Pastor Johnny Shahwan, an Evangelical Christian Arab from the Bethlehem area, was arrested by the Palestinian Authority (PA) almost one month ago. His crime was meeting with Rabbi Yehudah Glick, a former member of the Knesset. 

On March 1, Rabbi Glick arrived at Beit Al-Liqa with a group of about 50 German Christian tourists.  Pastor Shahwan runs the Beit Al-Liqa (House of Encounter) in the town of Beit Jala, which has a guest house and a child daycare center.  

The day after the meeting, unidentified shooters fired several shots at the center to protest the meeting between the pastor and the rabbi. 

The Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested pastor Johnny Shahwan for meeting with former MK Yehuda Glick. Shahwan is accused of “undermining the State’s prestige and national sentiment.” Beit Al-Liqa, where the meeting took place, closed for one week. pic.twitter.com/VzqUSU1JGM

— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) March 7, 2022

The center tried to distance itself from the meeting with Rabbi Glick, issuing a statement on March 2 claiming that at the time, they were unaware that Rabbi Glick was an Israeli.

“Beit Al-Liqa hosted a group of German tourists,” the statement read. “At the end of the meeting with Pastor Johnny Shahwan, an unidentified person [Glick] suddenly walked in and asked to take a ‘selfie’ with Shahwan and the tourists. We were not aware of the presence of this extremist Zionist person, and he was not part of the group’s itinerary.”

In an unsuccessful attempt to appease the PA, the statement claimed that the Christian organization “affirms our commitment as a Palestinian national Christian institution to all Palestinians and opposition to normalization [with Israel].” The statement denounced the Jews living in the West Bank as “criminals.”

Despite the statement, the center closed for one week. Pastor Shahwan was arrested and charged with the crime of  “undermining the national sentiments [of Palestinians], stirring up sectarian strife and insulting the prestige of the [non-existent Palestinian] State.” If convicted, he could face a lengthy term in prison with hard labor.

The Christian community of Bethlehem has appealed for his release to no avail. The case has gone largely unreported in the media, most likely because the victim is Christian (and not Palestinian). The story reveals a humanitarian abuse carried out by the PA (and not by Israel). 

On Tuesday, All Arab News published an open letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas appealing for the Pastor’s release, noting that no formal charges have been filed against him. 

“The fact is that Rev. Shahwan has done nothing illegal or immoral,” the letter read. “A devout Christian and a loyal Palestinian, he has been unfairly accused. Yet he remains in prison, and now a Palestinian judge has extended the pastor’s incarceration at least until May 23. This is wrong – it is a violation of this Palestinian man’s human rights, civil rights, and religious freedom. The pastor is suffering. So is his wife, Marlene, and their family.”

“It is time to set Rev. Shahwan free – now.”

“The longer the imprisonment goes on, the more media attention the story will receive, harming the Palestinian Authority’s reputation for grossly violating an innocent Palestinian Christian’s rights.”

“Appeals will mount for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Vatican, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and other friends of the Palestinian Authority around the world to intervene, requesting that they apply pressure on you to correct this injustice immediately.”

The case is part of a larger crisis where the Palestinian Authority oppresses Christians in Bethlehem. Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh wrote: “The Beit Al-Liqa incident is further proof of the PA’s discrimination and mistreatment of the Christian minority. This was not the first incident of its kind targeting Christians in the Bethlehem area.”

“It is much easier for the PA to arrest a Palestinian pastor than, say, the head of a Muslim clan. The Christians will not take to the streets to riot and attack Palestinian security officers when one of their men is arrested. Muslims, by contrast, would not hesitate to attack the PA and confront its security forces.”

“…Christians remain vulnerable and weak and are subjected to stricter laws and rules, most likely because they are not Muslims and are even regarded as “infidels.”

“All this is happening while the Biden administration continues to engage with the PA about the need to revive the peace process and the PA’s purported commitment to the so-called two-state solution while ignoring the persecution of Christians and major human rights violations committed by the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”