Jewish Extremists Threaten Christians, Muslims at Jerusalem Peace School

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Jewish Extremists Threaten Christians, Muslims at Jerusalem Peace School

Vandals Reportedly Write 'Death to Christians,' 'Holocaust for Arabs' at Two Faith Sites

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter

February 13, 2012|6:20 pm

Both a Christian monastery and a peace school in Jerusalem set up to improve ties between Arab and Jewish children were targets of extremists who wrote hate speech on the facilities' walls in separate incidents last week, calling for the death of Christians and a "holocaust" for Arabs.

"Death to Christians" was written at a Jerusalem Christian monastery, an 11th-century holy site situated in a valley overlooking the Israeli parliament, while "Death to Arabs" and "Shoah [Holocaust] for the Arabs" was spray painted at a bilingual children's school. Police are still investigating to determine whether the attacks were carried out by the same group of people, but all evidence points to Jewish extremists.

"Kahane was right" was another inscription found on the walls at the school, U.K. publication the Independent reported. The inscription is reportedly a reference to an ultra-right wing rabbi whose movement, Kach, was barred from contesting Israeli elections in 1988 and listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organization in 2002.

Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School, which is the only one of its kind in the city, was opened in 2007 with a vision of bringing together two divided communities by helping Muslim and Jewish children learn together in the same classrooms. The vandalism incidents are being called a "price tag" attack, or retribution against the Israeli government for trying to curb Jewish settlements in the area.

"It (the school) has been a huge success and these radicals don't know how to handle this reality. It is very hurtful to see this graffiti, it is not just against Muslims but against Jews, against everyone. It puts a strain on democracy but it will make our group bigger and stronger," said Paz Cohen, the Jewish joint chairman of Max Rayne Hand in Hand.

"It wasn't just written here, where young children from the ages 3 to 18 study together in coexistence, for no reason. We are trying to digest these horrifying inscriptions," added Nadia Knani, the school's principal.

"I am a priest and I forgive," was the only thing Father Claudio of the Orthodox Christian monastery could say, Haaretz.com reported.

David Nekrutman, Executive Director at the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation in Efrat, Israel, spoke with The Christian Post about the incident, offering an overview of bipartisan relations in Israel.

"There are other schools with Jews and Arabs learning together in Israel, though you will find them more in the northern parts, where communities are integrated better," Nekrutman said. "There are over one million Arabs, mostly Muslims, living in Israel, who are residents or full citizens. The other six million people are Jews."

The CJCUC executive director said that schools like Max Rayne Hand in Hand are unique because they are also developing inter-faith programs and the students learn both in Hebrew and Arabic.

"There are extremists in every country – but to do an act like this needs to be condemned by religious figures. The Christian community should not be targeted in this way – if this were to happen in America with the Jewish community being targeted, it would be called anti-Semitism," he said of the vandal attack.

He continued, "Incidents like this do not happen very often – but when they do happen, you have to make sure they are nipped in the bud.

"For Israel to remain a strong Jewish and democratic country, these attacks born only out of bigotry and extremism must be stopped. We call on Jews everywhere – both religious and non-religious--to fight extremism and hatred, which desecrate God's Holy Name."

"The God of Israel is the God of life and love, not a God of violence and hatred," a statement by the CJCUC added.

Jerusalem continues to be radically divided on certain other issues, such as the Biblical Temple Mount, which is said by some Christian Bible scholars to be the site where all the nations will gather to worship when the Messiah returns.

The Temple Mount has been one of the most hotly disputed religious sites for the past few centuries and has been one of the main points of tension between Israel and Palestine, as both Jewish and Muslim authorities have been locked in a stalemate over what to do with what is believed to be a temple visited by the presence of God. It is currently under the authority of Islam officials, and remains closed off to members of all others faiths, despite protests by Jews.

[X Factor 1,112]

Terrible the amount of hatred in this world

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Deport every one of them to a rock in the middle of the ocean where they can live the life they choose and not interfere with others.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Terrible the amount of hatred in this world

[BishopM 114]

Sofiyya, why is it that Islam officials will not permit other faiths to enter the Temple Mount?

I haz a naive......so you can make the answer short...I realize there is centuries of history there...

Blessings - MK

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Sofiyya, why is it that Islam officials will not permit other faiths to enter the Temple Mount?

I haz a naive......so you can make the answer short...I realize there is centuries of history there...

Blessings - MK

???

Since the Crusades, the Muslim community of Jerusalem has managed the site as a Waqf, without interruption.[5] As part of the Old City, controlled by Israel since 1967, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim sovereignty over the site, which remains a major focal point of the Arab-Israeli conflict.[6] In an attempt to keep the status quo, the Israeli government enforces a controversial ban on prayer by non-Muslim visitors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount

The ban on Jews entering actually originated from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel:

Many rabbis, including Israel's chief rabbinate since 1967, have ruled that Jews should not walk on the Temple Mount due to the possibility of their stepping on the site of the Holy of Holies.[74] Israeli governmental restrictions only forbid Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, but allow Jews as well as other non-Muslims to visit for certain hours on certain days in the week. Several rabbis and Zionist leaders have demanded the right of Jews to pray at the site on Jewish holidays.[75] Although the Israeli Supreme Court has supported individual (as opposed to group) prayer, in practice Israeli police bar a Jew from praying "in any overt manner whatsoever on the Temple Mount, even if he is just moving his lips in prayer."[76]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount

The Muslim Waqf will allow non-Muslim visitors during specified visiting hours and will often make special arrangements for VIP visitors, but whether they can enter is subject to the authority of the Israeli police and sometimes the army, which often try to prevent Jews and sometimes Christians (as well as Muslims) from entering the site during certain times - could be because of a Jewish holiday, or a Muslim holiday, or because it's Friday, or because there is a terror alert, or because they think there might be a terror alert, or because of whatever.

[BishopM 114]

Thanks WoM,

Blessings - M

[X Factor 1,112]

[Kathryn41 3,205]

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[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

A number of posts containing personal attacks and inappropriate images have been removed. If you wish to participate in this thread please comment on the topic and don't attack others participating. Further inappropriate comments or images will result in a thread ban.

I bet you say that to all the boys.