Christian Cemetery Vandalised and Crosses Destroyed at Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem
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| Vandalism and destruction of crosses and gravestones in Christian cemetery in Beit Shemesh |
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| 'Jesus is a monkey'is daubed in Hebrew graffitti on the Church of Multiplication of Loaves |
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| Benzi Gopstein - fuhrer of the state-funded neo-Nazi Lehava group which advocates burning down churches and mosques |
As the Telegraph’s Robert Tait reported (6.8.15.)
“The leader of a far-Right Israeli group has risked arrest by apparently voicing support for arson attacks on Christian churches amid an official crackdown on Jewish extremism.
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| Christian Zionists just love the idea of Jews perishing in the flames of Armageddon, as per Revelations, in order to enable The Rapture |
"Benzi Gopstein, the outspoken head of Lehava - which has drawn notoriety for its violent assaults on Jewish-Arab assimilation - made the remarks at a panel discussion for Jewish yeshiva students when asked by a fellow panelist if he believed burning down churches in Israel was justified.”
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| Arab Christians in Israel demonstrating against the decision of the Education Ministry to cut the funding of Christian schools to 29% (many Muslims go to them too) Jewish Orthodox schools receive 100% state funding |
Tait went on to report that:
“However, Shin Bet - Israel's domestic intelligence agency - recently concluded that there are no legal grounds for similarly outlawing Lehava, despite a request from Mr Ya'alon to consider doing so.”
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| Arson at a West Bank mosque |
If a Palestinian had made these remarks, about how burning down synagogues was desirable, his feet would not have touched the floor. He would have been put in detention and would be facing a minimum of three years in prison or administrative detention. However Gopstein is Jewish not Arab, so he has not been arrested, despite the conviction of 2 of his supporters for arson at the mixed Jewish school ‘Hand in Hand’ in Jerusalem. Because they were Jewish they got 2 and 2½ years in prison (Arabs would have got at least 10 years inside because they would have been classed as ‘terrorists’).
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| Gopstein with Lehava thugs on the lookout in Jerusalem for Arab men in 'Jewish' areas - they campaign to stop Jewish and non-Jewish relationships |
The decision not to arrest Gopstein is however understandable from a Zionist perspective. When Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur wrote a book ‘Torat HaMelech’ which was a guide book on how, in accordance with Jewish law, one might kill Gentiles (non-Jews) legally, there were also calls for their arrest. Indeed they were, briefly arrested, but no charges were ever brought. Why? Because in Israel although racism is an offence, there is an exclusion clause. Racism and incitement to racial hatred on religious grounds is not an offence. This exclusion clause was absolutely necessary because Israel is a Jewish state which, by definition, discriminates against non-Jews on religious national grounds. Hence why the neo-Nazi Jewish MK, Rabbi Meir Kahane (who was later debarred from running for the Knesset) voted for the law!
In a reportThe King's Torah: A Rabbinic Text or a Call to Terror? in Israel's sole liberal paper, Ha’aretz (22.1.10) it is reported that Torat HaMelech (the King’s Torah)
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| Destruction of Mosque |
“looks like any other religious commentary you'd find in an Orthodox Judaica bookstore - but reads like a rabbinic instruction manual outlining acceptable scenarios for killing non-Jewish babies, children and adults.”
According to Daniel Estrin, Torat HaMelech states, quite correctly from my own knowledge of the Talmud and Jewish law that
“The prohibition 'Thou Shalt Not Murder' applies only "to a Jew who kills a Jew," write Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. Non-Jews are "uncompassionate by nature" and attacks on them "curb their evil inclination," while babies and children of Israel's enemies may be killed since "it is clear that they will grow to harm us."
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| Arson at the Church of Multiplication of Loaves on the Sea of Galilee |
“a beacon of freedom in the Middle East and the only place where every lifestyle and belief system – from gays to Christians and Muslims and other faiths; in fact, all social and religious minorities – are protected,”
Indeed Cox went on to say, at a General Election meeting hosted by the far-right Sussex Friends of Israel that:
“As a member of the Church of England I’m constantly impressed that Israel is the only country in the region where number of Christians is rising and their lives are thriving.”
Their lives are certainly thriving. So much so that, according to the Jerusalem Post, the employment rate for Christians stands at 54% – 63.8% for men and 45.3% for women. For Arab Christians it is even worse - the rates are 48% – with men at 59.5% and women at 37.7%, compared with a national average of 75% and 66% respectively.
Graham Cox is an evangelical Christian. For Evangelical Christians, Palestinian Christians are invisible. Their creed is the idea of the 'Jewish return' to Palestine/Israel. The motive for such a belief, which originated with people like George Elliot (Daniel Deronda) and Lords Palmerstone, Shaftesbury and Balfour was thoroughly anti-Semitic. They didn't want Jews in this country but were more than happy for them to be part of Britain's colonisation of the Middle East.
Tony Greenstein
Destruction of Crosses at Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem
Vandals have destroyed dozens of crosses at a Christian cemetery west of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarchate in the city said Saturday, urging Israeli authorities to bring the culprits to justice. The church did not say who was behind the desecration but in recent years there have been a spate of hate crimes known as “price tag” attacks targeting churches and Christian cemeteries, with the perpetrators believed to be Jewish extremists.
The attacks, that have escalated in the wake of the break down of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks last year, intend to exact a price for Israeli government policies seen as detrimental to the settlement enterprise. Such attacks have long been a problem in the West Bank. But suspected Jewish extremists increasingly are targeting Israeli Arab citizens, mosques and churches within the country’s borders.
“Salesian fathers responsible for the monastery in Beit Jamal reported that unknown persons desecrated their monastery’s cemetery,” the patriarchate said in a statement.
“The fathers reported also that tens of crosses were destroyed at their cemetery,” it said, condemning the attack which apparently took place in December.
The Beit Jamal monastery, next to the town of Beit Shemesh, is known for its good relations with Israelis who visit to buy its ceramics.
Vandals had desecrated the cemetery of the Catholic monastery of Beit Jamal, which is run by the Salesian order, in September 1981, said the statement.
The patriarchate urged “the police… and the Israeli authorities in general to invest every possible effort” to bring to justice those responsible for this and past desecrations.
“We do hope that more efforts be made to educate all inhabitants of the country to respect each other despite their different religious backgrounds,” said the English language statement.
In April, vandals smashed gravestones at a Maronite Christian cemetery in a village near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
In June, arsonists attacked the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where many Christians believe Jesus fed 5,000 people in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.
One building within the compound was totally destroyed in the blaze but the church itself was not damaged.
Hebrew graffiti was scrawled on another building that read “idols will be cast out” or destroyed — part of a common Jewish prayer.
Two suspected Jewish extremists were charged in connection with the arson and graffiti, and Israel said it would compensate church officials for the damage.
JTA contributed to this report.