7 March 2015. Come, Let Us Receive the Light… Ethiopian Pilgrims in the Holy City of Jerusalem

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Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church pilgrims at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (occupied Palestine) on the Holy Easter… the Orthosphere enfleshed…

BMD

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Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna Condemned Israeli Restrictions on Easter Pilgrims

Orthodox nuns processing from the Mount of Olives on Lazarus Saturday

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On Thursday, Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna condemned Israeli authorities for imposing obstacles on Christians wishing to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate the upcoming Christian holiday of Easter, saying in a statement, “It’s the right of every Christian to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre without facing any obstacles, or impediments. The Israeli security pretexts are unacceptable in every way”. He called on Orthodox and Christian institutions to help Christians gain entry to the holy sites, “We call on our sons, churches, and followers to head to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and hold on to this religious and national right and refuse the status quo imposed by the occupation authorities”.

Hanna’s statements come days after Palestinian Christian groups in Jerusalem denounced Israeli restrictions on their right to worship in the city, calling for an end to discrimination against both Christians and Muslims in the holy city. A statement by the “Palestinian Christian Organisations in Occupied East Jerusalem” read, “The restrictive measures constitute grave violation on the freedom of worship, and amount to discrimination against Christians because the occupation authorities want to negate the Christian presence and create the impression of a Jewish-only city. Both Christians and Muslims are often unable to worship freely and to be with their families and friends during religious holidays because of Israel’s actions”.

Jerusalem was the scene of violence last Easter, as Israeli forces erected checkpoints around the Holy City and assaulted pilgrims as they crowded in the area. A statement signed by the heads of all recognised churches in the Holy Land later denounced the “awful scenes of the brutal treatment to clerics, average people, and pilgrims in Jerusalem during Holy Saturday”, lamenting that clergymen and average people “get beaten brutally and indiscriminately and be denied access to their churches under the pretext of keeping order”. Later, Israel officially apologised to Egypt after Israeli police officers attacked Egyptian diplomats and a Coptic clergyman at a church in Jerusalem during Orthodox Easter.

In a report published in 2012, the US State Department made similar observations, “Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents’ ability to practise their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The separation barrier much impeded Bethlehem-area Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and made visits to Christian sites in Bethany (al-Eizariya) and Bethlehem difficult for Palestinian Christians who live on the Jerusalem side of the barrier”.

Israeli forces occupied East Jerusalem, including the historic Old City, in 1967. It later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community. There are around 200,000 Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel in total, whilst hundreds of thousands more live abroad.

Editor:

Note well that the USA doesn’t push Israel to mend its ways. The Israel Lobby exists, and it has much clout. It’s one reason American Middle Eastern policy is so fucked up. Not only does the Israel Lobby exist, but also American Radical Sectarians (“Evangelicals”) support Israel mindlessly… because of their goofy ideas on the “End Times”. Pass the jug, there won’t be justice…

BMD

10 April 2014

Palestine Chronicle

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/archbishop-condemns-israeli-restrictions-on-easter-pilgrims/

Israel Demolished Catholic-Owned House to Expel a Palestinian Family in Occupied Palestine

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Monsignor William Hanna Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem, thinks that Monday’s demolition stems from an error made by the authorities, saying, “The demolition of the house owned by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the result of a transgression by the Israeli authorities. The target wasn’t the Catholic Church, but the Muslim family living in the house”. Speaking to AsiaNews about Monday’s destruction of a house owned by the Patriarchate near Bethlehem (West Bank), Bishop William noted, “The building was built before 1967 and had all necessary permits. The Catholic Church will demand the payment of damages from the Israeli government”. For Bishop William, this is an unprecedented act illustrating the seriousness of the problem posed by Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, noting, “The authorities don’t follow an urban plan to select houses [for demolition], but target Palestinian families that live in them”. In his view, had the house not belonged to the Church, the illegal act would’ve largely gone unnoticed.

