Some have identified themselves as Catholics although the vast majority are Orthodox. There is a general confusion regarding the identity of this new group of Christian Israelis. There is suspicion of and even violence against what some Jewish Israelis perceive as Christian missionary activity . Missing elements in the dialogue Thus far the point of departure for the analysis of Jewish-Catholic dialogue in Jerusalem has been the extant dialogue in the USA and Western Europe. Dialogue in the Jerusalem context has been seen to modify this dialogue.
Religious leaders have to struggle to be relevant in the socio-political domain.
In Jerusalem, religion is still an all too indivisible part of the socio-political sphere. This does not contribute to an atmosphere of dialogue as religious leaders represent partisan interests and often are drawn into the promotion of intolerance rather than dialogue. Many local Catholics feel that Jerusalem still needs a good dosage of secularism and they often find that their closest partners in dialogue are secular Jews and Muslims. This is not true in the Jerusalem context. Jews are clearly the dominant majority.