# Spitting on priests **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994 "2011-11-05T21:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/41 "2011-11-07T08:04:49Z")
The problem is that strange as it sounds, going against the ultra-orthodox would be going against their own interests. For instance, the religious parties have managed to pass legislation granting massive tax breaks for families with over three children. Guess what other group of people in Israel \*also \*has relatively large families? There’s a saying here that every Israeli family supports one ultra-orthodox child and one Arab child in addition to any children they may have themselves. Believe me, my own tax burden is proof of this. The Middle East makes strange bedfellows. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/42 "2011-11-07T14:36:36Z")
The ultra-orthodox Jews are hardly the only offensive religious nutcases in Jerusalem - each of the major world religions contributes their share. Perhaps the best example of this is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which sees regular rioting amongst gangs of ornery monks who have colonized various nooks and crannies of it: > [@](#): > > The primary custodians are the Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholic Churches, with the Greek Orthodox Church having the lion’s share. In the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities, which include shrines and other structures within and around the building. Times and places of worship for each community are strictly regulated in common areas. > > Establishment of the 1853 status quo did not halt the violence, which continues to break out every so often even in modern times. On a hot summer day in 2002, a Coptic monk moved his chair from its agreed spot into the shade. This was interpreted as a hostile move by the Ethiopians, and eleven were hospitalized after the resulting fracas.[31] > > In another incident in 2004 during Orthodox celebrations of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a door to the Franciscan chapel was left open. This was taken as a sign of disrespect by the Orthodox and a fistfight broke out. Some people were arrested, but no one was seriously injured.[32] > > On Palm Sunday, in April 2008, a brawl broke out when a Greek monk was ejected from the building by a rival faction. Police were called to the scene but were also attacked by the enraged brawlers.[33] On Sunday, November 9, 2008, a clash erupted between Armenian and Greek monks during celebrations for the Feast of the Holy Cross.[34][35] > **[Church of the Holy Sepulchre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre)** > > The Church of the Holy Sepulchre,\[a\]\[b\] also known as the Church of the Resurrection,\[c\] is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is simultaneously the seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Catholic Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Christianity and it has been an important pilgrimage site for Christians since the fourth century. > According to traditions dat... Fact is that Jerusalem attracts nuts from all over the world, just by being Jerusalem. Think about it. If you were a religious nut, from one of the monotheistic religions … where would you go, if you could? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/43 "2011-11-07T15:39:12Z")
That’s true. I mean, how many cities have their very own [psychological disorders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome)? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/44 "2011-11-07T15:49:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I \*am \*concerned - very concerned. I just don’t have any easy solutions. How is battery usually policed in Jerusalem? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/45 "2011-11-07T15:54:47Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > A girl I know had rocks thrown at her and her friend by Orthodox Jews while visiting Israel. They were walking home in their bathing suits (wrapped in towels) after swimming at the local pool. Spitting on priests, throwing rocks at passersby…how long will it be before some wingnut says these orthodox Jews are really part of “Occupy Jerusalem”? After all, occupying Jerusalem (and other places) has been their objective for years. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/46 "2011-11-07T15:59:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s true. I mean, how many cities have their very own [psychological disorders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome)? Perhaps fortunately, very few would-be messiahs feel a burning desire to manifest themselves in … Toronto. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/47 "2011-11-07T16:11:11Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > If you were a religious nut, from one of the monotheistic religions … where would you go, if you could? …Vegas ? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/48 "2011-11-07T16:27:42Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > …Vegas ? Naw, that’s if you think you are Elvis. If you think you are Jesus, you go to Jerusalem. If you think the two are one and the same … I dunno. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/49 "2011-11-07T16:41:45Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > …Vegas ? And on the third day, he scored big at the 100 dollar BlackJack table, saving you from your sins. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/50 "2011-11-07T17:12:41Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > And on the third day, he scored big at the 100 dollar BlackJack table, saving you from your sins. In the secular realm, at least, money has truly amazing redemptive properties. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/51 "2011-11-07T17:32:35Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Perhaps fortunately, very few would-be messiahs feel a burning desire to manifest themselves in … Toronto. 😃 Even fewer in Pittsburgh. Can’t say I blame them, the weather’s generally nicer in Jerusalem. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/52 "2011-11-07T18:10:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s true. I mean, how many cities have their very own [psychological disorders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome)? Or their very own artichokes? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/53 "2011-11-07T18:23:15Z")
> [@11811](#): > > Or their very own artichokes? Artichokes that cause flatulence, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/54 "2011-11-07T22:24:48Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > How do you see this playing out for the future of Israel, given that the ultra-orthodox and ultranationalists have a birthrate that is extravagantly higher than that of secular Jews? Me, if I were in your boots, I would be a mite concerned. Don’t worry. So many of them grow up and get real. 😃 But yeah, I’m glad there’s a Pitting on this. It may be the one thing we can all agree on about something Israel-related. Good friggin riddance. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/55 "2011-11-07T23:44:24Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Naw, that’s if you think you are Elvis. If you think you are Jesus, you go to Jerusalem. > > If you think the two are one and the same … I dunno. 😉 Wait, I know this one. I know they’re both the King, but Jesus is the one who faked his death and is really working in a small burger joint in Des Moines, right ? Or was Elvis the one who multiplied the brand new Cadillacs ? ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/56 "2011-11-08T00:19:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s true. I mean, how many cities have their very own [psychological disorders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome)? Is it just Jerusalem and Stockholm, then? ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/57 "2011-11-08T03:23:44Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > Is it just Jerusalem and Stockholm, then? [Nope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Syndrome) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/58 "2011-11-08T16:05:08Z")
Why don’t they eat Jerusalem artichokes and fart at the priests? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/59 "2011-11-08T16:53:45Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Why don’t they eat Jerusalem artichokes and fart at the priests? Worse, imprision the priests and repeatedly fart artichoke-farts at them, until the priests begin to identify with their captors. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994/60 "2011-11-08T17:33:47Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Worse, imprision the priests and repeatedly fart artichoke-farts at them, until the priests begin to identify with their captors. Maybe we could put them on a wheel to ensure equal distribution of farts, a la [the Summoner’s tale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Summoner%27s_Tale#Plot_summary). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spitting-on-priests/601994.md?page=4)