Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out Tuesday in defense of Christians and freedom of worship in Jerusalem, after a group of extremist Jews was filmed spitting on alleged Christian missionaries in the city.
“Israel is totally committed to safeguard the sacred right of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all faiths,” he wrote on his official account on Twitter/X.
“I strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate worshippers, and I am committed to taking immediate and decisive action against it.”
Derogatory conduct towards worshipers is sacrilege and is simply unacceptable.
Any form of hostility towards individuals engaged in worship will not be tolerated.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 3, 2023
The Times of Israel reported on the harassment experienced by some Christians in the city:
Orthodox Jews are filmed spitting at Christian tourists in the Old City of Jerusalem in the latest incident of harassment targeting the religious minority.
…
While they readily acknowledge that there is no organized or governmental effort against them, Christian clergy in the Old City tell of a deteriorating atmosphere of harassment, apathy from authorities, and a growing fear that incidents of spitting and vandalism could turn into violence against their persons.
Many Jews oppose Christian missionary activity in Jerusalem, because of its association in past centuries with antisemitism. A group of Orthodox Jews protested peacefully Tuesday outside a Christian event, the Feast of Tabernacles, that they accused of engaging in efforts to convert Jews.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog reassured the gathering that Israel would protect all religious communities, including Christians.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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