21 jan 2016
Two Israeli teenagers suspected of scrawling hate speech on a historic church in occupied East Jerusalem, earlier this week, have been arrested, according to Israeli police.
A spokesperson said that a 16-year-old Jewish suspect was arrested on Tuesday and another Jewish teen, aged 15, was arrested on Wednesday, following ongoing police investigations.
The two are suspected of writing “Nazi and anti-Christian slogans” on the walls of the Dormition Abbey, al-Samri said.
Wadie Abu Nassar, a senior advisor to the Catholic Church who is considered close to the Vatican, told Ma'an on Saturday that racist vandalism, written in Hebrew, read: "Kill the Christians, the enemy of Israel" and "The revenge is coming very soon," as well as "Send Christians to hell.”
Dormition Abbey -- dating back to the 5th century and thought to be the place where the Virgin Mary died -- has been site to hate crimes in the past.
Jewish extremist Yinon Reuveni was charged earlier this month, along with several minors, for torching the church in a previous attack.
The extremist was charged during the same investigation that charged two Israeli suspects for an arson attack that killed three members of the Palestinian Dawabsha family in the occupied West Bank, last summer.
The investigation gained international attention following the deadly attack, which raised criticism against the Israeli government for granting impunity to Israelis who carry out attacks on Palestinians and their property.
The UN reported in September that complaints lodged against such attacks have a 91 percent chance of being dismissed without effective action, whereas around 95 percent of complaints filed by Israelis against Palestinians proceed to court.
A spokesperson said that a 16-year-old Jewish suspect was arrested on Tuesday and another Jewish teen, aged 15, was arrested on Wednesday, following ongoing police investigations.
The two are suspected of writing “Nazi and anti-Christian slogans” on the walls of the Dormition Abbey, al-Samri said.
Wadie Abu Nassar, a senior advisor to the Catholic Church who is considered close to the Vatican, told Ma'an on Saturday that racist vandalism, written in Hebrew, read: "Kill the Christians, the enemy of Israel" and "The revenge is coming very soon," as well as "Send Christians to hell.”
Dormition Abbey -- dating back to the 5th century and thought to be the place where the Virgin Mary died -- has been site to hate crimes in the past.
Jewish extremist Yinon Reuveni was charged earlier this month, along with several minors, for torching the church in a previous attack.
The extremist was charged during the same investigation that charged two Israeli suspects for an arson attack that killed three members of the Palestinian Dawabsha family in the occupied West Bank, last summer.
The investigation gained international attention following the deadly attack, which raised criticism against the Israeli government for granting impunity to Israelis who carry out attacks on Palestinians and their property.
The UN reported in September that complaints lodged against such attacks have a 91 percent chance of being dismissed without effective action, whereas around 95 percent of complaints filed by Israelis against Palestinians proceed to court.
18 jan 2016
Settlers, on Sunday at dawn, vandalized a monastery in Jerusalem, with hate slogans calling for the slaughter of Christians.
“We strongly condemn the vandalization of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. Such an act is the direct result of a hate culture generated by racism and the occupation with impunity, exceptionalism and entitlement. The international community is responsible to protect both Palestinian holy sites and people from such Israeli sectarian attacks and to put an end to such lawlessness in Israel.” ~Hanan Ashrawi
PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi made these comments during a meeting with a visiting delegation representing the interfaith Tree of Life Educational Fund, at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah.
Dr. Ashrawi provided an assessment of the deteriorating conditions and escalating occupation violence on the ground, and she discussed Israel’s continued breach of international law and conventions, including its illegal settlement activities, settler violence and terrorism, extra-judicial killings, the withholding of Palestinian remains, and home demolitions, among other violations.
In that context, she stressed, according to the PNN: “The chances for peace are being willfully destroyed and systematically dismantled by Israeli unilateral measures to superimpose ‘Greater Israel’ on historic Palestine. Israel is not in the least bit committed to the two-state solution, international law or the basic principles of human rights.”
Dr. Ashrawi brought attention to America’s unquestioning support of Israel and its preferential treatment that provided Israel with a legal, security and economic cover that enabled it to persist with its violations.
Dr. Ashrawi added, “Public opinion in the U.S., particularly in civil society and among academic organizations, is a promising development that must be supported and pursued in order to have an impact on American official policy.”
Current and future Palestinian moves in the international arena, including at the International Criminal Court, were also addressed.
