A new report by Israel’s Religious Freedom Data Centre (RFDC) has documented 83 incidents of harassment and attacks against Christians between April and June across Israel and Israeli-occupied territories, with most cases recorded in Jerusalem.
The incidents occurred in 76 separate cases, according to the report, which said spitting accounted for 47 of the total incidents.
Other categories included eight cases of verbal assault, six involving threatening behaviour, five involving the throwing of trash, four physical assaults, six incidents of signage defacement and seven classified as other forms of harassment.
“Harassment and attacks increasingly take place openly in public spaces, with little hesitation on the part of the perpetrators,” the report reads.
“The high number of spitting incidents remains particularly striking. During this quarter, 47 incidents involved spitting, accounting for 56 per cent of all recorded forms of harassment.”
Jerusalem accounted for 68 of the incidents, including 46 in the Old City, 13 in West Jerusalem and nine on Mount Zion. Additional cases were reported in Haifa, the Galilee region, the Sea of Galilee area, the West Bank, Beit Shemesh and Mevaseret Zion.
According to the report, the harassment incidents frequently increased around Jerusalem Day and the Flag March, an annual event marking Israeli control over East Jerusalem, which it described as a recurring flashpoint for tensions.
It added that some cases involved group behaviour in public spaces and occasional harassment in the presence of children.
The report also pointed to wider factors it said are linked to harassment incidents, including interactions between state institutions and Christian sites. It cited cases in which soldiers were reported to have mocked or disrespected Christian sites during tours in Jerusalem.
It also raised concerns about organised school visits to Jerusalem and other religious sites. According to the report, thousands of students take part in such programmes each year, but often receive little preparation about Christian communities in the city. This lack of context, the group says, may contribute to hostile behaviour during visits to religious sites.
RFDC has recorded a broader rise in harassment since early 2023, particularly in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, where it said conditions for Christian communities have worsened.
“We call upon all public authorities and the Israel Police in particular to make greater use of the expertise of the Religious Freedom Data Centre and other specialists familiar with the sensitivities of Christian communities in the Holy Land,” the report said.
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