After a series of attempts to infiltrate the church, intruders were confronted by Haifa’s Christians last Thursday evening in the courtyard of the monastery and St. Elias Church.
The repeated attacks in Deir Mar Elias are linked to a group of extremist Israelis’ allegations that the Christian site contains the “tomb of the Prophet Elisha.” The church has responded to the allegations with a categorical denial, stressing that the monastery’s tomb contains only priests and monks.
The Justice and Peace Committee of the Council of Heads of Catholic Churches in the Holy Land condemned these attacks on Christian clergy and Christian holy places.
In a statement, the committee drew attention to the number of attacks in recent months against Christian clerics with beatings and insults in addition to the vandalism of sacred sites and offensive writings by extremist settlers.
Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was just named a cardinal by Pope Francis and serves as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, has raised concerns that Christians are increasingly enduring persecution in the Holy Land. He said the current administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has created a political climate in which acts of aggression are tolerated.
“The frequency of these attacks, the aggressions, has become something new,” Pizzaballa said during Easter week, LaCroix International reported. “These people feel they are protected … that the cultural and political atmosphere now can justify, or tolerate, actions against Christians.”