OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM – Father Francesco Patton, the Vatican's
custodian of Christian sites in Israel,
warned that rising violence against
members of the Church and holy sites would dissuade pilgrims and ignite
antisemitism in the Christian world.
اضافة اعلان
In an interview with Israeli news site, Calcalist, Patton blamed
the Israeli government for their inaction and alignment with extremists to hold
on to power for the
increasing violence between the two religious groups and
warned the images broadcast around the world would damage the country’s
reputation and tourism industry.
"In one week the Maronite monastery in Ma'a lot was attacked,
graves in a Protestant cemetery in Jerusalem were vandalized and graffiti on an
Armenian monastery said "
Death to Christians. In addition, a statue of
Jesus near a gate to the Old City was desecrated when a Jew took a hammer to
it,” Patton Said.
"Violence thrives especially in an environment where
religious and political fundamentalism unite."
The comments came after a video went viral on Monday depicting
several Ultra-Orthodox Jews, including children, spitting toward Christian worshippers in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The video was widely condemned by Israeli officials, including
politicians from the Haredi community and by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi
David Lau.
However, on Tuesday, Elisha Yered, an extremist settler who is
suspected of involvement in the killing of a Palestinian last August, defended
the act in a post on X (Twitter) calling the spitting near Christian clergy or
churches an age-old custom rooted in Jewish law.
"Perhaps the influence of Western culture has made us forget what Christianity is but I think millions of Jews who have suffered the
crusades, torture from the inquisition, blood libel and pogroms, will never
forget,” he tweeted.
The altercation is only the latest in a rising number of attacks
and desecrations by an increasingly emboldened class of jewish extremists.
These attacks include the stoning of churches in the north of the country,
forced entry into Stela Maris Monastery in Haifa and daily attacks on clergy in
the old city of Jerusalem.
Israel's current coalition government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu,
has been widely criticized as the most right-wing in history and members
including Ben Gvir have continually failed to condemn rising Jewish extremism.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