“We strongly condemn the vandalization of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. Such an act is the direct result of a hate culture generated by racism and the occupation with impunity, exceptionalism and entitlement. The international community is responsible to protect both Palestinian holy sites and people from such Israeli sectarian attacks and to put an end to such lawlessness in Israel.” ~Hanan Ashrawi
PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi made these comments during a meeting with a visiting delegation representing the interfaith Tree of Life Educational Fund, at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah.
Dr. Ashrawi provided an assessment of the deteriorating conditions and escalating occupation violence on the ground, and she discussed Israel’s continued breach of international law and conventions, including its illegal settlement activities, settler violence and terrorism, extra-judicial killings, the withholding of Palestinian remains, and home demolitions, among other violations.
In that context, she stressed, according to the PNN: “The chances for peace are being willfully destroyed and systematically dismantled by Israeli unilateral measures to superimpose ‘Greater Israel’ on historic Palestine. Israel is not in the least bit committed to the two-state solution, international law or the basic principles of human rights.”
Dr. Ashrawi brought attention to America’s unquestioning support of Israel and its preferential treatment that provided Israel with a legal, security and economic cover that enabled it to persist with its violations.
Dr. Ashrawi added, “Public opinion in the U.S., particularly in civil society and among academic organizations, is a promising development that must be supported and pursued in order to have an impact on American official policy.”
Current and future Palestinian moves in the international arena, including at the International Criminal Court, were also addressed.
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials have expressed surprise at the United Methodist Church’s decision to divest from five Israeli banks on the grounds of human rights concerns.
Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot are among 39 companies blacklisted by the UMC pension fund for failing to meet the guidelines of a human rights investment policy.
An Israeli construction company, Shikun & Binui, was also excluded for its involvement in settlement building.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the US decision is being taken seriously and is causing concern within the Foreign Ministry. It is being considered one of the most dangerous decisions made by a US institution to date regarding the imposition of sanctions on Israeli companies due to their activities in the West Bank.
The newspaper quoted, according to Middle East Monitor/Al Ray, officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that they are still studying the decision and its consequences. They also said that they will try to make contact with the head of the church in an attempt to push for a withdrawal of the decision or, at least, reduce its impact.
The United Methodist Church is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States, with an estimated seven million members.
Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot are among 39 companies blacklisted by the UMC pension fund for failing to meet the guidelines of a human rights investment policy.
An Israeli construction company, Shikun & Binui, was also excluded for its involvement in settlement building.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the US decision is being taken seriously and is causing concern within the Foreign Ministry. It is being considered one of the most dangerous decisions made by a US institution to date regarding the imposition of sanctions on Israeli companies due to their activities in the West Bank.
The newspaper quoted, according to Middle East Monitor/Al Ray, officials in the Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying that they are still studying the decision and its consequences. They also said that they will try to make contact with the head of the church in an attempt to push for a withdrawal of the decision or, at least, reduce its impact.
The United Methodist Church is one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States, with an estimated seven million members.
17 jan 2016
Hordes of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli police officers and rapid intervention troops, stormed on early Sunday morning the plazas of Muslims’ the holy al-Aqsa Mosque via the Maghareba Gate.
The Israeli vandals performed a series of provocative rituals at the Mosque.
The peaceful Muslim worshipers kept, meanwhile, chanting “Allah is the Greatest” in protest at the sacrilegious break-in.
Several Muslim women who have been denied access into the holy site have been maintaining vigil outside the Mosque.
In a related context, Israelis from the terrorist Price Tag gang spray-painted racist graffiti on the walls of a Christian church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The graffiti read: “Death for Christians, the enemies of Israel.”
A red David Star was also painted by the racist Israelis on the church walls.
Over recent years, Israel’s price tag gang has been behind much of the tension, aggression, and terrorism perpetrated against the peaceful Muslim and Christian worshipers across the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli vandals performed a series of provocative rituals at the Mosque.
The peaceful Muslim worshipers kept, meanwhile, chanting “Allah is the Greatest” in protest at the sacrilegious break-in.
Several Muslim women who have been denied access into the holy site have been maintaining vigil outside the Mosque.
In a related context, Israelis from the terrorist Price Tag gang spray-painted racist graffiti on the walls of a Christian church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The graffiti read: “Death for Christians, the enemies of Israel.”
A red David Star was also painted by the racist Israelis on the church walls.
