Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Bar called on religious leaders and authorities worldwide to defend mosques, churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship after a recent wave of antisemitic attacks on Jewish institutions in the US and Europe. In a public letter on Sunday, Bar said the answer must include both forceful law enforcement and a broader rejection of religious violence.
“Just as we demand full protection for synagogues and for Jewish lives everywhere, so too we reject any harm to mosques, churches, and all houses of prayer, the burning of holy books, and all religious violence,” Bar wrote. He also called on leaders of all faiths to publicly condemn attacks on holy sites and acts of vandalism.
The letter followed several incidents reported by The Jerusalem Post in recent weeks, including the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, the explosion at a Jewish school in Amsterdam, the synagogue attack in Rotterdam, and the torching of four Hatzola ambulances in London.
An issue beyond antisemitism
Bar framed the issue as larger than antisemitism alone. He wrote that Judaism places the sanctity of life and human dignity at the center of its worldview, and said that commitment requires rejecting violence against any religious community. He warned against those who invoke God while calling for “killing and destruction,” and urged a path of tolerance and peace.
His appeal also came amid wider sensitivities around access to holy sites in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, citing security concerns tied to the war. The move drew criticism from church officials and foreign leaders.
Bar did not name specific perpetrators, but urged authorities to act “with full force and determination” and to punish those responsible severely. His message was direct: attacks on synagogues cannot be ignored, and neither can threats to mosques, churches, or any other place of worship.