Israeli military jailed for desecrating statue of Virgin Mary in Lebanon

Two Israeli soldiers have been jailed for desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary in Lebanon — one of them put a cigarette in her mouth, and the other took a photo. This was reported on May 12 by the Associated Press (AP).

The soldier who posed for the photo will spend 21 days in custody in a military prison, while the colleague who photographed him will spend 14 days.

According to Ariella Mazor, a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the military takes this incident very seriously. The Israeli army respects freedom of religion and religious practices, as well as religious symbols of all religions and communities, she wrote on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

Symbolic protection: the law will prohibit the image of temples without crosses

An exception will be made for floor mats and seats in transport to prevent desecration of religious signs.

On April 20, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the shameful act of the Israeli military, who smashed the statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. He demanded that strict measures be taken against the perpetrators and apologized to Christians on behalf of the state for the incident.