Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, recently hit by vandals.
Recent incidents leading to the desecration of Christian churches disturbed officials in the Jerusalem municipal government. “We call on all those who perpetrated these incidents to put an end to this shameful practise as soon as possible. That will eliminate this evil; then, there will be peace in our town”, according to a statement issued by the Mayor of Jerusalem after a meeting with representatives of the Christian and Jewish communities. As the website of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission (RDM) in Jerusalem noted in a post published on 11 December, vandals scrawled the words “Death to Christians” on the walls of Christian churches (including Holy Trinity Cathedral of the RDM).
“Recently, members of other faiths reported several incidents of harassment and abuse by irresponsible youth in various parts of the city”, the statement said. Sources in the mayor’s office told us that they think that such actions are “grave sins insulting the name of God”. The official statement went on to say, “Furthermore, intimidating non-Jews is an act forbidden by our forefathers, and, ultimately, these provocations could lead to disaster for society as a whole”. The majority of the participants in the meeting believed that young people from ultra-Orthodox (haredi) neighbourhoods instigate most of these incidents; therefore, there should be vigorous educational efforts in local Jewish communities.
In a recent statement, the Higher Court of Justice of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Jerusalem referred to anti-Christian actions as dangerous provocations and sharply condemned them as being contrary to Jewish law. Nir Barkat, the Mayor of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Papenshtein, Co-Chairman of the Court of Justice of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Jerusalem, Igumen Feofan Lukyanov, the deputy head of the RDM in Jerusalem, amongst others, attended the meeting.
31 December 2009
Interfax-Religion
