the house of Mary, mother of St. Mark the Evangelist (Acts 12:12) and the place of the Last Supper of Christ with His disciples. Some Christians believe that the Last Supper was held at the nearby Cenacle on Mount Zion.[12]
Around 1831 large numbers of Syriac Christians started to emigrate to Israel as pilgrims and settled there, mostly originating from theTur Abdin region.[13] During theSeyfo: the genocide on Syriac Christians in the Ottoman Empire a large mass emigration occurred from Tur-Abdin. They mainly settled inJerusalem,Bethlehem and in smaller numbers inJericho andNazareth. In Bethlehem they also constructed the Virgin Mary church between 1922 and 1928 in the Syriac Quarter.[2]
The1922 census of Palestine lists 813 Syrian Orthodox (2 in Southern, 784 in Jerusalem-Jaffa, 4 in Samaria, and 23 in Northern) and 323 Syrian Catholic (10 in Southern, 189 in Jerusalem-Jaffa, 14 in Samaria, and 110 in Northern) Christians inMandatory Palestine. The 1922 census also lists 422 Syriac language speakers (all in Jerusalem-Jaffa), including 408 in municipal areas (38 in Jerusalem, 369 in Bethlehem, 25 inAcre, and 1 inBeit Jala).[14][2]
In September 2014, Minister of the InteriorGideon Sa'ar instructed thePIBA to recognise Arameans as an ethnicity separate fromIsraeli Arabs.[3][15] Under the Ministry of the Interior's guidance, people born intoChristian families or clans who have either Aramaic or Maronite cultural heritage within their family are eligible to register as Arameans. About 200 Christian families were thought to be eligible prior to this decision.[16] According to an August 9, 2013Israel Hayom article, at that time an estimated 10,500 persons were eligible to receive Aramean ethnic status according to the new regulation, including 10,000Maronites (which included 2,000 former SLA members) and 500Syriac Catholics.[17]
The first person to officially receive the "Aramean" ethnic status in Israel was 2 year old Yaakov Halul inJish on 20 October 2014.[18]
In 2019, an Israeli court ruled that Aramean minorities could choose a Jewish or Arab education, rather than requiring children with Aramean identity to be automatically enrolled in Arabic-language schools.[19]
The recognition of theAramean ethnicity caused mixed reactions among Israeli minorities, the Christian community, and among the general Arab Israeli population. Representatives of theGreek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem denounced the move.[20]
Mordechai Kedar advocates the recognition of the Aramean identity and calls on the government of Israel to promote the awareness regarding this issue on the basis of the international principle of ethnicself-determination as espoused byWilson's 14 points.[21] One of the supporters of the recognition of the Aramean identity isGabriel Naddaf, who is a priest to the Greek Orthodox Christians in Israel. He advocated on behalf of his Aramean followers and thanked the Interior Ministry's decision as a "historic move".[22]
In July 2016, an article in the Ha'aretz estimated the number ofIsraeli Christians eligible to register as Arameans in Israel to be 13,000.[23] In October 2019, the Israeli Christian Aramaic Organization estimated the number of Israeli citizens, who are eligible to obtain Aramean affiliation at 15,000.[19]
As of 2017, 16 people had registered as Aramean in the Population Registry.[4]
According to interviewees in a 2022 article inMiddle Eastern Studies, 2,500 Israelis have registered as Arameans at theIsraeli Ministry of Interior, whereas another 2,000 have applied for changing their national denomination from Arab to Aramean. These 4,500 people would constitutec. 1,5% ofIsrael's Christian population.[5]
