Old City spitting videos underscore troubling reality for Christian clergy

Clips circulating in Hebrew media show ultra-Orthodox youths acting out their disdain for Christian symbols and believers; priests say it is a daily occurrence

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man spits in the direction of two Catholic nuns at the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalems Old City (Channel 12 screenshot)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man spits in the direction of two Catholic nuns at the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalems Old City (Channel 12 screenshot)

A series of videos showing ultra-Orthodox youths spitting at Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City is making the rounds through Israeli social media, calling attention to a phenomenon Christian clergy have been speaking out against for years with little result.

The clips, aired Sunday on Channel 12, show groups of young men in the Old City, dressed in suits and black hats, some wearing or carrying prayer shawls. In one video, as six boys and young men walk by two Catholic nuns at the Church of the Flagellation on Via Dolorosa, one turns and spits in the direction of the nuns.

In another, a lone young man spits as pilgrims walk up the Via Dolorosa carrying a wooden cross.

A third clip shows three ultra-Orthodox youths walking by a church in the Muslim quarter. One of the men, smoking a cigarette, spits at the door of the church. An Arab man filming them asks in Hebrew if they’re ashamed of their actions, and they respond proudly that they are not at all.

Israel’s official spokespeople and social media accounts go out of their way to emphasize Israel’s freedom of worship and to portray the Jewish state as the only safe home for Christians in a hostile Middle East.

The picture of safe coexistence painted by Israeli officials is starkly at odds with the experiences Jerusalem’s Christian leaders themselves describe. While they readily acknowledge that there is no organized or governmental effort against them, Christian clergy in the Old City tell of a deteriorating atmosphere of harassment, apathy from authorities, and a growing fear that incidents of spitting and vandalism could turn into violence against their persons.

Catholic clergy in the Old City told The Times of Israel in March that spitting was a daily occurrence, and that police fail to respond adequately.

They are also alarmed by a rise in more brazen attacks in recent months, including vandalism of cemeteries and key shrines in Jerusalem and the Galilee.

A toppled statue in the Church of the Flagellation, in the Old City of Jerusalem, February 2, 2023. (Custody of the Holy Land)

The Franciscans in the Old City are so worried that they have been locking the doors to their San Salvatore compound in the Old City at night ever since the desecration of a Jesus statue in the Church of the Flagellation in February by a mentally ill Jewish-American tourist. They have never taken such a measure in the past, said Father Alberto Pari, secretary of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

“We view with severity all kinds of violence,” said the police in a statement earlier this month, “and will continue to act against acts of violence in general, and specifically violence in holy places, with a heavy hand without compromise on the goal of bringing offenders to justice.”

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum has led the attempts to get a handle on the situation on the municipal level.

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, poses for a picture during an interview at Dubai’s al- Habtoor palace in the United Arab Emirates, on October 13, 2020. (Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)

“We have become increasingly more aware of the situation,” Hassan-Nahoum told The Times of Israel. “In my hat as both tourism and international relations head, I have been gathering all the different stakeholders to talk about solutions.”

The Times of Israel viewed the minutes from a meeting Hassan-Nahoum chaired in December, in which city councilmembers, police, and representatives from Old City organizations sought to address the attacks.

Tammy Lavi of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center told the forum that at least 50% of the Friday Armenian processions are interrupted by spitting, cursing, or people intentionally walking through the ceremony.

The attendees placed much of the blame on the “Zilbermans,” members of a 300-family-strong Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community in the Old City that distinguishes itself from other Haredi communities with their unique approach to Torah study that includes right-wing Zionist ideas.

In the municipality meeting, right-wing city councilor Yehonatan Yosef agreed to go with deputy mayor and activist Aryeh King to speak with the Zilberman rabbis about stopping their students from harassing Christian tourists and ceremonies, apparently with little success.

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