bulletin cic 2010_2

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March - April 2010 No. 469 Nomination - Auxiliary named for Jerusalem ......................................................................... 2 Easter Celebrations - Thousands of Pilgrims converge on Jerusalem to mark Good Friday .............. 2 of all denominations - Letter on Collection for the Holy Land ............................................................ 3 - Holy Week in Jerusalem, Difficulties for Palestinian Christians ..................... 5 - Easter Message of Jerusalem Religious Leaders .............................................. 6 - Jerusalem Police step up Safety Measures ahead of Easter.............................. 7 Holy See/Israel - Change of Program in the Holy See-Israel Meetings ....................................... 8 Relations - Archives Director: Pius XII Files ready in 5 Years .......................................... 8 - Jewish Retiree creates Stir defending Pope Pius .............................................. 9 - Catholics and Jews Renew Dialogue on Pius XII .......................................... 11 Miscellaneous - Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians ................. 13 - Holy Land Christians praying for Iraqi Brethren ........................................... 15 - Palestinian Authority shuts down the only Christian TV Broadcaster in the Territories .................................................................................................. 16 - PA backtracks over Christian Channel ........................................................... 16 - Dutch Jews split over Wiesenthal Condemnation of Church in Holland ....... 17 - Pontiff requests Prayers for Peace in Jerusalem ............................................. 19 - Synod for the Middle East: Proclaim the Gospel in Muslim Countries ......... 20 Jordan - Abdullah: Protect Jerusalem Holy Sites ......................................................... 21 Archaeology/ - Street Stroll: Fit for a Sultan ........................................................................... 22 Excavations - Jaffa Gate rededicated, sports new Look ........................................................ 25 Population - Israel's Population hits 7.5 Million ................................................................. 27 Pilgrimage/Tourism - Palestinians Report boost in Tourism to West Bank for Easter .................... 28 - Will Israeli Tour Guides be allowed to lead Tours to Palestinian Authority? ....................................................................................................... 30 V.I.S. - SELECTIONS OF ITEMS FROM VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE ....................................................................................................... 31 - Catholics and Muslims against Manipulation of Religion ............................. 31 Editor: Athanasius MACORA, ofm

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Bulletin Associated Christian Press. March - April 2010 (569)

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Page 1: Bulletin CIC 2010_2

March - April 2010 No. 469 Nomination - Auxiliary named for Jerusalem ......................................................................... 2 Easter Celebrations - Thousands of Pilgrims converge on Jerusalem to mark Good Friday .............. 2 of all denominations - Letter on Collection for the Holy Land ............................................................ 3 - Holy Week in Jerusalem, Difficulties for Palestinian Christians ..................... 5 - Easter Message of Jerusalem Religious Leaders .............................................. 6 - Jerusalem Police step up Safety Measures ahead of Easter .............................. 7 Holy See/Israel - Change of Program in the Holy See-Israel Meetings ....................................... 8 Relations - Archives Director: Pius XII Files ready in 5 Years .......................................... 8 - Jewish Retiree creates Stir defending Pope Pius .............................................. 9 - Catholics and Jews Renew Dialogue on Pius XII .......................................... 11 Miscellaneous - Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians ................. 13 - Holy Land Christians praying for Iraqi Brethren ........................................... 15 - Palestinian Authority shuts down the only Christian TV Broadcaster in

the Territories .................................................................................................. 16 - PA backtracks over Christian Channel ........................................................... 16 - Dutch Jews split over Wiesenthal Condemnation of Church in Holland ....... 17 - Pontiff requests Prayers for Peace in Jerusalem ............................................. 19 - Synod for the Middle East: Proclaim the Gospel in Muslim Countries ......... 20 Jordan - Abdullah: Protect Jerusalem Holy Sites ......................................................... 21 Archaeology/ - Street Stroll: Fit for a Sultan ........................................................................... 22 Excavations - Jaffa Gate rededicated, sports new Look ........................................................ 25 Population - Israel's Population hits 7.5 Million ................................................................. 27 Pilgrimage/Tourism - Palestinians Report boost in Tourism to West Bank for Easter .................... 28 - Will Israeli Tour Guides be allowed to lead Tours to Palestinian

Authority? ....................................................................................................... 30 V.I.S. - SELECTIONS OF ITEMS FROM VATICAN INFORMATION

SERVICE ....................................................................................................... 31 - Catholics and Muslims against Manipulation of Religion ............................. 31

Editor: Athanasius MACORA, ofm

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Auxiliary named for Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - Benedict XVI has named Monsignor William Shomali, 59, as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Vatican Radio announced the appointment today. Bishop-elect Shomali will be assisting Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch.

William Shomali was born in Beit Sahour, Palestine, in 1950 and ordained a priest in Jerusalem in 1972. He served for eight years in parishes in Jordan, then for 19 years as a professor and later rector of the Jerusalem seminary. He then served seven years as general administrator of the patriarchate. Last year, he was named chancellor.

He earned his doctorate in liturgical studies from the Pontifical University of St. Anselm in Rome and continues to teach the same subject at the seminary. He also has a degree in English Literature from the University of Yarmouk in Jordan.

The Bishop-elect said he is "moved by the confidence shown to me by the Holy Father, my patriarch and the priests of my diocese."

He affirmed his promise "to be a faithful servant of Christ and of my people, to work with all my strength to sustain the faith and hope of believers, to strengthen ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and to work for peace and reconciliation in this Holy Land, torn by divisions." The date and place of the Episcopal consecration has yet to be determined.

Zenit – 31 March 2010

Thousands of Pilgrims converge on Jerusalem to mark Good Friday

The cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City became moving forests of wooden crosses as Christian pilgrims and clergymen commemorated the day of Jesus' crucifixion, Good Friday.

Black-robed nuns filed past metal barriers erected by police as dozens of tourists in matching red baseball hats held up digital cameras. Some pilgrims carried elaborately carved crucifixes, while others had crude crosses made of two planks held together with tape.

Good Friday rituals center on the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried before his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

While Catholics and Orthodox Christians follow different calendars, this year their Easters coincide and the churches are commemorating Good Friday together.

Watching as hundreds pressed through the narrow Jerusalem Street called the Via Dolorosa - the Way of Suffering, tracing Jesus' final steps - was Katy Fitzpatrick, 24, Spokane, Washington. She said the event was both exciting and a little overwhelming.

It's a little intimidating, and the riot gear is a little intimidating too, she said of the heavy presence of green-clad Israeli police deployed to keep the peace.

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Around midday, an American church group performed a re-enactment of Jesus' walk to his crucifixion - including an actor who played Jesus, wearing a crown of thorns and carrying a heavy cross, who was led by other actors dressed as Roman legionnaires.

Amalia Daskalaki, 71, from the Greek island of Crete, said this was her third visit to Jerusalem for Good Friday and that she was moved each time. It's so nice. I like to cry all the time, she said.

Amid the crush of Christians from all over the world, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man in black tried to make his way along the crowded street by pressing against one of the walls. Jews are currently celebrating the weeklong spring holiday of Passover, and thousands of Jewish pilgrims and tourists were also in the Old City.

In addition, Muslims were holding weekly Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque, located in a compound they call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews call the Temple Mount. The disputed compound has been the scene of recent clashes between Muslims and Israeli police.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said around 2,500 policemen had spread out in and around the Old City to enable all three faiths to observe their rituals. No disturbances were reported Friday.

By The Associated Press Haaretz – 7 April 2010

Letter on Collection for the Holy Land "Reinforce the Solidarity that has been shown so far"

VATICAN CITY - Here is the letter the prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, sent to the bishops regarding the collection for the Church in the Holy Land, which traditionally takes place on Good Friday. The Vatican press office published the letter today.

* * *

Your Excellency, The preparation for Easter once again launches the appeal to the Pastors of the

universal Church to support the Holy Land by offering prayers, attentive participation and practical generosity.

Sensitivity to the needs of the Church in Jerusalem and in the Middle East finds its motivation in the "we" of the Church. This sensitivity becomes help, like the relief sent to the brethren who lived in Judea (Acts 11:29-30); remembrance, like St Paul's invitation in his Letter to the Galatians (2:10), and a collection that responds to precise practical instructions (1 Corinthians 16:1-6) and is described as the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints (2 Corinthians 8-9 and Romans 15).

Our appeal this year is inspired by the pilgrimage "in the historical footsteps of Jesus" which the Holy Father Benedict XVI made last May.

I had the honor of accompanying him and of sharing the pastoral, ecumenical and interreligious concern that enlivened his words and actions.

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Together with the ecclesial community of Israel and Palestine I listened to "a voice" of brotherhood and peace.

Strongly emphasizing the ceaseless problem of emigration, His Holiness recalled that "in the Holy Land there is room for everyone"! And he urged the authorities to support the Christian presence but at the same time assured the Christians of this land of the Church’s solidarity.

At Holy Mass in Bethlehem, he then encouraged the baptized to be "a bridge of dialogue and constructive cooperation in the building of a culture of peace to replace the present stalemate of fear, aggression and frustration" so that the local Churches might be "workshops of dialogue, tolerance and hope, as well as of solidarity and practical charity".

