"We see the army as the first step in becoming more integrated with the state," Nadaf says.

"Due to our connection to the land, our roots, and in light of what is happening in the neighbouring countries and the daily suffering of Christians, our youth feels they must sacrifice for the state of Israel that is protecting them. Now we are following in the footsteps of the Druze."

The Druze are followers of a mystical faith that is an offshoot of Islam. Though the Druze are exempt from conscription, members of the sect in Israel have served in the IDF for generations and are known for their loyalty to the state. Israel's economy minister Naftali Bennett credits a Druze soldier with saving his life when he prevented him from stepping on a landmine during the 2006 war with Hezbollah.

The Druze in the Golan Heights are an exception. The area was conquered by Israel from Syria in the 1967 war and the Druze there usually align themselves with Syria. Yet the massacres being perpetrated by President Assad on his own people have changed the minds of Golan Druze, and for the first time some of them have taken up Israeli citizenship. Some of the Arab bedouins in Israel are also opting to serve in the IDF. Nadaf and others seek to follow the same precedent.

In 2012 just 35 Christian soldiers joined the army; in 2013 the number was 150. By March this year, 105 had enlisted, according to figures cited by the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum. Nadaf predicts the numbers will hit new records by the end of 2014. "This year there is going to be a big surprise, both for the Israeli and the Arab leadership," he says.

Serving in the IDF is a taboo topic for most Israeli Arabs, but Nadaf does not stop there. He also vigorously promotes the idea that the Christian minority should rid itself of its identity as "Arab" altogether. The Arab identity, he says, was forcefully imposed upon the Christians and has done them no favours. "The Arab leadership has been stealing for years the Christian community's rightful place. The Arab leadership only created unnecessary conflicts between the Christians and the Jews." 

In place of their Arab identity, others in the Israeli Christian community are working to resurrect their previous Christian identity as Aramaeans, by teaching Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.

One school in the village of Gush Halav (also known as Jish), perched on Israel's border with Lebanon, has recently become the first Israeli school to teach Aramaic as part of its curriculum. This came about after members of the community created a group with the goal of reviving Aramaic as a means of reconnecting local people with their roots. Israel's Education Ministry agreed to allocate some teaching hours for Aramaean heritage to be taught to pupils aged six to 14.

Teaching a nearly extinct language is no easy feat, admits Amir Haloul, an Aramaic teacher who commutes to the village every week from the coastal city of Haifa.

"In Israel, we have about 50 people who know how to speak, read and write in Aramaic," he says, although many others "know how to read and sing songs" in the language. Still, he says that reviving it is vital for the future.