The Protestant Cemetery was vandalised over the New Year, causing damage to more than thirty gravestones.
The discovery of the damage was made in the morning of January 3rd and the CCTV footage showed the crime was committed at 15:20 on January 1st. The security footage shows the perpetrators as young men wearing kippahs and tallit katans. Many of the graves that were targeted were marked with stone crosses that were vandalised showing this criminal act was motivated by religious bigotry and hatred against Christians.
Many of the graves that suffered damage were also of historic significance, sadly including the obliteration of the bust of the Right Reverend Samuel Gobat who was the second Protestant Bishop in Jerusalem and founder of the adjoining Jerusalem University College, formally known as the Gobat School. He also set up a fund, which is managed by JMECA, which to this day provides bursaries for students attending St George's School in Jerusalem. JMECA also currently holds a fund for the maintenance of the cemetery, but is insufficient to cover the cost of repair on this scale.
The Diocese of Jerusalem has issued the below statement condemning these wanton acts of desecration and calling for the fullest extent of the law to be brought against the perpetrators. The diocese said they welcome the supportive words expressed by President Herzog, Chief Rabbi Mirvis and by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and called for religious leaders around the world to join in condemning such defilement of sacred sites thereby promoting mutual respect and religious tolerance in this Holy City.
The day after the discovery of the damage, Archbishop Hosam Naoum, visited the cemetery to review the extent of the damage and held a press conference among the debris of the broken tombstones.
