IDF soldier caught smashing Jesus statue with sledgehammer — officials and critics react

A photograph began circulating on social media over the weekend that has many people both angry and confused while others question whether it is a real photo.

And the answers that later emerged did nothing to quell the outrage.

‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’

The photo, posted by Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi on Saturday, depicts a uniformed Israel Defense Forces soldier smashing the head of a statue of Jesus Christ with a hammer.

The journalist noted that the photo was taken during operations in Southern Lebanon, which have persisted despite the United States’ attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement with Iran.

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Anwar AMRO/AFP/Getty Images

Tirawi made a follow-up post suggesting that the statue was in Debel, one of several predominantly Christian border villages in Southern Lebanon.

The post brought attention to a Facebook post associated with the town with a photo of the intact statue of Jesus. The caption of the post is Luke 23:34, which reads, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The IDF confirmed that the photo of “an IDF soldier harming a Christian symbol” was indeed of “an IDF soldier operating in southern Lebanon.”

It confirmed the authenticity of the photo, adding that the incident is viewed with “great severity” and that “appropriate measures will be taken against those involved in accordance with the findings.”

The post added that the IDF is “operating to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and has no intention of harming civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings or religious symbols.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the rest of the “Jewish state,” intimated that he was “stunned and saddened to learn that an IDF soldier damaged a Catholic religious icon in southern Lebanon.”

Netanyahu promised that the offender would face “appropriately harsh disciplinary action” and concluded:

While Christians are being slaughtered in Syria and Lebanon by Muslims, the Christian population in Israel thrives unlike elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel is the only country in the region that the Christian population and standard of living is growing. Israel is the only place in the Middle East that adheres to freedom of worship for all. We express regret for the incident and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world.

Critics, however, were not so convinced.

Glenn Greenwald mocked anyone who would defend this horrific action: “Christian Zionists: This Israeli soldier was absolutely justified in smashing the head of the Jesus Christ statue because Hezbollah and Hamas were hiding inside. We owe him our gratitude.”

“Horrific,” Matt Gaetz said.

Ana Kasparian attacked the IDF and its post, saying that she didn’t believe a word the IDF said: “This is just another example of Israel’s hatred and disregard for other cultures and faiths. No one trusts your phony investigations, especially when IDF soldiers get away with rape and murder every single day.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene joined the fray, quipping, “’Our greatest ally’ that takes billions of our tax dollars and weapons every year.”

Israel has justified its incursions into Lebanon on the basis of rooting out Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in the country.

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Catholic leaders in the Holy Land stated their “profound indignation and unreserved condemnation of the desecration of a representation of Jesus Crucified by an Israeli soldier in a Lebanese village.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa added to the statement: “It further reveals a disturbing failure in moral and human formation, wherein even the most elementary reverence for the sacred and for the dignity of others has been gravely compromised.”

While stressing the deeply offensive nature of the act, Pizzaballa emphasized that “even in the face of such offense, the Cross remains unassailable in its meaning.”

He concluded with a renewed call for peace and “reverence for the sacred.”

Journalists provided examples of other acts of violence perpetrated by Israel against Christians and Christian holy sites, including the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Derdghaya, Lebanon, in October 2024. The church, which was reportedly being used as a shelter for displaced civilians, was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, killing at least eight people in the process.

Editor’s note: This article was edited after publication to include a statement from Cardinal Pizzaballa and information about a previous Israeli strike on Christian sites in Southern Lebanon.

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