A Spit in the Face: Anti-Christian Incidents in Jerusalem Spread Epidemic of Jewish Supremacy
A desecrated statue of Jesus was vandalized by a Jewish extremist in the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem, in February. Credit: AMMAR AWAD/ REUTERS
Oct
4, 2023
A short video shot Sunday documents the following event: A group of Christian pilgrims sets out from a church on the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem, a few of them carrying a large wooden cross. They encounter a few dozen Jewish men and boys, some wearing prayer shawls and carrying the lulav and etrog for the Sukkot festival. Within seconds, the Jews begin to spit on the ground in the direction of the pilgrims – first men, followed by boys, imitating them. Near the end of the video, a Border Patrol officer is seen escorting the group of Jews, doing nothing to stop them.
The video sparked outrage and condemnation from around the world and shocked many Israelis. But there were also those who justified the spitters. One of these is Elisha Yered, a far-right activist and the spokesman for lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech, of the Religious Zionism party. According to Yered, spitting at Christians is an “ancient Jewish custom” – a claim he found support for in the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, one of the fathers of religious Zionism.
This event was not unusual. Every day, Christian pilgrims and members of the clergy face being spat at on the streets of the Old City. This is in addition to the assaults, cursing, humiliation and vandalism suffered by Christians and their institutions. Priests think twice before stepping out in liturgical vestments and reconsider walking routes to avoid problematic streets. Frustrated by Christian visitors and church leaders being insulted, tour guides have repeatedly alerted the Israel Police and the government. The Jerusalem police, for their part, explain that the phenomenon is hard to combat since spitting on the ground is not a criminal offense.
While the spitting is not new – religious teens have been doing it in Jerusalem for many years – the city’s Christian communities agree that its frequency has increased markedly in the past year. The spitters feel they have the support of Israel’s extremist government, especially National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. “Some of these movements may feel, not that they are buoyed, but at least that they are protected,” the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa said recently. Pizzaballa was consecrated as a cardinal in the Catholic Church September 30.
Among those who condemned the assaults were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau. But condemnation solves no problems. To salvage what little integrity still remains to Israeli Judaism and society, all the authorities have to make the eradication of this phenomenon a priority by acting to enforce it on the streets. This practice is yet another symptom of the epidemic of Jewish supremacy. Israel’s current leadership continues to fuel this attitude, which is why we have an obligation to do everything we can to replace the government.