Over recent years, Israel’s price tag gang has been behind much of the tension, aggression, and terrorism perpetrated against the peaceful Muslim and Christian worshipers across the occupied Palestinian territories.
A Christian delegation led by Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of the Palestinian Orthodox Church in Occupied Jerusalem, visited the Aqsa Mosque on Saturday.
Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab, head of the Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem, and a number of his assistants welcomed the delegation during its visit to the Islamic holy site.
In a speech, Father Hanna talked about the importance of closing ranks, rejecting seditious acts, and working together to defend the Palestinian presence and steadfastness on the holy land.
"We reject all the occupation's measures against the Aqsa Mosque and all our Christian and Islamic holy sites," Father Hanna underlined.
"Jerusalem is the incubator of our national and human unity, and the holy land where religions meet. It is the holy city, which contains the most important Christian and Muslim holy shrines, and it is considered the title of our dignity, belonging and attachment to this holy land," he said.
Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab, head of the Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem, and a number of his assistants welcomed the delegation during its visit to the Islamic holy site.
In a speech, Father Hanna talked about the importance of closing ranks, rejecting seditious acts, and working together to defend the Palestinian presence and steadfastness on the holy land.
"We reject all the occupation's measures against the Aqsa Mosque and all our Christian and Islamic holy sites," Father Hanna underlined.
"Jerusalem is the incubator of our national and human unity, and the holy land where religions meet. It is the holy city, which contains the most important Christian and Muslim holy shrines, and it is considered the title of our dignity, belonging and attachment to this holy land," he said.
13 jan 2016
United Methodist Kairos Response is pleased to announce that the $20-billion Pension and Health Benefits Fund of the United Methodist Church has declared the five largest Israeli banks off limits for investment and has divested from the two that it held in its portfolios.
This is the first time a major church pension fund has acted to preclude investment in Israeli banks that sustain Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
The information has been posted on the Pension Fund’s website under Evaluating companies in our investment funds that pose excessive human rights risks. The banks are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank. These banks are deeply involved in financing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi were removed from the portfolios. The fund manager, known as Wespath, also divested from Shikun & Binui, an Israeli company involved with construction in the illegal settlements beyond Israel’s recognized borders. In addition, Wespath has placed Israel/Palestine on a list of regions where human rights violations occur.
UMKR is pleased to learn of these actions, while noting that Wespath still holds stock in ten companies located inside the illegal settlements and in several others that lend important support to Israel’s occupation. A list of those companies is available on the UMKR website.
According to UMKR Co-chair Rev. Michael Yoshii, “We commend the pension fund for taking this significant step in disassociating from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. But as United Methodist policy opposes the occupation, this is only a first step towards ending our financial complicity in the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.”
Rev. John Wagner, a member of the UMKR Divestment Committee, added, “Since the church’s policy-making body, the General Conference, has called on all nations to boycott products produced in the illegal settlements, we urge our fund managers to maintain consistency and divest from all companies that profit from these same settlements.”
UMKR has submitted four proposals to the next General Conference, which will meet May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. Three would require divesting from companies involved with the occupation and one would establish a screen to preclude investments in companies doing business in illegal settlements anywhere in the world.
United Methodist Kairos Response is a global grassroots group within the United Methodist Church seeking to respond to the urgent call of Palestinian Christians for actions that can end the Israeli occupation of their land. For more information, visit www.kairosresponse.org.
US church boycotts five Israeli banks, one company
The pension fund for the United Methodist Church in the US has blocked five Israeli banks from its investment portfolio in what it describes as a broad review meant to discard of enterprises that profit from abuse of human rights.
According to New York Times newspaper on Wednesday, the Israeli banks on the Methodist Church’s list are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot.
The Israeli banks were among 39 companies from several countries that have been excluded from the pension fund's portfolio for not meeting its human rights investment policy guidelines.
The list also includes an Israeli construction company, Shikun and Binui, which the fund says is heavily involved in settlement building.
The Methodist Church has about 13 million members worldwide and is the largest mainline Protestant group in the US.
This is the first time a major church pension fund has acted to preclude investment in Israeli banks that sustain Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
The information has been posted on the Pension Fund’s website under Evaluating companies in our investment funds that pose excessive human rights risks. The banks are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank, and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank. These banks are deeply involved in financing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi were removed from the portfolios. The fund manager, known as Wespath, also divested from Shikun & Binui, an Israeli company involved with construction in the illegal settlements beyond Israel’s recognized borders. In addition, Wespath has placed Israel/Palestine on a list of regions where human rights violations occur.
