Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the incident in which Jews were seen spitting on Christians in Jerusalem: "Israel is fully committed to maintaining the sacred right of worship and pilgrimage to the holy sites of all religions."
"I strongly condemn any attempt to harm worshipers, and we will take immediate and decisive measures against these acts. Offensive behavior towards worshipers is blasphemy and is unacceptable. We will show zero tolerance towards any harm to worshipers."
Earlier, Israel's chief rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, also condemned the incident. "During the holiday of Sukkot, they prayed and sacrificed in the Temple for the peace of the 70 nations of the world. We will also continue to pray for their benefit and honor all the nations that come to honor the holy city of Jerusalem. I strongly condemn harm to any person and any religious leader. These illegal phenomena certainly should not be attributed to them in any way according to Jewish law".
"It should be noted that this is a sharp increase in cases where Jews spit at Christians in Jerusalem, especially in the last two days. In addition, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow commented: "At the same time as the fight against moral injustices committed by the nations of the world, the ways of dealing with many issues in the Jewish world today are not done by attacking or in contempt".
Religion Minister Michael Malchieli also joined the harsh criticism against the obscene phenomenon: "I strongly condemn the phenomenon of spitting at Christians in Jerusalem. This is not the way of the Torah, and there is no rabbi who supports and legitimizes such despicable behavior. It is our duty to denounce, and we will continue to respect all nations coming at the gates of the Holy City".