Georgia Protests the Defacing of a Fresco in Israel

Fresco of Shota Rustaveli after damage. Photo provided by the Georgian Foreign Ministry

The Georgian Foreign Ministry described the damage done to a Georgian fresco in the monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem as “an act of vandalism” 

One of the monastery’s   pillars bears a portrait which is believed to be the Georgian poet of XII-XIII centauries Shota Rustaveli, the author of the Georgian national epic The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.

“We have learned just yesterday that the fresco of Shota Rustaveli has been damaged. We have informed the Israelian authroities regarding the incident and have also expressed out protest regarding this act of vandalism,” Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili said at a specially convened news briefing on July 4.

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