Earlier month, the Israeli Knesset approved a bill that makes it easier for Arabic-speaking Christians in the country to list their identification as Arameans.
According to reports, this new legislation specifically provides legal assistance to those Christians who would like to register under this name.
The term Arameans refers to Christians who call their home Israel and are originally from modern Syria and part of Babylonia.
Arameans (Syriacs) from Bethlehem #Israel
Arameans are officially recognized in Israël pic.twitter.com/tSz3b3CLkC
— Aramese Federatie NL (@SAF_NL) August 12, 2016
The year 2014 marked the first days of time where the ancient minority sect became officially recognized in Israel, according to Israeli Today.
This is a long fought victory that easies the stress and financial burden for the 10,000-30,000 Aramean Christians, who were for years forced to register as Arab instead.
Great news https://t.co/8J0H3ldOei https://t.co/FJv9h4zRzY
— #SaveAram (@SaveAram) January 21, 2017
Shadi Khalloul of The Philos Project said,“This is a historic decision that will bring blessing to Israel’s Christian population and Jewish population alike.”
Khalloul is a Philos Fellow that presented the bill with Knesset Member Oded Forer, the Philos Project reported.
January 15th, 2017
* Israeli Government Committee of Ministers Decided to Ease Aramaic identity registration for… https://t.co/j5yozpApl4— #SaveAram (@SaveAram) January 17, 2017
“This law recognizes us as descendants of early Christians and part of the original population of this region,” he added.
“Both Jews and Christians spoke Aramaic before the Islamic conquest, and both of our communities share common fathers and an Aramaic heritage,” Khalloul explained.
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(H/T Philos Project)