Jerusalem: Christian cemetery vandalized

Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery - Image: WCC

Source: Vatican News, WCC

Church leaders are protesting at the destruction of about 30 gravestones in the Anglican-owned cemetery on Mount Zion.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum of Jerusalem said the attack was a "clear hate crime" against Christians.

A security camera video shared on social media shows two apparently Jewish men wearing kippot, breaking into the cemetery, and smashing the gravestones on Sunday, 1 January.

Photographs handed out by the police who arrived at the scene after receiving a report of vandalism, showed toppled gravestones and broken masonry.

The cemetery was opened in 1848 by then-Bishop of Jerusalem Samuel Gobat, and is now owned by the Church Missionary Trust Association Ltd, an Anglican organization.

The incident comes as the outcry continues over far-right National Security Minister Itaman Ben-Gvir's 15-minutes 'walk' around the al-Aqsa compound. The ultra-nationalist leader, who was sworn in the new Netanyahu government last week, visited the site on Tuesday morning, in a move that has drawn condemnation from the Arab world and the international community.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to the Jewish people as the Temple Mount, is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. For Muslims, it is considered the third holiest site located inside the Old City of Jerusalem.

The desecration of the Christian gravestones has been strongly condemned by Jerusalem's Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum who has termed it as a "clear hate crime" against Christians. "This act is not just cowardly but disgusting, and any person with blood through their veins would reject such behaviour," Naoum told a press conference on Wednesday.

It is the latest of a series of acts of vandalism, including hate graffiti and arson attacks, perpetrated by extremist Israeli activists against Christian sites across the country. Targets struck in the past years include the Basilica of Nazareth and Catholic and Greek- Orthodox buildings. Mosques and Muslim places of worship have also been targeted.

Christian leaders in the Holy Land have repeatedly warned that their communities are under threat of being driven from the region by extremist Israeli radical groups.

On December 16 , 2022, the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (ACOHL), voiced their concerns over the "gradual deterioration of the general social and political" situation in the Holy Land, also pointing to "divisive statements" made by some political leaders against "the Arab or otherwise non-Jewish community" which, they said, "are contrary to the spirit of peaceful and constructive coexistence among the various communities that make up our society".

In a statement, Rev Prof Dr Jerry Pillay, World Council of Churches general secretary said: "The World Council of Churches joins the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and all the churches of the Holy Land in condemning the desecration of the historic Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion. The demonstrated lack of respect for the dead and provocation of the Christian community is utterly unacceptable...

"Such an incident serves to underscore the grave concerns expressed repeatedly by the heads of churches in Jerusalem about increasing attacks and threats against the Christian community by extremist elements of Israeli society. We welcome the supportive statements made by President Herzog, Chief Rabbi Mirvis and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We call on the Israeli authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable under the law, that more effective measures are taken to mitigate the threats of further such attacks, and to provide assurance to the Christian community in Jerusalem and throughout the country in the context of increasing levels of extremist threats against them.

The global fellowship of WCC member churches reaffirms its commitment to uphold the churches and Christian community in the Holy Land in prayer and active solidarity."