Israel: Rabbi supports Greek Orthodox priest attacked by police

Fr Constantine with Rabbi Gilad

Rabbi GIlad Kariv, a legal scholar, member of the Knesset and former CEO of Reform Judaism in Israel wrote on Facebook yesterday:

Tonight, I met with Father Constantine, one of the leaders of the Greek Orthodox community in Jaffa. With tears in his eyes and a voice choked with emotion, he described to me the violence he experienced at the hands of police officers on Jaffa's main street, and the humiliating search conducted on him at the police station.

All this as a result of the fact that Father Constantine, a well-known community and education figure in Jaffa and across all Christian communities in the country, "dared" to call out a Yasam officer on his aggression toward a young boy. Father Constantine was arrested, handcuffed, and forcibly put into a police van, while wearing his clerical garb and as passersby made it clear to the officers that he was one of Jaffa's senior religious figures.

The blue bruises on Father Constantine's hands and feet are evidence of the violence he endured. The tears in his eyes a week after the incident testify to the psychological shock he experienced as a result of the brutal behaviour.

In the story of Father Constantine's arrest, there's everything we've come to know from countless incidents in recent years: sending special forces to handle events that would befit a regular police response, mass detentions and arrests, physical and verbal violence by officers, and illegal searches that amount to the sexual harassment of citizens.

This time, it's compounded by a shocking lack of sensitivity toward men of the cloth. Convicted criminals like Rabbi Berland receive royal treatment from police officers, while religious leaders who have devoted their lives to promoting shared living absorb violence and humiliation.

This is not a slip-up but a rotten and corrupt culture that has infiltrated the Israel Police under the auspices of a racist and nationalist minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. We are determined to protect the fabric of shared life in Israel and bring values of tolerance and mutual respect back to center stage in Israeli society.

Father Constantine was released after a few hours with no legal proceedings against him, just like thousands of other detainees in the past four years. But we have no intention of releasing ourselves from the struggle against the nationalist and racist winds blowing in too many places in the State of Israel. Change will come soon.