Shooting in Christian School in Nazareth

Vatican News:

The atmosphere of violence and insecurity in Israel does not spare the schools. For the first time, a shot was fired at a Christian school. On Thursday, March 16, at 6:30 p.m., two people on motorcycles shot at the school and convent of the Franciscan Sisters in Nazareth. No students were present at that time and the nuns were praying at that time in the convent church. It was passers-by who called the police, says Bishop Rafik Nahra, the Vicar of the Latin Patriarch in Israel.

After this "very dangerous precedent", he wrote to the Israeli Ministries of Education, Interior and Foreign Affairs demanding a "thorough and rapid investigation" and steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. "We take this incident very seriously, because Christian monasteries and schools have always been outside the circle of violence that occurs in Arab society. Miraculously no one was hurt, and a major disaster was avoided.'' That's what he wrote.

Arab society is increasingly violent

For Christians in Israel, such an act comes as a surprise: "We are not used to such violent events, especially in relation to our schools. They have a good reputation, they are places open to Christian and Muslim students, they are places of common life," said Bishop Nahra, in response to Vatican Radio - Vatican News.

However, this attack is part of the hidden atmosphere of violence in Israeli Arab society, and especially during the last four years. "In Arab cities there is a lot of shooting, sometimes against people, extortion of money or interest loans that can lead to physical violence," he describes. In such a context, he would like Christian schools to stay out of "this circle of violence."

Christian schools are financially weakened

The attack on the school of the Franciscan Sisters in Nazareth comes at a time when the education policy of the Israeli government harms the institutions run by the churches, and in particular those of the Latin Patriarchate. Government subsidies have been drastically reduced and now represent only a third of those awarded to public institutions, says the bishop. This development concerns primary schools first and foremost. "Apparently the State of Israel would like all schools to be public and therefore it is less supportive of the private schools over which it has less control."

To compensate for the loss of income, Christian schools are forced to raise tuition, and "teachers' wages have become significantly lower than in public schools, and the benefits for teachers are less," explains Bishop Nahra. "It is a problem for us, he recognizes, because it means that the best teachers flee. It is very difficult for us."