The Year for Priests involves the beloved priests and seminarians of the whole Church, together with their respective Bishops, in a commitment to the Holy Places. Let us, therefore, return in our hearts to the Upper Room in Jerusalem where the Teacher and Lord "loved us to the end"; to that place where the Apostles with the Holy Mother of the Risen Crucified One experienced the first Pentecost. We firmly believe in the "flame" of the Holy Spirit "which is never extinguished" and which the Living One spreads in abundance. And let us work tirelessly to guarantee a future to Christians in the place where "the kindness and humanity" of Our God and Father first appeared.

The Pope has entrusted to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches the task of keeping alive interest in that blessed Land. In his name I urge everyone to reinforce the solidarity that has been shown so far. In fact, the Christians of the East have a responsibility that belongs to the universal Church, in other words the responsibility to preserve the "Christian origins", the places and people who are the sign of them, so that those origins may always be the reference of the Christian mission, the measure of the ecclesial future and its security. They therefore deserve the support of the entire Church.

I enclose an informative document that illustrates all that the Custody of the Holy Land has been able to achieve with the 2009 Collection. And I recall that it is always thanks to the annual Collection that various interventions can be carried out by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and by the Eastern Catholic Churches in Israel and in Palestine.

I pray the Lord that he may lavishly reward those who love the Land that gave birth to him: it must remain, thanks to the "lively and youthful Church" which works there, a witness down the centuries to the great works of salvation.

In communion with the pastors and Christians of the Holy Land, I wish you an Easter filled with divine blessings.

Yours most devotedly in the Lord,

Leonardo Card. Sandri Prefect + Cyril Vasil’, S.J. Archbishop Secretary

Zenit – 8 March 2010

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Holy Week in Jerusalem, Difficulties for Palestinian Christians

The government has closed borders with the West Bank. Young people banned from Temple Mount. Christians can only enter the city with permission. Travel from Gaza almost impossible. Bishop Twal: Jesus came into Jerusalem without escort, without soldiers and without walls of separation. The concern of the Pope.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – Palestinian Christians are facing a series of problems this Holy Week. They are being forced to go through a series of procedures to get to Jerusalem from Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli government decided yesterday to close the border with the West Bank for 9 days and is only allowing access for humanitarian reasons or to Christians who have permission to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem. It is almost impossible for Christians in Gaza were to obtain permission. Because of the presence of many Jewish pilgrims and for fear of possible attacks, the entrance to the Temple Mount is still forbidden to men younger under 50.

This year, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants will celebrate Easter on the same dates. According to figures provided by the airport authorities, this year there is an increase of 19% of travellers to and from Israel.

The Council of Arab Orthodox has invited all Christians to come to Jerusalem despite the prohibitions and restrictions of the occupying power. It has asked all the heads of Churches in Jerusalem to "uphold the rights and aspirations of their communities and to oppose Israel's discriminatory policy towards freedom of worship."

Yesterday, meanwhile, the Catholic community of Jerusalem celebrated the start of Holy Week with Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to the Old City. The parade, consisting of at least 2000 people, including local and international pilgrims, was led by Latin Patriarch, Mgr. Fouda Twal and the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Giovanni Battista Pizzaballa.

Before the blessing, the patriarch said that Jesus entered the Holy City in the same way as the assembly "without armed escort, without soldiers and without walls of separation," referring to the tense situation in this city and the wall that rises on the border between the State of Israel and the Occupied Territories. "May the Passion of Christ save us from our passions," said Msgr. Twal.

Yesterday, in St Peter's Square, the Angelus, Benedict XVI expressed his concern about the situation in Jerusalem: "At this time - he said - our thoughts and our hearts are directed especially to Jerusalem, where the Pascal mystery took place. I am deeply saddened by the recent conflicts and tensions that have once again occurred in this city, which is spiritual home to Christians, Jews and Muslims, a prophecy and promise of that universal reconciliation that God wants for the whole human family. Peace is a gift that God entrusts to human responsibility, to cultivate it through dialogue and respect for the rights of all, reconciliation and forgiveness. I pray, therefore, that those responsible for the fate of Jerusalem engage with courage on the path to peace and follow it with perseverance. "

By Joshua Lapide AsiaNews – 29 March 2010

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Easter Message of Jerusalem Religious Leaders "We know the Power of God to bring Hope out of Despair"

JERUSALEM - Here is the joint Easter message proclaimed by 13 Christians leaders of Jerusalem, which was released Wednesday. Among the signatories are the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land.

* * * Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia! We, the Heads of the Churches in the Land of the Holy One, share with you the

Good News of the life of our local Christian Church as one Body in Christ who live the resurrection faith every day. Our message to you, whether near or far, is one of hope, encouragement and perseverance. We know the struggles so many Christians face, both here in this land and elsewhere in the world.

We know the power of despair. We know the power of evil. We know the power of the "principalities and powers" of this world which promote agendas of division and oppression to bring harm to God's people throughout God's creation. We, with you, know the power of sin and death.

We also know the power of the Resurrection. We know the power of God to bring hope out of despair. We know the power of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, to use forgiveness and love to conquer evil. We know the power of God in Christ to confront those same "principalities and powers" to promote faith, mutual respect, compassion and courage to speak the truth to benefit all of God's people. We know the power of the forgiveness of sins to redeem relationships in families and among the family of nations. We know the power of the gift of eternal life for all who believe.

Christians, in all generations, face many challenges. Our current generation is no different than those who have gone before us. We, with you, have great responsibilities and many obstacles. The Christian Church faces struggles here in this land and yet we continue to be full of hope that we are at one and the same time the Church of Calvary and the Church of the Resurrection. Our faith is not in the power of death, but in the power of the sacrificial life of Christ.

We encourage your prayers for us and all your Christian brothers and sisters, the "living stones" of all the Christian traditions, here in the Land of the Holy One. We ask you to pray for us in our struggle for justice, peace and reconciliation, so that when Jesus returns he will not again weep for Jerusalem but share in our joy of unity, respect and love for all people in the Holy Land. Be assured, at the same time, of our prayers for you.

May the one and living God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit bless, preserve and keep you, now and always. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia! + Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch + Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch + Patriarch Torkom I Manoogian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarch Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land + Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch

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+ Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch + Archbishop Bishop Jules Zerey, Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch

+ Archbishop Abouna Matthias, Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch + Archbishop Paul Sayyah, Maronite Patriarchal Exarch

+ Bishop Suheil Dawani, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem + Bishop Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan

and the Holy Land + Bishop Pierre Malki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarch

+ Fr. Rafael Minassian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarch Zenit – 1 April 2010

Jerusalem Police step up Safety Measures ahead of Easter

With the calendars of Eastern and Western Rite churches aligning this year, Christians the world over will celebrate Easter Sunday this week. Ahead of the holiday, churches will hold Good Friday services to mark Jesus' crucifixion and burial.

As Easter Sunday approaches, Jerusalem police are at a heightened state of alert. Police officers, ambulances and fire crews will be deployed in the alleyways around the Old City and near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to ensure that holiday processions are carried out without problems.

As Holy Week began this week, however, Christian institutions and public figures from the Palestinian Authority spared no criticism of Israel's policy of limiting entry to Jerusalem's holy sites, limitations they described as violations of their freedom to worship

Israel says it has approved 10,000 permits for pilgrims to enter Jerusalem over the Easter holiday, but Christian organizations in the West Bank claim only 3,000 were granted. Even those who received permission, the organizations said, are struggling to reach the ceremonies due to the closure.

"Christians around the world can celebrate Easter, but for Palestinian Christians, the Israeli occupation has turned every day into Good Friday, and we're still waiting for our resurrection as a free people," said Father Firas Aridah of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Aridah accused Israel of using security concerns as a pretext to limit the movement of his community.

Security regulations affect not only West Bank Christians, but also believers from Jerusalem and Israel proper. Mazen Qupty, a Jerusalem-based attorney who represents Christian Orthodox institutions, said Christians enjoyed far greater freedom of movement until three years ago.

"Over the past few weeks we've had meetings with Jerusalem Police to change entry regulations for pilgrims, but to no avail," he said.

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Ahead of Holy Saturday tomorrow, Jerusalem police held meetings with the heads of various Christian denominations to coordinate security guidelines.

Jerusalem District Police Chief Aharon Franco will decide today whether to limit Muslim worshippers wishing to attend Friday prayers today on the Old City's Temple Mount.

By Jack Khoury and Liel Kyzer Haaretz – 2 April 2010

Change of Program in the Holy See-Israel Meetings

Special joint statement to postpone the plenary from 27 May to 15 June. No hitch or hindrance, only "logistical needs" of both parties.

Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) - In an unusual step, the Heads of the Delegations of the Holy See and of the State of Israel to the negotiations on the fiscal security of the Church in Israel and the safeguarding of Church property, above all the Holy Places, have issued a joint communiqué' that does not follow a particular meeting of the negotiating teams.

The statement issued yesterday is the following: "The Co-Chairmen of the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the

Holy See and the State of Israel have agreed on changes to the previously announced schedule of meetings: The next Plenary meeting will take place on 15 June, in the Vatican, and will be preceded by Working-Level meetings now to be scheduled.

A source close to the negotiations has told AsiaNews that the Communiqué has been issued specifically so that the changes in the previously announced dates will not be interpreted as resulting from any particularly problem. In this case, the source has assured AsiaNews, the modified schedule for the next few months is simply the result of a wish to accommodate the "logistical needs" of both sides, as well as to "maximise" the benefit from holding each particular session". Previously, the plenary was set for May 27 this year.

