A report by the University of Birmingham claiming that Christians in Israel are at “grave risk”, has been challenged by an Israeli diplomat.

Ohad Zemet, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in the UK, said:

“While Christians and other minority groups are persecuted across the Middle East, Israel is the only country in the region where the Christian population is growing.”

He added: “The Christian community is an integral part of the Israeli society and its members serve in senior positions in both the private and public sectors. No research can overlook those facts and the regional context.”

The report, titled ‘Defeating Minority Exclusion and Unlocking Potential: Christianity in the Holy Land’, claimed that Christians, who make up two per cent of Israel’s population, suffered “discriminatory policies” by Israeli public services, alleging an “educational culture that encourages Jewish children to treat Christians with ‘contempt’,” and adding that “such habits have not been adequately been policed by the criminal justice system”.

Rabbi Fishel Cohen, Birmingham University’s chaplain, said he was “disappointed at the disproportionate focus on Israel” in the report.

Report co-author Professor Francis Davis, of Birmingham University’s Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, said: “Christianity in the Holy Land is globally and diplomatically significant because of its position at the heart of the region, but its economic, social and civic value for the people of the Holy Land have been massively underestimated.

“This contribution is disproportionate to the size of Christian communities, yet they are at grave risk — from war, inter-religious and ethnic conflict, constraints on international investment, and fears of economic and legal constraint provoked by migration.”

The Jewish State is generally seen as a sanctuary for Christians, compared to other countries in the Middle East.