A serious incident of a religiously motivated hate crime occurred during the night between Saturday and Sunday in Jerusalem’s Old City. According to a complaint filed by the Armenian Patriarchate, and as seen in security camera footage, at around 1:00 a.m., a group of young people who appeared, based on their clothing, to be Jewish arrived at St. James Cathedral – a Christian church in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City, located directly across from the David District headquarters of the Jerusalem District Police at the Kishle station. The young people were filmed spitting toward the church’s entrance door and throwing stones at it.
According to Armenian residents of the quarter, when the young people noticed a local resident filming them from the window of her home, they began shouting and threw stones at her as well, while hurling curses at her: “Go back inside, you bitch.”
The Armenian Patriarchate filed an official complaint, and the Jerusalem District Police opened an investigation and arrested six suspects – one adult and five minors.
What Happened at St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem?
On its social media account, the Armenian Patriarchate called on the United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to intervene with the Israeli government: “We call upon you once again to condemn these acts of hatred against Christians in Jerusalem. We call upon you again to ask the Israeli government to criminalize these acts for what they truly are. These are hate crimes everywhere in the West. Why are they not hate crimes here?”
In a statement, the Jerusalem District Police said: “David District officers in the Jerusalem District arrested six suspects after they allegedly spat toward the Armenian church and threw stones at it in Jerusalem’s Old City. Upon receiving the report about the incident, David District officers were dispatched to the scene and launched extensive searches with the assistance of Mabat 2000 officers. They managed to locate six suspects who allegedly spat toward the church and threw stones at it. The suspects were arrested and questioned at the David District headquarters.”
The police further stated: “The Israel Police views every manifestation of violence and racism with severity and will continue to act decisively to locate those involved and bring them to justice, with the aim of safeguarding public safety.”
