Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

The world, and most Israelis, were horrified this week as a photo of an IDF soldier smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon spread across social media. The act was roundly condemned by the army and by Israel's leaders.

Yet, it happened.

And it wasn't the first time Israeli soldiers had disrespected Christian sites in Lebanon, nor was it the only instance of Israel drawing the ire of Christians around the world.

Rabbi David Rosen is a leader in Israeli and Jewish ties with Christians, especially the Catholic Church.

Drawing on decades of experience, including numerous meetings with popes, he lays out the moral reasons for investing in ties with the Christian world, and why it is in Israel's national interest to get these relations right.

He calls the modern Catholic Church a "loyal friend to the Jewish people," marking the "most dramatic transformation in the course of human history." The vast majority of the Christian world does not want to be seen as antisemitic, and sees itself as an ally of the Jewish people.

But there is much to be done. Israel still has not concluded its decades-long talks with the Vatican, despite promising to wrap them up in the 1990s.

Moreover, Israeli society doesn't understand the Christian world. Most religious Israelis have had no meaningful relationships with Christians, and see them through shallow stereotypes of historical antisemitism -- "almost a reverse image of some of the anti-Semitic cartoon images." Even worse, extremists continue to harass Christians in the Old City of Jerusalem and beyond.

Rosen points at urgent tasks Israel must complete undertake if it is to get ties with Christians right. It must fix the "fundamental and enormous educational flaw" in schools by creating curricula to familiarize Israeli students with contemporary Christians, including their communities inside of Israel.
Police must crack down on harassment of Christians in order to stamp out the phenomenon.

Finally, he says, a senior official position must be created to build Israel's strategy toward churches and the broader Christian world. "There is no strategic thinking, no strategic approach whatsoever on the part of sequential governments of government after government in Israel," he laments, "because basically there has not been an understanding that this needs to be a priority in any way."

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.

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