Respect at and For the Kotel

 JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A German priest claimed Wednesday that he had been asked to remove his cross while visiting the Western Wall. Th priest, who was accompanied by a German cabinet minister, refused to comply with the request, stating that it was disrespectful to him and denied his human rights.

Footage from the incident shows the priest protesting as he is told that his religious symbol is ‘inappropriate’ for the site.

He was also accused of committing a provocation by a local usher. “Sad to see how the climate in this wonderful city is changing for the worse under the new government,”  the priest, Nikodemus Schnabel, said in a tweet.

I DO NOT BELIEVE A GERMAN PRIEST HAS THE RIGHT TO WALK INTO THE 

WESTERN WALL WITH A LARGE CROSS ON HIS CHEST.

EVERY HOLY PLACE HAS ITS RULES AND THOSE MUST BE RESPECTED.

THIS IS TRUE FOR OBVIOUS HISTORICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND CIVIL REASONS. HTTPS://T.CO/FWTBTLIKZH

— RABBI E. POUPKO. #FREEEVANGERSHKOVICH (@RABBIPOUPKO) JULY 19, 2023

Schnabel, a prominent member of the Benedictine Order serving in Jerusalem, was escorting German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, on her visit to the holy Jewish site when he was approached by an usher and told he must remove his cross which she saw as a provocation, despite his explanation that he was a man of the Church. The usher claimed that all visitors to the Western Wall are asked to do the same.

Schnable voiced his shock at the request. “You do not respect me and deprive me of my human rights,” he said. The visiting minister was also dismayed, and an official complaint was lodged with the Foreign Ministry, which was quick to demand explanations from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.

Officials in the foundation said there was no new law or regulation but that requests were made when crosses were large in size and clearly displayed out of respect to the Jewish worshippers. They claimed Jews wearing a clearly visible Star of David are also asked the same when they enter Temple Mount and that no Jews would enter a church with tefillin or even with headcovering. They added that perhaps the usher had failed to communicate well in English and that the German delegation had completed its tour without the cross being removed, as was suggested.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing too many incidents that causer the appearance that there is hostility towards Christianity and Christians and that is harmful to Israel’s reputation and must stop,” an unnamed official in Jerusalem said

Germany’s consulate in Ramallah expressed solidarity with Schnabel. “We share his concern about the limitations placed on the space of some faiths in Jerusalem. Mutual respect and tolerance are the sources of the holy city’s unique character.”

Schnabel, who served at the head of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem and was an adviser to the German Foreign Ministry, has been leading a campaign in Germany and among Christians worldwide to inform them of the difficult situations Christians in Israel are in and the growing number of incidents of abuse and attack – including being spat on – that they endure.

In an interview he gave in 2016, he said that he himself sometimes covers his cross when entering the holy sites of other faiths and that Jews remove their head covering when entering a church. “It is a matter of honor for me,” he said at the time. This would seem to indicate that Schnabel knew very well what he was doing with a cross at the Western Wall and intended to make the provocation in order to prove his point about Christian mistreatment in Israel.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation later issued an apology for the incident. “We apologize for any distress caused. The Western Wall is open to all. It should be emphasized that there are no regulations regarding this matter at the Western Wall Plaza. The usher approached and politely asked if it would be possible to cover the cross to prevent any discomfort, as has recently occurred in the Old City, out of a desire to respect both the visitor and the site. When he refused, entry was obviously not denied, and the usher respected the decision and continued on her way,” a statement read.

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This reminds me of Itamar’s comment to JB that Israel is not another ‘star’ on the American Flag. Likewise, a visit to the Kotel is not just an ordinary ‘site-seeing tourist site’, it is Holy to the Jewish People who historically have been murdered by millions of Christians. (some of us don’t forget)