Haaretz – Adapted
Following pressure from the Al-Quds Municipality on the institution's administration, a conference on the assault on Christians in Al-Quds that was scheduled to take place tomorrow (Friday) was relocated from the Tower of David Museum to another location in the Old City. The general manager of the museum, Eilat Leper, was reportedly threatened with termination by the mayor's office, Moshe Leon, if the meeting went forward. However, the office disputed that.
The symposium was entitled “Why are Jews spitting on Gentiles?" It will take place as a result of the recent increase in attacks against Christian clergy in Al-Quds' Old City. 19 such incidents, including spitting, insults, physical aggression, gravestone vandalism, and the dissemination of hate content, have been reported since last November.
Shlomo Ammar, the first Sephardi rabbi in Al-Quds, wrote a statement this morning denouncing the symposium. Ammar is the only prominent public figure who has denounced assaults against Christians in the city.
Yesca Harani, one of the conference coordinators from the Institute for Research on Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Relations, stated the conference's aim was to create change and not insult or oppose Haredi society. The main objective is to rid the city of such behavior. She added that as long as the Israelis fail to realize the scope of the problem, they will not start working against it. Thus, it will badly affect Israel's history.