By Arieh Cohen AsiaNews – 4 March 2010

Archives Director: Pius XII Files ready in 5 Years Says no Mysteries or Surprises expected

LAS PALMAS, Canary Islands - According to the prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, the documents from Pope Pius XII's pontificate might be catalogued and ready for researchers in five years.

There are some 16 million documents from the 1939-1958 Pontificate. They have generated great interest due to the polemics surrounding Pius XII's aid to Jews during the Nazi era.

Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives, gave the projected date for catalogue completion when he opened an event on the history of the Church held annually on the Canary Islands.

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In his talk Monday, the bishop gave an overview of the history of the Vatican Secret Archives, noting how Pope Leo XIII opened it to researchers in 1881.

Pope Paul VI was responsible for the most recent expansion of the archives, now on two floors with 43,000 meters (47,000 yards) of display stands. Between 60 and 70 researchers work there daily, and sometimes as many as 90.

Regarding the controversial documents from Pius XII's time, Bishop Pagano said the Holy See would be willing to open the archives even tomorrow, since there is nothing to "fear" from them. But, he said, the documents must still be numbered, conserved, registered and ordered.

"When Pius XII's pontificate is opened, matters will be defined more closely, contexts will be provided, but nothing mysterious or surprising is expected," he said. "What will be seen is the great good that Pius XII did in relation to the Jews."

Zenit – 3 March 2010

Jewish Retiree creates Stir defending Pope Pius

Long Beach, NY resident Gary Krupp strives to save controversial Pontiff from “the worst character assassination of the 20th century.”

LONG BEACH, New York - In the long and painful debate over whether he should have done more to halt and prevent the murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators in World War II, Pope Pius XII has an unusual defender.

Gary Krupp, who is Jewish, says he grew up hating the late Pontiff. Now, at 62, the retired Long Island businessman is caught up in the controversy over the Vatican's effort to make Pius a saint. He says that as a Jew he's not interested in the sainthood issue — he just wants to defend the wartime pope's reputation from "the worst character assassination of the 20th century."

That puts him among a handful of Jews who have bucked a widely held view of Pius as a Pope who failed to pit his moral authority against Hitler's Holocaust, and who therefore is not entitled to sainthood. Some prominent Catholic scholars concede many questions linger about Pius's tenure, but his defenders say he saved thousands of Jewish lives by working behind the scenes.

Krupp's efforts are drawing high-profile criticism. An influential New York rabbi said this week he is quitting Krupp's Pave the Way Foundation, which attempts to foster understanding among religions. A Roman Catholic scholar, one of 19 who wrote to the Vatican last month pressing for deeper study of Pius' conduct, says Krupp has revealed nothing new on the subject.

The Web site of Krupp's foundation features many of the documents he uses to support his arguments. He has also published the third edition of a book, "Pope Pius XII and World War II, The Documented Truth."

Krupp is not the first Jew to defend Pius XII. Israeli diplomat and author Pinchas Lapide wrote in a 1967 book that Pius XII and the Catholic Church should be credited with saving between 700,000 and 860,000 Jews from certain death. Holocaust scholars

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reject the figure as guesswork, noting the absence of documentation and the lack of access to Vatican archives on Pius' pontificate.

"Lapide's calculation was based on voodoo math," said Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in Washington, D.C. "There were so many factors involved in whether someone survived, which Lapide did not consider."

In a letter to Pope Benedict XVI, 19 Catholic scholars wrote that "proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII, without an exhaustive study of his actions during the Holocaust, might harm Jewish-Catholic relations in a way that cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future," according to the Catholic News Service.

Krupp contends "a crime has been committed against this man (Pope Pius XII)," but the scholars say more research is needed before sainthood can be approved.

"History needs distance and perspective before definitive conclusions can be reached," the panel of scholars wrote to the Vatican last month.

Krupp has been praised by the Vatican for spearheading a plan to put 11 volumes of Pius XII material on the Internet for public viewing. However, scholars who reviewed that material nearly a decade ago say it does not answer critical questions about Pius' behavior.

They want to review the full Vatican archives on Pius' Papacy, but the Vatican says the 16 million files won't be ready for viewing until at least 2014.

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis, who was a Krupp supporter, said he sent his resignation from the board of directors of Pave the Way.

"Many of us are very troubled by the stance Mr. Krupp has taken," he said. "Thus far there's only been a superficial examination (of Pius XII). Given the seriousness of the subject, we need to be much more deliberate and have as much historical factual information."

Krupp said he had yet to receive Potasnik's letter, but did not criticize Potasnik's stance.

Rabbi Eric Greenberg, director of Interfaith Policy at the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, also criticizes Krupp.

"Whether he understands it or not, he is waging a campaign of misinformation," Greenberg said. "He's been given out-of-context documents and is coming to overblown conclusions about Pius XII's personal involvement and that is a disservice to historians and to the historical truth."

The German-born Pope Benedict rekindled outrage among Jewish groups in December when he signed a decree asserting Pius' heroic virtues, paving the way for the wartime pontiff to be beatified once a miracle attributed to his intercession is confirmed.

That history overshadowed the pontiff's January visit to a synagogue in Rome. Without mentioning Pius, Benedict told Jewish leaders the Vatican "itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way." He contended Catholics acted courageously to save Jews even as their extermination "tragically reached as far as Rome."

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At the same event, Jewish Community President Riccardo Pacifici, whose grandparents were killed at Auschwitz while his father was saved by Italian nuns in a Florence convent, said Italian Catholics worked to save Jews but the "silence" of Pius "still hurts as a failed action."

Krupp, who operated kidney dialysis and diagnostic imaging centers on Long Island, has a close relationship with the Vatican. A decade ago, Pope John Paul II made him "Knight Commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great," after Krupp helped raise $12 million for high-tech equipment for an Italian hospital.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, assistant professor of the Talmud at Yeshiva University, said he is cautious about endorsing a defense of Pius XII, but supports Krupp's enthusiasm.

"I am not a historian and have not seen the papers, but I admire his effort," he said. "I value what Gary is doing and very much hope that Gary is right. I know his motive is pure."

Krupp says that he spends up to 20 hours a day researching the issue at his modest Long Island home, and that he has seen documents and research that exonerate Pius XII. Critics, he argues, "just don't know. They have not seen any documented proof. All we're doing is retrieving documents, nothing else."

The Rev. John Pawlikowski, Professor of Ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, argues Krupp's evidence has already been studied by experts.

"What he seems to have is stuff that is out there," Pawlikowski said. "We know that Pius did some things that were good, but they tended to come rather late, they were mostly behind the scenes and were relatively minor gestures."

Pawlikowski was among the 19 Catholic scholars who wrote to the Vatican last month, saying more study of Pius XII is required,

"Too often the issue of Pius XII is portrayed as one of Jewish concern," the letter said. "We wanted to make it clear that some Catholics who have worked on Holocaust issues have serious concerns about advancing the cause of Pius XII at this time." …

By The Associated Press The Jerusalem Post – 15 March 2010

Catholics and Jews Renew Dialogue on Pius XII Affirm Solidarity with Benedict XVI

VATICAN CITY - Catholic and Jewish representatives have re-launched a dialogue, interrupted in 2001, on the figure of Pope Pius XII and his relationship with the people of Israel, particularly during the Holocaust.

At the end of Wednesday's general audience Benedict XVI greeted representatives who are in Rome for a meeting organized by the Pave the Way Foundation.

The founder of this organization, New York Jew Gary Krupp, explained to ZENIT that the audience with the Pope was attended by rabbis and representatives of Jewish

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communities from the United States, Israel, Australia and Switzerland "who wished to stand in solidarity shoulder to shoulder with the Catholic Church and the Holy Father" during "the attacks against the Church and His Holiness by an over-zealous media."

The meeting, which continued with the questions that the International Catholic-Jewish Historical intended to address in 2001, had an academic character with the participation of several rabbis, but was not an official representation.

The commission was originally appointed in 1999 by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and consisted of three Jewish and three Catholic scholars.

They reviewed the Vatican documents concerning Pope Pius XII and submitted a report in 2000 with 47 questions regarding the Holy See's response to the Holocaust.

However, due to disagreement and conflicting viewpoints, the group was disbanded in 2001.

Now, in a two-day debate session that began April 23, answers were given to those 47 questions posed in 2000.

Those who responded to the questions were Jesuit Father Peter Gumpel, historian and relator to the cause of beatification of Pius XII; Matteo Napolitano, Professor of the history of international relations (University of Molise, Italy); Andrea Tornielli, Vatican Expert from the daily "Il Giornale;" Ronald Rychlak, Law Professor at Mississippi State University; and Michael Hesemann, German Historian and Writer.

All the answers were fully recorded by H2O News and will be given to the Yad Vashem Commission, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, and will be available on the Pave the Way Foundation Web site.

Initiatives Krupp reported to ZENIT: "We also discussed the Holy See endorsing a family-

based initiative of dedicating Friday night dinner with the family. Here two hours will be dedicated to the children. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and Pave the Way Foundation are promoting this initiative dedicated to the family."

Moreover, the group met with Monsignor Peter Wells, Assessor for the Secretariat of State's Section for General Affairs, and discussed with him the Vatican's efforts to aid victims of abuses.

Krupp acknowledged that "the media has not reported the efforts of the Church to repair these terrible past events."

"Even one is too much," he said, "but this tragedy is not as widespread as the media has led all to believe."

