The Arab Orthodox are Greek (Rum) Orthodox Christian communities

The Arab Orthodox are Greek (Rum) Orthodox Christian communities which have existed in Greater Syria since the early years of Christianity. During the Palestine Mandate they were prominent in many of the major cities including Jaffa, Nazareth, Haifa and Jerusalem and also formed the majority of Christians in Arab villages of the Galilee. 1948 war During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a number of Greek Orthodox villages were affected, including: Bassa Ramla Lydda Safed Kafr Bir'im Iqrit Tarbikha Eilabun In addition around 20,000 fled Haifa, 20,000 fled West Jerusalem, 700 fled Acre and 10,000 fled Jaffa. However prominent members remained such as Tawfik Toubi, Emile Toma and Emile Habibi and they went on to be leaders of the Communist party in Israel. Recent history and current events The Greek Orthodox Arabs make up the largest Christian demographic in the West Bank, Jordan and Syria and the second in Lebanon. There have been numerous disputes between the Arab and the Greek leadership of the church in Jerusalem from the Mandate onwards. Jordan encouraged the Greeks to open the Brotherhood to Arab members of the community between 1948 and 1967 when the West Bank was under Jordan. Land disputes and political ones have been common since 1967, with the Greek priests portrayed as collaborators with Israel. Land disputes include the sale of St. John's property in the Christian quarter on April 11, 1990, the transfer of fifty dunams near Mar Elias monastery, and the sale of two hotels and twenty seven stores on Omar Bin Al-Khattab square near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A recent dispute between the Palestinian Authority and the Greek, Patriarch Irenaios has led to the Patriarch being pushed aside because of accusations of a real estate deal with Israel. This dispute, between the Greek leadership and the local Arab authorities, is the latest manifestation of the phenomenon of the Arab-Orthodox. Sir Ronald Storrs, The Memoirs of Sir Ronald Storrs. Putnam, New York, 1937. Itamar Katz and Ruth Kark, 'The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and its congregation: dissent over real estate' in The International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 37, 2005. 'Orthodox Shun Patriarch Irineos' [1] Seth J. Frantzman, The Strength and the Weakness: The Arab Christians in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 War, unpublished M.A thesis at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem