Police arrest six, mostly minors, for spitting on Armenian patriarchate in Jerusalem

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Six religious Jews — five minors and one adult — were arrested Sunday after banging and spitting on the entrance to the St. James Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, police said.

The six also threw stones at the wall of the compound, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Church in the region and the home of its top local cleric.

According to an Armenian journalist, the suspects saw an Armenian woman filming them, and yelled at her, “Get back inside, you daughter of a whore!”

Video of the incident showed one suspect hurling stones, reportedly at the woman filming them.

“Upon receiving the report, officers from the David Precinct were dispatched to the scene and launched extensive searches, assisted by Mabat 2000 observation center officers,” the Israel Police said in a statement.

Three of the attackers were barred from the Old City for 15 days, and the other three were being brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, where police are asking that their detention be extended.

????BREAKING: On Sunday at around 1:00 a.m., six Jewish Israelis attacked the entrance to the Saint James Monastery in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.

They took turns spitting at the monastery entrance. When they noticed an Armenian woman filming the incident from her home,… pic.twitter.com/kXHgO0JJDK

— Kegham Balian (@kbalian90) August 2, 2026

“The Israel Police views all manifestations of violence and racism with the utmost severity and will continue to act decisively to locate those responsible, bring them to justice, and safeguard public safety,” police said.

Israel has been struggling to stop spitting attacks on Christian clergy and vandalism of church property in the Old City.

In April, after a series of similar incidents, the Foreign Ministry appointed veteran diplomat George Deek to a newly created role of special envoy to the Christian world.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, President Isaac Herzog said Israel was “dealing with” attacks on Christians “aggressively.”

“And there’s a major reduction in moments of friction,” he continued. “We are dealing with it as well. And I’m here for any Christian community that needs support of any kind. People know it. And I speak to their leaders all the time.”

On Sunday, the afternoon following the spitting incident, Israel’s official X account posted a tribute to its “living Christian tradition that spans centuries,” sharing two photos of the Latrun Abbey monastery in the Judean Hills.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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