Anti-Christian vandalism precedes Pope Francis’ trip to Israel

As Pope Francis prepares for his upcoming trip to Israel, tensions run high between Christians and ultra-Orthodox Jews in the Holy Land.

Pope Francis heads to Jordan on May 24 to kick off his three-day trip to Israel, which also includes visits to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The Pope’s trip commemorates the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s visit to the Holy Land in 1964—the first time a reigning pope had ever visited Jerusalem.

Although the Pope’s visit is supposed to celebrate the friendship between the Catholic Church and the State of Israel, numerous acts of anti-Christian graffiti have appeared throughout Israel in recent weeks.

According to TIME, Jewish extremists are suspected of vandalizing Christian sites throughout Israel with hate-filled sayings, such as “Death to Christians”, “Jesus is garbage” and “We will crucify you”.

Hundreds of Jews also congregated on Mount Zion to protest the Pope’s upcoming visit, calling for the Pope to “stay in Rome”.

Mount Zion is at the center of the hate-filled vandalism, as it is an important religious site for both Christians and Jews. A complex in Mount Zion, Jerusalem is believed to house the tomb of King David, making it a holy site for Jews. The Christian faith recognizes the site as the Cenacle, the sacred site of the Last Supper.

Much of the recent Jewish extremist actions are likely caused by the unconfirmed reports that claim that Israel has agreed to hand the contested building on Mount Zion over to the Vatican.

Pope Francis is expected to visit the site to celebrate mass, which has further angered rabbis and Jewish extremists who want to prevent any Christian activity at the sacred site.

According to Haaretz, ambassador Zion Evrony refuted these rumors, saying, “The State of Israel has no intention to transfer to the Vatican sovereignty or ownership of the Cenacle or any other part of the compound on Mount Zion.”

Israeli officials hope that the Pope’s trip will bring more international visitors to the Holy Land. Evrony said, “We also expect it to improve relations with other Catholic countries for which the Vatican’s position regarding Israel is important.”

Many are welcoming the Pope’s visit as a step in the right direction for interreligious understanding.

Wednesday, in comments published by the Catholic News Agency (CNA), the Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See extolled the presence of both a rabbi and a Muslim in the Pope’s delegation to the Holy.

“For the first time in history Rabbi Skorka from Argentina, who is a friend of Pope Francis, will accompany him but also a Muslim religious leader, Imam Abbud, also from Argentina,” Dr. Zion Evrony told CNA.

Currently, no arrests have been made for the anti-Christian vandalism sprouting throughout Israel, but Israel’s Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino has made it clear that these acts of vandalism will not be tolerated.

“There have been attempts here – principally as we get closer to the visit itself – by some extremists to try and make a provocation, and create a bad atmosphere before the visit,” Danino said, “”We have absolutely no intention of tolerating this.”