Poraz 'repulsed' by Jews spitting on Christians
By Relly Sa'ar, Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies
Last Update: 12/10/2004 23:07
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday against incidents of Jews spitting at Christian clergy in Jerusalem, saying he was "repulsed" by the repeated attacks."
Poraz was referring to the most recent case of such behavior, when a yeshiva student spat at a cross carried by Armenian archbishop Nourhan Manougian in a procession on Sunday, police said. A fistfight broke out, during which the archbishop's medallion, worn by Armenian archbishops since the 17th century, was damaged, and the archbishop slapped the yeshiva student. The student was arrested, and the Jerusalem District Court subsequently banned him from approaching the Old City for 75 days. The archbishop was questioned by police.
Police spokesman Gil Kleiman said that the last such case handled by police was more than two years ago, but Christian clergy complain of frequent harassment.
Poraz called such behavior by ultra-Orthodox Jewish students "intolerable," and asked Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra to "take all the necessary steps to prevent these incidents in the future." Poraz also expressed his dismay to the heads of the churches in Israel and noted "Israel's commitment to freedom of religion."
Armenian officials charged that Israeli authorities were not doing enough.
"When there is an attack against Jews anywhere in the world, the Israeli government is incensed, so why when our religion and pride are hurt, don't they take harsher measures?" Archbishop Nourhan Manougian told Haaretz.
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