13 may 2014
Two Ultra Orthodox Jews look at graffiti on the wall of a church reading in Hebrew "King David King of the Jews and Jesus is garbage, Price tag" on May 9, 2014 in Jerusalem
By Charlie Hoyle
A recent wave of hate crimes targeting Palestinians and church property in Israel has prompted community leaders to express outrage at the culture of impunity and growing extremism which allow attacks to go unpunished.
On Friday, vandals spray-painted anti-Christian graffiti on a Jerusalem church, one of at least a dozen attacks in the past two months by Jewish extremists who have also set fire to mosques, slashed tires of Palestinian cars, and vandalized church property and religious cemeteries.
The pope's visit to the Holy Land on May 25 has increased attention surrounding the incidents, but Palestinian religious and community leaders say hate crimes targeting Palestinians have always existed, and are in some cases encouraged by Israeli government policy.
"The (Israeli) government is not doing enough; with all these attacks we didn't see any arrests. We fear there is a political cover-up from parties in Israel who don't want the incidents to be exploited," Rev. Jamal Khader, spokesman for the pope's visit to Palestine, told Ma'an.
Khader says that there is most likely no link between the increase in attacks and the pope's visit, but he worries that impunity for incidences of vandalism will eventually lead to more serious crimes against Palestinians.
"If they create this wave of hatred the next move will be attacking people. We should not wait until they translate into physical attacks against clergy and local Christians."
Bernard Sabella, an expert on Palestinian Christian history, says that historically, attacks on Christian institutions and clergy by extremist Jewish groups are not new, but still leave a "sour taste" for Palestinians.
"There are elements within the Israeli political structure that don't want to pursue the persecution of these people, or they don't think it is a high priority," Sabella told Ma'an.
"Unfortunately when these attacks take place we don't see the Israeli prime minister and other high officials taking action by visiting the sites of such attacks."
Sabella says that some extremist religious Jews see attacks against Christian institutions as a "mitzvah," or commandment, while others are deliberately responding to the pope's upcoming visit by demonstrating opposition to the presence of Christians in Israel.
"That leaves a really sour taste in our mouths and we feel that this is not fair. This is hitting the Christian community and telling the local Christians that they are not welcome."
Policy of expulsion
By Charlie Hoyle
A recent wave of hate crimes targeting Palestinians and church property in Israel has prompted community leaders to express outrage at the culture of impunity and growing extremism which allow attacks to go unpunished.
On Friday, vandals spray-painted anti-Christian graffiti on a Jerusalem church, one of at least a dozen attacks in the past two months by Jewish extremists who have also set fire to mosques, slashed tires of Palestinian cars, and vandalized church property and religious cemeteries.
The pope's visit to the Holy Land on May 25 has increased attention surrounding the incidents, but Palestinian religious and community leaders say hate crimes targeting Palestinians have always existed, and are in some cases encouraged by Israeli government policy.
"The (Israeli) government is not doing enough; with all these attacks we didn't see any arrests. We fear there is a political cover-up from parties in Israel who don't want the incidents to be exploited," Rev. Jamal Khader, spokesman for the pope's visit to Palestine, told Ma'an.
Khader says that there is most likely no link between the increase in attacks and the pope's visit, but he worries that impunity for incidences of vandalism will eventually lead to more serious crimes against Palestinians.
"If they create this wave of hatred the next move will be attacking people. We should not wait until they translate into physical attacks against clergy and local Christians."
Bernard Sabella, an expert on Palestinian Christian history, says that historically, attacks on Christian institutions and clergy by extremist Jewish groups are not new, but still leave a "sour taste" for Palestinians.
"There are elements within the Israeli political structure that don't want to pursue the persecution of these people, or they don't think it is a high priority," Sabella told Ma'an.
"Unfortunately when these attacks take place we don't see the Israeli prime minister and other high officials taking action by visiting the sites of such attacks."
Sabella says that some extremist religious Jews see attacks against Christian institutions as a "mitzvah," or commandment, while others are deliberately responding to the pope's upcoming visit by demonstrating opposition to the presence of Christians in Israel.
"That leaves a really sour taste in our mouths and we feel that this is not fair. This is hitting the Christian community and telling the local Christians that they are not welcome."
Policy of expulsion
Palestinians stand next to graffiti reading in Hebrew "Arabs Out" on the wall of a mosque in the northern Israeli town of Umm al-Faham on April 18, 2014
On Sunday, Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal condemned the wave of attacks and questioned the Israeli government's commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
"Given that the vandals are largely unprosecuted, one must question the priority of the government to get to the bottom of the problem," he said.
To Hind Khoury, deputy chair of the board of Sabeel, an ecumenical center in Jerusalem for Palestinian Liberation Theology, hate attacks are part of a wider context of policies designed to put pressure on Palestinian communities in both Israel and the occupied West Bank.
"There is an accepted policy whereby a ruling power is allowed to pursue this policy of expulsion. This impunity has caused Israelis, who are veering more and more to the right, to become fundamentalists and to believe in their exclusive right to the land," she told Ma'an.
Racist attacks against Palestinians are simply another manifestation of this way of thinking, she says, with attacks specifically targeting Palestinian Christians a result of wider Israeli government policies aimed at separating Christians from their Muslim community members.
A recent bill by the Israeli Knesset legally distinguishing Christian Palestinians from Muslims, together with a recruitment push for Christians to join the army, is part of an effort "to separate and divide the Palestinian community, which is a diverse community of Muslims and Christians," Khoury says.
"They (Israelis) feel and are convinced that they have exclusive rights to the land and we are intruders. We feel very threatened in our existence in our country."
Rifat Kassis, general coordinator of the Palestinian Christian group Kairos, agrees that impunity for attacks on Palestinians is part of systemic racism within the Israeli state, but stresses that hate crimes only serve to strengthen the identity of the Palestinian community.
