JERUSALEM, Israel – Arabic speaking Christians in Israel and Bethlehem spoke out recently when Christian and Jewish symbols were hijacked by a food company and ad agency during the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.
The four-day holiday celebrates what Muslims believe was Abraham’s (Ibrahim’s) willingness to sacrifice Ishmael (not Isaac). As part of the observance, they sacrifice a sheep, goat, camel or cow.
During the holiday, Al-Qasrawi Food Products Company, headquartered in Hebron (in Judea and Samaria), published a promotional video and poster designed by an advertising agency called “Kayan.”
Though Qasrawi quickly removed the post and issued a formal apology—calling the ad “unintendedly offensive” and “a creative misjudgment”—calls for a boycott have only grown louder. The company, widely considered the largest Palestinian producer of chips and snacks, has a strong presence across the Middle East.
“The campaign controversially used the iconic image of the Last Supper, replacing the holy Christian figures with a lamb, and transforming the sacred Passover table into a display of the company’s products,” wrote Elias Zarina, strategic advisor and expert on Christian affairs and minorities at the Jerusalemite Initiative.
The picture shows the lamb-headed disciples eating Qasrawi snacks.
“The imagery sparked outrage across social media platforms, with widespread condemnation of what many saw as a deeply offensive desecration of Christian religious symbols.
The Arab Christian community in Israel is calling for a boycott of the Palestinian company Qasrawi, which was established in the city of Hebron in 1992.
Why?
Because the company is mocking Christians, they depict the Last Supper as the “Last Snack” and portray Jesus as a sheep.… pic.twitter.com/pxqtj2cZlN— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) June 7, 2025
“In protest, young Christians in Bethlehem collected the company’s products from local stores and publicly burned them as an expression of their anger and frustration,” Zarina wrote.
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According to Zarina, the advertising incident highlights a “broader pattern of marginalization” of Christians in the Palestinian Authority areas.
He noted, “Christians there often experience institutional neglect, systemic discrimination, and a lack of equality before the law, in part due to the absence of genuine separation between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.”
According to Zarina, the situation for Christians in the PA worsened after October 7th, 2023. They were reportedly barred from celebrating Christmas, decorations were prohibited, and Christmas trees were not allowed in public spaces, including in front of the Church of the Nativity. Instead, Christians were forced to show solidarity with Gaza and Hamas.
Recently, on Holy Saturday before Easter, scout groups were prevented from playing musical instruments during the traditional Reception of the Holy Fire at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The near collapse of tourism since the war began has also dealt a heavy blow to the Christian community in Bethlehem, where they rely heavily on pilgrims and visitors.
Zarina says as a result of these pressures, about 140 Christian families have emigrated from the PA areas since the war began.
The Jerusalemites Initiative, founded in 2018, is a non-profit organization that aims “to empower Arabic speaking Israeli Christians, of all denominations, who are proud of belonging to Israel and support the full integration of Christians in the country,” their website says.
Greek Orthodox priest Father Gabriel Nadaf spells out the situation of Christians in Israel and the region.
“In the Middle East today, there is one country where Christianity is not only not persecuted, but (is) affectionately granted freedom of expression, freedom of worship and security. …It is Israel, the Jewish State. Israel is the only place where Christians in the Middle East are safe,” Father Nadaf said in 2014 according to a quote on their website.
Zarina says it’s not just Christians who are under attack in the region, but any other non-Sunni Muslim minorities such as the Druze in Syria. They are reportedly being forced to convert to Islam, or pay the jizya tax on non-Muslims, or leave their homeland. He believes the “systematic targeting” of Christians and other minorities is intended to change the demographic and geopolitical balance in the region.
His plea: “I call upon the European Union, Australia, Canada, and the United States not to facilitate the mass emigration of Christians from the region. Instead, I urge these nations to support sustainable, long-term solutions that enable Christian communities to remain in their ancestral homelands.This includes financial and moral support, as well as diplomatic pressure on local governments, particularly the Palestinian Authority, which receives generous aid from the EU and the US, to integrate Christians into decision-making structures and safeguard their rights.”
