Footage that sparked outrage: "Jewish man urinates on monastery wall in Jerusalem"

A Russian news site published footage showing a Jewish man urinating on the wall of the St. James Monastery in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The monastery guard removed him from the site. The report claimed the monastery has become a frequent target of harassment by Jewish extremists, including spitting and stone-throwing. Police are working to prevent harassment, but similar incidents occur frequently.

The Russian news site Incidentia.ru reported an incident in which a Jewish man urinated on the outer wall of the St. James Monastery in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. Footage circulated from the event shows the monastery guard rushing toward the man and removing him from the site. According to the report, the desecration of the monastery was carried out for religious reasons. The report claimed the monastery has become a frequent target of harassment by Jewish extremists, including spitting at the building as they pass by. Last month, police arrested six religious Jews, five of them minors, on suspicion of spitting at the entrance to the building, hitting the gate, and throwing stones at the compound. Police began stationing officers near the monastery to prevent incidents, but shortly afterward a 9-year-old Armenian boy was pepper-sprayed nearby. The Russian site also reported another incident that occurred today, in which an Orthodox Jewish man spat on the ground as he passed by Christian pilgrims near the nearby Armenian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. The report stated that police are working to prevent harassment of Christian clergy and church property in the Old City, but incidents of spitting at priests occur frequently in the area.