They have kept their strategy of cultural and institutional vandalism generously broad in recent campaigns against their adversaries. It therefore came as something of a surprise that much febrile fuss was made about this month\u2019s antics of an IDF soldier photographed attacking a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon on the edge of Debel with a sledgehammer. Instead of its usual qualifications, haughty denials and coarse justifications, the Israel military accepted the veracity of the image and viewed the act \u201cwith great severity and emphasises that the soldier\u2019s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops\u201d.
\nThe act even exercised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He felt wounded at the deviancy of it all, claiming that \u201cIsrael cherishes and upholds the Jewish values of tolerance and mutual respect between Jews and worshippers of all faiths.\u201d Along with \u201cthe overwhelming majority of Israelis, I was stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon.\u201d Such conduct was condemned \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d and military authorities had commenced \u201ca criminal probe of the matter\u201d, with the intention of taking \u201cappropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.\u201d
\nThe statement then veers sharply, if revealingly: this act of vandalism had to be condemned since an Israeli soldier had attacked a Christian relic. The same could hardly be said about conduct against the artefacts or symbols sacred to the followers of Islam, though the Israeli PM was careful not to be so explicit. \u201cWhile Christians are being slaughtered in Syria and Lebanon by Muslims, the Christian population in Israel thrives unlike elsewhere in the Middle East.\u201d Israel was the only state in the region where the Christian population was not only thriving with a rising living standard. Feeling obligated to claim some form of ecumenical tolerance, Netanyahu then recapitulated the strained notion that Israel was unique in permitting \u201cfreedom of worship for all.\u201d
\nIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar also blustered on the social media platforms to express stern disapproval. \u201cThe damaging of a Christian religious symbol by an IDF soldier in southern Lebanon is grave and disgraceful.\u201d He commended the IDF on its statement condemning the incident and seeking to take \u201cthe necessary strict measures\u201d against the alleged perpetrator. \u201cThis shameful action is completely contrary to our values. Israel is a country that respects the different religions and their sacred symbols, and upholds tolerance and respect among faiths.\u201d
\nSuch views also received the firm approbation of one of Washington\u2019s most ardent Christian Zionists, US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. The same figure has been an outed enthusiast of the Greater Israel idea, one that does not necessarily bode well for the spirit of tolerance. For the former Governor of Arkansas, it was entirely appropriate that \u201ca strong stand\u201d be taken in condemning \u201cthis outrageous act by an IDF soldier\u201d. Such conduct did not \u201cproperly represent the IDF, Israel, or the Israeli [government]\u201d.
\nREAD: Israel appoints envoy to Christian world after soldier destroy Jesus status in southern Lebanon
\nOn April 22, the IDF revealed that an inquiry had \u201cdetermined [how unusually swift that was] that the soldiers\u2019 conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values\u201d, expressing \u201cdeep regret over the incident\u201d. It also announced that the statue had been replaced \u201cin full coordination with the local community\u201d. Both the soldier responsible for smashing the statue of Jesus, and his colluding photographer, were dismissed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in military prison by order of Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan of the 162nd Division. Six other soldiers present at the scene \u201chave been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later, after which further command-level measures will be determined.\u201d
\nGiven the biblical destruction meted out by the IDF on sites in Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon, the jailing of two offenders for cultural vandalism was meretricious, an act of kitschy public relations and counterfeit moral outrage. These figures have every reason to be aggrieved by their selective treatment, given the latitude afforded their peers in carrying out tasks of latitudinous destruction, notably after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
\nIn January 2024, the BBC claimed that among 117 religious sites in Gaza reportedly damaged or destroyed between October 7, 2023 and December 31, 2023, 74 cases could be verified. Mosques featured prominently, and two Churches.
\nThe ancient religious sanctuary of St Porphyrius, bearing the name of the bishop whose tomb lies beneath the church, was bombed on October 19 that year, leaving 18 dead.
\nIsraeli soldiers, in gloating about their gory exploits, have been indiscrete in posting images featuring their feats of annihilation. On July 31, 2024, soldiers from the Givati brigade uploaded a video to YouTube entitled, in Hebrew, \u201cIsraeli army forces detonate a mosque with 11 tons of explosives.\u201d The videographer lets the audience know that the detonation took place a day prior in Khuza\u2019a, east of Khan Younis to the southern part of the Gaza Strip. One voice exults: \u201cLong live the State of Israel!\u201d
\nIn June 2025, the UN International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, published a report finding that \u201cIsraeli security forces knew or should have known the locations and significance of prominent cultural sites in Gaza and should have planned their military operations with the aim of avoiding harm.\u201d There had been a conspicuous failure of care in avoiding damage to cultural sites and their contents.
\nIn a majority of cases, the Commission concluded that Israeli forces, in using demolishing explosives and bulldozers, had committed war crimes pertaining to the unjustified destruction of \u201ccivilian objects\u201d and property, including \u201cintentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion and historic monuments\u201d.
\nAmong the religious sites damaged, three also provided sanctuary for prayer and refuge for internally displaced individuals: the Church of Porphyrius, the Ihya al-Sunna Mosque and the Saad al-Ghafari Mosque. \u201cTogether these attacks resulted in more than 200 fatalities, including many women and children.\u201d No jail sentences have been reported for the perpetrators of these offences.
\nThe smashed statue of Jesus has received a worthy replacement, though not in the form of the IDF offering, which proved smaller and less proximate in appearance to the original. A donation from the Italian contingent from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was deemed superior. As reported in the Times of Israel, \u201cLebanese media published photos showing that the statue donated by UN peacekeepers more closely resembles the original statue.\u201d On this occasion, the UN proved most constructive.
\nOPINION: Troubled relations: Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump
\nThe views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
\n#IsraelHypocrisy #CulturalVandalism #GazaWarCrimes #IDFCrimes #ReligiousSitesUnderAttack #JesusStatue #LebanonIncident #MiddleEastConflict #NetanyahuOutrage #WarOnCulture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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