For the first time, a public campaign has emerged within Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox communities against the harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims.
Ahrale Friedman, a resident of Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, hung signs throughout the Old City on the eve of the Passover holiday calling on the public to avoid friction with, spitting on or engaging in other offensive behavior toward Christians.
The signs and pamphlets cite rulings from leading rabbinical authorities who have condemned such actions as forbidden and a desecration of God's name.
"We must uphold the honor of our Torah as sons of Abraham, who welcomed idol worshippers into his tent," one pamphlet states.