UMKR is pleased to learn of these actions, while noting that Wespath still holds stock in ten companies located inside the illegal settlements and in several others that lend important support to Israel’s occupation. A list of those companies is available on the UMKR website.
According to UMKR Co-chair Rev. Michael Yoshii, “We commend the pension fund for taking this significant step in disassociating from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. But as United Methodist policy opposes the occupation, this is only a first step towards ending our financial complicity in the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.”
Rev. John Wagner, a member of the UMKR Divestment Committee, added, “Since the church’s policy-making body, the General Conference, has called on all nations to boycott products produced in the illegal settlements, we urge our fund managers to maintain consistency and divest from all companies that profit from these same settlements.”
UMKR has submitted four proposals to the next General Conference, which will meet May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. Three would require divesting from companies involved with the occupation and one would establish a screen to preclude investments in companies doing business in illegal settlements anywhere in the world.
United Methodist Kairos Response is a global grassroots group within the United Methodist Church seeking to respond to the urgent call of Palestinian Christians for actions that can end the Israeli occupation of their land. For more information, visit www.kairosresponse.org.
US church boycotts five Israeli banks, one company
The pension fund for the United Methodist Church in the US has blocked five Israeli banks from its investment portfolio in what it describes as a broad review meant to discard of enterprises that profit from abuse of human rights.
According to New York Times newspaper on Wednesday, the Israeli banks on the Methodist Church’s list are Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, First International Bank of Israel, Israel Discount Bank and Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot.
The Israeli banks were among 39 companies from several countries that have been excluded from the pension fund's portfolio for not meeting its human rights investment policy guidelines.
The list also includes an Israeli construction company, Shikun and Binui, which the fund says is heavily involved in settlement building.
The Methodist Church has about 13 million members worldwide and is the largest mainline Protestant group in the US.
10 jan 2016
Rear Admiral John Kirby during a media briefing on October 15, 2014 at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
The United States came down, Friday, on a decision by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon to incorporate a southern West Bank church compound into the illegal Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
Spokesman for the US State Department John Kirby said during a press briefing that the US was “deeply concerned” about Ya'alon’s move, which “effectively creates a new settlement on 10 acres” of occupied West Bank land.
“Along with the regular retroactive legalization of unauthorized outposts and construction of infrastructure in remote settlements, actions such as this decision clearly undermine the possibility of a two-state solution,” Kirby said.
Kirby reiterated that the US views settlement activity as “illegitimate and counterproductive to the cause of peace."
“Continued settlement activity and expansion raises honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions and will only make achieving a two-state solution that much more difficult,” Kirby continued.
The church compound, known as Beit al-Baraka, is situated on 38-dunams (9.3 acres) of Palestinian land in the Hebron district.
The compound’s incorporation into Gush Etzion enables the construction of a continuous line of settlements from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem to a cluster of settlements around Hebron.
An investigative report by Israeli daily Haaretz in May alleged that American millionaire Irving Moskowitz purchased Beit al-Baraka through a Swedish company years prior with the intention of turning it into a settlement outpost.
A pastor who headed the church that previously owned the compound thought it had been sold to a Swedish company, Scandinavian Seamen Holy Land Enterprises, that would revive its use as a church. It was later revealed that the company had been established in 2007 and used to cover up the sale and transfer of Beit al-Baraka.
The Swedish company registered the purchase with the Israeli Civil Administration in 2012 before handing over ownership to an American nonprofit organization that is funded by Moskowitz and works towards the eventual "Judaization" of occupied East Jerusalem.
The takeover brought ongoing demonstrations in front of the compound by local Palestinians, often with Palestinian political and religious leaders in attendance.
According to Ma'an, tshere are more than 500,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, making an independent and contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
While US leadership has repeatedly condemned Israeli settlement expansion, such condemnations have historically done little to curb their growth.
The United States came down, Friday, on a decision by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon to incorporate a southern West Bank church compound into the illegal Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
Spokesman for the US State Department John Kirby said during a press briefing that the US was “deeply concerned” about Ya'alon’s move, which “effectively creates a new settlement on 10 acres” of occupied West Bank land.
“Along with the regular retroactive legalization of unauthorized outposts and construction of infrastructure in remote settlements, actions such as this decision clearly undermine the possibility of a two-state solution,” Kirby said.