"We should see these attacks in the same context of settler violence against Palestinians or farmers, like uprooting their trees or setting fire to fields, and Israel fails all the same to bring these people to justice."
The recent concentration of attacks against churches in Jerusalem are not unique, Kassis says, but most likely a way of showing Palestinian Christians that they are not protected, and a way for Jewish extremists to say: "Don't think that we care for the pope."
"Palestinians are second or third class citizens in Israel, whether Christian or Muslim, and they know that the state is unable to protect them or provide them with equal chances," he adds.
The Israeli government should label the perpetrators of hate attacks as "terrorists," but unfortunately Israel fails to hold its Jewish citizens accountable for attacks against Palestinians, Kassis says.
Last week, the Roman Catholic church demanded that Israel act following the discovery of racist slogans daubed on a Vatican-owned property in Jerusalem.
Israeli police spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld told Ma'an that a number of arrests have been made and there are currently a series of ongoing investigations.
Police units have also adapted their tactics to monitor sites of high risk, he said.
Despite these measures, only one person is likely to appear in court and be tried in connection to the recent spate of hate attacks.
"Price tag" attacks within Israel, in addition to attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, were included in the US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism, published April 30.
On Sunday, Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal condemned the wave of attacks and questioned the Israeli government's commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
"Given that the vandals are largely unprosecuted, one must question the priority of the government to get to the bottom of the problem," he said.
To Hind Khoury, deputy chair of the board of Sabeel, an ecumenical center in Jerusalem for Palestinian Liberation Theology, hate attacks are part of a wider context of policies designed to put pressure on Palestinian communities in both Israel and the occupied West Bank.
"There is an accepted policy whereby a ruling power is allowed to pursue this policy of expulsion. This impunity has caused Israelis, who are veering more and more to the right, to become fundamentalists and to believe in their exclusive right to the land," she told Ma'an.
Racist attacks against Palestinians are simply another manifestation of this way of thinking, she says, with attacks specifically targeting Palestinian Christians a result of wider Israeli government policies aimed at separating Christians from their Muslim community members.
A recent bill by the Israeli Knesset legally distinguishing Christian Palestinians from Muslims, together with a recruitment push for Christians to join the army, is part of an effort "to separate and divide the Palestinian community, which is a diverse community of Muslims and Christians," Khoury says.
"They (Israelis) feel and are convinced that they have exclusive rights to the land and we are intruders. We feel very threatened in our existence in our country."
Rifat Kassis, general coordinator of the Palestinian Christian group Kairos, agrees that impunity for attacks on Palestinians is part of systemic racism within the Israeli state, but stresses that hate crimes only serve to strengthen the identity of the Palestinian community.
"We should see these attacks in the same context of settler violence against Palestinians or farmers, like uprooting their trees or setting fire to fields, and Israel fails all the same to bring these people to justice."
The recent concentration of attacks against churches in Jerusalem are not unique, Kassis says, but most likely a way of showing Palestinian Christians that they are not protected, and a way for Jewish extremists to say: "Don't think that we care for the pope."
"Palestinians are second or third class citizens in Israel, whether Christian or Muslim, and they know that the state is unable to protect them or provide them with equal chances," he adds.
The Israeli government should label the perpetrators of hate attacks as "terrorists," but unfortunately Israel fails to hold its Jewish citizens accountable for attacks against Palestinians, Kassis says.
Last week, the Roman Catholic church demanded that Israel act following the discovery of racist slogans daubed on a Vatican-owned property in Jerusalem.
Israeli police spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld told Ma'an that a number of arrests have been made and there are currently a series of ongoing investigations.
Police units have also adapted their tactics to monitor sites of high risk, he said.
Despite these measures, only one person is likely to appear in court and be tried in connection to the recent spate of hate attacks.
"Price tag" attacks within Israel, in addition to attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, were included in the US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism, published April 30.
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered Monday near the reputed scene of Jesus' last supper in Jerusalem demanding that Israel keep sovereignty over the site where Pope Francis will celebrate mass.
The pope will visit the Holy Land from May 24-26 and before returning to Rome is set to hold a mass in the site known as the Upper Room or Cenacle, on Mount Zion near the walls of the Old City.
Jews revere the site as the tomb of King David, which is on the ground floor of the same building. The site is also important for Muslims.
"As soon as they touch the 'status quo' of this place, bad things will happen," said rabbi Avraham Goldstein, accusing the Israeli government of wanting to hand the Upper Room over to the Vatican.
Sovereignty over the Cenacle, which was renovated by Franciscans in the 14th century before the group was forced out, is a highly sensitive issue.
It is currently part of negotiations between Israel and the Vatican which hopes to recover the site.
Tradition says it is where Jesus had his last supper with the disciples, before his arrest and crucifixion.
It is also where the Gospels say the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, 50 days after Easter.
Israeli President Shimon Peres told an Italian newspaper during a visit to the Vatican last April that a compromise had been reached on the Cenacle, and that "99 percent" of the issues concerning the site had been addressed.
However, no official agreement has been announced.
"When 'the crusaders' come here making the sign of the cross and all kinds of rituals, this place will become idolatrous for us, and we will not have the right to pray there any more," ultra-Orthodox Jewish protester Yitzhak Batzon told AFP.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters are planning another demonstration there on May 22 -- just three days before the pope is due to arrive in Jerusalem.
Pope Francis' short visit to the Holy Land has already faced obstacles, including a rise in so-called "price tag" hate crimes by Jewish extremists targeting Muslims and Christians.
"The unrestrained acts of vandalism poison the atmosphere -- the atmosphere of co-existence and the atmosphere of collaboration, especially in these two weeks prior to the visit of Pope Francis," Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic figure in the Holy Land, said on Sunday.
