With increasing frequency, I hear from Christians who are outraged by reports of Israeli Jews spitting on Christians. “Have you seen the videos?” they ask. “And we’re supposed to support Israel?” What is striking is that many of these same Christians say little or nothing about the wholesale slaughter of Christians by Muslims worldwide. Yet they are deeply exercised over fringe religious Jews in Israel spitting at (or on) Christians, as if this were the norm throughout the Land.
To be clear, as a Jewish follower of Jesus, I am embarrassed by the ugly actions of some Israeli Jews, however fringe they may be and however strongly their behavior is condemned at a national level by both religious and secular leaders. There have even been instances of churches being vandalized by religious Jews, with hateful graffiti on their walls.
Such behavior is disgraceful and despicable—contrary to the principles of Judaism and in violation of Israeli law.
In the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, responding to a widely publicized spitting incident in 2023,
“Israel is totally committed to safeguard the sacred right of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all faiths. I strongly condemn any attempt to intimidate worshippers, and I am committed to taking immediate and decisive action against it.
He added that “derogatory conduct towards worshipers is sacrilege and is simply unacceptable. Any form of hostility towards individuals engaged in worship will not be tolerated.”
Similarly, “The country’s minister of religious affairs, Michael Malkieli… argued such spitting was ‘not the way of the Torah.’ One of Israel’s chief rabbis insisted spitting had nothing to do with Jewish law.”
As for Israel’s laws, they provide Christians with strong legal protection, full freedom of worship, and recognized status for their churches, including autonomy over religious affairs and access to holy sites. Christians can openly practice their faith, run institutions, and participate fully in civic life.
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In stark contrast, there is not a single Muslim-majority country in the world where Christians enjoy all of these freedoms together. (Please verify this if you have doubts. It is not a controversial claim.)
Not only that, but according to the Open Doors World Watch List for 2026—which documents “the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution”—16 of the top 20 countries and roughly 35–38 of the top 50 are either Muslim-majority or places where persecution is driven by Islamist ideology.
In fact, after North Korea, ranked the worst country in the world for Christians, the next nine countries are all Muslim-majority or places where persecution is driven by Islamist ideology.
As for Israel, it does not appear anywhere on the list of the 50 worst countries. Let that sink in.
Yet, to repeat, in many Christian circles today there is more outrage over a handful of inexcusable incidents of religious Jews spitting at Christians than over the slaughter of countless thousands of Christians worldwide at the hands of Islamists.
In Nigeria alone, ranked #7 on the Open Doors list, at least 25,000 Christians have been killed in the last five years, with some estimates placing the number at twice that. And according to Open Doors, about 13 Christians are killed every day, with the vast majority dying in regions impacted by Islamist extremist violence.
Ironically, one influential commentator has claimed, “The people in charge don’t want you to know this, but Muslims love Jesus.”
I would imagine that the average Christian suffering persecution at the hands of Islamists would say, “We would rather live among Jews who reject Jesus yet protect our rights than among Muslims who allegedly love Jesus yet kill us.” (For the record, the Jesus of the Quran is not the Jesus of the New Testament.)
As for those Jews who justified spitting at Christians, claiming it was an “ancient Jewish custom,” their views were widely denounced by Jewish leaders in Israel and around the world.
Moreover, the issue of “spitting” at Christians—as rare as it is in Israel—must be understood in historical context. These individuals are not spitting on the Jesus Christians worship. Rather, they are reacting to what the cross has represented to Jews over the centuries: forced conversions under threat of death during the Crusades, or torture and extermination at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, many of whom identified as Christians.
As for the two to three million Christians who visit Israel each year, they are warmly welcomed and perfectly safe—and many openly wear Christian apparel and share their faith. (To put this in perspective, that would be like 70–105 million Christian tourists visiting the United States annually.)
So, you have one country in which Christians are protected by law, free to practice their faith, and able to visit safely by the millions each year—yet where a handful of reprehensible spitting incidents have occurred.
Contrast that with the fact that, on average, a Christian is murdered every two hours in a Muslim-majority country or in a region where persecution is driven by Islamist ideology.
And where is so much of the outrage among Christians in America directed?
At spitting incidents in Israel.
Does that tell you something?
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