Earlier this month, the Israeli government angrily rejected a statement by the nation’s Christian leaders protesting against violence by Jewish extremist groups.

“In a state committed to the historic rights of the various religious communities, as well as to religious freedom, we cannot but call out the activities in Jerusalem of fringe radical groups who are in no way representative of the State of Israel or the Jewish people,” said Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. “The action of these extremists is a direct assault against our shared values and ideals that we hold as essential for the good order and flourishing of our common life.”