The pope will visit the Holy Land from May 24-26 and before returning to Rome is set to hold a mass in the site known as the Upper Room or Cenacle, on Mount Zion near the walls of the Old City.
Jews revere the site as the tomb of King David, which is on the ground floor of the same building. The site is also important for Muslims.
"As soon as they touch the 'status quo' of this place, bad things will happen," said rabbi Avraham Goldstein, accusing the Israeli government of wanting to hand the Upper Room over to the Vatican.
Sovereignty over the Cenacle, which was renovated by Franciscans in the 14th century before the group was forced out, is a highly sensitive issue.
It is currently part of negotiations between Israel and the Vatican which hopes to recover the site.
Tradition says it is where Jesus had his last supper with the disciples, before his arrest and crucifixion.
It is also where the Gospels say the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, 50 days after Easter.
Israeli President Shimon Peres told an Italian newspaper during a visit to the Vatican last April that a compromise had been reached on the Cenacle, and that "99 percent" of the issues concerning the site had been addressed.
However, no official agreement has been announced.
"When 'the crusaders' come here making the sign of the cross and all kinds of rituals, this place will become idolatrous for us, and we will not have the right to pray there any more," ultra-Orthodox Jewish protester Yitzhak Batzon told AFP.
Ultra-Orthodox protesters are planning another demonstration there on May 22 -- just three days before the pope is due to arrive in Jerusalem.
Pope Francis' short visit to the Holy Land has already faced obstacles, including a rise in so-called "price tag" hate crimes by Jewish extremists targeting Muslims and Christians.
"The unrestrained acts of vandalism poison the atmosphere -- the atmosphere of co-existence and the atmosphere of collaboration, especially in these two weeks prior to the visit of Pope Francis," Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic figure in the Holy Land, said on Sunday.
Palestinian Orthodox Christians attending Palm Sunday mass at the Saint Porfirios church in Gaza City on April 13
By Yadin Elam
In an article published in Time magazine late last month, Finance Minister Yair Lapid explained why he supported Israel’s decision to suspend talks with the Palestinian Authority. One of the reasons Lapid lists is the character of the Hamas regime which rules Gaza.
Hamas “rules over Gaza in a reign of Islamic terror that has resulted in the murder of hundreds of Christians just because they are Christians, the oppression of women, and the public hanging of homosexuals from electricity poles,” wrote Lapid.
The claim that Hamas is responsible for the murder of hundreds of Christians surprised me.
I follow what is happening in the Gaza Strip and I did not remember a report on the murder of hundreds of Christians, whether because they are Christians or for any other reason. At first I thought there was a mistake in the Hebrew translation I read on Haaretz’s Hebrew website, but when I read the English original, I saw that was precisely what Lapid had written.
True, Lapid has already been accused a number of times in the past for not being precise. But these cases were mostly things he posted on Facebook, and I assumed he and his staff conducted a thorough examination of the facts before sending the article to be published in a respected international magazine like Time.
That is why I started checking the basis of the claim. I found numerous reports about the difficulties facing the Christian community in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power there, and data showing the number of Christians in the Gaza Strip has fallen from some 3,000 people in 2007 to 1,400 in 2011 as a result of emigration, whether to the West Bank or elsewhere. But I found mention of only one Palestinian Christian who was killed in the Gaza Strip: Rami Ayyad, who owned the only Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip, was accused of missionary activity, and was viciously murdered in October 2007.
Other than references to this case, I could not find any source indicating that Christians were being killed in Gaza, and certainly not that hundreds were being murdered.
Since at this stage I still assumed that Lapid’s claims had a factual basis, I posted the following message on his Facebook page on April 29, two days after his article was published: “Minister Lapid hello, you wrote in an article in Time magazine that Hamas rule in Gaza ‘resulted in the murder of hundreds of Christians just because they are Christians.’ I tried to find proof for the claim that hundreds of Christians were murdered in Gaza since Hamas took power and I did not succeed. Could you please refer me to the source you based [this claim] on?”
Even though my question was posted at 9:12 P.M., not even six minutes passed before Uri, a staff member for the Yesh Atid party headed by Lapid, answered me: “Hi Yadin, I am attaching an article on the matter, you are definitely invited to search for more articles on the issue.”
The article that Uri referred me to was that of Israeli journalist Enrique Zimmerman, which was broadcast on January 29, 2010, on Channel 2’s “Ulpan Shishi,” which at the time was hosted by none other than Yair Lapid. In fact, it was Lapid who introduced Zimmerman’s story. But what the report actually said was that the Muslims in the Gaza Strip were trying to conduct “ethnic cleansing” by encouraging the Christians to leave. The only case of murder mentioned in the story was that of Rami Ayyad. At the end of the report, Lapid told the viewers that Hamas denounced attacking Christians and claimed the attackers were religious fanatics.
I sat down and wrote to Uri: “The story from 2012 that you attached does speak of the difficult lives of Christians in Gaza, but it only mentions the murder of one man. So the question of what is the proof for the claim that ‘hundreds of Christians’ were murdered in Gaza still remains, and I would be happy to receive an answer to it.” In response, Uri quoted to me the headline of the report: “Christian schools, public and cultural institutions are burnt and blown up, and Christian public figures are being murdered.”
“The headline already says that Christian public ‘figures’ are being murdered,” Uri wrote. “Simple logic means this is more than one person, and therefore, in the story they gave the example of one person.”
To my great regret, this answer failed to make it clear how Lapid could have concluded from the story that “hundreds of Christians” were murdered in Gaza, and so I continued to question: “And you still have not brought a single bit of proof — and when hundreds of people are murdered there is a lot of proof — for the claim that hundreds of Christians have been murdered in Gaza since Hamas took power. After all, Minister Lapid based himself on sources and did not invent this claim, so why it is so hard to produce one piece of evidence?”
