# 131: Why Christians are disappearing from the Middle East, with Amb. George Deek

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-haviv-anything-7201561/131-why-christians-are-disappearing-from-the-middle-east-with-amb-george-deek
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-haviv-anything-7201561/131-why-christians-are-disappearing-from-the-middle-east-with-amb-george-deek.md
Podcast: [Ask Haviv Anything](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ask-haviv-anything-7201561)
Published: 2026-07-14T12:40:48+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ask-haviv-anything/episodes/131-Why-Christians-are-disappearing-from-the-Middle-East--with-Amb--George-Deek-e3m2o5i
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/100cf5c64/podcast/play/122822258/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-14%2F427940267-44100-2-375f1f10dd503.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ask-haviv-anything-7201561/episodes/131-why-christians-are-disappearing-from-the-middle-east-with-amb-george-deek
Duration seconds: 4946

## Resource

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur). And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur). -- Israel’s first special envoy to the Christian world, Ambassador George Deek, joins Haviv for a sweeping conversation about Christians in Israel, Palestinian Christians, the disappearance of ancient Christian communities across the Middle East, and the strange new alliance targeting Israel from both the far left and far right. Drawing on his own family’s extraordinary journey from Palestinian refugees to full participation in Israeli society, Deek offers a powerful argument for responsibility over victimhood -- and for building a future rather than remaining imprisoned by the past. -- This episode is dedicated by Peter Fine of New York to his family in Israel. In his words: “Originally, my family’s name was Zavodnick. They came from Mezritch in today's northwest Ukraine. My maternal grandfather was the oldest of 5 brothers and came to New York via Canada around WW1. He came for many reasonsl but the one relayed to me the most was the fear of Cossacks and not wanting to subscribe to the ‘death sentence’ for Jewish people serving in the Russian Army. “After immigration to the US was essentially shut down for East European Jews in the 1920s, my grandfather's four younger brothers emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s. Most settled in and around Haifa. Name changes to Bar-Akiva and Zavod followed. They were an incredibly bright, energetic group. They started businesses and kibbutzim while one brother went to S…

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