Spitting On Christians In Jerusalem Draws Rabbinic Rebuke

[Purveyor]

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- From his ceramics gallery along Armenian Patriarchate Road, Garo Sandrouni has a sweeping view of one of the Old City of Jerusalem's longest thoroughfares, stretching from Jaffa Gate deep into the Jewish Quarter.

Jewish worshipers heading to and from the Western Wall jostle for space along the narrow passage with Armenian priests and seminarians, and Sandrouni says about once a week he finds himself breaking up fights between them.

Typically the skirmishes begin when a young yeshiva student spits on or near a group of teenage seminarians, who occasionally respond by beating up their attacker. Several years ago, a young religious man pulled a gun when Sandrouni moved to intervene in a fight.

"Most of the incidents that happen, unfortunately, they happen in front of my store," said Sandrouni, who more than once has come to the aid of a yeshiva student bloodied after a run-in with a group of seminarians."Almost everybody, after the fight, they apologized," Sandrouni said. "They say, 'We are sorry. We didn't know that their reaction would be so strong.' "

Attacks on Christian clergyman in Jerusalem are not a new phenomenon, and may result from an extreme interpretation of the Bible's injunction to "abhor" idol worshipers.

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http://jta.org/news/article/2010/01/17/1010205/spitting-on-christians-in-jerusalem-raises-eyebrows

[GodlessBiker]

1. Brawling in the name of their gods.

[Fumesucker]

3. Smacking someone because they spit on you is fairly understandable..

The unprovoked spitting part considerably less so..

[GodlessBiker]

4. Literally "turning the other cheek" comes to mind here.

[Fumesucker]

5. True, but there really aren't that many people capable of that level of self control..

It's an emotional reaction, people act in the heat of the moment before they have time for reflection.

[GodlessBiker]

6. I would think that seminarians would strive for that kind of self control.

[Fumesucker]

2. 'We are sorry. We didn't know that their reaction would be so strong.'

You didn't know that spitting on someone might provoke a fight?

These people, and I use the term advisedly, would have to evolve for several million years in order to reach the level of cretinx.