But neither Lapid nor anyone else on his behalf has bothered to answer this simple question. Could it be that Lapid invented the claim of hundreds of Christians murdered in the Gaza Strip?
Let us take a brief detour. On October 28, 2009, Berlanty Azzam, a Christian student who was nearing the end of her studies at Bethlehem University, was expelled from the West Bank because her official address was in the Gaza Strip. During that period I served as the head of the legal department of Gisha, a legal advocacy group for freedom of movement, which, along with Azzam, petitioned the High Court of Justice to allow her to return to the West Bank to finish her degree.
On December 12, slightly more than a month before Zimmerman’s report on “Ulpan Shishi,” the High Court denied the petition. Several briefs on both sides were filed during the hearing, but not one of them said a word about any danger Azzam might face as a Christian living in Gaza.
I call on Lapid to reveal to Time magazine’s readers, to the readers of Haaretz and to the rest of the citizens of Israel — whom he represents — the basis of his claim that “hundreds of Christians” were murdered in Gaza. I have no doubt that if Lapid discovers there was a mistake in his article, he will not hesitate to correct it.
By Yadin Elam
In an article published in Time magazine late last month, Finance Minister Yair Lapid explained why he supported Israel’s decision to suspend talks with the Palestinian Authority. One of the reasons Lapid lists is the character of the Hamas regime which rules Gaza.
Hamas “rules over Gaza in a reign of Islamic terror that has resulted in the murder of hundreds of Christians just because they are Christians, the oppression of women, and the public hanging of homosexuals from electricity poles,” wrote Lapid.
The claim that Hamas is responsible for the murder of hundreds of Christians surprised me.
I follow what is happening in the Gaza Strip and I did not remember a report on the murder of hundreds of Christians, whether because they are Christians or for any other reason. At first I thought there was a mistake in the Hebrew translation I read on Haaretz’s Hebrew website, but when I read the English original, I saw that was precisely what Lapid had written.
True, Lapid has already been accused a number of times in the past for not being precise. But these cases were mostly things he posted on Facebook, and I assumed he and his staff conducted a thorough examination of the facts before sending the article to be published in a respected international magazine like Time.
That is why I started checking the basis of the claim. I found numerous reports about the difficulties facing the Christian community in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power there, and data showing the number of Christians in the Gaza Strip has fallen from some 3,000 people in 2007 to 1,400 in 2011 as a result of emigration, whether to the West Bank or elsewhere. But I found mention of only one Palestinian Christian who was killed in the Gaza Strip: Rami Ayyad, who owned the only Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip, was accused of missionary activity, and was viciously murdered in October 2007.
Other than references to this case, I could not find any source indicating that Christians were being killed in Gaza, and certainly not that hundreds were being murdered.
Since at this stage I still assumed that Lapid’s claims had a factual basis, I posted the following message on his Facebook page on April 29, two days after his article was published: “Minister Lapid hello, you wrote in an article in Time magazine that Hamas rule in Gaza ‘resulted in the murder of hundreds of Christians just because they are Christians.’ I tried to find proof for the claim that hundreds of Christians were murdered in Gaza since Hamas took power and I did not succeed. Could you please refer me to the source you based [this claim] on?”
Even though my question was posted at 9:12 P.M., not even six minutes passed before Uri, a staff member for the Yesh Atid party headed by Lapid, answered me: “Hi Yadin, I am attaching an article on the matter, you are definitely invited to search for more articles on the issue.”
The article that Uri referred me to was that of Israeli journalist Enrique Zimmerman, which was broadcast on January 29, 2010, on Channel 2’s “Ulpan Shishi,” which at the time was hosted by none other than Yair Lapid. In fact, it was Lapid who introduced Zimmerman’s story. But what the report actually said was that the Muslims in the Gaza Strip were trying to conduct “ethnic cleansing” by encouraging the Christians to leave. The only case of murder mentioned in the story was that of Rami Ayyad. At the end of the report, Lapid told the viewers that Hamas denounced attacking Christians and claimed the attackers were religious fanatics.
I sat down and wrote to Uri: “The story from 2012 that you attached does speak of the difficult lives of Christians in Gaza, but it only mentions the murder of one man. So the question of what is the proof for the claim that ‘hundreds of Christians’ were murdered in Gaza still remains, and I would be happy to receive an answer to it.” In response, Uri quoted to me the headline of the report: “Christian schools, public and cultural institutions are burnt and blown up, and Christian public figures are being murdered.”
“The headline already says that Christian public ‘figures’ are being murdered,” Uri wrote. “Simple logic means this is more than one person, and therefore, in the story they gave the example of one person.”
To my great regret, this answer failed to make it clear how Lapid could have concluded from the story that “hundreds of Christians” were murdered in Gaza, and so I continued to question: “And you still have not brought a single bit of proof — and when hundreds of people are murdered there is a lot of proof — for the claim that hundreds of Christians have been murdered in Gaza since Hamas took power. After all, Minister Lapid based himself on sources and did not invent this claim, so why it is so hard to produce one piece of evidence?”
But neither Lapid nor anyone else on his behalf has bothered to answer this simple question. Could it be that Lapid invented the claim of hundreds of Christians murdered in the Gaza Strip?
Let us take a brief detour. On October 28, 2009, Berlanty Azzam, a Christian student who was nearing the end of her studies at Bethlehem University, was expelled from the West Bank because her official address was in the Gaza Strip. During that period I served as the head of the legal department of Gisha, a legal advocacy group for freedom of movement, which, along with Azzam, petitioned the High Court of Justice to allow her to return to the West Bank to finish her degree.
