Five Orthodox Jews were recently arrested by Israeli police after they were accused of spitting at Christians participating in a procession of Orthodox believers in Old Jerusalem on Monday, Oct 2, 2023, the Times of Israel reports.

The arrests were made when videos surfaced on social media of the spitting.

Now I tend to agree with Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who stated the act though repulsive should not be treated as a criminal act.

But what caught my attention was a statement that Minister Ben Gvir had made years earlier before he entered politics when he described spitting at Christians as “an ancient Jewish custom.”

And certainly there may be some truth in that statement:

⁶⁷ Then they spit in His [Jesus] face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him.” (Matthew 26:67 NASV)

READ: 5 arrested for spitting at Christians in Jerusalem; police minister: It’s not criminal