Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has declined to condemn the smashing of a statue of Jesus by a soldier in southern Lebanon earlier this month, according to Army Radio.
The report on Thursday said military officials had asked the Rabbinate, the highest Jewish religious authority in Israel, to issue a statement condemning the incident, which drew widespread criticism.
According to the report, the army requested that the Rabbinate denounce the act as contrary to Jewish law, but no such condemnation was issued.
Instead, the Rabbinate reportedly agreed to coordinate with the military and Israel’s propaganda apparatus, known as hasbara, in handling similar incidents in the future.
The Israeli military did not deny the report.