On December 12, slightly more than a month before Zimmerman’s report on “Ulpan Shishi,” the High Court denied the petition. Several briefs on both sides were filed during the hearing, but not one of them said a word about any danger Azzam might face as a Christian living in Gaza.
I call on Lapid to reveal to Time magazine’s readers, to the readers of Haaretz and to the rest of the citizens of Israel — whom he represents — the basis of his claim that “hundreds of Christians” were murdered in Gaza. I have no doubt that if Lapid discovers there was a mistake in his article, he will not hesitate to correct it.
12 may 2014
Elwi Mosque
Al-Dajani Daoudi family said that it is still considered the custodian of the Elwi Mosque (known by Christians as coenaculum) and the Nabi Dawoud Mosque in south Jerusalem, affirming that these holy sites are Islamic Awqaf (endowments).
Representative of the family Hisham Jamaluddin Dajani said in a press release that the family strongly rejects Israel's intent to give away the Elwi Mosque to the Vatican and asserted that it would take every legal action to restore this Islamic site.
Dajani added that Israel has no right to give up the Islamic holy sites to Christians, noting that Al-Dajani family had been administering and taking care of this Islamic holy site from 1534 until 1948.
The representative of Al-Dajani family appealed to the Christian clergy not to accept the Israeli offer to give the Elwi Mosque to the Church, stressing that the whole Nabi Dawoud Mosque and its premises are Islamic endowments.
Al-Dajani Daoudi family said that it is still considered the custodian of the Elwi Mosque (known by Christians as coenaculum) and the Nabi Dawoud Mosque in south Jerusalem, affirming that these holy sites are Islamic Awqaf (endowments).
Representative of the family Hisham Jamaluddin Dajani said in a press release that the family strongly rejects Israel's intent to give away the Elwi Mosque to the Vatican and asserted that it would take every legal action to restore this Islamic site.
Dajani added that Israel has no right to give up the Islamic holy sites to Christians, noting that Al-Dajani family had been administering and taking care of this Islamic holy site from 1534 until 1948.
The representative of Al-Dajani family appealed to the Christian clergy not to accept the Israeli offer to give the Elwi Mosque to the Church, stressing that the whole Nabi Dawoud Mosque and its premises are Islamic endowments.
A delegation of Christian clergy joined the sit-in tent in Ramallah staged in solidarity with the Palestinian administrative hunger-strikers, who have been without food in Israeli prisons for 17 consecutive days. According to a PIC correspondent the Christian delegation was received by the Islamic Movement leaders in the West Bank, Prisoners’ minister in the Ramallah government, and the head of Palestinian Prisoner Society.
Father Elias Awad said in a speech delivered before the sit-inners “The visit marks our solidarity with the legendary Palestinian prisoners, who have been standing their grounds against Israeli Occupation”.
The Christian priest hailed the hunger-strikers, who sacrificed their own lives and souls for the freedom and independence of an entire nation. “This is why they are worthy of our, and everybody’s, respect,” says Awad.
“The least we can do is to pray for them and ask Allah to grant them health, power, and the will they need to carry on the fight.”
According to Father Awad, Palestinian Muslims and Christians have always fought hand in hand, as one single body, sharing both the moments of joy and sorrow.
Qaddoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, said the prisoners' hunger-strike will be maintained until all of their demands are met.
Fares further drew attention to the ongoing agony endured by the hunger-strikers first by starving and second due to the tyrannical Israeli measures issued since the first day of the strike by confiscating the prisoners’ properties and locking them up in solitary confinement.
Fares called on the Palestinian people and the national factions to hit the streets in solidarity campaigns with the prisoners, and asked the political leadership to call on international organizations to pressure the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) and bring such arbitrary administrative detention orders to a halt.
Palestinian Legislative Council deputy Ibrahim Abu Salem said in a statement to the PIC, that the ongoing hunger-strike is meant to stop Israeli administrative detention, targeting Palestinians with neither charge nor trial.
Abu Salem urged all Palestinians to promote the hunger-strike by all means and stage sit-ins and mass demonstrations to voice their unyielding disapproval of Israeli administrative detention policies.
Father Elias Awad said in a speech delivered before the sit-inners “The visit marks our solidarity with the legendary Palestinian prisoners, who have been standing their grounds against Israeli Occupation”.
The Christian priest hailed the hunger-strikers, who sacrificed their own lives and souls for the freedom and independence of an entire nation. “This is why they are worthy of our, and everybody’s, respect,” says Awad.
“The least we can do is to pray for them and ask Allah to grant them health, power, and the will they need to carry on the fight.”
According to Father Awad, Palestinian Muslims and Christians have always fought hand in hand, as one single body, sharing both the moments of joy and sorrow.
Qaddoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, said the prisoners' hunger-strike will be maintained until all of their demands are met.
Fares further drew attention to the ongoing agony endured by the hunger-strikers first by starving and second due to the tyrannical Israeli measures issued since the first day of the strike by confiscating the prisoners’ properties and locking them up in solitary confinement.
Fares called on the Palestinian people and the national factions to hit the streets in solidarity campaigns with the prisoners, and asked the political leadership to call on international organizations to pressure the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) and bring such arbitrary administrative detention orders to a halt.
Palestinian Legislative Council deputy Ibrahim Abu Salem said in a statement to the PIC, that the ongoing hunger-strike is meant to stop Israeli administrative detention, targeting Palestinians with neither charge nor trial.
Abu Salem urged all Palestinians to promote the hunger-strike by all means and stage sit-ins and mass demonstrations to voice their unyielding disapproval of Israeli administrative detention policies.
11 may 2014
An Israeli soldier walks past a bus on which suspected Jewish vandals painted graffiti reading in Hebrew "Gentiles in the land are enemies" on March 24, 2014
The head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land said, today, that Israeli hate crimes against local Muslims and Christians are souring relations ahead of a papal visit, AFP reports via Ma'an News Agency.