"Monsignor Wells stated that the Holy See considers the original breaking news of these terrible events as a blessing," Krupp reported, because "the Church was alerted then to act quickly to root out these criminals and the errors by some bishops."

"He said that there was too much reliance on outdated psychological and inept legal advisors who advised some bishops that these offenders could be cured," said Krupp.

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At the Papal audience David Victor, the chairman of AIPAC, an American Israeli organization, spoke to the Holy Father and asked him to issue remarks condemning the Iranian regime's denial of the Holocaust and its efforts to develop an atomic bomb. The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared, during a 2005 speech, that Israel must be "wiped off the map."

The representatives also met with Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which oversees the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

In that meeting, Krupp spoke about the loud and dedicated condemnation of Adolf Hitler and National Socialism by Pope Pius XII from the very beginning, noting that it should serve as an example of how the Holy See can respond to a modern day Hitler.

Krupp concluded, "This was a very important day in Rome for our group." By Jesús Colina

Zenit – 29 April 2010

Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians

Shocked by growing reports about Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians in Jerusalem's Old City, a group of Anglo residents is now mobilizing against this ugly practice.

Although such incidents reportedly have decreased since a council of Haredi rabbis issued an official condemnation in January in response to the public outcry, Christian and Jewish activists agree the problem is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

"I felt I had to protest," said Andrea Katz, 57, who is planning several events within Jerusalem's liberal Orthodox Yedidya congregation to show solidarity with the Christian community and educate the English-speaking Jewish public about their Christian neighbors. "I don't think that all of a sudden the Haredi world is going to say: Oh my Gosh, we did so wrong, let's stop this. But somehow I had to do something; I just couldn't sit around and do nothing."

For years, there have been incidents of Haredi youths spitting at Christian clergymen in the Old City and near the Mea She'arim neighborhood, according to several Jewish and Christian residents of Jerusalem. One cleric said told a European news site that the spitting was "almost a daily experience."

In late 2009 such incidents started to mount, provoking a growing number of complaints and increasing press coverage.

The Haredi Community Tribunal of Justice subsequently published a statement condemning such acts, calling them a "desecration of God's name." Christian leaders met in January with Foreign Ministry staff and representatives of the Jerusalem municipality and the Haredi community to tackle the problem.

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Over the last two months the number of spitting incidents declined somewhat, according to Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, of Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarchate, who says that in the 12 years he has lived in Jerusalem has been spat on about 50 times. "It's good to see the reduction of this phenomenon, but to eradicate it completely may take time. I don't think it will be stopped in a fortnight or so," he told Anglo File. He praised the Baka-based Yedidya community for its efforts to raise awareness but added the events planned failed to reach the perpetrators within the Haredi community. "It's a good step forward, but more has to be done."

Yedidya, which was founded in 1980 by a group of British and American immigrants, currently plans three events. The first, a lecture, is scheduled for March 15 and will take place in the synagogue. Besides Katz and Shirvanian, the panellists include the Director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, Daniel Rossing; the head of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish; Religion Professor Yiska Harani; Fr. Athanasius Macora, of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; and Dr. Debbie Weissman, who heads the International Council of Christians and Jews.

The shul also plans to organize visits to Jerusalem's Christian communities. "The majority of congregants - even if we're from abroad - is certainly ignorant of the Eastern and Orthodox churches that are here," Katz said. "In order for people to sympathize they have to know whom they are sympathizing with."

Around Easter, Katz is hoping to create what she calls a "human corridor." Marching with the Armenian community while they carry a Cross would be inappropriate for an Orthodox congregation, the Buffalo, New York, native explained. Rather, she'd like her community to "simply stand, to make a corridor - no words, no speeches - so that they [the Armenian clerics] can walk from [the Church of] St. James to [the Church of] the Holy Sepulchre. Nothing big, just to show there are people who care and don't find this kind of behavior acceptable." Katz said she felt the need to become active when she hosted a group of officials from the U.S.-based Jewish Council for Public Affairs. They wanted to learn more about the phenomenon of Jews spitting at Christians - something she had never heard of. "They were from an organization abroad, and they knew about something that was going on that I found horrifying and I didn't know about. I live in this city since 1974, and I had no idea."

Wondering what could bring religious people to commit such ugly acts, Katz surmised that some Jews might not have learned yet what it means to be the majority in a country. "It's still very new for us," she said. "We're taking our experiences from the Diaspora and acting and reacting in way that would befit a powerless minority. Now that we do have power simply because Jews are 'in control,' we are not protecting the minorities and allowing the Christian or the Muslim minority to practice freely what they want to practice.... We haven't got our heads around the fact that our job is now to protect them."

Kronish, of the Interreligious Coordinating Council, said the spitting is rooted in "penned-up anger" about the long history of Christian anti-Semitism. "The Haredim give their children a distorted education, which is conducive to such behavior," he said. Despite the recent decline in spitting incidents, he asserts the "underlying fear and ignorance is still there" and can only be combated if people learn about the other. "People fear the unknown," he explains. "The unknown is the Christians and the reasons we're

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doing this educational event with Yedidya is because people felt: Gee, we really don't know who these Christians are over there in the Old City. We don't know anything about them - we live here in Baka, they live over there behind those walls. It's time for us to know more about them."

By Raphael Ahren Haaretz – 5 March 2010

Holy Land Christians praying for Iraqi Brethren Ordinaries Call for end to Violence

JERUSALEM - Church leaders from the Holy Land are expressing their support and promising prayers for the Christian community suffering violence in Iraq.

In a communiqué published after their March 8-10 plenary meeting, members of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land underlined their "fraternal closeness" to Christians in Iraq in "these times of trial."

In the past few weeks, a killing spree in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul claimed the lives of eight Christians.

The Holy Land Ordinaries -- bishops, religious superiors and other diocesan authorities -- affirmed, "The faithful of Jordan, Palestine and Israel think of you, suffer with you and pray for you."

In a united voice, they exclaimed, "Enough!"

The communiqué expressed a prayer for "new feelings and new predispositions for the conversion of all those who live in Mosul, ancient Nineveh, to convince them that our God is a God of love and not of hatred."

The Ordinaries expressed the hope that "our Christian brothers of the Nineveh region will endure their trials with patience, certain that the forces of evil will not prevail, while the force of love is eternal."

"After the Calvary of the Cross, there is always liberating redemption and the dawn of resurrection," they added.

Different media sources -- among them Télé Lumière and Noursat and the Web sites abouna.com and lpj.org -- launched a campaign of solidarity with the Christians of Iraq, especially of Mosul and of the whole of the Nineveh region.

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land was created by the initiative of the Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem to foster unity within the Church in that region. It includes ordinaries of different rites with jurisdiction in that territory. Pope John Paul II approved their statutes on January 27, 1992.

The assembly's functions are to harmonize evangelical witness, serve the community of the faithful, study common problems, foster the exchange of information and experiences, and create a common program of pastoral care for the good of the whole Church.

Zenit – 18 March 2010

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Palestinian Authority shuts down the only Christian TV Broadcaster in the Territories

After 14 years on the air, the government shuts down the only Palestinian Christian TV station. Located about 350 metres from Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the station broadcast shows with social, religious, economic and cultural content. Its general manager tells AsiaNews the order is unfair, stressing the high regard in which viewers held the station.

Bethlehem (AsiaNews) – The Palestinian National Authority has shut down Al-Mahed “Nativity” TV for operating without a licence. Samir Qumsieh, owner and general manager of the Christian broadcaster, slammed the decision. After 14 years on the air and despite a long list of “thank you letters” by grateful viewers, Palestinian police raided the broadcaster’s offices yesterday at 2 pm. waving an order by the Interior Ministry; they put the station off the air.

Contacted by AsiaNews, Mr Qumsieh said he was baffled by the order, which for him was “unjustified”.

Located on high ground at about 350 metres from the Church of Nativity, in Bethlehem, Al-Mahed “Nativity” TV was for years the “only Christian voice” among Palestinian media.

It broadcast programmes in all sorts of domains, from education to the environment, from politics to local culture and society, as well as programmes with a religious content: masses, prayers and the most important celebrations on the liturgical calendar. Its audience was not limited to Christians but included Muslims as well.

According to unconfirmed reports that reached AsiaNews, the closure appears to be financially motivated. Palestinian authorities demanded money, a “licence” that was not paid.

In a letter addressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Mr Qumsieh slammed the unjustified closure of the Christian TV station because of the “lack of a licence”.

He said that 14 years of broadcasting earned the station the gratitude of viewers as demonstrated by the many thank you letters and e-mails, worthy of a “Guinness world record”.

In his letter to the authorities, he said that he “would not beg” to have the station re-opened. The “ingratitude” shown to him is “unacceptable by any religion, logic or conscience”.

AsiaNews – 17 March 2010

PA backtracks over Christian Channel

But owner of shut down station says it won't go back on air until PA apologizes. Facing strong criticism, the Palestinian Authority government on Wednesday

suspended its decision to close down several private TV and radio stations, including Al-Mahed TV, a Christian broadcaster in the Palestinian territories.

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Last week the PA shut down the stations under the pretext that the owners had failed to pay fees to renew the licenses for their stations.

The PA’s crackdown on the private radio and TV stations drew strong condemnations from many local and international media organizations.

Samir Qumsia, owner and manager of Al-Mahed TV, condemned the decision to shut down his station, especially because it coincided with Christian holidays.

He said that despite the decision to suspend the closure, he would not resume broadcasts until the PA government apologized to him.

