‘…Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and put the idols holy to them to the torch, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God who has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession…’ Book of Deuteronomy
Cooper Williamson for The Blaze
Many people were alarmed by an appalling viral video posted over the weekend of an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Christ Crucified in Southern Lebanon.
Others, however disgusted by the act, argued that he was simply ‘one bad apple’ in the Israel Defense Forces.
However, there are obviously more ‘bad apples’ than originally thought, as footage of similar attacks on Christian holy sites has resurfaced in the wake of the alarming photograph.
The monastery, which has roots dating back to the 15th century, was razed to the ground by Israeli forces during the 2006 Lebanon War.
More recorded examples of IDF soldiers acting inappropriately in and around holy sites have emerged online, lending credence to the idea that these incidents are not anomalous but rather represent a pattern of predictable and normal behavior.
One notable example shows a group of Israeli soldiers entering an Orthodox Christian church, including the sanctuary — the restricted area behind the veil that only bishops, priests, and deacons are allowed to enter at specific times — while mocking Christian saints, imagery, and rituals and then pretending to have sex with each other after a mock wedding ceremony.
The original video was posted by Younis Tirawi, the same journalist who over the weekend posted the photo of the IDF soldier smashing Christ’s head with a sledgehammer.
It should be noted that the IDF claims to have worked with locals in Debel, Lebanon, to replace the destroyed cross and said that it ‘expresses deep regret’ over the recent incident.
The older video, however, has not apparently received the same response from Israeli authorities.
The video appears to have been first posted on November 25, 2024. Tirawi reported that the video was taken in a church in Deir Mimas, South Lebanon. Independent research has confirmed that the video matches the interior of the Monastery of St. Mamas in Deir Mimas.
The video has a caption written in Hebrew, and the soldiers in the video are also speaking Hebrew. Tirawi described the soldiers as ‘Israeli soldiers from the Golani Special Operations Unit,’ more commonly referred to as the Golani Brigade, which has a history of operations in Southern Lebanon and the surrounding region.
Multiple outlets covered the video at the time. These reports claimed that the Israeli soldiers themselves posted the video first, although this video appears to have been deleted.
The Israel Defense Forces issued a vague statement regarding the incident at the Monastery of St. Mamas, though it did not acknowledge the specific actions shown in the video. The statement, dated November 26, 2024, reads:
‘This is a serious incident that is not in line with the values of the IDF, as the IDF respects all religions and condemns such behavior.The incident is under review, and those involved face disciplinary repercussions.’
This incident was not the first time the church has been harmed by Israeli forces. The monastery, which has roots dating back to the 15th century, was razed to the ground by Israeli forces during the 2006 Lebanon War.
The article added that a pattern has emerged of Israeli soldiers filming and posting videos of themselves committing crimes, referring to a compilation of alleged examples by the Washington Post and Al Jazeera.
The IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.