On Palm Sunday, 29th March, the world was shocked when Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was barred from entering the Holy City to perform the rites leading into the holiest period of the Christian calendar.
That Pizzaballa and Fr Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land, were denied entry was not without precedent; Muslims making their way to Jerusalem to observe Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr earlier in March at Haram Al-Sharif were also prevented from coming in to worship, despite coming in droves.
Worse: there have been reports of sectarian brutality within the area, echoing an incident which occurred on 19th April last year wherein Israeli troops questioned Eastern Orthodox practitioners who had come to the city for the Rite of Holy Fire, eventually leading to physical attacks on pilgrims.
Prior to the initial attack on Iran on 28th February this year, we reported how increasing global conflict in various parts of the world has adversely affected the global religious tourism / pilgrimage sector.
In our follow-up to that piece on 4th March, we pointed out how Israel has already lost US$3.4 billion in pilgrimage revenues; needless to say that these more recent incidents will definitely not be good for the country’s economic bottom line.
The world reacts
As of Tuesday, 31st March, eight Arab and Muslim countries issued a joint statement condemning the way Israel has barred both Christian and Muslim pilgrims from making their way to their respective sites of worship.
The statement signed by representatives from the governments of Egypt, Indonesia,Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates declared: “[We condemn] in the strongest terms, and reject the continued restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem.”
Meanwhile, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land released their joint statement immediately following the denial of entry for Pizzaballa and Ielpo on the 29th; declaring:
“The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land express their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented. This incident is a grave precedent,and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem. Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.”
To return to the statement of the Muslim nations, they likewise referred to the incident involving the Christian clergy as a flagrant violation of international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as of the existing legal and historical status quo.
As such, Israel has committed an infringement on the unrestricted right of access to places of worship for people of all faiths.
The damage is done
While Israeli authorities have come to an agreement with the Latin Patriarchate as of Monday, 30th March, it goes without saying that Israeli authorities have raised hackles among other nations, friends and foes alike.
While they have claimed that it was for security reasons and that they were only trying to ensure the safety of the clergymen, the fact that the latter were there for private worship and not a public gathering is seen by many experts and critics as a violation of their freedom of religion, as well as speculation that Israel is using religious suppression as a means of controlling entry to the country.
However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has decried this, stating on social media: “I reiterate the unwavering commitment of the State of Israel to the freedom of worship for people of all faiths and the importance of upholding the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
To be fair, a recent CNN feature explained that even Jewish worshippers have been allowed only limited entry, with just 50 of the faithful allowed to pay obeisance at the Wailing Wall per day.
However, as the Christians mark Good Friday, the holiest day of the year, today, and the Jews commemorate the Passover, the spectres of intolerance, hate. and violence continue to shroud what should be a meaningful time for all, and entry to some of the world’s holiest sites is nigh on impossible.
