The incident developed into a brawl during which Manougian's ceremonial medallion, which has been used by Armenian archbishops since the 17th century, broke.

The yeshiva student was also detained for questioning.

Police are now considering whether to initiate criminal proceedings against the Armenian archbishop and to charge him with assault. Meanwhile, the incident has sparked much anger among the clergy of the small Armenian community in Jerusalem.

Religious Jews, among them yeshiva students, customarily spit on the ground as a sign of disgust on seeing the cross. The Armenians, who live adjacent to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, suffer from this phenomenon more than any of the other Christian sects in the Old City.

Manougian says he and his colleagues have already learned to live with it. "I no longer get worked up by people who turn around and spit when I pass them by in the street; but to approach in the middle of a religious procession and to spit on the cross in front of all the priests of the sect is humiliation that we are not prepared to accept," he notes.

A policeman is customarily posted to guard the Armenians' religious processions, but doesn't generally do anything to prevent the spitting. The Armenians took the matter up with Interior Minister Avraham Poraz some seven months ago, but nothing has been done about till now.

"The Israeli government is anti-Christian," Manougian charges. "It cries out in the face of any harm done to Jews all over the world, but is simply not interested at all when we are humiliated on an almost daily basis."

Lawmaker Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor Party) says the phenomenon should be tackled through educational means. "I would expect prominent figures among the religious and ultra-Orthodox sectors, such as the chief rabbis, to denounce this phenomenon," he says.



This is the Haaretz Editorial for October 12, 2004


Jerusalem's disgrace

The police interrogation of Armenian Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, who allegedly slapped yeshiva student Zvi Rosenthal after Rosenthal spat at Manougian and at a crucifix during the Exaltation of the Holy Cross procession in the Old City this week, reveals a little bit of the increasingly wild Jewish-nationalist-religious atmosphere in Jerusalem.

It is the bad luck of the Armenians, a peaceful and modest community in the city, that its churches and other institutions, including their ancient cemetery, is on the way to the Jewish Quarter in the Old City. As a result, the priests of the community suffer from the unrestrained behavior of yeshiva students who pass through the Armenian Quarter, sometimes deliberately, to do harm and cause strife.

This is not the first time the Armenians have fallen victim to such bullying. The police does not make an effort to prevent the disgraceful phenomenon of spitting at priests - Armenians and others - and at the crosses they carry.

The Interior Ministry has done nothing in response to appeals by the heads of the church regarding their plight. Thus the state is neglecting its duty to protect the legitimate representatives of a peace-loving community.

That negligence, just like the bullying, is a disgrace to the state of the Jewish people, which was persecuted through the generations because of its religion and customs.

Moreover, it is a disgrace for Jerusalem. Ever since the city was "reunited," the city burghers and ministers in charge of it have claimed the capital of Israel would protect the dignity and stature of the three monotheistic religions and that their rights would be honored, including the right to freedom of movement.

And now, while the police and Shin Bet focus on preparations for the threat of impassioned assaults on Muslims on the Temple Mount, it turns out that for some time the Christians in Jerusalem have been suffering from various and sundry provocations by wild young people. The provocations - from spitting near or at crosses to throwing trash on the doorsteps of Christian edifices on Mt. Zion - have become an ugly routine in recent years, fitting right in with the increasingly extremist political atmosphere.

Jerusalem is a city holy to the three monotheistic religions. The state of Israel and the Jerusalem municipality are responsible for all the institutions and personages representing those three religions. The churches, monasteries, schools and gardens in within the municipal jurisdiction not only have the right to protection or police escorts during their holidays, but also the sense of belonging and full freedom of activity.

It is intolerable that Christian citizens of Jerusalem suffer from the shameful spitting at or near a crucifix. Similar behavior toward Jews anywhere in the world would immediately prompt vehement responses.

The mayor, the government and the security services must therefore make clear to the heads of all the religious communities that the protection of their safety is the top-ranking priority for them. At the same time, they must take firm action against those enflamed youths looking for opportunities to sabotage the complex fabric of life in Jerusalem.