The southern section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem was found on Monday morning to have been defaced with graffiti protesting the war in Gaza.
The Hebrew graffiti, reading "There is a holocaust in Gaza," was found in the area near the egalitarian "Ezrat Yisrael" section of the wall. The police have opened an investigation.
The police arrested a 27-year-old resident of the capital for questioning, during which it was revealed that earlier he had sprayed a similar slogan on the wall of the Great Synagogue in the city center. He will be brought before a judge later in the day, and the police are requesting his detention to be extended.
According to the report, security guards noticed the suspect near the Mughrabi Gate on the Western Wall after he allegedly sprayed "There is a holocaust in Gaza' on it. David Precinct officers rushed to the scene, arrested the suspect, and took him for questioning.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion responded in shock: "I strongly condemn the severe act carried out at the Western Wall — the holiest site for the Jewish people. There is and will be no place for harm to the national and spiritual symbol of the Jewish people, regardless of the background.
"Protest cannot justify the desecration of a holy site and the harm to the feelings of millions of Jews in Israel and around the world. I expect the Israeli police to act decisively to locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Jerusalem will continue to protect its holiness and the dignity of holy sites for all religions," said Lion.
Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the act: “These ancient stones are steeped in the long history of our people. Anyone capable of defiling them with antisemitic blood libels has forgotten what it means to be a Jew.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded: “I was shocked to see the damage and disrespect toward the holiest site of the Jewish people - the Western Wall. The Israel Police will act with lightning speed to arrest the rioter and bring him to justice.”
The Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, voiced sorrow and strong protest: "A holy site is not a place to protest, no matter what it may be, sevenfold when it is done at the most sacred site for the entire Jewish people. The police must investigate the act, find the perpetrators of this desecration, and bring them to trial."
A similar incident occurred in the past on the northern section of the wall. Complex cleaning work, surrounded by halachic dilemmas due to the sanctity of the site, needed to be conducted.
This time too, Rabbi Rabinovitch will instruct the professional teams on how to remove the writing, while respecting the sanctity of the stones and preventing damage to them.