Outrage as more than 30 graves – including British Commonwealth war dead – are vandalised at Christian cemetery in Jerusalem: Archbishop of Canterbury condemns ‘blasphemous act’

• Stone graves lay in pieces at the Old City site on Mount Zion after Jan. 1 attack
• CCTV footage captured two men toppling grave stones and throwing rocks
• The act has been widely condemned by both Christian and Jewish leaders

Christians have been left outraged after more than 30 graves were vandalised at a protestant cemetery in Jerusalem, in an act described as ‘blasphemous’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Stone graves lay in pieces with crosses toppled at the Old City site on Mount Zion, where Christians believe Jesus’s Last Supper took place. Some of the graves mark  those who died in the British Commonwealth War.

Church authorities said the damage was discovered on Tuesday, while security camera footage from January 1 showed two men or boys vandalising the site. 

A Jerusalem bishop said on Wednesday he was ‘dismayed’ by the desecration of dozens of the Christian graves, as police probed the vandalism.

Christians in Jerusalem have been left outraged after more than 30 graves were vandalised at a protestant cemetery by two men or boys, in an act described as ‘blasphemous’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Pictured: An aerial view shows vandalized tombstones at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery where acts of vandalism took place in Jerusalem, January 4

Church authorities said the damage was discovered on Tuesday, while security camera footage from January 1 (pictured) showed two men or boys vandalising the site

‘We discovered that more than 30 tombstones and crosses were smashed to pieces,’ Hosam Naoum, an Anglican bishop, told journalists at the cemetery. 

The CCTV footage showed that the men were wearing what appeared to be Jewish attire. The pair were seen walking through a gate into the cemetery before toppling stone crosses and throwing rocks at gravestones.

The two vandals have been accused of being Jewish extremists.

‘These criminal acts were motivated by religious bigotry and hatred against Christians,’ the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem said in a statement.

Israeli police said Tuesday they had launched an investigation into ‘the defacement of a large number of tombstones in the Protestant cemetery’.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum inspects a vandalized tombstone at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem January 4, 2023

A general view of the damaged Protestant cemetery by Jewish settlers who sneaked into on Mount Sion in East Jerusalem on Sunday, January 1 in Jerusalem January 4, 2023

The Anglican Church and the United Kingdom both condemned the attack on the cemetery on Wednesday. 

They were joined by Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who tweeted: ‘This shameful vandalism is a disgraceful desecration for which I hope the perpetrators will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’

On Twitter, the Archbishop of Canterbury called the vandalism ‘blasphemous’.

‘The desecration of Christian graves in Jerusalem is a blasphemous act,’ he said. ‘I join the @chiefrabbi and religious leaders in Jerusalem in condemning it and hope those responsible will be brought swiftly to justice.’

He added in a second message: ‘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.’

Standing before one of the damaged graves, Hosam Naoum said: ‘We are not only dismayed but we are very much saddened.’

The bishop said the cemetery was established in the mid-19th century and is the final resting place of figures including clergy, scientists and politicians.

Iska, a worker of the church, inspects a vandalized tombstone at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery in Jerusalem January 4, 2023

An aerial view shows vandalized tombstones at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery where acts of vandalism took place in Jerusalem January 4, 2023

Among them were ‘people of great importance that have contributed to the history of Jerusalem and to the life of the people here,’ he said.

The British consulate in Jerusalem said in a Tweet: ‘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.’ 

In a statement to MailOnline, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East said: ‘Among the obliterated tombstones was one containing the bust of the Right Reverend Samuel Gobat, the second Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem and founder of the adjoining Jerusalem University College, formally known as the Gobat School.

‘Three commonwealth graves of Palestinian police officers were among those destroyed. Many stone crosses were also the targets of the vandals, clearly indicating that these criminal acts were motivated by religious bigotry and hatred against Christians.’ 

Israel’s foreign ministry called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted, writing on Twitter that ‘this immoral act is an affront to religion’.

Mount Zion lies outside the Old City walls and has drawn pilgrims for centuries. It is also revered by Jews, as the burial place of biblical King David.

In December 2021, church leaders warned that ‘Christians have become the target of frequent and sustained attacks by fringe radical groups’ in Jerusalem and the wider Holy Land.

Tn the Holy Land this Christmas, in the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem where the ‘story’ of Christianity began 2,000 years ago, local Christians are calling for help as their numbers continue to dwindle and they face discrimination and economic hardship. Above: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre – built on the reputed site of Jesus’s tomb – in April

The statement criticised inaction by law enforcement and local officials, accusations deemed ‘baseless’ by the Israeli foreign ministry.

And in the build up to Christmas 2022, the Church expressed its fears the faith will be little more than a ‘museum piece’ in Jerusalem after followers of Jesus fell by two thirds to 10,000 since 1948 in the city.

In 1948, Jerusalem’s 31,000 Christians represented around 20 per cent of the population. Now they number just 10,000 – less than two per cent.

The numbers are continuing to fall, despite the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem being where the ‘story’ of Christianity began 2,000 years ago.

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