Qumsia said he has sent a letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad protesting against the closures.

The PA said it suspended the closures for one month to allow the owners time to sort out their debts and renew the licenses.

A spokeswoman for the PA government told The Jerusalem Post that the PA Ministry of Communication has decided to close several television and radio stations, including Al-Mahed TV, for technical reasons, including not holding the appropriate license, not paying the license fee, and not operating under the correct technical specifications. She said the PA’s decision was not based on religious or political consideration but was enforcement of the law and was part of continuing efforts to organize the communication sector as part of the state-building plan.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate welcomed the decision to reopen the stations.

By Khaled Abu Toameh The Jerusalem Post – 24 March 2010

Dutch Jews split over Wiesenthal Condemnation of Church in Holland

A recent call by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles to boycott Holland's Protestant church over its criticism of Israel this week exposed key disagreements between Dutch Israelis who support the move, and leaders of the Netherlands' Jewish community who oppose it as "interference."

The center's call came after leaders of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands last month wrote a letter to Israel's ambassador to The Netherlands, Harry Kney-Tal, calling on Israel to halt expansion of West Bank settlements, revise the course of the separation fence and abandon the policy of demolishing Palestinian homes.

In the letter, Peter Verhoeff, the president, and Arjan Plaisier, the secretary general, affirmed Israel's right to exist and Protestant solidarity with the Jewish people but based their demands on the controversial "Kairos Palestine Document," entitled "A Moment of Truth." They stated that they understood the document "not as a negative call which turns against Israel, but as a call for justice and peace."

Authored three months ago by Palestinian Christians, the document calls for an international boycott of Israel and refers to violent attacks on Israelis as "Palestinian legal resistance." The letter triggered one of the most serious crises in years in the relations between Dutch Jews and Protestants.

Rabbis Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of interfaith affairs, and Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center - an international Jewish human rights

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organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism - responded with a harsh open letter to the church, asserting there was "no possibility" for dialogue between Dutch Jews and "those working to defeat the aspirations of the Jewish People."

They also mentioned "the genocidal consequences of anti-Semitism" in Holland and the "loss of Anne Frank, her family and 75 percent of Dutch Jewry" in the Holocaust.

"Although an extreme step, the call to end all talks with the Protestant church was a good thing," said Henoch Wajsberg, head of Irgoen Olei Holland, which represents Dutch Israelis. "It's a good slap on the wrist to the church, which by supporting the Kairos document in effect supported a one-state solution." He also said the church was "undergoing increased politicization as it loses more and more followers." The Protestant Church, an amalgamation of three formerly independent branches, is second to the Catholic Church in membership.

Ronny Naftaniel, a leader within the Dutch Jewish community and director of the Hague-based Center Information and Documentation on Israel, criticized the letter by the Simon Wiesenthal Center executives from Los Angeles as "an interference in the relations between Dutch Jews" and Protestants.

"Whether Dutch Jews engage in dialogue with the Protestant church or not is not something for the Simon Wiesenthal Center to decide," said Naftaniel, who also wrote a response to the church on behalf of Holland's Central Jewish Board, which threatened to sever ties with the church over its defense of the Kairos document.

Avraham Roet, former head of Irgoen Olei Holland, disagreed with Naftaniel. "The church sent its letter as an easy way of pacifying the increasingly tense relations between Christians and Muslims in Holland at the expense of Jews and Israelis," he said. "When hostility toward Jews or their state is used to placate minorities, it is not simply a community affair."

But, Roet, a Holocaust survivor, said the Wiesenthal Center should not have brought up the Holocaust in its letter, because "this is not a historical matter, but of modern internal politics in Holland."

In a phone interview with Anglo File, Plaisier of the Dutch Protestant Church said the letter to the ambassador did not constitute an endorsement of the Kairos document in its entirety, and that assumptions to the contrary were "false." He added the Jewish community's analysis of the 12-page document was "one-sided."

Annelien Kisch, a Dutch-born left-wing activist from Ramat Hasharon and veteran immigrant, defended the church's letter to the ambassador and called the Simon Wiesenthal Center's response "over-aggressive."

"The Simon Wiesenthal Center has, by hook or by crook, to find anti-Semitism, wherever, whenever, as this is the only justification for their existence," said Kisch, a familiar figure within the Israeli Dutch community. "As a religious organization with a daily involvement in ethical attitudes," the church's action was "due," according to Kisch.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Wiesenthal Center's L.A. office said he sent his "strong letter" to the church because its actions have global implications. "The Protestant Dutch church's support for the Kairos document was done with approval from the World Council of Churches in Geneva and we are concerned about a possible domino effect," he said.

Cooper added he was "aware that this was a sensitive issue" for the Dutch Jewish community, but added that the Kairos document and support for it are "part of the same

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drive to delegitimize Israel within Christian denominations, which has already reached the U.S. and unless checked will end up affecting every Jewish community living in predominantly Christian societies."

By Cnaan Liphshiz Haaretz – 26 March 2010

Pontiff requests Prayers for Peace in Jerusalem Encourages Pilgrims to visit Holy Land

VATICAN CITY - Amid news reports of increasing conflict in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Benedict XVI is calling for prayers for the Jews, Muslim, Christians, and all people of that region.

The Pope stated this today in a public address before praying the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"In this moment our thoughts and our hearts are directed in a special way toward Jerusalem," he said, "where the paschal mystery was accomplished."

The Pontiff continued, "I am deeply saddened by the recent conflicts and for the tensions that have again arisen in that city, which is a spiritual homeland for Christians, Jews and Muslims, prophecy and promise of that universal reconciliation that God desires for the whole human family."

"Peace is a gift that God entrusts to human responsibility so that it might be cultivated through dialogue and respect for the rights of all, reconciliation and forgiveness," he affirmed.

"Let us pray therefore," Benedict XVI stated, "that those who are responsible for the fate of Jerusalem enter the way of peace with courage and follow it with perseverance."

Not a fairy tale Earlier today, in the homily of Palm Sunday Mass, the Pope recalled his

pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year. "The pilgrimage to the earthly Jerusalem," he said, "can be something useful for

us Christians." The Pontiff continued: "Faith in Jesus Christ is not the invention of a fairy tale. It

is founded on something that actually happened. We can, so to speak, contemplate and touch this historical event.

"It is moving to find oneself in Nazareth in the place where the angel appeared to Mary and transmitted the task of becoming Mother of the Redeemer to her.

"It is moving to be in Bethlehem in the place where the Word, made flesh, came to live among us; to put one's foot upon the holy ground where God wanted to make himself man and child."

"Following the material paths of Jesus should help us to walk more joyously and with a new certainty along the interior paths that Jesus himself points out to us," he said.

The Holy Father added, "When we go to the Holy Land as pilgrims, we go there, however as messengers of peace too, with prayer for peace; with the firm invitation that

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everyone in that place (which bears the word "peace" in name), has everything possible so that it truly become a place of peace."

"Thus," he said, "this pilgrimage is at the same time an encouragement to Christians to remain in the country of their origin and to commit themselves in an intense way to peace."

Zenit – 28 March 2010

Synod for the Middle East: proclaim the Gospel in Muslim Countries

The Instrumentum laboris in preparation calls for the same freedoms for Christians that Muslims enjoy in announcing Islam. Vatican proposal of "two peoples, two states” for Israel and Palestine. Response also from the Jewish world. Three cardinals among presidents.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Dialogue between the Catholic world and that of Islam requires reciprocity and openness, but also full religious freedom for Christians in the Islamic world, including the right to proclaim the Gospel. This is the claim put forward by many experts currently involved in drafting the Instrumentum laboris (IL-working guidelines) of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East to be held at the Vatican October 10 to 24, 2010. Meanwhile, Benedict XVI has appointed the chairmen and rapporteurs for the special gathering.

An important theme focused on in the document currently being prepared is dialogue with Islam. It requires great friendship, but at the same time great clarity. It is necessary to emphasize the urgency of implementing a true freedom of religion, with the right to proclaim the gospel in Muslim countries the same way that Muslims have the right to preach Islam. The IL, obtained by the integration of the Lineamenta and responses that have come from different parts of the world, will be published on the occasion of Benedict XVI's visit to Cyprus in June.

Unlike other Synods, which had a much longer period of preparation, the one dedicated to the Middle East has been much shorter perhaps dictated by the urgency of the situation. It was announced shortly after Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land last May and the working document (Lineamenta) was published last January 19. According to experts, the answers received were numerous (at least 200 pages). Many answers coming from Iraq, Egypt, Syria.

Of particular interest are those from the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine), regarding, in particular relations with the Jewish world. The churches – it is said - are "too Arab" and give little witness in the Jewish (and Israeli) world. Some stress the value of the rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christian faith.

The document also reintroduces vision of Benedict XVI and the Vatican of "two peoples, two states” for Israel and Palestine, so they can live in security and peace within their own borders, eliminating violence as a way to resolve disputes.

Among the responses received by the secretariat, there is one from the Jewish world, none from the Muslim world.

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On 24 April, Benedict XVI chose the leaders of the Synod. Three cardinals have been chosen among the synod fathers; Nasrallah Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon, Emmanuel Delly, Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches. With them there is the Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignace Youssif Younan. The latter is the youngest of the group (66), but he has great experience and international experience, having studied in America.

