The State Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that it had filed an indictment with the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court against a man accused of spitting toward the door of a church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Avraham Antman, 19, of the settlement of Yitzhar, was charged with “insult to religion,” the formal name of an offense covering the destruction, damage or desecration of a place of worship or sacred object, intended to demean a religion, or knowingly likely to be regarded as an insult.
According to the indictment, Antman was walking near the Prison of Christ Church at around 7 p.m. on July 27, 2025, as part of a tour of the Old City’s gates.
As he passed the church, the indictment alleges, he spat toward its door “because of his hatred of Christians and Arabs,” prosecutors allege.
Prosecutors notified the court that they may seek a prison sentence if Antman is convicted.
This is a developing story.