A Jewish-American tourist entered a Catholic Church in Jerusalem’s Old City, smashed a century-old statue of Jesus Christ with a hammer, and destroyed it before the guard on duty overpowered him.
According to The New Arab, the incident occurred on Thursday morning inside a compound on Via Dolorosa road that housed the churches of The Way of the Cross and Sanctuary of the Flagellation.
As the guard pinned him to the ground, the man yelled that the church should not have craven images as prescribed by the Bible.
“Exodus Chapter 20 says you can’t have idols in Jerusalem. This is the holy city. Let me get my Kippah on,” the assailant pleaded.
The Kippah is a skull cap that orthodox Jewish men wear. A video surfaced showing the man wearing trousers with tassels attached.
According to the New Arab, The guard on the scene, Majed al-Risheq, revealed that the attacker entered the compound as a group of visitors approached.
“Many Catholics come here to do the Way of the Cross,” al-Risheq said.
“He had a hammer with him, and he tried to hurt me, but I overpowered him,” al-Risheq said.
The statue was brought from Spain in 1912, said Eugenio Alliata, an Italian archaeologist and priest living in Jerusalem for decades.
“The Statue of Jesus was destroyed this morning in the very church where we commemorate the passion of Jesus, the suffering of Jesus,” Alliata said.
“Religion must be something to connect people, but sometimes people are in appearance religious, but inside they are not,” he added.
In a statement, the Israeli police claimed the suspect was an American tourist in his forties. The police said they’re investigating the possibility of the suspect being “mentally impaired.”
“We take very serious damage to religious institutions and sites. The police will continue to act against acts of violence and vandalism in the holy places of all religions,” the Israeli police claimed.