Kirby reiterated that the US views settlement activity as “illegitimate and counterproductive to the cause of peace."
“Continued settlement activity and expansion raises honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions and will only make achieving a two-state solution that much more difficult,” Kirby continued.
The church compound, known as Beit al-Baraka, is situated on 38-dunams (9.3 acres) of Palestinian land in the Hebron district.
The compound’s incorporation into Gush Etzion enables the construction of a continuous line of settlements from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem to a cluster of settlements around Hebron.
An investigative report by Israeli daily Haaretz in May alleged that American millionaire Irving Moskowitz purchased Beit al-Baraka through a Swedish company years prior with the intention of turning it into a settlement outpost.
A pastor who headed the church that previously owned the compound thought it had been sold to a Swedish company, Scandinavian Seamen Holy Land Enterprises, that would revive its use as a church. It was later revealed that the company had been established in 2007 and used to cover up the sale and transfer of Beit al-Baraka.
The Swedish company registered the purchase with the Israeli Civil Administration in 2012 before handing over ownership to an American nonprofit organization that is funded by Moskowitz and works towards the eventual "Judaization" of occupied East Jerusalem.
The takeover brought ongoing demonstrations in front of the compound by local Palestinians, often with Palestinian political and religious leaders in attendance.
According to Ma'an, tshere are more than 500,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, making an independent and contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
While US leadership has repeatedly condemned Israeli settlement expansion, such condemnations have historically done little to curb their growth.
9 jan 2016
A Christian cemetery of “Dier Beit Jamal” of the Salesian monastery to the west of Occupied Jerusalem was desecrated by unknown people. The PIC reporter revealed that extremist settlers are suspected to have responsibility over the desecration.
The Latin patriarchate in Occupied Jerusalem said, in a statement Saturday evening, that dozens of crosses were broken in the same cemetery that was similarly attacked in September 19981 and in March 2014 when anti-Christianity slogans were written on its walls.
The patriarchate condemned the action and pointed out that it is not the first of its kind in over the past years.
This comes after a week of President of the Israeli Lahava extremist right-wing organization Rabbi Pentsy Jobstein's call to torch Christian churches in Occupied Jerusalem. He opined that the Christian existence in Jerusalem is unwelcomed and said: “this is what we have to translate by actions, not only in words.”
Palestinian Christians, like Palestinian Muslims, are exposed to Israeli occupation practices and Jewish settlers' terror.
The Latin patriarchate in Occupied Jerusalem said, in a statement Saturday evening, that dozens of crosses were broken in the same cemetery that was similarly attacked in September 19981 and in March 2014 when anti-Christianity slogans were written on its walls.
The patriarchate condemned the action and pointed out that it is not the first of its kind in over the past years.
This comes after a week of President of the Israeli Lahava extremist right-wing organization Rabbi Pentsy Jobstein's call to torch Christian churches in Occupied Jerusalem. He opined that the Christian existence in Jerusalem is unwelcomed and said: “this is what we have to translate by actions, not only in words.”
Palestinian Christians, like Palestinian Muslims, are exposed to Israeli occupation practices and Jewish settlers' terror.
6 jan 2016
The Israeli Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya’alon, has “permitted” adding the seized church of Beit Al-Baraka to the expanding illegal settlement, Gush Etzion, located south to Bethlehem, central occupied West Bank.
According to Israeli media, the move will expand the settlement by some 40 dunams.
According to the PNN, the church was purchased last May by a Jewish American millionaire, through a Norwegian woman who claimed she was member of an American church. It is now surrounded by soldiers and an already existing military point, right on the other side of the road where Al-Arroub refugee camp lies.
The name of the historical church, built in the 1940’s, has been changed from Beit Al-Baraka to the Hebrew name, Beit Barcha. It also consists of eight buildings.
According to the Israel National News, Ya’alon’s permit allows the building to be included under the auspices of the Etzion council and also will allow for the buildings to be inhabited immediately. Since the buildings previously existed, there is no need for a building permit.
The Israeli military has repressed several Palestinian protests against the seizure and the illegal expansion, which will engorge more Palestinian land.
The Israeli military wing for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) also issued a statement which said: “The addition of Bayit-Al-Barka to the auspices of the regional council of Gush Etzion was evaluated according to the existing criteria which had been established by the relevant professional parties. It was ratified by the Executive branch of government and was finalized in accordance with their directive.”