On Monday, Israeli security forces came to the house with bulldozers to demolish it, arguing that it lacked a permit. The residents, a Muslim family of 14, said that the authorities broke into their house at 05.00, forcing everyone out. To prevent them from calling relatives and friends, police seized all their mobile phones. The family, which watched helplessly as the Israelis tore down the house, now lives in a tent set up by the Red Cross near the rubble of the building. The demolition took place 48 hours before a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who will meet today with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, in Bethlehem, to discuss the peace process with Israel. Yesterday, the Latin Patriarchate organised a rally at the demolished house attended by Christians, Muslims, and diplomats, including the consuls of Italy and Belgium. To protest against the act, which the local Catholic Church describes as “illegal” and “unprecedented”, Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote a letter of protest to Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

6 November 2013

AsiaNews

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Israel-demolishes-Church-owned-house-to-expel-a-Palestinian-family-29472.html

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On Tuesday, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land protested against Israel’s demolition of a church-owned property in East Jerusalem, saying it eroded chances for peace. Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of occupied Jerusalem, told journalists at the demolition site, “This act is against the law, against justice and against humanity, against any ideology upon which peace can be built, and increases segregation and hate”. Israeli security forces and bulldozers arrived at the house at 05.00 on Monday with a previously unseen demolition order, claiming the house lacked a permit, according to its residents, a family of 14. However, Archbishop Fouad said that the property, on occupied Jerusalem’s southeastern edge close to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, had stood since before 1967, when Israel seized Arab East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. He added, “We didn’t receive any orders for the demolition beforehand. This is holy land, and always will be, and the Interior Ministry, the [Jerusalem] municipality, and Israeli organisations knew it belonged to the Patriarchate”. Archbishop Fouad said that the church would appeal to Israeli and international courts over the demolition and had already complained to the Interior Ministry and the municipality. He said that it was the first time the Jewish state had demolished property belonging to the church. We couldn’t reach a spokesman for the municipality for comment.

5 November 2013

Gulf News

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/catholic-church-slams-israel-for-razing-property-1.1251748?utm_content=1.1251748&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=Catholic_church_slams_Israel_for_razing_property&localLinksEnabled=false&utm_term=News_RSS_feed

Editor’s Note:

Do note this… the tactics used by Israel in occupied Palestine are the same ones used by the USA when it stole Northwestern Mexico and Tejas (present-day Southwestern USA and Texas). It’s expelling Palestinians (as the Americans sent the Native Americans off to crappy reservations) and destroying their homes so that they can resettle the land with Israeli squatters, in order to “legitimate” their claim to the Palestinian West Bank. No wonder, the USA supports Israel… they’re “milk brothers”… both are blatant thieves with smarmy justifications for their brutality, greed, and self-centredness. Oh… one last thing… the tactics used by the Americans and Israelis are the same ones that Adolf Hitler wanted to use in Eastern Europe (lebensraum)… fancy that. Puts a new light on the moralising that comes out of Washington and Jerusalem… they’re not so “clean”, after all, are they?

Orthodox people… take note that Real Orthodox support the people of occupied and persecuted Palestine. The konvertsy support the Israeli stormtroopers… like calls unto like, doesn’t it? Shitbirds of a feather DO flock together…

BMD

 

19 February 2012. What the Corporate Media Doesn’t Tell You About Zionism in Israel…

Palestinians mourn their children killed in Israeli air raids. Why is this NEVER reported in the Western Corporate Media?

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I received this from a friend:

This week Israel is forcing another 88 Palestinian families out of their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for a new park by court order, and I’m wondering why no one asked why they don’t make these nice parks where Jewish families live, but instead they’re making an effort to turn Jerusalem 100 percent Jewish by forcing Palestinians out.

We’re supposed to be concerned about Iran. Much of the noise is coming from Israel. Look at the above note. I say, “Step away from the Zionists until they agree to return to the 1967 borders, which are the only internationally-recognised borders of Israel”. That’s simple. Stop aiding the Zionists until they agree to live in amity with a Palestinian state on the West Bank. They’re forcing Palestinians out at gunpoint. It’s a perverse reversal… in the past, the Nazis forced out Jews at gunpoint… in the present, the Zionist Jews force out Palestinians at gunpoint. There’s only one end to such… it’s too terrible to contemplate, isn’t it? Reflect on this… the USA supports the OPPRESSORS.

As long as Israel represses the Palestinians, its caterwauling about Iran is hypocrisy and evil. We shouldn’t support it, full stop. My view is simple… Israel has a right to exist… Palestine has a right to exist. That’s why Zionism is racism, and the UN was right to designate it as such. By the way, I’m NOT anti-Semitic. To disagree with a given Jew doesn’t mean that you hate all Jews, and that’s that.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Sunday 19 February 2012

Albany NY