News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 183 - Saturday, 14 December 2002
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
Excuse me because I didn’t send you the
Olive Branch on time as usual each Saturday evening. I have just return from
the trip from Monaco with the Patriarch and we have already began all the
preparations for Christmas in my parish.
Concerning the visit to Monaco it was
wonderful because I have the opportunity to go out from the tension of the
daily life in this country and breath fresh air at least for some days. The
Patriarch was received officially by the Archbishop of Monaco Msgr. Bernard
Barsi, and celebrated the Sunday mass at the Cathedral where he also presided a
vigil of prayer for peace in the Holy Land in which he gave a talk about the Christian
presence and the current situation in the Holy Land. He was also received
officially by the Prince of Monaco H.E. Rainier III, and the Minister of State
of the princepauty. He gave a conference also at the World Summit about the
role of religion in the peace in the Holy Land, he was with the director of the
mosque of Paris Aboubaker and l’Abbe Pierre. I was also invited to a give a
talk to a big gathering of youth at the Sunday mass, and I was very touched
that they all were very interested to hear about the situation here in the Holy
Land. We always encouraged them to come in pilgrimage and visit us as a sign of
solidarity with the Christian community in this difficult time. It seems that
23 groups are already scheduled for the next year from France and Monaco, which
is great. We do really hope that all the other churches will take such steps
and have the same courage to come.
Concerning the preparation for Christmas:
First of all everybody is talking about Bethlehem, they are curious to know whether
the Israeli army will withdraw from the city and allow the Christians to
celebrate Christmas in the birth city of Jesus? They would like to know if they
will allow Mr. Arafat to go to the midnight mass? They all hoped that the Pope will make pressure on Israel
during the visit of President Kastav to the Vatican. It seems that he asked for
that but the first reaction of the Israeli authorities that the will not allow
Arafat to go to Bethlehem, they will not withdraw from Bethlehem before Christmas
but they might allow the Christmas celebration sand the access to the city. You
might understand from this that they are giving some concessions, but I say
that the whole subject is really ironic and dramatic, because they don’t have
even the right to be their and impose of the whole population this general
curfew which last since more than three weeks, and they control everything
blocking everybody for living his own normal life, this is simply immoral and
unacceptable, and the situation become even worst when you speak that they are
doing all this in Bethlehem and especially in the month of December and before
Christmas… Therefore, the logical thing and the less that we ask for is to see
an immediate and complete withdrawal of the Israeli troops of occupation from
Bethlehem and for ever. Let the people breath and live their lives because they
were created by God to live freely according to all the international
conventions and charts of Human rights.
Nevertheless, as I say always that we have
the right to celebrate Christmas, especially in this difficult time, and even
under curfew if necessary, because nobody in this world can deny our right of
celebrating our feast especially in Bethlehem.. Our children have the right to
have some time of joy in the midst of this continuous sadness, therefore, I
will try my best to compensate them in my parish and do whatever possible to
let them feel that they are human beings able to keep strong and never give up
their inner power and their legitimate rights to celebrate Christmas in the
best way possible, spiritually and materially also such as decoration, Christmas
tree, Santa Claus, gifts and festivity… We will distribute gifts to more than
450 kids in Taybeh and try to help more than 45 old people and 50 poor families
in order to feel that they are not alone or abandoned. I work together with my
colleagues the Greek Catholic and the Greek Orthodox priests so that this will
be done for everybody in the parish without forgetting anybody at all.
You will find in today’s Olive Branch several
important documents:
1)
Israeli
President Hears a Plea on Visit to Pope, this news is taken from Zenit.
2)
Letter to the Pope from Laity
Committee in the Holy Land on the occasion of Mr. Katzav’s visit.
3) A Christmas
Message from Bethlehem by Susan Atallah.
4) Bethlehem Faces Joyless Christmas by Matt Spetalnick from Reuter.
The Patriarch will
hold a press conference during this week before Christmas and publish a
Christmas message, we will let you know before hand.
Best wishes of a
joyful feast from Taybeh Fr.
