Jerusalem launches forum to address harassment of Christians; mayor vows 'zero tolerance'

Jerusalem City Hall and the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) have launched the Forum for Partnership with Christian Communities, aimed at addressing harassment of Christians in the city.

The forum, chaired by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, was initiated by JPPI’s Michal Bar-Asher Siegal. She wrote in a social media post that she had been prepared to argue for the initiative if necessary, but Lion “immediately agreed.”

Its inaugural meeting brought together the heads of Jerusalem’s Christian churches, the Vatican’s ambassador to Israel, senior officials of the Israel Police and representatives from the Justice Ministry and civil society organizations. The discussion focused on findings collected by the Religious Freedom Data Center, founded three years ago by Yisca Harani, which operates a hotline for Christians to report harassment.

Describing one of the photos she shared after the meeting, Harani wrote: “The hotline reports are laid out on the round table at the mayor’s workplace!” She added that presenting such data in front of government authorities and church leaders was no small thing.

Most reported incidents are not serious acts of violence. They range from spitting at Christians or Christian property and defacing signs bearing crosses to physically assaulting Christians. Harani said the organization now has hundreds of Jewish-Israeli volunteers who wear yellow vests during Christian processions to deter harassment and document incidents when they occur.

Both Harani and Bar-Asher Siegal said the mayor’s message was one of “zero tolerance" for attacks against Christians in Jerusalem.

Bar-Asher Siegal said the meeting produced four concrete steps: convening the forum twice a year; establishing direct communication channels between relevant authorities to address incidents of harassment; forming a working group to advance legislation that facilitates prosecution of offenders; and developing educational programs about Jerusalem as a city shared by multiple faith communities.

Harani argued that the “seemingly minor” acts of spitting and humiliation are symptoms of a much larger problem.

“The mayor of Jerusalem understood this, and declared before the church leaders: zero tolerance for religiously motivated harassment!” she wrote.

“I cannot begin to describe how moved I am by what happened around that table today. By the sense of solidarity, the genuine willingness to work together, and the extraordinary commitment of the Jerusalem Municipality,” Bar-Asher Siegal said.

“There is a lot of work ahead. But today was a very, very good beginning,” she concluded.

Last year, 181 incidents were reported via the hotline, though Harani has noted that many Christians never file complaints, suggesting the actual number may be higher.

In the same post, Harani shared the most recent report she received: an Egyptian Coptic monk who said he was humiliated during an airport security check.

“The problem is not the security checks themselves. The problem is the repeated humiliation, the judgment based on outward appearance, and being treated as a threat without any justification,” he told her.

“So here is another issue to add to my list of tasks,” Harani wrote: “Training for the people stationed in security roles and entrusted with protecting us – how to distinguish between a security check and humiliation.”