According to Israeli media, the move will expand the settlement by some 40 dunams.
According to the PNN, the church was purchased last May by a Jewish American millionaire, through a Norwegian woman who claimed she was member of an American church. It is now surrounded by soldiers and an already existing military point, right on the other side of the road where Al-Arroub refugee camp lies.
The name of the historical church, built in the 1940’s, has been changed from Beit Al-Baraka to the Hebrew name, Beit Barcha. It also consists of eight buildings.
According to the Israel National News, Ya’alon’s permit allows the building to be included under the auspices of the Etzion council and also will allow for the buildings to be inhabited immediately. Since the buildings previously existed, there is no need for a building permit.
The Israeli military has repressed several Palestinian protests against the seizure and the illegal expansion, which will engorge more Palestinian land.
The Israeli military wing for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) also issued a statement which said: “The addition of Bayit-Al-Barka to the auspices of the regional council of Gush Etzion was evaluated according to the existing criteria which had been established by the relevant professional parties. It was ratified by the Executive branch of government and was finalized in accordance with their directive.”
3 jan 2016
An Israeli fanatic rabbi called for burning Christian churches in Occupied Jerusalem, saying Christians are not welcome in the city, Israeli news outlets reported Sunday.
Israeli extremist rabbi Bentzi Gopstein told the Israeli TV Channel Two that Christians are not welcome in Occupied Jerusalem.
He also called for making obstacles against the expansion of Christianity in the occupied city of Jerusalem and for translating such words of hatred into action.
Gopstein is the head of the notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group of Lahava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in the occupied Palestinian holy city.
Reports and documents continue to prove that the Israeli occupation government stands behind such racist groups, nurturing the very seeds of abhorrence and intolerance from which such parties have been drawing force.
Lehava Leader Again Calls for Torching Jerusalem Churches
The leader of the extremist anti-assimilation group, Lehava, recently renewed his calls to torch churches in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli media sources revealed.Lehava’s leader, Bentzi Gopstein, told the Israeli TV Channel II that Israeli Jews practically prevent Christians from entering Jerusalem, saying that Christian presence in Jerusalem was not welcome.
He also called for ‘making obstacles towards the expansion of Christianity and Islam in the Palestinian occupied city of Jerusalem,’ said the Days of Palestine on its website.
Gopstein has previously ‘called for a ban on Christmas celebrations in the country and the banishment of Christians, who he referred to as ‘blood-sucking vampires’, from the land,’ reported the International Business Times.
Gopstein is the head of the notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group of Lehava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in the occupied Palestinian holy city.
‘Several Israeli groups are active in the occupied holy city regarding Judaization activities, including confiscating Islamic and Christian properties,’ said Days of Palestine.
In 2014, a group of mostly Jewish youth attacked the Church of the Multiplication’s outdoor prayer area along the Sea of Galilee, pelting worshippers with stones, destroying a cross and throwing benches into the lake.
WAFA further reports that Israeli settlers, late Saturday night, torched eight Palestinian-owned cars in al-Thawri neighborhood in Jerusalem, according to media sources.
The Israeli radio said that settlers set a car on fire in al-Thawri neighborhood, before the fire extended to seven other cars parked nearby.
It said that Israeli police registered the attack against an “unknown” suspect, although surveillance cameras in the area prove that it was carried out by settlers.
According to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), there were 369 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians from January 2015 to July 27, averaging more than 12 each week.
According to an October 2013 UN report: ‘[…] Since 2009 the number of settler-related incidents resulting in casualties has more than doubled, and the number of casualties caused by settlers has increased by 30 percent; while the number of settler-related incidents resulting in property damage has more than tripled, and the number of trees destroyed or damaged has increased almost four-fold.’
The report added: ‘From January to August 2013, compared to the same period in 2012, the number of casualties caused by Israeli security forces increased more than four-fold, as security forces intervene in settler attacks or resulting clashes between settlers and Palestinians to disperse Palestinians, rather than to protect them from attacks by settlers.’
See also: Israel Rejects Compensation For Burnt Historic Christian Church
Israeli extremist rabbi Bentzi Gopstein told the Israeli TV Channel Two that Christians are not welcome in Occupied Jerusalem.
He also called for making obstacles against the expansion of Christianity in the occupied city of Jerusalem and for translating such words of hatred into action.
