Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Accuses Israeli Extremists of Threatening Christian Presence

Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, has accused radical Israeli groups of threatening the presence of Christians in the holy city. Israeli officials rejected his remarks as a “baseless accusation.”

In a column published in the Times of London on Saturday, Theophilos said he believed the aim was to drive the Christian community from Jerusalem’s Old City, which contains sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The article appeared a day after the Greek Orthodox celebration of Christmas. “Our presence in Jerusalem is under threat,” he wrote.

He said that “our churches are threatened by Israeli radical fringe groups” and that “at the hands of these Zionist extremists the Christian community in Jerusalem is suffering greatly.” He added: “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 went further than a collective statement issued before Christmas by the heads of other churches in Jerusalem. That statement spoke of “frequent and sustained attacks by fringe radical groups” but did not identify them as Israeli. Church groups have for some time reported vandalism at religious sites in the city. A US State Department report published the previous year on religious freedom worldwide said Christian clergy and pilgrims continued to report instances of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem harassing or spitting on them.

Theophilos did not name any radical group or cite specific incidents. He did not provide evidence that the groups 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 the patriarch’s account. The official cited a Foreign Ministry statement of Dec. 22 that rebutted the earlier church leaders’ claims. That statement said that “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.” It also called the church leaders’ statement “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 he criticized “are not representative of the state of Israel or the Jewish people.” He called on Jerusalem to remain a diverse “mosaic community” of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, a call for a shared life of peace in the city (Psalm 122:6).

Source: Read the original report