More than 30 graves at the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion were desecrated on Sunday, allegedly by Jewish extremists who smashed crosses and toppled and vandalized tombstones.
“We have noticed that hatred speech and hatred crimes are on the rise,” Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum said.
Standing next to the vandalised grave of the second Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Samuel Gobat, he said there had been a recent increase in spitting at Christians and attacks on their holy sites.
“This is only an indication that we are not in a place where people can tolerate each other or accept each other,” Archbishop Naoum added.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the most senior cleric in the Church of England, called the desecration of the graves “a blasphemous act” and expressed hope that those responsible would be brought swiftly to justice.
“As we continue to pray for peace in the Holy Land, I stand with Archbishop Hosam Naoum and other Jerusalem church leaders in calling for respect, protection, equality and justice for its Christian community – who are the Living Stones of the Church,” he added.
The British consulate in Jerusalem said in a tweet that “This is the latest in a string of attacks against Christians and their property in and around the Old City. The perpetrators of religiously motivated attacks should be held accountable.”
The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs also condemned the vandalism at the cemetery. “This immoral act is an affront to religion and the perpetrators should be prosecuted,” she tweeted.
Israeli police said they had visited the cemetery to see the damage and were investigating what happened.
The cemetery was set up in 1848, on land bought by Bishop Gobat, and is looked after by the Lutheran and Anglican communities.
Among those buried there are scientists, politicians, members of the armed forces and clergy, many of whom were prominent figures in the holy city.
