Jews spitting on Christian priests in Jerusalem? It may sound surprising but in fact it's a common problem that priests don't generally complain about because little is done when they do and complaining may just make things work. Yes, chauvinism is alive and well in Israel.
Haaretz reports:
The clergyman preferred not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind. For the most part, they ignore it but sometimes they cannot. On Sunday, a fracas developed when a yeshiva student spat at the cross being carried by the Armenian Archbishop during a procession near the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. The archbishop's 17th-century cross was broken during the brawl and he slapped the yeshiva student.
The student won't have to face justice in a court of law. He isn't allowed to enter the Old City for a couple of months, but that's the limit of his punishment.
According to Daniel Rossing, former adviser to the Religious Affairs Ministry on Christian affairs and director of a Jerusalem center for Christian-Jewish dialogue, there has been an increase in the number of such incidents recently, "as part of a general atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country." ... There are an increased number at certain times of year, such as during the Purim holiday."I know Christians who lock themselves indoors during the entire Purim holiday," he says.
There was a time in Europe when Jews felt compelled to hide in their houses during certain Christian holy days lest they be caught up in the passion and be attacked. Now it seems like the roles are becoming reverse. People talk about lingering antisemitism in Europe, but what about the reverse in Israel?
To be quite honest, I don't think that this very surprising. Indeed, it is arguable that we should expect such a thing to occur in a state where citizenship and identity are based around ethnicity or religion. The ideology behind Zionism is based upon the racial ideologies of the 19th century. Zionism isn't racism, but it does depend upon very outdated ideals about what constitutes the proper foundation for a nation-state. It is perhaps inevitable that these ideas will encourage the sort of chauvinism and bigotry that cause incidents like those described above.
Read More: