A group of young Jewish settlers suspected of torching the Catholic Church of the Multiplication, on the spot where Jesus is believed to have performed a Biblical miracle, have been released without charge. Israel has vowed to find the arsonists.
The church, located on
the banks of the Sea of Galilee, was set ablaze early Thursday
morning. Graffiti saying, “The false gods will be
eliminated,” in Hebrew – a quote from a Jewish prayer – was
also daubed on a wall. The church was marking the Biblical story
of the Feeding of the 5,000, in which Jesus fed a crowd with five
loaves and two fish, and has been rebuilt several times since the
fifth century.
Israeli extremists torch and desecrate historic Church in
Galilee. Disgusting. #Terrorism.
pic.twitter.com/gHJddx1kmQ
— lebanese problems (@LebaneseProblem)
June 18, 2015
The building suffered
extensive damage, with the roof partly collapsed and stone walls
charred. Several members of the clergy suffered smoke inhalation,
and one 80-year-old monk was reportedly hospitalized. The altar
of the Catholic church is said to have been left intact, despite
the damage to its other rooms. A church shop with Bibles and
prayer books was completely destroyed in the fire.
Sixteen Jewish youths visiting the area from the West Bank were
detained for questioning following the arson. The group, which
included several seminary students and legal minors, were set
free with no conditions after their testimonies were taken.
READ MORE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
condemned the burning of the church
“In an area near the church, 16 youths were detained for
investigation in order to check their involvement in the incident
before dawn,” Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in
a statement. “All 16 were released, with no conditions
attached, after being interviewed and giving statements.”
“The shocking arson of the church is an attack on all of
us,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Israel’s freedom of
religion is a cornerstone of our values and it is anchored in the
law. We will mete out justice to those responsible for this
atrocious act. We have no room for hatred and intolerance in our
society.”
Father Jamal Khader, rector of the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in
Beit Jalla in the West Bank, linked the attack with a
stone-throwing assault on the same church perpetrated by radical
Jewish youths last year, and accused the authorities of “not
doing enough” to stop similar incidents.
Known as “price tag” attacks, these acts of vandalism of mainly
Muslim and Palestinian, but also Christian and Jewish sites, are
supposedly a form of retribution for anti-settler steps and
activity, as well as for terrorist attacks against Jews.
READ MORE: Churches torched, 5 killed as Niger’s
anti-Charlie Hebdo protest escalates
Earlier this year, a mosque was set on fire in a village near
Bethlehem, with the Star of David and the word “Revenge”
painted on one of the walls. Last year, attackers defaced a
Catholic church in Jerusalem, daubing the words, “Jesus is
garbage.”
Tag Meir, an Israeli anti-racism group, says that no prosecutions
have been brought in connection with dozens of such incidents
that have taken place over the last three years.
“Punishing these crimes is not a priority for the
authorities,” said Yossi Saidov, a Tag Meir activist.
“The message that comes down from the prime minister to the
individual policeman is that it’s all right that this happens,
it’s not so terrible. If 43 synagogues were attacked in Poland
and the authorities didn’t stop it, we would scream that it was
anti-Semitism and rightly so.”