Scottish Catholic Observer

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land reported Rabbi Ben-Sion Gopstein (above) after he agreed with the statement of ‘you must burn churches’ during a panel debate on Jewish law last Tuesday.

Gopstein’s remarks followed the recent arson attack in the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha at Lake Galilee in June, where three young Jewish men involved in similar attacks have been arrested.

“These remarks, which came after a troublesome act of vandalism against the Holy Place of Tabgha in Israel, are unacceptable,” states the Assembly’s open letter. “They incite hatred and pose a real threat to the Christian religious buildings in the country.

Rabbi Gopstein leads the Lehava organisation whose name means ‘flame’ but is also a Hebrew acronym for “preventing assimilation in the Holy Land” between Arabs and Israelis.

In recent months, Lehava have insulted Israeli Jewish women who marry outside their faith, set fire to integrated schools and harassed businesses that hire Arab workers.

In addition to stoking this particular tension, the group is also known for targeting the country’s Christian and African asylum seeker minorities.

“(We) call on the Israeli authorities to ensure real protection for Christian citizens of this country and their places of worship,” the ACOHL write.

“The Catholic community in the Holy Land is fearful and feels in danger.”