(RNS) — The Israeli government has been working overtime to address the rage resulting from a documented video showing an Israeli soldier destroying a statue of the crucified Jesus that had fallen from a cross in a Lebanese village. In a photo, the soldier is seen taking a sledgehammer to the head of the Jesus statue. Israel’s military reportedly pulled the soldier from combat duty and gave him a 30-day jail sentence, an acknowledgment of the harm internationally that the incident caused. Unfortunately, this is not a one-off incident. The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land issued a statement condemning the desecration and insisted that “this was not an isolated incident,” citing previous reports of desecration. It demanded immediate disciplinary action and assurances against future acts. Catholics and other Christians know from experience that continued failure of accountability and impunity are part of a pattern in Israel. Weeks earlier, a priest was killed in Lebanon, and during Palm Sunday the Latin Patriarch was denied entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in …