- Feb 5, 2002
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Anti-Christian violence is on the rise in Israel, particularly in the Old City of Jerusalem, with churches being vandalised and clergy members assaulted and spat upon.
Anti-Christian hatred and attacks are becoming more and more common in Israel, as some are calling the levels of violence a “crisis” for the conservative government led by Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop and soon-to-be Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has spoken out regarding the growing anti-Christian attacks in Israel in a recent interview with Vatican News.
“Let us say that these clashes, these spats, these accusations, these insults, are not new. But the exponential increase in these phenomena, especially in the Jerusalem area, in the Old City, has become a matter of concern and an issue on the agenda that worries both the Christian community and the Israeli authorities,” Archbishop Pizzaballa said.
He noted that while authorities in Israel have publicly condemned the rise in anti-Christian attacks, their promises to act have yet to yield much in the way of real results.
“On the one hand, the problem is that these phenomena are increasing, perhaps also supported, as I said, by a certain religious cultural context; On the other hand, however, there is also a Christian community that feels the object of indiscriminate attacks based on religious violence, religious hatred, religious contempt. This in turn creates, even within the Christian community, tension, discontent, and sometimes, often even anger,” he said.
While Archbishop Pizzaballa did state that the political tensions in Israel likely play a role in the rise of attacks, he did not directly blame the government and stated that so far the violence has not risen to the level of persecution of Christians.
“When we talk about persecution, I think of what radical Islamists have done in Syria and Iraq. We are not in that situation. There are problems, for sure, but we are not persecuted,” he said.
Over the last year, there have been several anti-Christian incidents that have made headlines in Israel. In February, a U.S. Jewish tourist vandalised a statue of Jesus in the Church of Flagellation in the Old City, the site where Christ was scourged before his crucifixion.
Continued below.
europeanconservative.com
Anti-Christian hatred and attacks are becoming more and more common in Israel, as some are calling the levels of violence a “crisis” for the conservative government led by Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop and soon-to-be Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has spoken out regarding the growing anti-Christian attacks in Israel in a recent interview with Vatican News.
“Let us say that these clashes, these spats, these accusations, these insults, are not new. But the exponential increase in these phenomena, especially in the Jerusalem area, in the Old City, has become a matter of concern and an issue on the agenda that worries both the Christian community and the Israeli authorities,” Archbishop Pizzaballa said.
He noted that while authorities in Israel have publicly condemned the rise in anti-Christian attacks, their promises to act have yet to yield much in the way of real results.
“On the one hand, the problem is that these phenomena are increasing, perhaps also supported, as I said, by a certain religious cultural context; On the other hand, however, there is also a Christian community that feels the object of indiscriminate attacks based on religious violence, religious hatred, religious contempt. This in turn creates, even within the Christian community, tension, discontent, and sometimes, often even anger,” he said.
While Archbishop Pizzaballa did state that the political tensions in Israel likely play a role in the rise of attacks, he did not directly blame the government and stated that so far the violence has not risen to the level of persecution of Christians.
“When we talk about persecution, I think of what radical Islamists have done in Syria and Iraq. We are not in that situation. There are problems, for sure, but we are not persecuted,” he said.
Over the last year, there have been several anti-Christian incidents that have made headlines in Israel. In February, a U.S. Jewish tourist vandalised a statue of Jesus in the Church of Flagellation in the Old City, the site where Christ was scourged before his crucifixion.
Continued below.
Anti-Christian Violence Growing in Jerusalem
Anti-Christian violence is on the rise in Israel, particularly in the Old City of Jerusalem, with churches being vandalised and clergy members assaulted and ...
europeanconservative.com
