Five Jews arrested on suspicion of spitting at Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City
Jerusalem’s police chief established a special investigation to look into the rise of hate crimes against Christians in the Old City
Several Jews carrying their lulav and etrog were caught on tape spitting on Christian worshippers. Courtesy of Israeli police
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Israeli police arrested five people, including one minor, on Wednesday on suspicion of spitting at Christians and churches in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem’s police chief established a special investigation to look into the spitting phenomenon and hate crimes against Christians in the Old City. It will use surveillance technology to identify suspects and either impose fines or, in more extreme cases, open a criminal investigation on suspicion of crime of religious offense.
קבוצה של צליינים יוצאת עם הצלב לרחוב שער האריות ונתקלת בקבוצה של מתפללים יהודים עם 4 המינים ואז מתחילות היריקות. ספרתי לפחות 7 בכמה שניות. pic.twitter.com/YjqaknATLw
— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) October 2, 2023
According to the police, one suspect was arrested for an incident that took place earlier this week, and the other four were caught at the time of the act Wednesday morning. This incident included one suspect spitting at an employee by the entrance to a church.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, MK Simcha Rothman’s brother, Rabbi Nathan Rothman, led the march during which a suspect was arrested for spitting at a Christian. Simcha Rothman is one of the chief architects of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial coup.
The suspects are being investigated.
Jerusalem District chief Doron Turgeman condemned the incidents and said that the special investigative team will use overt and covert measures to locate the spiters in real time and retroactively.
שוטרי מחוז ירושלים עצרו חמישה חשודים ביריקה לעבר נוצרים/כניסה לכנסייה בעיר העתיקה בירושלים (בתיעוד: זיהוי ומעצר שניים מהחשודים הבוקר) pic.twitter.com/2b5yeAriCo
— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) October 4, 2023
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
