By Kenneth Bandler
NEW YORK — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is outraged by the overnight attack, Jan. 16-17, on the Church of the Dormition in Jerusalem. “Christians to Hell” and other hateful, threatening graffiti were scrawled in Hebrew at the Benedictine Monastery.
“Once again, we are compelled to condemn vandalism of Christian holy sites in Israel, mindful that such acts of hatred not only threaten Christians, but also are a reprehensible affront to our Jewish heritage and contravene Israel’s enduring commitment to respect for other religious faiths,” said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s Jerusalem-based Director of International Interreligious Affairs.
The Church of the Dormition was vandalized in 2011, in 2013, and again in 2014, shortly after the visit of Pope Francis to the church. In the latest attack, “Death to the heathen Christians, the enemies of Israel” and “The revenge of the people of Israel is yet to come” also were left on the walls of the monastery.
A Church spokesman called the graffiti “a real call to murder Christians.” “We count on the authorities to do their utmost to apprehend the perpetrators and seek to prevent other such similarly-inspired crimes,” Rosen said. “There must be zero tolerance for such vile acts of hate.”
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In a separate development, the American Jewish Committee issued this statement on implementation of the Iran nuclear deal:
AJC takes note of the announcement by the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that the progress made regarding the implementation of the deal meets the requirements for “Implementation Day.”
When the JCPOA was reached last July, we concluded that this deal only delayed Iran’s becoming a nuclear threshold state, while affording it benefits that will likely result in it becoming an even more troublesome player regionally and on the world stage. Iran’s behavior since the conclusion of the deal has only reinforced our concerns. We are concerned about Iran’s ability to deceive the international community, as it has in the past (and as other countries, including North Korea and Syria, have done).
The international community should establish clear benchmarks (beyond the provisions of the JCPOA) about what would constitute violations of Iran’s obligations under the deal and what would be the penalties imposed on Iran in response to such violations; Iran must be under no illusions that it can evade constraints without invoking sanctions “snap-back.”
In October and November last year, Iran conducted ballistic missile tests, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and in December – in a reckless act – it fired a missile within 1,500 yards of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz. We call on the UNSC to take the necessary measures to uphold its resolutions, and the U.S. administration to respond appropriately to Iranian military provocations; at a minimum, promised new missile-related sanctions should be imposed.
We regret that the JCPOA fails to address other unacceptable Iranian policies: repeated calls for the annihilation of Israel; support for terrorist organizations; active assistance to the Assad regime in its murderous campaign against the Syrian people; interference in the internal affairs of other countries; and pervasive human rights abuses. Iran cannot be accepted as a legitimate member of the community of nations unless it fundamentally changes its behavior.
We call on governments to make it clear – to their countries’ business sector – that the JCPOA does not represent a return to “business as usual” with the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. A range of tough U.S. sanctions, which AJC supports, remains in effect; Iran’s non-nuclear activities, which are ongoing and destabilizing, are subject to continued – and likely escalating – sanctions. We urge continued vigilance and international sanctions against Iran’s and its proxies’ aggression and subversion, and the universal, formal designation of Hezbollah, which is likely to be enriched by assets unfrozen under JCPOA, as a terrorist organization.
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Bandler is director of media relations for the American Jewish Committee (AJC)