“The
entrance door to a century-old monastery near Jerusalem was burned away and
anti-Christian graffiti was sprayed on the walls Tuesday, in what Israeli
police said appeared to be a nationalistic attack,” CNN reports.
“The phrase ‘Jesus is a
monkey’ was painted on the walls of Latrun Monastery in large orange
letters….Families were evacuated from the outposts over the weekend by Israeli
government forces.
The Rev. Louis Wahbeh, of the 19th century monastery, told
CNN that he was shocked that anyone would plan and carry out such an attack.
‘
This is a direct insult to our belief,’ he said. ‘We can’t understand how such
people can get to this low level of not respecting others, have no ethical
background and don’t have any human values.’”
Israeli leaders are to be
commended for denouncing these
“heinous” anti-Christian attacks. The Prime Minister’s Office issued the following statement:
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Public Security Minister Yitzhak
Aharonovitch and was updated on the actions being taken by the Israel Police to
apprehend those who desecrated the Latrun Monastery.
‘Those responsible for
this reprehensible act need to be punished severely. Freedom of religion and
freedom of worship are among the most basic foundations of the State of
Israel,’ the Prime Minister said.”
