Police said stationed outside Jerusalem Old City Armenian cathedral to stop people from spitting at it

The Israel Police has placed officers outside the St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem’s Old City to try to crack down on Jewish passersby spitting at the building, but it doesn’t seem to be halting the displays of contempt.

Police were stationed outside the Armenian holy site for the first time on Saturday, according to Yisca Harani from the Religious Freedom Data Center, which documents religious discrimination in Israel.

من كثرة بصق واعتداء الإسرائيليين على مدخل كنيسة دير مار يعقوب في حي الأرمن في القدس المحتلة، وانتشار الفيديوهات والضغط السياسي، وضعت السلطات الإسرائيلية حراساً على الكنيسة، ورغم ذلك استمر البصق؛ فهي عادة وثقافة مجتمع كامل، كما في هذا المشهد الذي بصقت فيه إسرائيليتان على الكنيسة.… pic.twitter.com/MfcoqCQB0I

— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) September 6, 2026

Harani shares footage from last night showing a young Jewish woman walking by and spitting at the cathedral before appearing to lick her fingers.

The woman is then approached by the officers, but the footage doesn’t show what happened next, and police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Harani shares another clip from this morning, which appears to show a Jewish passerby hocking a loogie in the direction of the Old City’s Armenian monastery.