Maronites in Israel

Of these approximately 7,000 migrants, just 2,700 have remained in Israel: over the years, most of them have decided to either return home to Lebanon or to move to Europe or the United States.

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the residents of the Maronite village of Kafr Bir'im were ordered by the IDF to evacuate temporarily, due to its strategic proximity to the Lebanese border.

The cities and communities where most Maronites in Israel reside are Haifa, Jish, Nazareth, Isfiya, Acre, Maker and Jaffa.

[13] According to the 2022 Annuario Pontificio, in 2021 the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land had 10,000 members, 6 parishes, 11 priests and 1 deacon.

[17] Traditionally, Neo-Aramaic had been the spoken language of the Maronites up to the 17th century, when Arabic took its place, while Classical Syriac remained in use only for liturgical purposes.

In 2011, activists tried to revitalize Syriac by teaching it for young children in Jish Elementary School, with approval of the Israeli Ministry of Education.