The general rapporteur, who will make the initial and overall address for the Synod, is the Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, Mgr. Antonios Naguib, the Special Secretary will be Mgr. Joseph Soueif, Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus. AsiaNews – 27 April 2010

Abdullah: Protect Jerusalem Holy Sites

Jordan’s King slams Israeli “provocation" after police storm Temple Mount. Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday night condemned Israel’s “provocative

measures in Jerusalem,” after a day on which security forces stormed the Temple Mount to quell Arab rioting.

Abdullah made the remark after meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman.

Abdullah called on the international community to take immediate steps to "protect Jerusalem’s holy sites."

He also criticized Israel’s decision to include Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs and Bethlehem’s Rachel’s Tomb on its national heritage list.

Jerusalem’s Old City had erupted in violence on Sunday morning when clashes between Arab rioters and security forces broke out on the Temple Mount and spread into the alleyways of the Muslim Quarter and the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amud.

Four policemen were injured and upwards of a dozen Muslim protesters were reportedly hurt during the clashes, which were reminiscent of similar rioting that erupted in the area during Succot in October.

According to police, the violence began when some 30 Arab youths who had holed themselves up inside Al-Aksa Mosque Saturday night began throwing rocks at a group of visitors to the Temple Mount Sunday morning.

While Waqf officials had attempted to convince the youths to leave the compound Saturday night, their efforts proved futile and police, acknowledging the prospect of an outbreak of violence, banned men under the age of 50 from entering the site on Sunday.

The youths, who were thought to be protesting a government decision to include a number of religious landmarks – including Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron – on a list of national “heritage sites,” fled back into the mosque after security forces stormed the Temple Mount compound, but some continued throwing rocks at police deployed in the nearby plaza.

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Palestinian sources also reported that the youths had flocked to Al-Aksa over the weekend at the behest of Islamic leaders, who had told their followers to be prepared for a planned “Jewish takeover” of the site during Purim.

During the clashes, two policemen and two border police officers were lightly hurt by stones, and were treated at the scene. According to Palestinian sources, 12 people were injured from inhaling tear gas that was fired by police.

The violence also spread into the alleyways of the Muslim Quarter, where Arab youths hurled rocks at security forces near the Antonia Gate and Lion’s Gate.

While security forces dispersed the youths, rocks and other debris could still be seen scattered about on the cobblestones later in the afternoon, and a handful of young men, some of whom were carrying rock-slings, remained congregated in the alleyways.

Additionally, some 10 Arab youths in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras el-Amud hurled rocks at security forces, although police reported no injuries there and quickly brought the situation under control.

By late Sunday afternoon, police announced that all of the youths had left Al-Aksa mosque without further incident, and reported calm throughout the Old City and east Jerusalem. Nonetheless, three of the nine entrances to the Temple Mount remained closed and the age restriction on worshipers had not been lifted.

Police said that a total of seven people had been arrested on suspicion of hurling rocks.

According to a police source, had it not been for the heavy rains that soaked Jerusalem all day Sunday, the rioting would have likely been worse.

“One rule of thumb is that when it’s raining, Jewish or Arab, it doesn’t matter, people stay inside,” the source said.

Inside the Muslim Quarter on Sunday, shopkeepers said that they doubted the current unrest would materialize into anything more serious.

“What will happen?” shopkeeper Anwar asked. “Nothing.” “Things are very different now from 10 years ago,” he continued, referring to the second Intifada, which Palestinian’s labelled the “Al Aksa Intifada” – tying the uprising to a perceived threat against the holy site.

“Arafat is dead, Hamas and Fatah have split and the Palestinian Authority has made numerous deals with the Americans so that a large-scale uprising won’t take place. But if the Israelis want things to calm down here, they should simply stay away from Al-Aksa,” Anwar continued.

“The only reason we’re having these problems today is because the Israelis tried to go there.”

By Abe Selig and JPost.Com Staff The Jerusalem Post – 1 March 2010

Street Stroll: Fit for a Sultan

A walk around the walls reveals a treasure trove of ancient and modern sights. Called the “The Magnificent” by us Westerners and known as “The Lawmaker” in

his native land, Sultan Suleiman, ruler of Turkey, was a cunning politician, a supremely talented administrator and a brilliant military strategist.

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But he didn’t need an excess of savvy when he conquered Jerusalem in 1517. By that time, there were no fortifications to speak of protecting the city. That’s because the Crusaders demolished the walls during their assault in the 11th century; 100 years later, Saladin destroyed what was left.

Legend has it that some years after the Turkish conquest, this multifaceted sultan had a nightmare, in which roaring lions chased him through a field, caught him, tore him to pieces and greedily devoured him. Waking up in a cold sweat, Suleiman cried out for his advisers. “What do you make of this horrible dream?” he asked them. “It means that you must do something for Jerusalem,” they explained. “You must rebuild its crumbling city walls.” Whether or not the story is true, in 1538 he built the four-kilometer long, 12-meter high walls that still surround the Old City today.

Not surprisingly, then, the main byway along the northern side of the walls is named for Sultan Suleiman. A spring day is a great time for a half-day outing on the walkway parallel to the road. It begins at Damascus Gate and ends at the north-eastern corner of the walls.

Damascus Gate is the loveliest of all the Turkish entrances to the Old City. And until Jaffa Gate became the center of Jerusalem’s commercial life in the 19th century, it was also the most important. From here a road led west to the Crusader capital of Caesarea, and another ran north to Nablus (Shechem, in Hebrew) and Damascus. And although the rest of the Turkish wall is topped by continual crenelations – tooth-like projections – at Damascus Gate they are replaced by decorative statuettes – more evidence of this entrance’s prominence.

During the Byzantine period (roughly fourth to seventh centuries CE) this was also known as St. Stephen’s Gate. Some Christian traditions hold that the martyr Stephen was dragged out of the city through this gate and stoned to death somewhere on the other side of the modern-day road.

In Arabic this gate is called Bab el-Amud (Gate of the Pillar) because at one time a pillar topped with a statue of Roman emperor Hadrian stood in the center of an inner plaza. Distances to different parts of the country were measured from the column, which appears together with the plaza on the famous sixth-century Madeba map discovered in Jordan.

Entrance to the plaza was through a triple victory arch built in 135 CE after Hadrian crushed the Bar-Kochba Revolt and turned Jerusalem into the Roman city called Aelia Capitolina. The monument consisted of a magnificent middle portal with identical, less ostentatious entrances on each side.

IF YOU face the Turkish gate and look down and to the left, you will discover one of the side arches, somehow beautifully preserved and flanked by two massive broken columns. The Roman plaza inside was excavated in 1982, and the East Jerusalem Development Company runs a fascinating museum on the site. Worth a visit, it features the original stone floor and Roman-era antiquities.

To get there, go to the other (your right) side of the gate and pass under the bridge. Back outside and past Damascus Gate, you can’t miss the eye-catching St. Paul’s Guesthouse and Schmidt School across the street. Inside, the building boasts wide halls, shiny with Italian marble, and a multitude of cross-vaulted ceilings and artistically chiselled columns.

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Even the rooftop is special: its serrated railing echoes the Old City ramparts across the street, while domed shelters with beautiful stone arches and columns stand in two of its corners. For a very small fee you can go up to the rooftop for a direct look into the Old City and an unparalleled view of Damascus Gate and the northern wall.

The building just inside the walls that juts out over the top was the original home of the American Colony, whose members came to Jerusalem from Chicago in 1881. A deeply religious Christian society that was completely immersed in good works, the colony helped anyone in need regardless of religion or nationality. Members lived a communal life and supported themselves in part by selling dried flowers near Jaffa Gate. (At the end of the 19th century, together with new members from Sweden, the group moved to a gorgeous villa in east Jerusalem, which today is the exclusive American Colony Hotel.)

In 1883, British soldier General Charles George Gordon went on extended leave in Jerusalem. A devout Christian and ardent student of the Bible, he stayed for a time with the American Colony in their lodgings inside the walls. One day, looking north, he caught sight of a Muslim cemetery perched on top of a cliff. Directly below, in the rock, there were two caves.

In the late afternoon sun, the cliff with its gaping “eyes” seemed to resemble a skull, and he became certain that this was Golgotha (Calvary), the site of Jesus’s crucifixion. Further exploration revealed an ancient tomb and a garden behind the hill, each admirably suited to the New Testament description of Jesus’s burial place. What was to become known as Gordon’s Calvary is today a tranquil site called the Garden Tomb. You can see the caves behind the Discount Bank.

Cross back to the walls and enter Zedekiah’s Cave, an enormous quarry more than 200 meters long and chock full of labyrinths and inner grottos. You can have a fantastic time there, exploring dark caverns and studying the art of quarrying. You may even see black marks on the walls where workers placed their oil lamps. The quarry had excellent-quality white limestone that is easy to cut.

It is believed that early masons cut stones from this quarry for use in the Second Temple and perhaps also the First. As a result, it is also known as King Solomon’s Quarries. The worldwide Order of Masons considers King Solomon to have been the first mason. Whenever possible since the early 20th century, Freemasons have used the cave’s central chamber for their ceremonies.

During the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, King Zedekiah managed to flee the city, only to be captured in Jericho. Since it is thought that he entered the quarries when running from the Babylonians, this gave rise to the belief that they stretched all the way to Jericho. When he was finally taken by the Babylonians, Zedekiah’s eyes were put out and he was carried away in chains. Look for Zedekiah’s “tears” at the far end of the cave.

