Israeli Activist Urges Jerusalem Mayor to Act Over Spitting Incidents Targeting Christians

An Israeli religious freedom advocate is pressing Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon to address repeated incidents of spitting at Christians and Christian holy sites, saying the city has failed to respond to a problem that has drawn growing international attention.

Yisca Harani, director of the Hotline for Documenting Harassment of Christians at the Religious Freedom Data Center, raised the issue in a letter to the Jerusalem Municipality’s spokesperson’s office. Jerusalem-based Armenian journalist Kegham Balian shared the letter on X.

Harani said hotline volunteers had documented several incidents during the Selichot period in which Christians and Christian religious sites were targeted by people spitting at them.

She said footage of the incidents has circulated widely outside Israel, damaging Jerusalem’s image and potentially hurting tourism.

“Unfortunately, these videos are being circulated around the world and are tarnishing Jerusalem’s reputation, as well as tourism in Israel in general,” Harani wrote.

According to Harani, records of the incidents are kept both by the hotline and by the Armenian Church in Jerusalem.

Police complaints have also been filed, she said, but Harani argued that law enforcement action alone does not address the city’s responsibility.

“It is the Jerusalem Municipality — not the police — that is being blamed for the situation, because the Municipality has made no response whatsoever to this well-known and ongoing problem,” she wrote.

Harani asked Leon and the municipality to publicly state their position and explain what measures they plan to take.

“We hope to receive a clear response regarding your position and your intention to address the issue,” she wrote.

The issue is especially sensitive for Jerusalem’s Armenian community, whose religious institutions are concentrated in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. The Armenian Church’s documentation of the incidents places the latest complaint within broader concerns over harassment directed at Christian clergy, worshippers and religious sites in Jerusalem.

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