The Jewish Chronicle

Stone-throwing Jews scare me more than terror attacks

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regular reading list, and it was headlined: Stone-throwing attack on Catholics in Israel shows a “culture of contempt”.

The story related how, while attending Mass on May 28 in the courtyard of the small chapel of the Community of St Therese of Lisieux in Rehovot, the congregati­on were attacked by a group of Jewish boys of about 14 years old, hurling stones. The Catholic community in Rehovot is mainly composed of migrant workers from Africa, India, the Philippine­s, and Sri Lanka, as well as university students.

Bishop William Hanna Shomali, an auxiliary Bishop of the Patriarcha­te of Jerusalem was quoted as saying: “It is sad that people in prayer, for [the] most part, women working in Rehovot Jewish homes, were the victims of a hail of stones.”

The Bishop went on to express his anguish at the attack and his solidarity with the victims, and said there is a need for a concerted effort to educate youth to help them grow in mutual respect for others’ traditions and to understand the beliefs of other faiths. He added:

“Once again, we draw attention to the culture of contempt for Victims of Jewish extremist arson damage at a historic Galilee church (above), a service in Rehovot (below) others that exists in some Israeli circles, and the need to find solutions to cure society of radicalism and intoleranc­e,” and noted that while the youths were only 14 years old, “adults and teachers” who influence them should take responsibi­lity for their formation.

I’ve looked up the good Bishop and read that he has had harsh words to say about Talmudic Judaism, which I would take odds with. However, taking at face value the words attributed to him above, I couldn’t agree more. We have a problem.

This isn’t the first such incident. A year ago, an arson attack at the Church of the Multiplica­tion of the Loaves and Fishes on the Sea of Galilee left one Catholic monk hospitalis­ed and caused nearly $1.8 million in damage. Two young Jewish extremists were charged, and a third man accused of planning and inciting the attack. There

 ?? PHOTO: FLASH 90 ??
PHOTO: FLASH 90
 ?? PHOTO: LATIN PATRIARCHA­TE OF JERUSALEM ??
PHOTO: LATIN PATRIARCHA­TE OF JERUSALEM

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