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Vandals defaced the walls of one of Jerusalem’s best-known Catholic churches on Tuesday.
Police said the perpetrators, who are believed to be Jewish extremists, defaced a wall leading to the Church of the Dormition, a century-old structure built on the site where tradition says the Virgin Mary died.
The graffiti read “Jesus, son of a whore, price tag.” A similar graffite was painted on a monastery at Latrun a month ago.
Authorities in Jerusalem immediately ordered the formation of a special investigative team to locate the perpetrators.
Jewish extremists are thought to have carried out similar vandalism on churches, mosques and army property in response to what they consider pro-Palestinian government policies.
The Latrun vandalism last month occurred shortly after settlers were evicted from the illegal outpost of Migron.
The Dormition Church, built over a century ago near the site of the Last Supper, is one of the Franciscan order’s most important holdings in the Holy Land.
Though Israel has only about 155,000 Christian citizens, less than 2 percent of its 7.9 million people, the repeated defacing of their sacred sites has shocked the country and drawn official condemnation.
Tuesday’s graffiti is the latest in a wave of vandalism on Christian holy sites in Israel.
“Price tag actions go against the morals and values of Judaism and do great harm to the State of Israel,” said President Shimon Peres.
“It is forbidden to harm the holy sites of religions and faiths,” Peres said.
Church officials have said mere condemnation is not enough.
In an interview with the Associated Press last month, one of the church’s top officials in the Holy Land, the Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for action.
“It’s important not just to condemn, but also to work, to take initiatives to stop this phenomenon,” he said.
The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land posted a statement about the latest incident on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, saying it was “distressed” with the vandalism.
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