Hostility against Christians increasing in the Holy Land

By Lisa Zengarini

Christians in the Holy Land are facing increasing attacks and acts of intolerance from radical Jews, according to a newly released report.

According to the findings of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue based in JerusalemThe year 2023 saw a “worrying increase” in attacks on churches and their members, including spitting, physical harassment, damage to property and cemeteries and disruption of religious services.

THE Annual report on “Attacks against Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” He called for increased police intervention, stronger condemnations from Jewish authorities and religious leaders, and proper coverage of the attacks in mainstream media and social networks.

Hana Bendcowsky of the Rossing Centre spoke about the study results.The Catholic foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), who supported the interfaith peacebuilding organization with different projects.

“Crush” and “press”

She explained that the reported incidents can be divided into two categories described by the terms “smash” and “squeeze.”

The term “smash” refers to violent or aggressive incidents, including vandalism and desecration of Christian sites, such as what happened at the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem, where a statue of Jesus was smashed with a hammer on February 2, 2023. These types of attacks are primarily carried out by a small minority of young ultra-Orthodox Jewish men with radical nationalist views. However, Bendcowsky explained that the majority of ultra-Orthodox Jews would not go so far as to enter a church and smash a statue of Jesus.

Spitting incidents

So-called “squeeze” incidents involve Christian priests and clergy being spat on, insulted or told to remove their crosses. A video of one such incident involving Father Nikodemus Schnabel of the Dormition Benedictine Abbey in East Jerusalem went viral earlier this year.

Ms. Bendcowsky explained that unlike incidents of physical violence, this form of harassment is perpetrated by “members of the ultra-Orthodox community, men and women, young and old, and makes the Christian community feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the Israel to which it belongs.

In 2023, 30 cases of spitting were recorded, but according to Ms. Bendcowsky, these are likely just the tip of the iceberg. The report notes that the series of incidents of spitting and verbal harassment directed at foreign pilgrims marks a new development in the context of growing hostilities against Christians.

Although spitting by ultra-Orthodox Jews has always been a problem, Ms Bendcowsky suggested it is now more evident because the incidents are now recorded and socialised.

Father Schnabel said that spitting, in particular, has become a daily occurrence for him: “Of course, there are many Jews who are truly wonderful people, who support us and are very happy that we are here, but the sad truth is that we have this phenomenon and it is not uncommon,” he said, recalling that the Dormition Monastery has also been the target of arson attacks, hateful graffiti and broken windows. He confirmed that such incidents are increasing.

The report’s recommendations

Ms. Bendcowsky stressed the importance of prompt police intervention when such incidents occur, noting that police presence proved effective in ending picketing outside the Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery in Haifa by followers of the controversial Rabbi Eliezer Berland. Groups of men would gather to pray aloud at the monastery gates, but two months of police presence at the site helped put an end to the problem.

While commending the police for their intervention, she said more could be done and also encouraged the Church to promptly report cases to police authorities.

The Rossing Center report notes that rabbis have spoken out against attacks on Christians. After the spitting attacks on pilgrims in October 2023, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef stressed that such actions had no place in Judaism, and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau stressed that spitting on Christians was against Jewish law.

According to Ms. Bendcowsky, an official statement from the rabbis “is very important and can mean a lot to the churches.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa: “We cannot ignore what is happening”

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, praised the Rossing Center for documenting these cases. “We need to know what is happening: the number of attacks, the perpetrators, to pass them on to the authorities. Even if they do nothing, they cannot say that it is not happening,” he said.

The Rossing Center

Founded in 2006, the Rossing Center is a leading organization in the field of interfaith education and encounter, with a diverse Israeli-Palestinian staff of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Its mission is to strengthen the desire and capacity of Israelis and Palestinians to create truly shared societies for all groups by teaching inclusive skills and values ​​within the Israeli education system, as well as engaging Jews and Arabs in mixed spaces.