Holy Land’s bishops file police complaint after rabbi calls for burning of churches

August 10, 2015

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land has filed a complaint with police against Rabbi Ben-Zion Gopstein after he expressed support for the burning of churches during a panel discussion.

Gopstein is the head of Lehava, or Organization for Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land, which opposes the integration of Jews and non-Jews.

“These remarks, which came after a troublesome act of vandalism against the Holy Place of Tabgha in Israel, are unacceptable to the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land,” the bishops said. “They incite hatred and pose a real threat to the Christian religious buildings in the country. The Catholic community in the Holy Land is fearful and feels in danger.”

“A complaint was therefore filed Friday morning [August 7] with the Israeli police,” the bishops continued, as they called on Israel “to ensure real protection for Christian citizens of this country and their places of worship.”

 

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Further information:

• AOCHL files complaint against the Rabbi Gopstein (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
• Le dirigeant du groupe radical juif prône de brûler les églises (Times of Israel)
• Jewish extremist placed under 'preventative arrest' by Israeli police (CWN, 8/6)