Maronites in Israel

Maronites in Israel (Arabic: الموارنة في إسرائيل; Hebrew: מארונים; Syriac: ܒܝܫܪܐܠ ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are an ethnoreligious minority who belong to the Maronite Catholic Church, which has historically been tied with Lebanon. They derive their name from the Syriac Saint Maron, whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria, establishing the Maronite Church,^[3] most of whose members currently reside in Lebanon.^[3] The Maronites in Israel encompass the long-existing Maronite community in Jish, Haifa, and Nazareth areas, as well as the families of former South Lebanon Army members, 7,000 of whom fled South Lebanon in April–May 2000 to 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.

Since 2014, Maronites in Israel are eligible to register their ethnicity as "Aramean".