Latest: Maronite Prayer Hall Vandalised in Nahariya as Priest Forgives Attackers

Father Rody Noura walked into his community's prayer hall and found everything sacred on the floor. Statues were smashed and religious images were broken in the room where his people had prayed in peace for 26 years, and his first public words were not about revenge: he said he forgave the people who did it, even though he did not know who they were.

The vandalism was discovered on Sunday evening in Nahariya, in northern Israel, at a prayer hall used by the Lebanese Maronite community of former South Lebanon Army veterans, The Jerusalem Post and Ynet report. The hall stands on municipal property beside a municipal garden, serving a community of about 1,100 people.

Nahariya Maronite Prayer Hall Vandalism Discovered

The Jerusalem Post reports the damage was discovered at approximately 5:30 p.m., when a worshipper entered the hall ahead of a prayer service scheduled for 7 p.m., while Ynet puts the discovery at around 5:45 p.m., when a woman arrived to prepare for prayers. The two reports differ by a few minutes on the exact time, and both agree the discovery came on Sunday evening, shortly before prayer.

Father Noura told Ynet he arrived 15 or 20 minutes after the woman who found the damage, and said, "All our religious images and symbols were broken and destroyed on the floor." Among the items were symbols depicting the Virgin Mary and St Charbel, a figure particularly revered by Maronite Christians in Lebanon.

A note written in English was left on the altar asking for forgiveness, according to Father Yosef Yaakov, spokesperson for the Maronite community in Israel, The Jerusalem Post reports. The note included a statement along the lines of "I don't know what came over me." Yaakov stressed that the identities of those responsible and their motives remained unknown, and said it was too early to tell whether the vandalism was motivated by religious hatred.

Father Rody Noura Forgives After 26 Years Without an Attack

Noura told Ynet the incident was unprecedented for the community, whose Lebanese former South Lebanon Army members have been in Nahariya for 26 years. He said nothing like this had ever happened, and the place had never been targeted before, which is part of why the shock ran so deep on Sunday evening.

"Whoever did this is certainly someone who is angry about something, someone who is hurting. He lacks love."

"He lacks someone to stand by him, someone to forgive him. We certainly forgive him, even though I don't know who he is, who they are or who did it."

Noura was careful to say forgiveness did not mean approval, telling Ynet, "This is unacceptable and certainly immoral. But I am sure that something good will come out of this evil, both for the person who did it and for us." He said he suspected no one, describing the person responsible as someone who lacked love and someone to stand by him.

The Maronite Archdiocese in Haifa strongly condemned the incident, The Jerusalem Post reports. The archdiocese called it an attack on the sanctity of a place of worship and on the right of believers to practise their religion freely, safely, and with dignity. Church leaders called on the authorities to investigate, identify those responsible, and bring them to justice, and demanded measures to protect the hall.

Nahariya Police Investigate Maronite Prayer Hall Attack

Israel Police said the Nahariya police station had immediately opened an investigation after receiving a complaint about the vandalism, both outlets report. Investigators were carrying out a range of investigative activities, and all possible avenues of inquiry were being examined. Police said they viewed seriously any violation of holy places and freedom of worship, and would act decisively to find those responsible.

Noura told Ynet there are no security cameras inside the building, but nearby facilities, including a sports hall and a school, may have cameras. Yaakov told The Jerusalem Post the incident had caused anger and distress, and families with children attend services there, raising concerns about safety in a place where worshippers seek peace.

The archdiocese said the community would keep holding services at the site despite the damage, The Jerusalem Post reports. Its statement declared, "We do not respond to harm with harm, and we do not respond to destruction with hatred." The attack occured in a hall that had served as a place of prayer for more than two decades, and its people intend to keep it one, even with broken images still fresh in their memory.

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The broken statues can be replaced, and the floor can be swept clean. Whether the person who left an apology on the altar ever comes forward, and whether a community that chose forgiveness on its hardest evening keeps that choice in the weeks ahead, is the part of this story nobody can yet answer.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.