A strike that closed Christian schools in the Holy Land last month is a sign of concerns about the place of Christians in Israeli society, reports Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko School strikes over budgets are fairly common in all parts of the education system in Israel at the beginning of the school year. But the dispute at Christian schools last month became so public that it received international press coverage and was even raised by Pope Francis in a confidential meeting with Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, in the Vatican.At the heart of the matter is not simply education. It is also about Christians feeling unsafe and uncertain of their future in the Holy Land. Although there has been strong Israeli public and government condemnation of attacks on Christian communities, there