Last week we mentioned the religious tensions mounting ahead of Pope Francis’s visit to Jerusalem. Haaretz reported the Israeli military and Shin Bet had issued restraining orders against “Jewish youths” to prevent them from “provocations” during his visit.
Deep in the Haaretz report was an Israeli court ruling against additional restraining orders, aimed at keeping three Jewish extremists away from David’s Tomb and the Old City so as to prevent them from distributing provocative flyers. The ruling held that an intention to distribute flyers isn’t against the law. According to police intelligence, these flyers protested the papal visit.
Below is a photograph taken of a flyer recently passed out in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. It was posted on FaceBook by Jerusalem resident George Makhlouf.
We don’t know if this is the flyer the Israeli police are trying to suppress, but it cites Deuteronomy (12:3) to say that Jewish people entering Israel are obligated to destroy churches and monasteries including “destroy their altars, smash their pillars, burn their orchards, and you shall cut down their idols and wipe their name from this place.”
The flyer also states the papal visit is against Jewish law:
The Pope is responsible for the continued deception of millions of people who believe in false G-d’s. This very deception led the Elders of Israel to demand that Yeshu [Jesus] be killed 2000 years ago. In light of this is it clear that we Jews do not approve of the Pope’s visit, and moreover, it is even forbidden by Jewish Law.
Makhlouf says he photographed the youths distributing the flyers, a picture he also posted on his FaceBook page.
I doubt they wrote this themselves:
(click to enlarge)
Today Israeli police announced they have issued restraining orders against 15 “nationalist activists” ahead of the Pope visit over plans to “embarrass Israel“. Several are already under house arrest.
(Hat tip Icarus Verum)
I really don’t know what to say…
religious fanatics? extremists? cultists? worse?
And these are the stewards of the Holy Land for 3,614,000,000 people?
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
If they keep tickling this dragon it’ll be a very short stewardship.
“This very deception led the Elders of Israel to demand that Yeshu [Jesus] be killed 2000 years ago. ”
Wait, I’m confused. Abe Foxman said that the Jews had nothing to do with killing Jesus, that it was all the Romans’ fault….
Don’t they have anything better to do? I think we should get along with Christians. Many of them respect Jews and support Israel. Those who don’t can go to hell. We should not forget the past, that they persecuted us, but today’s Christians are not to blame for that.
I think we should get along with Christians and the whole world.
The author of this letter smears all Christian prayer when he calls it “idle worship.” I know for a fact some services are very energized and are anything but “idle.” Therefore, I can’t trust anything else he writes.
Nice opening paragraph. How appropriate to address Francis frankly.