Israel gained control of east Jerusalem, including the Old City, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day-War. It annexed east Jerusalem after the war in a move that has not won international recognition. The patriarch wrote in the article, published a day after the Greek Orthodox celebration of Christmas:
"Our presence in Jerusalem is under threat. Our churches are threatened by Israeli radical fringe groups. At the hands of these Zionist extremists the Christian community in Jerusalem is suffering greatly. Our brothers and sisters are the victims of hate crimes. Our churches are regularly desecrated and vandalized. Our clergy are subject to frequent intimidation."By singling out extremists as Israeli, Theophilos's criticism was more personal and trenchant than that of a collective statement issued by the heads of other churches in Jerusalem before Christmas. Their statement spoke of "frequent and sustained attacks by fringe radical groups" but stopped short of identifying them as Israeli.
A US State Department report published last year on religious freedom around the world said Christian clergy and pilgrims continued to report instances of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem harassing or spitting on them. Church groups have for some time reported attacks of vandalism at religious sites in the city. Theophilos did not accuse any radical groups by name or cite specific incidents. He did not provide evidence that they were Israeli, or that their goal was to drive Christians from the city.
On Sunday, an Israeli official said the reality on the ground for Christians was completely different from that described by the patriarch, citing a Foreign Ministry statement on Dec 22 that rebutted the earlier church leaders' claims. The ministry statement said:
"Since the day it was established, the State of Israel has been committed to freedom of religion and worship for all religions, as well to ensuring the freedom of access to holy sites. The statement by Church leaders in Jerusalem is particularly infuriating given their silence on the plight of many Christian communities in the Middle East suffering from discrimination and persecution."In his column, Theophilos said the radicals that he criticized "are not representative of the state of Israel or the Jewish people," and called on Jerusalem to remain a diverse "mosaic community" of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Reader Comments
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That Jew wasn't a Zionist and I suppose that is why that Jew is still alive.
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Plus, give her the benefit of the doubt I thought - us American kids are hard to understand.....even as a kid, I knew that.
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I love Jews and Muslims and Russians and others. I have a bunch of brothers and sisters and I love them as well. I love my children maybe most of all, but I'm not sure - that is a hard thing to rank.
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I'm tired and don't give me a hard time if I spit please.
BK
Decepticons be damned - your days of deceiving are coming to an end.
So shall it be - it is written.
wee are all calling each other of all religious stripes. But I am always reminded of this phrase
Those that are amongst us, are not guilty of the same crime, throw the first stone (that is my interpretation)
It takes some heart searching to realize the truth
In fact, a former Israeli soldier rejected the military once he witnessed their behavior toward Palestinians and speaks throughout American now about the atrocities he saw. Israel professes and proclaims tolerance for all religions, but their actions demonstrate otherwise. Is shooting kids in the back running away from your soldiers good Jewish behavior proclaimed by their holy books?