"The unrestrained acts of vandalism poison the atmosphere -- the atmosphere of co-existence and the atmosphere of collaboration, especially in these two weeks prior to the visit of Pope Francis," said Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, at a news conference in Haifa.
"It is also a blight on the democracy that Israel ascribes to itself," he added.
This past Friday, Israeli nationalists desecrated a Jerusalem church with anti-Christian graffiti, and this just days after the church demanded Israel act on the discovery of further racist slogans found, this time, on Vatican-owned property, elsewhere in the city.
"The bishops are very concerned about the lack of security and lack of responsiveness from the political sector, and fear an escalation of violence," the patriarch said in a statement, on Wednesday.
After the most recent attack, Israeli police allegedly moved to "boost security" around holy sites.
The pope's visit is scheduled to begin in Jordan on May 24, Ma'an reports. He is, then, due to spend two days in the Holy Land, starting May 25.
The head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land said, today, that Israeli hate crimes against local Muslims and Christians are souring relations ahead of a papal visit, AFP reports via Ma'an News Agency.
"The unrestrained acts of vandalism poison the atmosphere -- the atmosphere of co-existence and the atmosphere of collaboration, especially in these two weeks prior to the visit of Pope Francis," said Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, at a news conference in Haifa.
"It is also a blight on the democracy that Israel ascribes to itself," he added.
This past Friday, Israeli nationalists desecrated a Jerusalem church with anti-Christian graffiti, and this just days after the church demanded Israel act on the discovery of further racist slogans found, this time, on Vatican-owned property, elsewhere in the city.
"The bishops are very concerned about the lack of security and lack of responsiveness from the political sector, and fear an escalation of violence," the patriarch said in a statement, on Wednesday.
After the most recent attack, Israeli police allegedly moved to "boost security" around holy sites.
The pope's visit is scheduled to begin in Jordan on May 24, Ma'an reports. He is, then, due to spend two days in the Holy Land, starting May 25.
10 may 2014
By Alex Shams
A prominent Palestinian Christian activist group has urged the Lebanese patriarch to reconsider an upcoming trip to Jerusalem, as controversy mounts over what could potentially be the first visit of a Maronite religious leader to the holy city since Israel's creation in 1948.
Palestinian group Kairos released a statement on Friday warning Patriarch Beshara al-Rai that his plans to accompany the Pope on a Holy Land visit May 24-26 could be misused by Israeli authorities to "whitewash" the occupation.
"We as Christian Palestinians are eager to see and meet with our religious guides and leaders," the statement said, but it stressed that the group would prefer to meet with him in "prayer of the spirits, and not in the presence of the Israeli occupation."
The group also expressed its desire to "prevent the formation of any moral, ethical, or religious cover" for the occupation, highlighting their fears that Israeli authorities would misuse the patriarch's visit to distract attention from crimes perpetuated against Palestinians.
"This step may delight the occupation state, not because it believes in the right of religions to express themselves and to practice their rituals, but because it serves its policies and whitewashes its face," the statement continued.
The Kairos statement comes only two days after Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas telephoned the patriarch to say that he "appreciated, respected, and welcomed" the news of his visit.
"This visit contributes to preserving the Arab identity and the resistance of Jerusalem and Palestine," he told the patriarch on Wednesday according a statement.
"Your visit is not a normalization (with Israel) as those with personal agendas are claiming. They seem to be surrendering to reality by rejecting your visit to Palestine and Jerusalem, explaining that these territories are under occupation," he said at the time.
'We want to pray with them'
General Coordinator of the Palestinian Kairos group Rifat Kassis told Ma'an that the group was not condemning the patriarch nor telling him not to come, but trying to ensure sure that he understood the ramifications of his visit and the position of Palestinian Christians.
"You are coming to a visit a besieged city where the owners are not allowed in," he said.
Although Palestinian Christians appreciated the visits of religious leaders from abroad, "we want to pray with them," he added, noting that Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement meant that tens of thousands of West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinian Christians are restricted from reaching Jerusalem.
"Israel will say: 'despite the fact that we are in enmity with the Lebanese we allow the patriarch to visit the shrines,' when the irony is that most Palestinians cannot," he added.
Kassis also said that Christians will "lose more than they benefit" from the trip, as the patriarch's position as an Arab Christian leader meant that Israel would use the visit to "market itself as a savior of Christians" even while it occupies their lands and prevents their freedom of worship.
"This is not a church internal affair. It is highly controversial," he said, stressing that the trip sets a dangerous "precedent."
'I'm going to Jerusalem to say this is our city'
A prominent Palestinian Christian activist group has urged the Lebanese patriarch to reconsider an upcoming trip to Jerusalem, as controversy mounts over what could potentially be the first visit of a Maronite religious leader to the holy city since Israel's creation in 1948.
Palestinian group Kairos released a statement on Friday warning Patriarch Beshara al-Rai that his plans to accompany the Pope on a Holy Land visit May 24-26 could be misused by Israeli authorities to "whitewash" the occupation.
"We as Christian Palestinians are eager to see and meet with our religious guides and leaders," the statement said, but it stressed that the group would prefer to meet with him in "prayer of the spirits, and not in the presence of the Israeli occupation."
The group also expressed its desire to "prevent the formation of any moral, ethical, or religious cover" for the occupation, highlighting their fears that Israeli authorities would misuse the patriarch's visit to distract attention from crimes perpetuated against Palestinians.
"This step may delight the occupation state, not because it believes in the right of religions to express themselves and to practice their rituals, but because it serves its policies and whitewashes its face," the statement continued.
The Kairos statement comes only two days after Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas telephoned the patriarch to say that he "appreciated, respected, and welcomed" the news of his visit.
