UK, Anglican Church ‘Appalled’ at Desecration of Christian Graves in Jerusalem

The U.K. and Anglican Church have expressed dismay over an act of vandalism by two Jewish teenagers on a historic Protestant cemetery adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday.

The teenagers, who appeared in a recording of the incident to be religious Jews, caused an estimated $100,000 in damages.

“We have noticed that hatred speech and hatred crimes are on the rise,” Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum said during a visit to the desecrated cemetery.

“This is only an indication that we are not in a place where people can tolerate each other or accept each other,” Archbishop Naoum added.

“We see more exclusion, more segregation and that is what really grieves us in this city of Jerusalem,” he added.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, called the vandalism “a blasphemous act.”

“As we continue to pray for peace in the Holy Land, I stand with Archbishop Hosam Naoum and other Jerusalem church leaders in calling for respect, protection, equality and justice for its Christian community – who are the Living Stones of the Church,” he added.

The British consulate in Jerusalem also slammed the desecration, tweeting: “This is the latest in a string of attacks against Christians and their property in and around the Old City. The perpetrators of religiously motivated attacks should be held accountable.”

Israel’s Foreign Affairs ministry condemned the vandalism, calling it an “immoral act” that constituted “an affront to religion”.

It called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted swiftly.

Israeli police said they were investigating the incident.

The cemetery was established in 1848 and contains British Commonwealth war graves. The body of Oskar Schindler, who saved 1200 Jews during the holocaust and inspired the movie Schindler’s List, is buried there, as are prominent scientists, historians, politicians, British servicemen, and members of clergy, among others. It is presided over by the Lutheran and Anglican communities.

The Anglican Church said the targeting of the crosses clearly suggests “these criminal acts were motivated by religious bigotry and hatred against Christians”.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) said it was “appalled” by the vandalism.

“A very small number of CWGC headstones were damaged – we are co-operating closely with the authorities on the matter and our in-country staff are already working to carry out full repairs and return the graves to their normal condition,” a spokesperson told the BBC.

The same cemetery was desecrated nine years ago, prompting the forming of a joint initiative by the local Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities to restore the site.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, and Chief Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, expressed dismay over the vandalism, the Church said.

The Church called for ways to combat “violent acts of defilement against sacred sites” in the holy city.