Gopstein is the head of the notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group of Lahava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in the occupied Palestinian holy city.
Reports and documents continue to prove that the Israeli occupation government stands behind such racist groups, nurturing the very seeds of abhorrence and intolerance from which such parties have been drawing force.
Lehava Leader Again Calls for Torching Jerusalem Churches
The leader of the extremist anti-assimilation group, Lehava, recently renewed his calls to torch churches in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli media sources revealed.Lehava’s leader, Bentzi Gopstein, told the Israeli TV Channel II that Israeli Jews practically prevent Christians from entering Jerusalem, saying that Christian presence in Jerusalem was not welcome.
He also called for ‘making obstacles towards the expansion of Christianity and Islam in the Palestinian occupied city of Jerusalem,’ said the Days of Palestine on its website.
Gopstein has previously ‘called for a ban on Christmas celebrations in the country and the banishment of Christians, who he referred to as ‘blood-sucking vampires’, from the land,’ reported the International Business Times.
Gopstein is the head of the notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group of Lehava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in the occupied Palestinian holy city.
‘Several Israeli groups are active in the occupied holy city regarding Judaization activities, including confiscating Islamic and Christian properties,’ said Days of Palestine.
In 2014, a group of mostly Jewish youth attacked the Church of the Multiplication’s outdoor prayer area along the Sea of Galilee, pelting worshippers with stones, destroying a cross and throwing benches into the lake.
WAFA further reports that Israeli settlers, late Saturday night, torched eight Palestinian-owned cars in al-Thawri neighborhood in Jerusalem, according to media sources.
The Israeli radio said that settlers set a car on fire in al-Thawri neighborhood, before the fire extended to seven other cars parked nearby.
It said that Israeli police registered the attack against an “unknown” suspect, although surveillance cameras in the area prove that it was carried out by settlers.
According to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), there were 369 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians from January 2015 to July 27, averaging more than 12 each week.
According to an October 2013 UN report: ‘[…] Since 2009 the number of settler-related incidents resulting in casualties has more than doubled, and the number of casualties caused by settlers has increased by 30 percent; while the number of settler-related incidents resulting in property damage has more than tripled, and the number of trees destroyed or damaged has increased almost four-fold.’
The report added: ‘From January to August 2013, compared to the same period in 2012, the number of casualties caused by Israeli security forces increased more than four-fold, as security forces intervene in settler attacks or resulting clashes between settlers and Palestinians to disperse Palestinians, rather than to protect them from attacks by settlers.’
See also: Israel Rejects Compensation For Burnt Historic Christian Church
1 jan 2016
An Israeli Rabbi said, Wednesday, that Christians are not welcome in Jerusalem, and that he does not mind burning mosques and churches.
Bentzi Gopstein told Israeli TV Channel 2 that Israeli Jews practically prevent Christians from entering Jerusalem.
He also called for making obstacles towards the expansion of Christianity and Islam in annexed Jerusalem.
According to Days of Palestine, the extremist rabbi also said that he does not mind burning mosques and churches in Jerusalem, stating that Israeli authorities must arrest Christian monks and nuns.
Gopstein is the head of an notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group called Lehava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in Jerusalem.
Several Israeli groups are active in the occupied holy city, with regard to extreme Judaisation activities, including the seizing of Islamic and Christian properties.
Israeli TV has previously proved that the Israeli government stands behind these groups, although it sometimes condemns their acts in token concern.
See also: Leader of Right-Wing Israeli Group Calls Christians "Blood-Sucking Vampires"
Bentzi Gopstein told Israeli TV Channel 2 that Israeli Jews practically prevent Christians from entering Jerusalem.
He also called for making obstacles towards the expansion of Christianity and Islam in annexed Jerusalem.
According to Days of Palestine, the extremist rabbi also said that he does not mind burning mosques and churches in Jerusalem, stating that Israeli authorities must arrest Christian monks and nuns.
Gopstein is the head of an notorious extremist Israeli Jewish group called Lehava, which is responsible for insulting and harassing monks and nuns in Jerusalem.
Several Israeli groups are active in the occupied holy city, with regard to extreme Judaisation activities, including the seizing of Islamic and Christian properties.
Israeli TV has previously proved that the Israeli government stands behind these groups, although it sometimes condemns their acts in token concern.
See also: Leader of Right-Wing Israeli Group Calls Christians "Blood-Sucking Vampires"
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