Five arrested in Jerusalem for allegedly spitting on Christians
Israeli police on Wednesday arrested five Orthodox Jews on assault charges after they allegedly spat at Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Thousands of Christians from around the world take part in the Christian Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) event in Jerusalem on Oct. 3, 2023. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS
The suspects, including one minor, were reportedly walking through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter when they spat at the entrance of a local church.
“We will not tolerate expressions of hatred towards anyone—Jews, Muslims, or Christians, in the Old City and anywhere else in Jerusalem,” said Jerusalem police chief Doron Turgeman following the arrests.
“Those who engage in such actions have a serious problem, primarily in their education, world view and respect for others. We condemn this ugly act that damages the unique way of life that has existed in this area for many years, encompassing visitors, worshipers, and tourists of all religions—Jews, Muslims and Christians, side by side,” he added.
The police statement included video footage of Wednesday’s incident and subsequent arrests.
Amid a recent uptick in isolated incidents of Orthodox Jewish extremists spitting at Christians, Turgeman said he had approved the formation of a special investigative team to tackle the phenomenon.
“Given the fact that the vast majority of spitting incidents towards Christians are not reported, we need to initiate identification and handling of such cases and incorporate surveillance cameras, officers in the field, network monitoring, and all available means for real-time or retrospective monitoring,” he said.
Commenting on a previous incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday the Jewish state was “totally committed” to safeguarding the right of worship for people of all faiths. “I strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate worshippers, and I am committed to taking immediate and decisive action against it,” the prime minister added.
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau denounced the spitting, saying “such phenomena are unwarranted and certainly should not be attributed to Jewish law.”
But National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told Israeli media that while spitting at Christians was “ugly and disgusting,” he also sid it was “not a criminal case” and that not everything “justifies an arrest.”
Thousands of evangelical supporters of Israel from around the world have gathered in Jerusalem this week for the annual Feast of Tabernacles celebrations which are held during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
The event, from Sept. 29-Oct. 6, is expected to draw 3,000 Christian pilgrims from 80 countries.
Religion is an especially sensitive matter in Israel. Religious Jews sometimes accuse Christians of trying to target Israelis for conversion.
In January, the United Torah Judaism party made waves by introducing legislation to make Christian proselytizing punishable with imprisonment. The legislation was never advanced.
