Rights center documents 83 Israeli attacks on Christians in 3 months, mostly in occupied Jerusalem
During this quarter, 47 incidents involved spitting, says Israel’s Religious Freedom Data Center
This April to June saw 83 Israeli attacks on Christians in Israel or Israeli-occupied territories in 76 incidents, most of them in Jerusalem, according to a report released Friday.
The report was issued by Israel’s Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC) and the its Hotline for Documenting Harassment against Christians in Israel, a nongovernmental center specializing in documenting attacks related to freedom of worship.
According to the report, 68 incidents took place inside Jerusalem, a city also revered by Christians. Two incidents were recorded in Haifa and the Galilee in northern Israel, one in the Sea of Galilee area, one in the West Bank, one in Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem, and two in Mevaseret Zion west of Jerusalem. The report did not give the location of the remaining incident.
Of the 68 incidents recorded in Jerusalem, 46 took place in the Old City, 13 in West Jerusalem and nine on Mount Zion, a historic hill southwest of the Old City, the report said.
“As in previous reports, the high number of spitting incidents remains particularly striking. During this quarter, 47 incidents involved spitting, accounting for 56% of all recorded forms of harassment,” the RFDC said.
“In recent years, these acts have increasingly taken place openly, in broad daylight, and at times in a deliberately demonstrative manner. In several cases, perpetrators even explained to Hotline volunteers—and on camera—why they believed such behavior was justified,” it added.
The center said reported incidents included Israeli parents spitting and directing insults in front of their children, and encouraging them to do the same.
Rise in harassment
As in previous years, the report noted a sharp increase in incidents during Jerusalem Day and the Flag March (28 Iyar on the Hebrew calendar), an annual Israeli event marking the occupation of East Jerusalem.
“While some incidents involved individuals acting alone, moving in groups appeared to encourage spitting and similar acts,” the report says.
The report said harassment and attacks are increasingly taking place openly in public spaces, with little hesitation from perpetrators. It cited a violent assault on a nun on Mount Zion and verbal abuse directed at a monk in a store.
The center says on its website that the reality in the Christian Quarter and the Old City of Jerusalem has long been sensitive and full of challenges and complexities, but that the situation changed radically for the worse in early 2023 with a rise in harassment.
In April, Israeli police prevented Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in East Jerusalem during Christian holidays, and imposed restrictions on Christians taking part in Easter celebrations at the church.
In recent years, Israeli extremists have been involved in spitting incidents targeting churches and Christian clergy in Jerusalem, along with attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank and the targeting of churches in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war that started in October 2023.
Churches around the world have also criticized Israel’s recent wars on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, warning of their humanitarian and religious consequences.
