Anger as Christian abbot asked to cover his cross in Jerusalem

Nikodemus Schnabel was told his cross is 'really big and inappropriate' for the Western Wall site

Nikodemus Schnabel, a catholic Abbot who works in Jerusalem. Photo: @PaterNikodemus / Twitter

An incident involving an Israeli official asking a Christian abbot to remove his cross while accompanying Germany's education minister to the Western Wall in Jerusalem has sparked anger at the Israeli government.

In a video published by Der Spiegel reporter Christoph Schult, Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel of the Old City's Dormition Abbey is seen being told by an Israeli official that his cross is "really big and really inappropriate" for the site.

In response, Abbot Schnabel says: "This is very harsh... this is not a provocation. This is my dress."

The official responds by saying that she was not asking him to do anything about his clothing, just his cross.

"The cross is part of my dress code. I'm a Roman Catholic abbot. This is how I dress. So you want me not to dress as my faith tells me I should dress," he responds.

Abbot Schnabel took to Twitter to express his dismay at the incident.

"The unfortunately not so nice end of a nice tour of the old town through the morning in Jerusalem," he wrote.

"It is painful to see how the climate in this wonderful city is changing more and more for the worse under the new government. Jerusalem is big enough for everyone!"

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation issued a statement apologising for the "distress" caused.

"The Western Wall is open to anyone. It should be noted that there are no rules or regulations on this issue on the Western Wall plaza," the statement said.

Palestinian ambassador to Germany Laith Arafeh denounced what he called the "unabated assaults targeting Christian priests, churches, property and symbols".

"The increased hostility towards Christianity in Jerusalem is one practical manifestation of the Israeli government's proclamation that the 'Jewish people have an exclusive right' to all the land from river to sea," he wrote on Twitter.

Earlier this month, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned increasing acts of violence against Christians and their symbols, which he said had been growing in the "last weeks and months especially".

A priest smokes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with incense in Jerusalem's Old City. AFP

"I utterly condemn violence, in all its forms, directed by a small and extreme group, towards the holy places of the Christian faith, and against Christian clergy in Israel," Mr Herzog said at a memorial ceremony.

"This includes spitting, and the desecration of graves and churches."

Christian leaders in Jerusalem have spoken of incidents of harassment and vandalism. In November, two Israeli Army soldiers were arrested on suspicion of spitting at an Armenian archbishop during a ceremony in the Old City, Israeli media reported. In the days that followed, several Armenian community buildings in Jerusalem were vandalised, with more incidents taking place this year.