"Our main challenge is to spread our history, knowledge and identity, which have been hidden from our people," he says. "It started 1,400 years ago during the Arab occupation, which spread the Arabic language and prevented people from speaking Aramaic. Then in the 13th century the Turks came and did the same. Now the Arab countries don't respect the Aramaic language. If the people only knew the truth, they would refuse to remain under the fake Arab identity."

But all three initiatives — serving in the IDF, reviving Aramaic, and discarding their Arab identity — have been met with fierce criticism from many others in the Maronite and wider Christian community.

Michel Aoun, a Christian lawyer, says that the move to ditch the Arab identity is not supported "by even one per cent" of the Maronites, who make up 20-25 per cent of Lebanon's population and who number about 11,000 of Israel's 155,000 Christians.

"It's a historical fact that the Christians are originally Palestinians — this has been the case for years, even centuries before 1948 [the year Israel was established].

"We are Maronites — with a Palestinian nationality, Israeli citizenship and Christian faith."

As for Aramaic, one teenage high school student tells me bluntly: "It's a dead language. I don't care about it any more." As an elder member of the community challenges her, she does not recant. "Yes, it's used in the church, but we don't use it in our daily lives."

On the streets of Nazareth, many local Christians do not bother to hide their disdain of Father Nadaf and his colleagues. "Nadaf is an outcast. No one listens to him," says Leon Barra.  "I don't like that he doesn't term us Arabs. He is trying to deny our Arab identity because he has a political agenda. But it does not serve to deny your roots. Yes, we should integrate more into Israeli society, but we should not melt into it completely. And claiming to be Aramaic and not Arab — it's like a Lebanese claiming he is actually a Phoenician."

Nationally, the idea of joining the army is hotly contested. Many see it as a policy to divide and rule the Israeli Arabs. One Israeli Arab member of the Knesset, Basel Ghattas, appealed to the Pope directly to intervene and tell Christians to stop volunteering for the IDF.

But in Nazareth, army service seems surprisingly well-received by many Christians. "I support the idea of Christians serving in the army", says Barra. "I think the army is a good thing overall, although it's still not common among our community to serve in it. But I disagree with the Israeli structure of the army. If you're not Ashkenazi [of Eastern European origin] you can't dream of being a pilot." 

When asked why he did not do army service himself, he answers with a shrug. "I regret not doing it — it teaches you a lot of skills: self-reliance, independence. But at the time, I was reluctant to give up three years of my life for it."

Leon sees a role for Christians in the IDF, particularly in troubled hotspots where conflict arises on a daily basis. "Christian Arab soldiers can serve in Hebron," he says. "Look at what's happening there," referring to a recent incident in which an IDF soldier threatening a Hebron youth with his gun. Christian presence and cultural sensitivities can help alleviate tensions, says Leon.