CONTINUE TO Herod’s Gate (known in Hebrew as Sha’ar Haprahim, “Flowers Gate”) and walk around the side to view the original Turkish entrance and the decoration that possibly gave the gate its name. But it is more likely that the name comes from the Arabic word for “flower” – zara. In medieval times, the Arabs named the gate for the Muslim cemetery above the caves. It was called A-Sa’hara – cities that don’t sleep at night – and Flower (Zara) Gate is probably a distortion of the word “A-Sa’hara.” Early

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pilgrims mistakenly believed that a house inside the gate was once Herod’s palace, so they called the gate Herod’s Gate.

As you descend and look at the bedrock on both sides of you, you will see that Sultan Suleiman Street was paved over a moat that probably dates back to the Crusaders. On your left, high above the moat/road, stands a stunning structure: an archaeological museum built by John D. Rockefeller in 1938. Parking is a problem, but if you are on foot you can go inside to view a wealth of archaeological findings from the region and enjoy the brilliance of the building’s design.

It was near this spot that on July 15, 1099, the Crusaders breached the Old City walls. According to some sources, it was 9 a.m. – the hour at which Jesus is believed to have been crucified – when Jerusalem’s defenses fell and the Crusaders swarmed into the city. Continue east. Just before the traffic light at the corner, climb the steps to reach a monument to Jordanian soldiers who fell during the Six Day War. This spot offers a fabulous view of the Mount of Olives and northern Jerusalem – especially if it rained the day before. Directly across from you, the Brigham Young (Mormon) University sprawls down the slopes. On the right, you can see the beautiful tower that belongs to the Augusta Victoria Church and medical facility; to the left, the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.

Turn around to view Stork’s Tower, situated on the wall’s north-eastern corner. Until 1948, when the Old City Walls marked the Jordanian border, hip Arab hostesses liked to serve fancy moonlit dinners on the stone floor of the massive, square tower. Look for an incongruous Star of David – probably in secondary use – decorating the wall.

Hours: St. Paul’s Guesthouse: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fee NIS 10. Zedekiah’s Cave and Roman plaza: Sunday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For Saturday entrance, purchase tickets on the Internet: www.pami.co.il (Hebrew only) NIS 16/10. Rockefeller: Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free entrance.

By Aviva Bar-Am The Jerusalem Post – 26 March 2010

Jaffa Gate rededicated, sports new Look

Barkat: We will continue to build and develop the Old City, all of Jerusalem. The large black cloth that has shrouded Jaffa Gate in both darkness and mystery

over the past two months was removed Wednesday morning during a special ceremony to rededicate the famous Jerusalem landmark, revealing the extensive “face-lift” recently given to one of the Old City’s most important and well-known points of entry.

The gate’s freshly cleaned Jerusalem stones, completely refurbished white ceiling and other aesthetic improvements were immediately apparent after the cloth came down.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who addressed the small crowd that had gathered in front of the gate for Wednesday’s ceremony, said that the city had a “duty” to continue restoring its historical sites.

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“[The restoration work] makes a valuable contribution to the beautification of Jerusalem,” Barkat said.

In that vein, Barkat added that the municipality would continue to support such projects, both inside the Old City and elsewhere.

“We will continue to build and develop in the Old City, and throughout the city,” Barkat said, “and I’m convinced that more and more people will come to Jerusalem and realize how important it is that Jerusalem remains unified.”

The restoration work on Jaffa Gate was part of a larger, ongoing “Jerusalem City Walls” project, which the Conservation Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has directed since April 2007.

Funded by the Prime Minister’s Office and administered by the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Jerusalem Municipality, extensive measures have been taken to conserve and rehabilitate the Old City’s walls. The effort comes after years of neglect, destruction and weathering.

The conservation action was preceded by careful preparations and the formulation of a multi-year program of documentation, planning and execution of the conservation and rehabilitation measures slated to be implemented on the walls.

During the preservation work at Jaffa Gate, extensive conservation work was carried out: stones were reinforced and hazards that endangered the safety of the visiting public were removed. Bullet damage to the gate was preserved, weathered stones and decorations were treated and the gate underwent a thorough cleaning.

Among other things, the gate’s dedicatory Arabic inscription, which was in a severely deteriorated physical state and quickly becoming detached from the structure, was completely dismantled and restored.

The Old City walls of Jerusalem were built in the sixteenth century by Sultan Suleiman, ruler of the Ottoman Empire (1520-1566 CE), and, according to the IAA, they are “some of Jerusalem’s most important cultural heritage assets.”

Jaffa Gate was first inaugurated in 1538 and only became a bustling and prosperous center of activity toward the end of the nineteenth century.

That period culminated in the year 1898, when it was decided to make a wider entrance through the Old City’s walls thereby allowing German Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife, Augusta Victoria, to enter the city in their carriage. This marked the first time in the history of modern Jerusalem that carts could enter the Old City.

During the War of Independence, Jaffa Gate was also the focal point of a number of difficult battles between Israeli forces and the Jordanian Legion.

During the fighting, Jaffa Gate was completely blocked by an armored vehicle that had been damaged and was wedged in the opening. As part of the cease-fire agreements between Israel and Jordan, Jaffa Gate stood at the opening of the “no man’s land,” which stretched from the gate to Tzahal Square and the Mamilla neighborhood, separating it from Jordanian-controlled east Jerusalem. Consequently, the armored vehicle was not removed, and the gate remained closed until IDF forces re-entered the Old City in 1967.

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Remains of the bullets that pierced the stones of the gate are clearly visible on the upper parts of the structure.

By Abe Selig The Jerusalem Post – 21 April 2010

Israel's Population hits 7.5 Million

Includes 5.7 million Jews, 1.5 million Arabs; yearly growth rate 1.8%. On the eve of its 62nd Independence Day, Israel has nearly 7.59 million people

and is growing at a rate of 1.8 percent per year, according to figures released Sunday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Published ahead of Yom Ha’atzmaut, which begins Monday evening, some 75.5 percent of the total population, 5,726,000 people, is Jewish, while the Arab population has reached 1,548,000 (20.4%) and those not identified as either make up 4.1% of the population, or 313,000 people.

Since Independence Day last year, 159,000 babies were born in Israel while 37,000 people passed away. Close to 16,000 new immigrants arrived over the past year, with an additional 9,000 ex-pat Israelis returning home.

The majority of the population – 70% – are sabras (Israeli-born) and most are them are the second generation in Israel. This is compared to 1948, when only 35% of Israelis had been born here.

While in 1948 only one city, Tel Aviv, boasted 100,000 residents, in 2010 some 14 cities have that many, and six cities have more than 200,000: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Rishon Lezion, Ashdod and Petah Tikva.

According to a CBS report released before Rosh Hashana last September, Israel is still a fairly young nation, with nearly 30% of its population under the age of 14, compared to 17% in most other Western countries.

Only 10% of the population is over the age of 65, whereas in other Western countries the average is closer to 15%.

CBS figures show that the average Jewish family size has increased, from 2.8 children per household in 2008 to 2.96 in 2009.

In the Muslim community, the average number of children per mother was 3.84 in 2009, a fall from the previous two years when it had reached 3.97 children per household. Among Christian families the average number of children was down to 2.11 in 2008.

The ratio of men to women in Israel continues to be consistent too, with women still slightly outnumbering the men, especially later in life.

According to the statistics, there are 979 men for every 1,000 women. In the under-37 set there are actually more men, but in the over-75 age group this is offset by some 673 men for every 1,000 women.

By Ruth Eglash The Jerusalem Post – 18 April 2010

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Palestinians Report boost in Tourism to West Bank for Easter

Police report states 464,000 tourists travelled to territories, 137,000 of whom were int'l passport-holders and 83,000 were Israeli Arabs.

The Palestinian Authority has announced a 50-percent rise in tourism activity in March compared to the same period last year.

A report by the PA Tourism and Antiquities Police, released on Tuesday, said tourism in the Palestinian territories had increased during March, with a considerable rise in guests registered in local hotels.

The police report stated that 464,000 tourists had travelled to the West Bank, 137,000 of whom were international passport-holders and 83,000 were Israeli Arabs.

The number of guests staying in hotels saw a 50% increase compared with last year’s figures, the report said, noting that 81,154 travellers had booked hotels – 70,047 foreign nationals, 9,426 locals, and 1,681 Israeli Arabs. Last March, only 39,521 tourists stayed in West Bank hotels, the statement read.

Palestinian tourism professionals approached by The Jerusalem Post said they were unaware of the precise statistics, but credited the rise in tourism to the natural ebb and flow of the seasons and to a calmer and more peaceful atmosphere in the region. Last year saw the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which negatively affected all tourism in the region.

“It makes sense that numbers are up. After all, this is the holiday season, and many pilgrims choose to visit the region’s holy sites during Easter,” said Johnny Sayegh, director of Inspiration Tours, which operates out of east Jerusalem. “Everything affects tourism – security, politics, the economy. Lately things have gotten better. It’s been quiet, so the tourists are coming.”

Sayegh said most of the tourist groups with which he worked were groups of pilgrims visiting the West Bank to see the biblical sites, mainly Bethlehem and Jericho.

“I have many clients from Western Europe and the English-speaking world. Most of them are Catholic pilgrims,” said Sayegh. He added that in the last few months, there had been a marked increase of visitors from Eastern European countries like Poland, Georgia and Romania.

