‘Disturbing rise’ in attacks on Christians in Holy Land

A Jerusalem-based interreligious organisation has reported a “disturbing rise” in attacks on Christians within the Holy Land. 

Incidents described within the Rossing Center’s report include spitting, disruption to services, physical and verbal harassment, damage to property, and the desecration of Christian burial places.  

It said 2023 had seen a “worrying” increase in “severe” assaults on Christians and their property. 

“The targeting of Christianity shouldn’t be, on the entire, explicitly encouraged by the political leadership or the Israeli authorities,” the report says.

“However, the rise in attacks correlates with a broader socio-political climate marked by a shift towards the far-right, growing nationalism, and an emphasis on Israel as a state for the Jewish population which has impacted the unique majority/minority dynamics of Jewish-Christian relations within the Holy Land.”

The report identifies the perpetrators as primarily young Jewish men who discover “with the Religious Zionist camp and ultra-nationalist stances”, although verbal harassment and spitting is more often by members of the ultra-Orthodox community, each young and old, female and male.

“It is crucial to emphasize that harassing behaviours are usually not normative, and nearly all of individuals, no matter their views on Christianity or other religious minorities, don’t partake in such actions,” the report said. 

The document quotes Fr Nikodemus Schnabel, Abbot of the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem, who says he gets spat on “almost each day”. 

“Twenty years ago, it was possibly every six months,” he says.

When police have been involved, their intervention has been “helpful”, the report states, even though it also speaks of a “critical need for swift condemnation by Israeli authorities and proactive measures to discourage or halt harassment”. 

In response to the findings, the Rossing Center is asking for a “comprehensive approach” to scale back hostility towards Christians.

“In conclusion, this evaluation underscores the urgent need for collaborative efforts to handle escalating hostilities against Christians in Jerusalem and advocates for a comprehensive approach involving condemnation by state and spiritual authorities, law enforcement, education, community involvement, media engagement and international awareness,” the report said. 

Speaking about their findings, Hana Bendcowsky from the Rossing Center, told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that the Christian community feels “shaken” and “uncomfortable”.

“You feel as if nobody wants you – lay people do not feel this a lot because the clergy, but they’re a part of Israel and, they need to feel comfortable on this homeland, and we should always make certain they do,” she said.

Despite the positive engagement of police, she said that some churches are hesitant to report incidents because “they are not all the time confident that reporting these events won’t negatively affect them”. 

An announcement from rabbis can also be “very essential”, she added, and “can mean rather a lot to the churches”.