Woman Filmed Spitting at Entrance to Armenian Saint James Monastery in Jerusalem, Israel

Footage shared by journalist Kegham Balian shows a woman looking toward the entrance of Saint James Monastery in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter before spitting in its direction. News.am and Panorama.am describe the woman as Jewish, with Panorama.am identifying her as an Israeli. According to the footage as described by Panorama.am and News.am, she looked inside the monastery, appeared to recognize it as a Christian religious site, and deliberately spat at its entrance. The reports do not agree on every detail of the incident. Balian’s account says the circumstances and whether authorities opened an investigation remain unclear.

The monastery is home to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and is one of the most important religious sites of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Reports describe the incident as the latest in a series of months-long harassment, desecration and attacks targeting Armenian Christians and their religious institutions in Jerusalem.

Israeli authorities arrested six Jewish Israelis on August 2 after they were accused of spitting at the monastery, banging on its gates and throwing stones at the compound. Panorama.am reports that the six were arrested, while Balian’s account describes them as accused.

In September, another man was filmed attempting to urinate against the monastery wall.

On October 29, an Israeli man spat at the entrance and verbally abused an Armenian security guard who confronted him. Standing with those who cannot easily defend themselves reflects protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The Religious Freedom Data Center documented 106 acts of harassment across 96 incidents between July and September 2026, according to Panorama.am.

Of the 77 incidents recorded inside Jerusalem’s Old City, 45 occurred on Armenian Patriarchate Street.