Raed Abusahlia
Israeli President Hears a Plea on Visit to
Pope
Katsav Hears Call for
Cooperation with Palestinians
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Moshe Katsav became the first
Israeli president to visit the Pope at the Vatican, and was told that the Holy
Land will see peace if there is cooperation between Israel and Palestine.
Katsav also met with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, and
Monsignor Pietro Parolin, new undersecretary for relations with states.
During the meetings, the Vatican's position was explained again "to the
illustrious guest," Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls said in a
press statement. That position favors "the existence and collaboration
between two states, Israel and Palestine, with the need to arrive at a rapid
conclusion to the ongoing conflict."
Navarro-Valls said that John Paul II and his aides appealed to the Israeli
president for "free access to Bethlehem, because of the forthcoming
Christmas celebrations."
Reuters, relying on a statement issued by the Israeli Embassy to the Vatican,
reported that Katsav promised the Pope that Israel's army would leave Bethlehem
over Christmas if there were no "warnings of terror operations.''
Israeli troops reoccupied Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem three weeks ago following
a suicide bombing that killed 11 Israelis on a Jerusalem bus, the news agency
noted.
As Minister of Tourism, Katsav had visited John Paul II in 1998, when a number
of Israeli officials were overseeing some preparations for the Jubilee year.
When the Pope visited the Holy Land in March 2000, Katsav was not yet president
of Israel. He was elected by the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, the following
July 31, defeating Shimon Peres.
John Paul II has received numerous Israeli heads of government and ministers,
even before diplomatic relations were established between the Vatican and
Israel on Dec. 30, 1993.
During today's meetings, Israeli-Vatican relations were analyzed. Special
attention focused on "the opportunity to intensify collaboration in the
cultural field," Navarro-Valls said.
Born in Iran in 1945, Katsav moved to Israel with his family at age 6. A
militant of the nationalist Likud Party, he was elected deputy for the first
time in 1977. He has held key posts within the Knesset and the government,
including Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, and Minister for the
Arab-Israeli minority.
As president, Katsav has shown openness toward ethnic and religious minorities,
Vatican Radio said.
Letter to the Pope 0n the
occasion of Mr. Katzav’s visit
His Holiness
Pope John
Paul II
The
We, the Christians of the
We address your Holiness, our brother in
Christ, as we find in you our only refuge and the glimpse of light in the
ever-darkening path.
Please urge Mr. Katsav – The President of
Israel – who will be visiting the
We hope and pray for peace in the
By the will of the Almighty God.
Laity Committee in the Holy Land ( LCHL ) is an interest group
of Palestinian laity Christians from all denominations seeking to
activate the Christian role in the general aspects of the Palestinian life. Jerusalem - P O Box 19055, Ph. 050 545
179, Fax 6271574 . Website http://www.HolyLandChristians.com
A Christmas
Message from Bethlehem
Susan Atallah
Dec. 12, 2002
We, the Christian Palestinians, have
always believed that Bethlehem would never experience the atrocities of war.
But we were wrong. We have seen the atrocities of war. During this past year in
Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, we have been under military curfew
for a total of 112 days, what you Americans call "lock-down." We
heard through the Israeli media that this military curfew would continue until
the end of December.
Christians say, "What about
Christmas? They can't do this to us." Muslims say, "What about Eid
el- Fiter after Ramadan?" But then, seemingly, the Israelis can do
whatever they want. The world is silent.
The constant Israeli curfews and
incursions have left the Palestinian people exhausted and worn out. We are
literally poor economically, but emotionally as well, and that is the most
difficult of all. We have forgotten how to smile. People have aged. The
teenagers in my classes tell me they feel so old and are missing out on the most beautiful time in
their lives. They are worried about their future and they don't think that they
will live long enough to see peace. "Not in our life time" they
say. The students get angry and
depressed when they hear that in America, you have already started your
Christmas decorations and will celebrate the birth of Christ in your churches
while we will not be allowed to attend Midnight Mass in the Church of the
Nativity, the birthplace of Christ.
