Israeli police arrested five religious Jews on Wednesday for spitting at Christians in Jerusalem’s old city.
The move came after prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, leading rabbis and the mayor of Jerusalem all condemned spitting incidents and harassment of Christian clergy, which have occurred with increased frequency in recent years.
Footage released by the police show some of those who were detained taking part in a Jewish procession celebrating the festival of Sukkot, led by the brother of right-wing politician Simcha Rothman from the Religious Zionist party, who also participated.
Mr Rothman criticised the assaults on Christians but accused the police of exaggerating the incident.
“Over 1,000 people took part in the procession in complete silence, and it’s a shame to see specific incidents that should be condemned exaggerated by the police,” he said.
Police said they intended to charge the five with assault as they announced the formation of a special task force to “deal with incidents of spitting and acts of hate against Christians in the old city”.
Incidents of spitting by Jewish extremists against Christian clergy and pilgrims in the narrow alleyways of the old city are common but there have been very few prosecutions despite the fact that almost the entire area is monitored by CCTV cameras.
Video footage which surfaced on Monday of a group of Jewish men and boys spitting on the ground near a group of Christian pilgrims in the old city of Jerusalem elicited a strong reaction from the Catholic Church.
Wadie Abu Nasser, the spokesperson of the Council of Heads of Catholic Churches in Jerusalem, said of the incident: “It’s reached the whole world, up to the big boss. The pope is updated on every incident. He’s furious.”
Mr Netanyahu said any form of hostility towards individuals engaged in worship will not be tolerated
“Israel is totally committed to safeguard the sacred right of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all faiths. I strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate worshippers, and I am committed to taking immediate and decisive action against it.”
A extremist fringe among far-right and ultra-Orthodox circles justify such attacks, with some even claiming that the practice of spitting at priests or churches is an ancient Jewish custom going back many years.
“I support spitting at every cross, every Christian, to degrade them forcefully. They used to slaughter and massacre us,” one man told Army radio on Wednesday. “It is written in the Torah that children pay for the sins of their fathers.”
Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau condemned the incidents, saying “such phenomena are unwarranted and certainly should not be attributed to Jewish law”.