"This visit contributes to preserving the Arab identity and the resistance of Jerusalem and Palestine," he told the patriarch on Wednesday according a statement.
"Your visit is not a normalization (with Israel) as those with personal agendas are claiming. They seem to be surrendering to reality by rejecting your visit to Palestine and Jerusalem, explaining that these territories are under occupation," he said at the time.
'We want to pray with them'
General Coordinator of the Palestinian Kairos group Rifat Kassis told Ma'an that the group was not condemning the patriarch nor telling him not to come, but trying to ensure sure that he understood the ramifications of his visit and the position of Palestinian Christians.
"You are coming to a visit a besieged city where the owners are not allowed in," he said.
Although Palestinian Christians appreciated the visits of religious leaders from abroad, "we want to pray with them," he added, noting that Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement meant that tens of thousands of West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinian Christians are restricted from reaching Jerusalem.
"Israel will say: 'despite the fact that we are in enmity with the Lebanese we allow the patriarch to visit the shrines,' when the irony is that most Palestinians cannot," he added.
Kassis also said that Christians will "lose more than they benefit" from the trip, as the patriarch's position as an Arab Christian leader meant that Israel would use the visit to "market itself as a savior of Christians" even while it occupies their lands and prevents their freedom of worship.
"This is not a church internal affair. It is highly controversial," he said, stressing that the trip sets a dangerous "precedent."
'I'm going to Jerusalem to say this is our city'
Beshara al-Rai is the patriarch of the 3.5 million strong Maronite church, which is based in Lebanon and has long maintained a stance of anti-normalization with Israel, similar to other major Arab Christian denominations. The Egyptian Coptic popes, for example, have for decades forbade church members from going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem while it remains under Israeli occupation, even after the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace accord.
Al-Rai has stressed that he will not meet with any Israeli officials and that the trip is purely religious, adding in comments to Reuters earlier this week: "I'm going to Jerusalem to say this is our city, and Jerusalem is Arab."
The patriarch, however, has been blasted by the media in Lebanon, which is still technically at war with Israel and suffered extensive damage during a month-long 2006 Israeli assault. Many in Lebanon consider any visit to lands occupied by Israel a form of "normalization," or acceptance of Israeli control over Palestinian lands.
The Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon, an activist group linked to the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Israel movement, also called on the Patriarch not to visit, stressing in a statement that it would constitute an "implicit recognition of the authority of the criminal entity over the Holy Land."
"Be loyal to the struggle of the Palestinian people who are crucified, like Christ, every day but who rise again every day and resist their enemy and boycott it," the statement continued.
The controversy comes amid a wave of hate crimes against Christian churches and property in Israel in advance of the Pope's visit, as suspected Jewish extremists have targeted Christian religious sites and property across Jerusalem including an attack on the Roman Catholic Notre Dame complex that involved graffiti reading "Death to Arabs and Christians and to everyone who hates Israel."
After the attack, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed its concerns "about the lack of security and lack of responsiveness from the political sector," as well as their fears of "an escalation of violence" in anticipation of the Pope's visit later in the month.
About 200,000 Palestinian Christians live in the Holy Land, split between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and inside Israel proper.
Al-Rai has stressed that he will not meet with any Israeli officials and that the trip is purely religious, adding in comments to Reuters earlier this week: "I'm going to Jerusalem to say this is our city, and Jerusalem is Arab."
The patriarch, however, has been blasted by the media in Lebanon, which is still technically at war with Israel and suffered extensive damage during a month-long 2006 Israeli assault. Many in Lebanon consider any visit to lands occupied by Israel a form of "normalization," or acceptance of Israeli control over Palestinian lands.
The Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon, an activist group linked to the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions of Israel movement, also called on the Patriarch not to visit, stressing in a statement that it would constitute an "implicit recognition of the authority of the criminal entity over the Holy Land."
"Be loyal to the struggle of the Palestinian people who are crucified, like Christ, every day but who rise again every day and resist their enemy and boycott it," the statement continued.
The controversy comes amid a wave of hate crimes against Christian churches and property in Israel in advance of the Pope's visit, as suspected Jewish extremists have targeted Christian religious sites and property across Jerusalem including an attack on the Roman Catholic Notre Dame complex that involved graffiti reading "Death to Arabs and Christians and to everyone who hates Israel."
After the attack, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed its concerns "about the lack of security and lack of responsiveness from the political sector," as well as their fears of "an escalation of violence" in anticipation of the Pope's visit later in the month.
About 200,000 Palestinian Christians live in the Holy Land, split between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and inside Israel proper.
Pope Francis makes his first trip to the Middle East this month accompanied by Jewish and Muslim intellectuals to push for inter-religious dialogue amid stalled peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians.
The head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, who has garnered a reputation as a reformer as well as defender of the downtrodden since his election last year, has referred to his journey as a "pilgrimage of prayer."
Francis's trip from Amman to Bethlehem and Jerusalem from May 24 to 26 will aim to reach beyond the walls of Catholicism and mark the 50th anniversary of a historic rapprochement between the Catholic and Orthodox worlds.
In an unprecedented move, Francis will be accompanied throughout by Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud -- old friends of the Argentine pope from when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires.
"Every gesture and word will be scrupulously analyzed," Andrea Tornielli, a biographer of the pontiff, wrote on the Italian website Vatican Insider.
"This is precisely why the pilgrimage of a pope who named himself after the saint of peace and has chosen two representatives of the Jewish and Muslim faiths as travel companions, can help renew dialogue," he said.
Security for the crowd-loving pope will be high after a series of hate crimes against the Catholic Church and Muslims in Israel, and the Vatican hopes the visit will draw attention to the plight of the region's Christians.
On his first day, Francis will pray on the banks of the River Jordan for the victims of the Syrian conflict and meet some the families among the 600,000 refugees who have sought shelter in Jordan since the war broke out.
