Sometimes a news story is less than meets the eye

The Wall Street Journal printed a very long, and, in my view, very embarrassing, story about anti-Christian “spitting attacks” in Israel. It seems that a fairly small minority of unruly and undisciplined Israeli teenagers labor under the misimpression that spitting at or toward Christians is some sort of religious duty. The Journal’s reporter, Margherita Stancati, reports that there were “at least a dozen” spitting incidents on a recent afternoon when thousands of Israelis assembled in the Old City of Jerusalem for a national celebration marking the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

At least a dozen. Spitting incidents. Disgraceful. Truly disgraceful.

The Israeli government is embarrassed by these incidents, as am I. This is not proper behavior for anyone, especially not anyone who, by engaging in such reprehensible actions, brings dishonor upon the Jewish people and nation. The article reports that the Israeli government has appointed a new Arab Christian ambassador to improve relations with Christian communities, but that critics say that it isn’t doing enough.

The Journal notes that the anti-Christian behavior is a relatively recent phenomenon. But it appears to be growing, according to Yisca Harani, an Israeli scholar who monitors anti-Christian behavior. Her organization registered 107 incidents in the first half of 2026, more than double the 52 incidents two years earlier. The most common abuse appears to involve spitting on the ground.

The reporter suggests that the spitting problem involves only a small number of extremists, but may represent a broader problem because younger Israelis, lacking knowledge about Christianity, have become increasingly........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)