Jerusalem, 11 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Pro-Palestinian graffiti was discovered Monday at two of Jerusalem’s most prominent religious sites — the Western Wall complex and the Great Synagogue — sparking outrage from religious leaders and politicians.
The red-painted Hebrew inscription, reading “There is a Holocaust in Gaza,” was first spotted by security guards near the Mugrabi Gate entrance leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount. The location is close to the stairs leading to the egalitarian prayer area known as Ezrat Yisrael, separate from the main plaza.
Similar graffiti was later found on the wall of the Great Synagogue in central Jerusalem.
Police said a 27-year-old resident of the city was arrested on suspicion of carrying out both acts. He was taken in for questioning and is scheduled to appear before a judge, where police will request to extend his detention.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, condemned the graffiti as an act of desecration.
“A holy place is not a place to express protests — whatever they may be — and even more so when it is done in the holiest place for the entire Jewish people,” Rabinowitz said.
The rabbi noted that a similar incident occurred in the past on the northern side of the Wall, prompting discussions on how to remove such markings without harming the stones.
“This time too, the rabbi will instruct the professional authorities on how to clean and remove the inscription in a way that does not harm the sanctity of the stones,” and is in accordance with Jewish law, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. The foundation administers the daily activities of the Western Wall.
Politicians across the spectrum denounced the vandalism.
Defense Minister Israel Katz described the incident as “a vile act and a crossing of a red line that cannot be tolerated.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Western Wall’s stones are “soaked in the long history of our people, a history of building, destruction, blood, persecution, and Holocaust, and again building and revival. Those who are capable of defiling them with sickening antisemitic blood libels have forgotten what it means to be Jewish.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed a swift law enforcement response, stating that “the Israel Police will act with lightning speed to apprehend the offender and bring him to justice.”
MK Benny Gantz called it “a crime against the entire people of Israel,” adding, “Vandalizing the stones of the Western Wall, the holiest site for the Jewish people, is a crime against all of Israel. I call on the police to investigate and bring the criminals to justice.”
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation confirmed that cleaning crews will remove the graffiti in accordance with Jewish law to ensure the sanctity of the site is preserved.
The Western Wall, the holiest spot where Jews can pray, is the only remnant of a retaining wall encircling the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great in the first century.
The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built, is the overall holiest site in Judaism.
Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 50 remaining hostages, around 30 are believed to be dead.
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