He will also meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
In Israel, the pope is expected to launch a fresh call for reconciliation with the Palestinians after the collapse this month of the latest efforts to broker peace and the apparent entrenchment of both sides.
He will squeeze diplomatic meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas into his tight schedule, which will see him give 15 speeches during 20 stops around the area.
Christian 'exodus'
The world's first Latin American pope will travel to Bethlehem, the site revered as Jesus' birthplace in Palestine, before meeting children from the Aida, Azza, and Dheisheh refugee camps.
He will visit Jerusalem, claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital, and any reference he makes to the West Bank wall of separation, Palestinian prisoners, or Israeli settlements will be closely watched.
Francis will also stop to pray at the sacred Jewish Wailing Wall, before visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial site on the western slope of Mount Herzl.
He will meet the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem -- the Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy sites -- at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is considered Islam's third holiest site but is also revered by Christians and Jews.
In an important step for relations between branches of Christianity, the 77-year-old pope will also meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I -- a leading figure in the Orthodox world.
This comes half a century after an encounter between Patriarch Athenagoras and Paul VI -- the first rapprochement between Catholicism and Orthodoxy since the Great Schism in the 11th century.
Sandro Magister, a Vatican expert from Italy's L'Espresso weekly, said the climate in the Middle East had completely changed since that meeting in 1964.
"And Christians are the most under pressure. Their exodus from the Middle East is unceasing," he said.
The leaders of Western and Eastern Christianity are to sign a declaration to overcome their differences in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, venerated as the site where Jesus was buried and resurrected.
But hopes that the meeting could also pave the way to better relations with the Russian Orthodox Church have dimmed due to fallout from the Ukraine crisis, with the Vatican accused by Russia of favoring Kiev over Moscow.
A controversial aspect of the visit has been a plan for the patriarch of the Lebanon-based Maronite church, Beshara Rai, to travel to Israel to meet the pope.
Rai would be the first patriarch to enter Israel since it was created in 1948 and there has been fierce condemnation from the Islamist group Hezbollah.
Christians are also unhappy he is not visiting Nazareth, where Jesus is believed to have grown up.
And Israelis have complained that Francis's biggest mass will be in Bethlehem.
An official at the Vatican, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said of the visit: "The Vatican has decided to make everyone unhappy so no side tries to score points."
The head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, who has garnered a reputation as a reformer as well as defender of the downtrodden since his election last year, has referred to his journey as a "pilgrimage of prayer."
Francis's trip from Amman to Bethlehem and Jerusalem from May 24 to 26 will aim to reach beyond the walls of Catholicism and mark the 50th anniversary of a historic rapprochement between the Catholic and Orthodox worlds.
In an unprecedented move, Francis will be accompanied throughout by Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud -- old friends of the Argentine pope from when he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires.
"Every gesture and word will be scrupulously analyzed," Andrea Tornielli, a biographer of the pontiff, wrote on the Italian website Vatican Insider.
"This is precisely why the pilgrimage of a pope who named himself after the saint of peace and has chosen two representatives of the Jewish and Muslim faiths as travel companions, can help renew dialogue," he said.
Security for the crowd-loving pope will be high after a series of hate crimes against the Catholic Church and Muslims in Israel, and the Vatican hopes the visit will draw attention to the plight of the region's Christians.
On his first day, Francis will pray on the banks of the River Jordan for the victims of the Syrian conflict and meet some the families among the 600,000 refugees who have sought shelter in Jordan since the war broke out.
He will also meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
In Israel, the pope is expected to launch a fresh call for reconciliation with the Palestinians after the collapse this month of the latest efforts to broker peace and the apparent entrenchment of both sides.
He will squeeze diplomatic meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas into his tight schedule, which will see him give 15 speeches during 20 stops around the area.
Christian 'exodus'
The world's first Latin American pope will travel to Bethlehem, the site revered as Jesus' birthplace in Palestine, before meeting children from the Aida, Azza, and Dheisheh refugee camps.
He will visit Jerusalem, claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital, and any reference he makes to the West Bank wall of separation, Palestinian prisoners, or Israeli settlements will be closely watched.
Francis will also stop to pray at the sacred Jewish Wailing Wall, before visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial site on the western slope of Mount Herzl.
He will meet the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem -- the Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy sites -- at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is considered Islam's third holiest site but is also revered by Christians and Jews.
In an important step for relations between branches of Christianity, the 77-year-old pope will also meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I -- a leading figure in the Orthodox world.
This comes half a century after an encounter between Patriarch Athenagoras and Paul VI -- the first rapprochement between Catholicism and Orthodoxy since the Great Schism in the 11th century.
Sandro Magister, a Vatican expert from Italy's L'Espresso weekly, said the climate in the Middle East had completely changed since that meeting in 1964.
"And Christians are the most under pressure. Their exodus from the Middle East is unceasing," he said.
The leaders of Western and Eastern Christianity are to sign a declaration to overcome their differences in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, venerated as the site where Jesus was buried and resurrected.
But hopes that the meeting could also pave the way to better relations with the Russian Orthodox Church have dimmed due to fallout from the Ukraine crisis, with the Vatican accused by Russia of favoring Kiev over Moscow.
A controversial aspect of the visit has been a plan for the patriarch of the Lebanon-based Maronite church, Beshara Rai, to travel to Israel to meet the pope.
Rai would be the first patriarch to enter Israel since it was created in 1948 and there has been fierce condemnation from the Islamist group Hezbollah.
Christians are also unhappy he is not visiting Nazareth, where Jesus is believed to have grown up.
And Israelis have complained that Francis's biggest mass will be in Bethlehem.
An official at the Vatican, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said of the visit: "The Vatican has decided to make everyone unhappy so no side tries to score points."