- Yolande Knell
- BBC, Jerusalem
image source, Archyde.com
Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum said hate speech and hate crimes were on the rise in Jerusalem.
The Anglican Church and Britain have expressed “dismay” over an attack on a historic cemetery near the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
More than 30 graves in the Protestant cemetery of the Mount Zion they were desecrated on Sunday allegedly by Jewish extremists who smashed crosses and toppled and vandalized tombstones.
“We have noticed that hate speech and hate crimes are on the rise,” said Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum.
Standing by the vandalized tomb of Jerusalem’s second Anglican bishop, Samuel Gobat, he said there has been a recent increase in spitting on Christians and attacks on their holy sites.
“This is just an indication that we are not in a place where people can tolerate or accept each other,” Naoum added.
“We see more exclusion, more segregation and that is what really hurts us in this city of Jerusalem,” he said.
Israeli police said they were investigating Sunday’s attack on the Protestant cemetery.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welbythe highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England, called the desecration of the graves “a blasphemous act” and expressed hope that those responsible would be brought swiftly to justice.
“As we continue to pray for peace in the Holy Land, I join Archbishop Hosam Naoum and other Jerusalem church leaders in calling for respect, protection, equality and justice for their Christian community, who are the living stones of the Church,” he said. .
The British consulate in Jerusalem said in a tweet that “this is the latest in a series of attacks on Christians and their property in and around the Old City” and that “religiously motivated perpetrators of attacks must be held to account.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the vandalism in the cemetery. “This immoral act is an affront to religion and the perpetrators must be prosecuted,” she tweeted.
Israeli police said they had visited the cemetery to see the damage and were investigating what happened.
The cemetery was created in 1848 on land purchased by Bishop Gobat and is cared for by the Lutheran and Anglican communities.
Among those buried there are scientists, politicians, members of the armed forces and the clergy, many of whom were prominent figures in the holy city.
image source, Oliver Hersey
The gravestone of British Army soldier J. Stewart was found among those destroyed.
Three Commonwealth war graves of Palestinian police officers were among those attacked, while several stone crosses were broken on the ground.
The Anglican Church said that pointing to the crosses clearly suggests that “these criminal acts were motivated by religious intolerance and hatred against Christians.”
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) told the BBC it was “appalled” by the vandalism.
“A very small number of CWGC headstones were damaged, we are cooperating closely with the authorities on the matter and our in-country staff are already working to carry out full repairs and return the graves to normal condition,” a spokesperson said.
The same cemetery was similarly looted nine years ago.
The Anglican Church said it had received words of support from Israel’s President, the Commonwealth’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and other political and religious leaders.
The religious institution called for joining efforts to combat “violent acts of desecration against holy places” and to create a safer, more respectful and tolerant environment in Jerusalem, which is revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
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