The State of Israel has always strived to ensure equal rights for all religions throughout its history.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) strongly condemns any illegal attempts to harm, offend, or damage Christians. We believe that the recent increase in hooliganism against Christian pilgrims in the Old City of Jerusalem must stop, and those responsible for these actions must be held accountable under Israeli law. We therefore support the swift actions of law enforcement, which detained the suspects in the illegal acts the day after the incident.

We call on the Israeli authorities to take decisive preventive measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Insults against Christians and their holy sites are unacceptable. This has been stated by the chief Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis of Israel and the Prime Minister of the Jewish state. In addition to violating objective moral and legal norms, such actions harm the reputation of the State of Israel on the international arena.

The EAJC will continue to actively develop interfaith and transcultural dialogue programs in the spirit of the International Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which is taking place in Kazakhstan with the participation of representatives of the Catholic Church, headed by Pope Francis.

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