By ISRAEL HAYOM—
Israeli police said Thursday that a fire has damaged a Greek Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem in what they suspect to be a hate crime.
Police spokesman Chief Insp. Micky Rosenfeld said “anti-Christian” slogans were scribbled in Hebrew on the seminary’s walls. He said the fire Thursday damaged the building’s bathrooms but that no one was injured.
The incident follows an attack on a West Bank mosque Wednesday.
An initial investigation found that the structure had been doused with a flammable substance.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat condemned the incident saying that “there is no room for these kinds of acts in Jerusalem. They must be rooted out, and the culprits need to stand trial.”
“We need to restore calm and coexistence to Jerusalem quickly,” he added.
Tag Meir, an organization that combats what has come to be known as “price-tag” attacks — attacks carried out in retribution for terrorism or government policies against settlements), was preparing to stage a demonstration at the foot of the Dormition Abbey Thursday evening.
“We condemn the arson in Jerusalem,” said the head of the organization, Gadi Gvaryahu. “Since December 2009, 40 churches and monasteries have been set on fire or vandalized in Israel and Judea and Samaria. None of the arsonists or vandals have been apprehended or tried. The Israeli authorities are capable of tracking down a phone number in the center of Gaza but they can’t locate Jewish terror cells that have been operating for over five years?”