Social media customers condemn Western silence on assaults on spiritual symbols and websites by Israeli troopers and settlers.
Printed On 19 Apr 2026
A viral {photograph} exhibiting an Israeli soldier hitting a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon with a sledgehammer has sparked outrage.
In a press release on Monday, the Israeli army confirmed the authenticity of the picture that was extensively shared on-line, garnering greater than 5 million views on X.
It mentioned that following an preliminary evaluate, it was decided that the {photograph} confirmed an Israeli soldier “working in southern Lebanon”, the place Israel final month launched a floor invasion along side aerial bombardment amid its joint struggle with the USA on Iran.
The army added that an investigation had been opened and that “acceptable measures can be taken in opposition to these concerned in accordance with the findings”.
Commenting on social media, Ayman Odeh, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, wrote pointedly: “We’ll wait to listen to the police spokesperson declare that ‘the soldier felt threatened by Jesus’.”
Ahmad Tibi, one other Palestinian member of the Knesset, wrote on Fb that those that blow up mosques and church buildings in Gaza and spit on Christian clergy in Jerusalem with out punishment aren’t afraid to destroy a statue of Jesus Christ and publish it.
“Maybe these racists have additionally discovered from Donald Trump to insult Jesus Christ and insult Pope Leo?” he requested, referring to the US president’s current controversies, together with his now-deleted AI-generated picture that portrayed him as a Jesus-like determine and his feud with the pinnacle of the Roman Catholic Church, who has criticised the struggle on Iran.
A number of activists, teachers and writers additionally criticised the desecration of the statue, which was situated on the outskirts of the village of Debl in southern Lebanon, close to the border with Israel.
Social media customers additionally condemned the worldwide silence following assaults by Israeli troopers and settlers in opposition to spiritual websites and symbols.
“When the Western world stays silent, racists go additional,” mentioned Tibi.
Israeli forces repeatedly attacked spiritual websites, together with mosques and church buildings, throughout Israel’s genocidal struggle on Gaza. Within the occupied West Financial institution, in the meantime, settlers vandalised or attacked 45 mosques final yr, in accordance with the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Spiritual Affairs.
Individually, the Spiritual Freedom Knowledge Middle (RFDC) documented not less than 201 incidents of violence in opposition to Christians, primarily dedicated by Orthodox Jews focusing on worldwide clergy or people displaying Christian symbols, between January 2024 and September 2025.
Nearly all of these incidents, which included a number of types of harassment, together with spitting, verbal abuse, vandalism and assaults, happened in Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis, situated in occupied East Jerusalem.