Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday pledged “zero tolerance” for “attacks on believers” after a new video appeared on social media showing Jewish worshipers spitting on Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem, AFP reported.

“I strongly condemn any attack on believers, and we will take urgent action against this type of action,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

The text did not refer to any specific event, but was published a day after a video was shared on social media showing a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrating Sukkot, including young men spitting on the floor as pilgrims carrying crosses walked by Via. Dolorosa, the traditional Way of the Cross commemorating the Passion of Christ, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

AFP could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the video, which comes after the publication of other similar videos showing abuse and attacks on Christians by Jewish worshipers in this part of the city, occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967, at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. and about the tensions between the three monotheistic religions.

“Any aggressive behavior towards believers (…) is unacceptable,” and “we will show zero tolerance” in this regard, Netanyahu said.

A growing phenomenon

On September 21, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, whom Pope Francis made a cardinal on Saturday in Rome, said that the phenomenon of attacks on Christians in the Old City “is not new”, but “there has been” an increase in numbers” over the “last period”.

On September 21, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, whom Pope Francis made a cardinal on Saturday in Rome, said that the phenomenon of attacks on Christians in the Old City “is not new”, but “there has been” an increase in numbers” over the “last period”.

This increase, he said, may be due to a stronger presence than before of the “ultra-Orthodox” or “religious Zionist” Jewish movements, as well as the “issue of education” when “some rabbis […] encourages’ such behavior or at least ‘endorses’ it.

“We must not forget the fact that relations between Jews and Christians have not been easy in the past,” added Archbishop Pizzaballa, alluding to anti-Judaism of Christian origin.

But, he added, “perhaps the fact that Mr [actualul guvern israelian, anumite mișcări se simt într-un anumit fel […] not supported but at least defended” because “it is a fact that the frequency of this phenomenon […] tied, at least temporarily, to this government.”

The winner of the November 2022 parliamentary elections, Netanyahu leads one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history with the help of ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, president of the Wailing Wall Foundation, “condemned in the strongest terms the violence against worshipers in the Old City, as well as all forms of violence.”

“We must do everything in our power to preserve the delicate fabric of the Old City,” he added, addressing “leaders of all religions.”