Christians in Jerusalem are speculating that the toppling and vandalism of over 30 graves at a historic Christian cemetery in Jerusalem is a “hate crime.” The vandalism occurred at Protestant Church on Mount Zion, with police officers responding to a call earlier this month. A tweet later shared footage of two men entering the cemetery on a Sunday morning, smashing a stone cross and smashing and stomping on tombstones. The men appeared to be Jewish based on their Jewish skullcaps and tzitzits worn by observant Jews. Amongst the destroyed tombs are a 19th-century bust of Samuel Gobat, the second protestant bishop of Jerusalem, and the graves of 3 British police officers. 

Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the action calling it “an affront to religion.” The diocese called it an act of “hatred towards Christians” and that “Many stone crosses were the targets of the vandals, clearly indicating that these criminal acts were motivated by religious bigotry.” The Christian community has been growing in Israel, with Christians numbering around 182,000, which is about 1.9% of the population in 2020, a 1.4% increase. 76.7% of Christians in Israel are Arab. 

With that growth amongst Christians has come more hostility from Jewish extremists. Last January, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, stated that radical Israeli groups had threatened Christians. In the London Times, the Patriarch wrote, “Our churches are threatened by Israeli radical fringe groups. At the hands of these Zionist extremists, the Christian community in Jerusalem is suffering greatly. Our brothers and sisters are the victims of hate crimes. Our churches are regularly desecrated and vandalized. Our clergy is subject to frequent intimidation.” A US report on worldwide religious freedom also noted many reports from Christian pilgrims and clergy of being harassed by ultra-orthodox Jews. Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy, condemned the cemetery incident, tweeting, “I condemn this despicable act. Desecration of any and all holy sites is unacceptable, and the sanctity of burial must be respected. Families have the right to lay to rest loved ones peacefully.”

Israeli officials, however, have pushed back against such allegations, in particular against a statement made in December by a group of other church members alleging violence against Christians. “Since the day it was established, the State of Israel has been committed to freedom of religion and worship for all religions, as well to ensure the freedom of access to holy sites. The statement by Church leaders in Jerusalem is particularly infuriating given their silence on the plight of many Christian communities in the Middle East suffering from discrimination and persecution,” a statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry retorted. Theophilos did not name a particular group as being responsible for the attacks, nor did he cite specific incidents. However, he said that the attacks were “not representative of the state of Israel or the Jewish people.” At the time of this article, no suspects have been identified in the desecration of the cemetery, and the two people seen in the security footage remain at large.