January 17, 2016 — Jerusalem, Israel
AJC is outraged by the overnight attack on the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem. “Christians to Hell” and other hateful, threatening graffiti were scrawled in Hebrew at the Benedictine Monastery.
“Once again, we are compelled to condemn vandalism of Christian holy sites in Israel, mindful that such acts of hatred not only threaten Christians, but also are a reprehensible affront to our Jewish heritage and contravene Israel's enduring commitment to respect for other religious faiths,” said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's Jerusalem-based Director of International Interreligious Affairs.
The Church of the Dormition was vandalized in 2011, in 2013, and again in 2014, shortly after the visit of Pope Francis to the church.
In the latest attack, “Death to the heathen Christians, the enemies of Israel” and “The revenge of the people of Israel is yet to come” also were left on the walls of the monastery. A Church spokesman called the graffiti “a real call to murder Christians.”
"We count on the authorities to do their utmost to apprehend the perpetrators and seek to prevent other such similarly-inspired crimes," Rosen said. "There must be zero tolerance for such vile acts of hate."
