Christians in Israel would like Jews to Stop Spitting on them

[Comadreja]

Christians in Israel would like Jews to Stop Spitting on them.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/487412.html

A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face.

The clergyman prefered 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.

Both were questioned by police and the yeshiva student will be brought to trial. The Jerusalem District Court has meanwhile banned the student from approaching the Old City for 75 days.

But the Armenians are far from satisfied by the police action and say this sort of thing has been going on for years. Archbishop Nourhan Manougian says he expects the education minister to say something.

"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" he asks.

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." (cont'd)

[burrowowl]

1. Love you sigline pic

Haaretz always has interesting articles.

[aquart]

2. Bigots exist everywhere.

It really sucks when you're related to them, though. <sigh>

[rooboy]

3. Daniel Pipes is on the case. n/t

[Scurrilous]

4. Yeshiva student apologizes to archbishop for spitting

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/489884.html

<snip>

"A yeshiva student who spat at the Armenian archbishop in Israel and at a 17th-century cross during last week's procession marking the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem's Old City has met with heads of the Armenian community and apologized for his actions, police said Sunday.

The student, Natan Zvi Rosenthal, explained that he was raised to see Christianity as idol worship, which is forbidden by the Torah. Rosenthal's rabbis from the Har Hamor Yeshiva in Jerusalem - who, along with his father, were present at the meeting - said they regretted the incident, and that they educate their students to be courteous to others. The rabbis said Rosenthal was the first of their students to be involved in such an incident."

<snip>

"The Armenian archbishop, Nourhan Manougian, said he and his coreligionists accept the apology and that their religion commands them to forgive Rosenthal.

The police spokesman said the apology will not affect its decision on whether Rosenthal should be indicted for spitting at the procession."