by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Religious freedom advocates have urged Israeli authorities to tackle rising anti-Christian harassment in Israel after a Catholic priest was reportedly attacked in Jerusalem.
In a statement obtained by Worthy News, the Vulnerable People Project (VPP) said Firas Abedrabbo, a priest of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, “was spat on, verbally abused, and subjected to obscene gestures by three young religious men as he left a restaurant near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.”
The VPP, which supports persecuted Christians, condemned the assault and what it described as a pattern of impunity surrounding such incidents, citing newly released data showing anti-Christian harassment in Israel climbing to record levels.
Abedrabbo, parish priest of the Latin church in Ein Arik near Ramallah, had been having lunch with Israeli friends, including peace activists, when the harassment began, Christian sources said. The abuse reportedly continued for several minutes until his companions confronted the youths. A police complaint was later filed.
No arrests had been reported as of Thursday, Worthy News learned.
RECORD NUMBER OF INCIDENTS
The assault came days before the Religious Freedom Data Center presented its latest findings on anti-Christian incidents in Israel.
The center’s founder, Yisca Harani, a Jewish-Israeli scholar whose volunteers document harassment of Christians with the backing of church leaders in Jerusalem, said more than 88 anti-Christian incidents had already been recorded in 2026.
Of those, 63 occurred during the second quarter of the year, putting 2026 on track to surpass last year’s total of 181 incidents. Harani noted that previous annual records had already been exceeded before June was over.
The documented cases include spitting, verbal abuse, vandalism, desecration of graves and crosses, and arson attacks targeting Christian sites.
Most incidents were reported in Jerusalem’s Old City, on Mount Zion, and near the Armenian Patriarchate. Researchers say the actual number is likely much higher because many victims do not report incidents, believing no action will be taken.
CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Israeli authorities have generally described such incidents as isolated acts committed by a small number of extremists, a characterization rejected by many Christian leaders who say harassment has become a regular reality for clergy and worshippers.
According to the Israel Religious Action Center, 19 of 25 anti-Christian complaints tracked between 2012 and 2021 were closed without prosecution.
“When a priest can be spat upon in the streets of the holiest city in Christianity, and the only certainty is that no one will be held to account, the message to every Christian is that they are unwelcome and unprotected,” said Jason Jones, founder of the Vulnerable People Project.
He urged Israeli authorities “to investigate and prosecute” attacks against Christians and urged church leaders and the international community to treat “anti-Christian harassment in the Holy Land” as a serious and growing concern.
The case has renewed concerns among Christian communities about religious freedom and protection for believers in the land where Jesus—known in Hebrew as Yeshua—lived, preached, died, and, Christians believe, rose from the dead.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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