Via Telegraph:

Sitting in front of the family Christmas tree dressed in military fatigues, Amir Shalayan seemed in no doubt about his identity.

“When you go back back in religion, I consider myself a real Jew,” he said, unabashed by the non-Jewish festive decorations in his living room. “Jesus was Jewish and he was observing the Shabbat (Jewish sabbath).”

Mr Shalayan is in fact an Arab Christian, a category he refers to as “Aramean”, but his strong identification with the Jewish faith is offered as explanation for his keen army service. It also accounts for his vocal support of legislation that envisages officially declaring Israel a Jewish state – despite the presence within its borders of around 1.7 million Arabs, including 161,000 Christians, more than 20 per cent of the population.

Mr Shalayan has no such qualms, citing the recent fate of Christians at the hands of jihadist extremists in Iraq and Syria to support his case.

“I’m supporting the bill,” he said. “I would rather be a second-class citizen under a Jewish state than a first-class citizen in an Arab state. “Arab countries don’t have any system. They want to act according to Sharia (Islamic law). Christians have been persecuted all over the world and this is the only country (in the Middle East) that gives me the right to be Christian and practice my rituals.”

Mr Shalayan, 26, is one of a small number of Christians to have volunteered,to serve in Israel’s armed forces – from which his co-religionists, like other Arabs, are exempt. This is in contrast to most Jews, for whom service is compulsory.

Having spent three years in the Israeli navy, he now performs regular reserve duty and is a member of the Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum Association, which attempts to persuade other Christians to join the army. It claims to have recruited between 100 and 150 Christian volunteers since its establishment in 2012.