USCIRF Expresses Concern for the Integrity of Religious Sites in Jerusalem Area

USCIRF Expresses Concern for the Integrity of Religious Sites in Jerusalem Area

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reiterates the importance of ensuring freedom of worship and maintaining the integrity of religious sites in Jerusalem and surrounding areas amid ongoing conflict. In the wake of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s visit to the region, USCIRF urges the U.S. government to continue to seek assurances for freedom of religious practice and worship pursuant to status quo agreements.

“Recent attacks at sites of religious significance in and around Jerusalem restrict religious freedom for people of many different faiths. We hope that as Ramadan, Passover, and Easter approach, all houses of worship will be respected,” said USCIRF Commissioner Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. “The U.S. government must continue to urge officials in the region to hold accountable the perpetrators of criminal acts at religious sites, and work actively to counter influential political voices inciting religious prejudice and violence that negatively impacts religious practice and worship.”

There have been numerous attacks on churches, mosques, and synagogues over the past couple of years. In recent months, USCIRF has noted an uptick in the targeting of houses of worship and religious sites. These include Israeli settlers shattering windows of the Bab al-Zaqiya and al-Sadeq mosques in Hebron; two teenagers desecrating 50 graves in a Christian cemetery on Mount Zion; a terrorist opening fire on worshippers on the Jewish Sabbath near a synagogue in Neve Yaakov killing seven people and wounding at least three; and a man vandalizing a statue of Jesus at the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem’s Old City.

“These recent incidents targeting religious sites and worshipers are devastating. They risk further escalating a situation in which political violence and terrorism preclude people from safely manifesting their religion or beliefs. We are especially concerned over safety amid the uptick of violence in Jerusalem and surrounding areas,” said USCIRF Commissioner David Curry. “The U.S. government should stress that the existence of political conflict does not diminish the universal protections of Article 18 to freedom of religion or belief for people of all faiths and beliefs, and express this concern in bilateral discussions.”

In 2019, USCIRF published a factsheet on protecting houses of worship and holy sites, noting that places of worship and other religious sites should be sanctuaries where worshippers feel safe to practice their faith. In 2021, USCIRF published a factsheet on the religious freedom implications of the destruction of cemeteries.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].