Friday, May 31, marked a sad reminder that peace is a work in progress. The disturbing news was made public that morning when officials reported vandals had attacked Dormition Abbey, a popular Christian pilgrimage destination for those making pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
Not only were the outer walls of the Basilica of the Dormition that greet pilgrims spray painted but so were two cars. The tires on those cars were also slashed. Our friends at terrasanctablog.org reported the vandalism. Spraying graffiti has been called “price-tagging” in Jerusalem but when anti-Christian slogans are used, things become more serious. Two ministers have put forth a motion to call these types of attacks, “acts of terrorism”.
The good news is that as of Friday morning, as the bad news was reported, workers were laboring with power-washers trying to remove the vandalism from the walls to prepare it for that day’s pilgrims.
The website for The Basilica of the Dormition, or Dormition Abbey, a Benedictine community on Mount Zion since 1906 can be found here.