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Summary After a series of attacks by vandals on Christian holy sites in Israel, are beginning to speak out.
The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, one of the churchs top officials in the Holy Land, said he is worried about relations between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land. He believes the blame can go all around.I think the main atmosphere is ignorance, Pizzaballa told The Associated Press in an interview.Because the local Christian population is tiny, we do not exist for the majority ... They have other priorities, he said. On the other side, we as a minority maybe didnt invest enough energy and initiatives to reach out to Israeli Jews.That may be changing following this months attack on a well-known Trappist Monastery in Latrun, outside Jerusalem. Vandals burned a door and spray-painted anti-Christian graffiti on the century-old building with the words Jesus is a monkey.Suspicion has fallen on extremist Jewish West Bank settlers or their supporters, who are believed to be behind a series of attacks in recent years on mosques, Christian sites and even Israeli army property to protest moves against settlements.In response, the churchs top officials, including Pizzaballa, the custos, or custodian of Catholic holy sites, to issue a rare declaration calling on Israeli leaders to take action.Sadly, what happened in Latrun is only another in a long series of attacks against Christians and their places of worship, the Catholic leaders said. What is going on in Israeli society today that permits Christians to be scapegoated and targeted by these acts of violence?It said authorities should put an end to this senseless violence and to ensure a teaching of respect in schools for all those who call this land home.Israeli leaders swiftly condemned the attack, and police vowed to bring the vandals to justice. Nearly two weeks later, there have been no arrests.The monastery was targeted shortly after Israel evacuated an illegally built West Bank settler outpost. In recent months, two other monasteries and a Baptist church were vandalized. It is not clear why the vandals have targeted Christian sites. For years, Christian clergymen also have been spat at by ultra-Orthodox seminary students in Jerusalems Old City.