George Abdalla, who, together with his father Gabriel, runs Sinbad Tour Travel Agency, said that in addition to the traditional pilgrimage tours, he enjoyed marketing what he called “alternative tours.”

“Some people aren’t interested in visiting churches and graves,” he explained. “For them, I gladly offer three-day spa packages at the Dead Sea or four days of leisure in Eilat.”

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Abdalla said he had recently sent tourists on a visit to a kibbutz in the Negev, where they could see modern agricultural techniques and absorb the desert tranquillity.

According to Abdalla, one of the main impediments to the development of Palestinian tourism is the Israeli security measures, namely the checkpoints.

“Israeli checkpoints have a huge effect on our itineraries,” he said. “They are unpredictable, and they take a long time to go through. We always tell our clients that schedules are subject to change because of the checkpoints. People tend to understand, but it’s a genuine hassle.”

Abdalla believes that the West Bank has a huge potential for tourism, saying the competitive prices and the good service are natural drawing points. He also said tourism was immensely important for the development of the Palestinian economy.

“Tourism is an economic engine that helps lift other industries. A group of 60 tourists who visit generate income for many people in a varied range of industries. In the West Bank, it is the most welcome form of business and should be the government’s No. 1 priority, even before agriculture,” he said.

While the majority of Palestinian tour operators, like Sinbad and Inspiration, work mainly with pilgrims, an emerging phenomenon in the West Bank is foreign nationals who come to see the effects of the conflict firsthand.

Rami Kassis, Director of the Alternative Tour Group (ATG), specializes in promoting “justice tourism” – tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture and politics of the Holy Land.

Kassis said that the people using his company’s services were student groups on fact-finding missions, church groups concerned with issues of social justice, international solidarity groups and NGOs, and political organizations that wanted to learn about the conflict. Kassis takes groups to visit refugee camps, communities affected by the security barrier, local peace activists and universities.

He said that while his company was one of the smaller tour providers in the West Bank, it provided these tours for between 2,000-2,5000 people a year.

ATG’s Web site also features a special section for Jewish travellers wishing to visit the West Bank.

“Jewish travellers wearing Star of David jewellery, the kippa, or loudly referring to themselves as Jews may be misunderstood to be Israelis and supporters of the Occupation,” he said. “This is not to say that Israelis are necessarily in danger in Palestine – many Israeli activists work side by side with Palestinians. However, Israelis can be a target of Palestinian militant groups. Jewish travellers are encouraged to keep all of these details in mind, and to be selective in whom they tell about their heritage.”

He added, “It is our hope that, as more Jews who oppose Israeli policies visit Palestine and make their positions known to Palestinians, this selectiveness will be less necessary.”

By Ron Friedman The Jerusalem Post – 8 April 2010

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Will Israeli Tour Guides be allowed to lead Tours to Palestinian Authority?

The IDF may lift restrictions on Israeli tour guides, allowing them to lead groups to Palestinian destinations such as Bethlehem.

Will Israeli tour guides be allowed to lead tours to Bethlehem?

Reports surfaced on Tuesday that the IDF will allow Israeli tour guides to enter the Palestinian Authority, leading groups to Bethlehem and eventually also to Jericho.

The Tourism Ministry has a pilot program in the works that would see 50 licensed guides receive special permits to enter PA-controlled territories despite a prohibition on the entrance of Israelis into the areas in place since the start of the second Intifada in late 2000.

An unidentified senior IDF officer told Yediot Aharonot’s Web site that the pilot plan would be approved soon, in light of the improved security situation in Bethlehem.

“We will do it cautiously and responsibly. The arrangement whereby Israeli guides accompany the tourists until they reach Bethlehem and then they are replaced by Palestinian guides may change,” the officer said. “Today, the Palestinian security forces, under the current leadership, are proving that they have the ability to carry out actions that suit their interests. It is clear to all that we will not allow it to take place if we learn of any elements that wish to hinder or sabotage it. We will know to stop [the arrangement] immediately.”

Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Shira Kaveh told The Jerusalem Post that the pilot program has been in the works since the end of 2009 and was currently awaiting approval from security authorities.

“Before the second Intifada, Israeli tour guides worked freely in Bethlehem, and we wanted to get back there. [Christian] pilgrims who come here don’t come to see Israel; they come to visit the Holy Land. As far as they are concerned, that includes the Christian holy sites in the West Bank like Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. A high priority on their itinerary is visiting the Church of the Nativity,” she said.

Kaveh estimated that more than a million tourists and pilgrims visit Bethlehem each year.

“When we first proposed the idea to the tour guides, we received very positive responses. Five hundred guides responded immediately that they wanted to take part in the pilot. In the end we approved 50 people, both guides and drivers, and are now awaiting security authorization so we can go ahead and start,” she said. “The first priority on everybody’s agenda is the guides’ security.”

Not all guides are thrilled with the idea of entering the PA. Ariel Stolar, Deputy Chairman of the Israel Tour Guides Association, said there are major concerns, particularly concerning security and insurance, that have led the association to come out against the plan.

“When we first head about the pilot project, we were all enthusiastic about it. We remembered that we had enjoyed working in Bethlehem in the past and looked forward to

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going back, but when we considered the risks involved more carefully, we decided to oppose it,” Stolar said.

“Nobody can guarantee our security. If there is a limitation in place on Israelis entering the Palestinian Authority, it’s there for a reason. The fact that I’m there with a group of tourists doesn’t make it any safer for me,” he said.

Stolar explained that the currant arrangement is for the Israeli guides to lead the groups during their visits to sites in Israel, but when they want to go to Bethlehem they hand over responsibility for the group to a local merchant with whom they have dealing, who takes the tourist to the Church of the Nativity and, on the way, takes them to his gift shop. “The arrangement works well and everybody’s interests are protected,” said Stolar.

The second concern guides have is that while in the PA, they are not insured. “If anything happens to me, my vehicle or my employees, I’m in trouble,” Stolar said.

Another reason the association rejects the plan is that it involves a reciprocal approval for Palestinian tour guides to work in Israel. The Israeli guides are hesitant to give their Palestinian counterparts footing in Israel for fear that they will hurt on their livelihoods.

“Opening the crossings to Israeli tour guides will have a boomerang effect. The Palestinian guides charge a quarter of the prices that Israeli guides do and their working in Israel will negatively effect our business,” said Stolar. “As it is there is no enforcement [of regulations] on Palestinians who work here and many operate unlicensed tour companies that undercut our prices and steal our customers.”

Moreover, said Stolar, “We see part of our job as advocating on behalf of Israel. Everyday when I go to work, I am an ambassador and try to represent my country in the best possible way. As a tour guide, I don’t only talk about history and geography, I also put things into geopolitical context. Turning that over to Palestinian guides, who might tell visitors a very different story, is in nobody’s interest.”

The office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories declined to respond to questions about Israeli tour guides gaining entrance to Bethlehem.

By Ron Friedman The Jerusalem Post – 14 April 2010

SELECTIONS OF ITEMS FROM VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE

Catholics and Muslims against Manipulation of Religion

The annual meeting of the Joint Committee for Dialogue of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Permanent Committee of al-Azhar for Dialogue among the Monotheistic Religions, was held in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo on 23 and 24 February.

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At the end of the meeting Sheikh Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Wasil, "wakil" (representative in juridical issues) of al-Azhar and President of the Permanent Committee for Dialogue, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, signed a joint declaration.

The declaration explains how "the participants were received by Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, whom Cardinal Tauran thanked for having condemned the acts of violence in which six Christians and a Muslim policeman died in Naga Hamadi, Egypt, during the Orthodox Christmas, and for having expressed solidarity with the victims' families and reaffirmed the equality of rights and duties of all citizens, regardless of their religious confession. For his part, Sheikh Tantawi said he only did what he thought his duty in the face of those tragic events".

During its meeting the joint committee examined the theme: "The phenomenon of confessional violence: understanding the phenomenon and its causes, and proposing solutions with particular reference to the role of religions in this field".

At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on the following recommendations: "to pay greater attention to the fact that the manipulation of religion for political or other ends can be a source of violence; to avoid discrimination on the basis of religious identity; to open hearts to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, which is a necessary condition for peaceful and fruitful coexistence".

They also called "for similarities to be recognised and differences respected as the prerequisite of a culture of dialogue, based on shared values; for both sides again to commit themselves to recognising and respecting the dignity of each human being, without distinction of ethnicity or religion; for religious discrimination in all fields to be opposed (just laws should guarantee fundamental equality); for ideals of justice, solidarity and co-operation to be promoted in order to ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for everyone".

The participants likewise undertook "to oppose with determination any act that tends to create tension, division and conflict in societies; to promote a culture of mutual respect and dialogue through education in families, schools, churches and mosques, spreading a spirit of fraternity between all persons and the community; to oppose attacks against religions by social communications media, especially satellite channels, considering the dangerous effects these transmissions can have on social cohesion and peace among religious communities".

Finally, the members of the joint committee called for steps to be taken "to ensure that the preaching of religious leaders, as well as school education and textbooks, do not contains declarations or references to historical events that, directly or indirectly, may arouse violent reactions among the followers of different religions".

The joint committee also announced that its next meeting would be held in Rome on 23 and 24 February 2011.

VIS – 2 March 2010

To Our Readers: While the editor tries to exercize best judgement in the choice of items to report or reproduce in the bulletin, responsibility for the contents of items taken from other sources remains with the original authors or publishers.