{"id":16903,"date":"2026-04-21T08:48:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=16903"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T15:49:46","slug":"israeli-soldier-destroys-jesus-statue-in-lebanon-sparking-outrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/israeli-soldier-destroys-jesus-statue-in-lebanon-sparking-outrage\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Soldier Destroys Jesus Statue In Lebanon Sparking Outrage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Headline article below) I kind of went in on the Muslims in Iraq and Iran, so worth pointing out that Israelis do not like Christianity or highlighting that they rejected and killed their Messiah. It appears it’s not necessarily illegal to proselytize Jews in Israel, but there are limitations, and it seems they’ll just prevent some known missionaries from entering the country. And I’ve seen videos where there is spitting and abuse against missionaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Israel it\u2019s legal to express a person\u2019s world view, including religious beliefs, even if they are not accepted by the majority of the public. The exception to this rule is what is known in Israel as the \u201cMissionary Law\u201d. The \u201claw\u201d is actually composed of two separate sections of the Israeli criminal code; the first, section 174 of the Penal Code \u2013 1977, forbids a person to proselytize another to change his religion by means of material benefit. The second, section 368 of the Penal Code, forbids persuading or encouraging a minor (under the age of 18) to change his religion. This law also forbids to conduct any ceremony for a minor to change religion, without the consent of both parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to note that there have been cases where the police stopped and detained people who were accused of illegal missionary activity in Israel, but no one has been charged or sentenced according to these laws. Thus, the authorities\u2019 anti-missionary activity is largely in the form of border controls by the immigration authorities and through the Ministry of Interior\u2019s limitations on aliyah<\/em> to missionary activists or those under suspicion of being involved in missionary activity in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/lawoffice.org.il\/en\/missionary-activity-in-israel\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was going to do a post on an interesting fact about the upcoming Millennial Kingdom, but it is appropriate to highlight it here. As many of these nations around Israel have Christian communities that will factor into people coming to faith in Christ during the tribulation within their countries and making it into the millennial reign of Christ at the end of God’s judgement and the destruction of all rebels. And beyond Egypt, ancient Assyria included territory from Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and even Iran. Of course, many Christians have been displaced from the Iraq and Syrian wars, so there might be a remnant that returns from abroad after having come to faith in Christ in the coming tribulation period. And some of these Christian communities go back to the early church, especially in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Isaiah 19:16\u201325<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16] In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. [17] And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18] In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19] In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. [20] It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. [21] And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. [22] And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[23] In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[24] In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, [25] whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, \u201cBlessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.\u201d (ESV)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/southfront.press\/israeli-soldier-destroys-jesus-status-in-lebanon-sparking-outrage\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A viral photograph showing an Israeli soldier hitting a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon with a sledgehammer surfaced online on April 19 sparked outrage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the authenticity of a photo, taken at the Christian village of Debel, promising that it will take action against those involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe IDF views the incident with great severity and emphasizes that the soldier\u2019s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,\u201d the military said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is being handled \u201cthrough the chain of command,\u201d it added, noting that \u201cappropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military also said that the Northern Command will also assist the Christian community in restoring the statue to its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a later statement, the IDF announced that the soldier who smashed the statue was identified and that would be taken against those involved in the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since resuming ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon last month, the IDF has repeatedly implied that it was only targeting the group and its supporters, mainly Muslim Shia who make up the majority of the region\u2019s population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of deals with Christian and Druze towns in the region were even reported. Still, many were among more than 600,000 people displaced from the region. Christian towns in particular were targeted more than once. Even elsewhere in Lebanon, Christian were killed by Israeli strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest incident sparked outrage against the IDF, even within Israel. The leaders of the Catholic churches in Israel said that the destruction of a statue of Jesus by an IDF soldier revealed \u201ca disturbing failure in moral and human formation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church leaders express their \u201cprofound indignation and unreserved condemnation\u201d for the act, saying in a statement that \u201ceven the most elementary reverence for the sacred and for the dignity of others has been gravely compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident \u201cconstitutes a grave affront to the Christian faith and adds to other reported incidents of desecration of Christian symbols by IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also called for \u201cimmediate and decisive disciplinary action, a credible process of accountability, and clear assurances that such conduct will neither be tolerated nor repeated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ayman Odeh, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, wrote on social media pointedly: \u201cWe\u2019ll wait to hear the police spokesperson claim that \u2018the soldier felt threatened by Jesus\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmad Tibi, another Palestinian member of the Knesset, wrote that those who blow up mosques and churches in Gaza and spit on Christian clergy in Jerusalem without punishment are not afraid to destroy a statue of Jesus Christ and publish it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPerhaps these racists have also learned from Donald Trump to insult Jesus Christ and insult Pope Leo?\u201d he asked, referring to the United States president\u2019s recent controversies, including his now-deleted AI-generated image that portrayed him as a Jesus-like figure and his feud with the head of the Roman Catholic Church, who has criticised the war on Iran.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In an attempt to contain the outrage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was \u201cstunned and saddened\u201d by an IDF soldier destroying a statue of Jesus in Lebanon yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs the Jewish state, Israel cherishes and upholds the Jewish values of tolerance and mutual respect between Jews and worshippers of all faiths,\u201d he said in a post to X. \u201cAll religions flourish in our land and we view members of all faiths as equals in building our society and region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYesterday, like the overwhelming majority of Israelis, I was stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon,\u201d he continued. \u201cI condemn the act in the strongest terms. Military authorities are conducting a criminal probe of the matter and will take appropriately harsh disciplinary action against the offender.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The incident came just days before the second round of ambassador-level peace talks between Israel and Lebanon in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A meeting between Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House also being prepared, although peace remains highly unlikely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Headline article below) I kind of went in on the Muslims in Iraq and Iran, so worth pointing out that Israelis do not like Christianity or highlighting that they rejected and killed their Messiah. It appears it’s not necessarily illegal to proselytize Jews in Israel, but there are limitations, and it seems they’ll just prevent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16906,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16903\/revisions\/16906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}