It's time for violence to end and we
are in desperate need of help. It's time for both Israelis and Palestinians to
extend their hand in peace, so that both peoples can live in dignity,
stability, security and freedom. It's a God-given right for every human being. As you Americans sing "O Little
Town of Bethlehem," in honor of the Prince of Peace, we beg your prayers
and your support.
We wish you all a Peaceful Christmas
from Bethlehem.
Bethlehem
Faces Joyless Christmas
12-Dec-02
Matt Spetalnick
Reuter
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - The odor of teargas lingered over the ancient cobblestones of Bethlehem's Manger Square long after an Israeli army patrol had rumbled past.
For the Palestinian inhabitants of this biblical town, it was a stark reminder of the gloom that has settled over this year's Christmas preparations as Israeli forces maintain a tight grip on their lives.
Many thought the holiday season couldn't get any worse than the last two years, when a military blockade and Israeli-Palestinian violence choked off the flow of tourists and pilgrims to the town revered as the birthplace of Jesus.
But now, 18 days after troops and armor reoccupied Palestinian-ruled Bethlehem and imposed a curfew following a suicide bombing that killed 11 Israelis on a Jerusalem bus, residents fear they are facing a joyless Christmas.
"This is the place where Christmas was born," Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said in the city just south of Jerusalem. "But everything is dead now... We are being subjected to collective punishment."
Adding to the somber mood was Israel's threat to bar Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) from making his annual Christmas Eve pilgrimage to Bethlehem as it did last year despite international appeals.
CHURCHGOERS DODGE ARMY PATROLS
But Arafat is not the only one having trouble getting to church. In recent weeks, Christian worshippers have had to dodge Israeli army patrols on their way to the famed Church of the Nativity, and many have been turned back.
"It's a shame that people have to risk their lives to come to pray," said Father Amjad Sabbara, head of the Catholic church in the Bethlehem area.
As worshippers trickled in for Sunday mass, Israeli soldiers fanned out on nearby streets, banging on doors and searching house to house while occupants peered from their balconies.
An armored personnel carrier suddenly roared into the stone plaza. A soldier popped up from a hatch and lobbed a teargas grenade into a corner of the square where youths had been collecting stones.
The vehicle then rumbled on, the clatter of its metal tracks echoing off the locked shutters of the town's closed souvenir shops, mostly empty since the start of a Palestinian uprising for independence in September 2000.
Troops have kept close watch on the fourth century shrine to prevent wanted militants from taking refuge there and repeating a situation that touched off a month long siege in April.
The church still bears the scars of the nightly gunfights between soldiers and militants who were holed up inside.
FEW SIGNS OF RECOVERY
After a string of military incursions over the past year, which the army says are intended to seek out armed militants, the West Bank town is showing few signs of recovery.
Bethlehem, the jewel in the crown of Palestinian tourism when it greeted Pope John Paul (news - web sites) three years ago to mark the 2,000th anniversary of Christ's birth, is facing economic meltdown.
Souvenir shops have gone out of business, hotels have closed for lack of guests and the king-size tour buses that once plied the streets have vanished.
Electric light bulbs strung across Manger Street still read "2000 Welcome" -- as they did to greet the new millennium -- but the lights no longer work.
At the six-story Nativity Hotel, there is plenty of room at the inn -- so much in fact that the echo of a visitor's footsteps is the only sound to be heard in its empty lobby.
"Sometimes it's so lonely here I could die," said Awatief Khalaf Mawsaarweh, 40, who has gone from supervising a staff of 24 to being the hotel's caretaker and sole employee.
The few Christmas decorations on display are far outnumbered by posters of gunmen and others killed in the uprising which have been plastered on shop fronts throughout Bethlehem.
Bethlehem officials said Israeli military restrictions had forced the cancellation of many of the holiday festivities, limiting this year's celebration to religious rituals.
That has left many residents embittered, though some have voiced hope Israel will ease its clampdown or pull its troops out of Bethlehem in the next two weeks as a goodwill gesture.
The army, which says its measures are needed to prevent attacks in Israel, has remained tight-lipped on its plans.
"We do not wish to be in Bethlehem," a spokesman said. "But we are staying there ... because terror organizations do not take a break for Christmas or any other holiday."
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