Theophilos III also claimed that Christians were being denied freedom of worship in the holy city.

By Debbie Reiss, World Israel News

A top Jerusalem Christian leader told President Joe Biden on Friday of  “unprecedented attacks by Jewish extremist groups” that are driving Christians away from Jerusalem, echoing similar charges made earlier this year that Israel said were totally unfounded.

While on a tour of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos III told Biden that “radical” Israeli groups were attacking churches and seizing Christian assets — all in an attempt to “alter history” and “end Christian presence” in Jerusalem.

While Jerusalem’s Christian population has grown, Bethlehem’s has shrunk 80% to 12% in the 27 years since the PA took control the city, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Theophilos III also claimed that Christians were being denied freedom of worship in Jerusalem.

Last December, Christian leaders issued a joint statement denouncing “hate crimes” by radical groups that are aimed at “diminishing the Christian presence.”

A short time later, Theophilos III wrote an oped in the British Times newspaper saying that Christian presence in Jerusalem was “under threat” by “Zionist extremists.”

“Our churches are regularly desecrated and vandalized. Our clergy are subject to frequent intimidation,” he wrote.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry at the time lambasted the claims, saying they  “distort[ed] the reality of the Christian community in Israel.”

In her own response published in the Telegraph, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Nahoum charged that church leaders were painting an “incendiary false narrative.” She called Theophilos III’s accusations “surprising and deeply disappointing,” especially given the money and resources the city has invested in its Christian sites.

She added that reports of vandalism remain uncorroborated by Israel Police.

Hassan Nahoum pointed to findings from a Israel Democracy Institute poll showing that 84% of Israeli Christians are satisfied with life in Israel.

“Freedom of worship is a hallmark of our city and we protect it at all costs.” she wrote.

About a third of all Israeli Christians belong to the general Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Greek Orthodox Church is in charge of its members who live in the central and southern regions of the country.

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Since the outbreak of the coronavirus on Israel’s shores, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders have been cautioning worshipers to stay away from religious sites.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

The coronavirus outbreak has caused the closures of the Temple Mount’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock until further notice, reports Reuters.

“The Islamic Waqf department decided to shut down the enclosed prayer places inside the blessed Aqsa Mosque, and until further notice, as a protective measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” said Sheikh Omar Al-Kiswani, the Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

As an alternative, the courtyards surrounding the two mosques will remain open for worshipers, said Al-Kiswani.

Considered to be the third holiest site in the Islamic faith, the place is believed to be where the Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus on Israel’s shores, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders have been cautioning worshipers to stay away from religious sites.

On Thursday, Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef ruled that according to Jewish law, praying at the Western Wall, the last remaining wall from the Second Temple complex, should be avoided due to the danger of infection.

“No halachic (Jewish legal) instruction exists that would overrule the instructions of the Health Ministry,” said Rabbi Yosef. “The halachic instruction is to obey absolutely all the instructions of the Health Ministry without exception, and every order produced by them is a halachic order for all intents and purposes.”

Israel’s Ashenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau issued a similar edict on Thursday, saying, “requirement to take care of yourself in order to avoid hurting a fellow person supersedes even the requirement to take care of yourself for your own sake.”

“The coronavirus can pass from a completely healthy person to someone else and endanger that second person. That means absolute obedience to the instructions [of health officials] is required, even if they are difficult and inconvenient,” he said.

Following the outbreak of the deadly virus in Bethlehem earlier this month, the Church of the Nativity, built atop the site where Jesus was born according to the Christian faith, closed its doors until further notice.

“We respect the authorities’ decision because safety comes first,” an unnamed church official told France24 at the time.

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