Freedom to Worship: A Call to Churches

We, the undersigned Christian organizations and churches, stand with the churches of Palestine in their rejection of recent restrictions on their religious freedoms and the attacks on their houses of worship, cemeteries, and clergy.

One of the highlights of Passion Week is the Ceremony of Lights on Holy Saturday, where people gather together in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with unlit candles and lanterns as they wait for the priest to emerge from the empty tomb with two candles carrying the Holy Fire. The fire is then passed from one believer to the next, throughout the streets and to various communities, and even to other churches in Palestine. The fire is even flown to Cyprus and Greece, where it is met with prayers and jubilation. During the Ceremony of the Holy Fire this year,  the Israeli police arbitrarily restricted the number of worshippers in the Church, which can hold 10,000 worshipers, to a mere 1800 (with 1200 more in the courtyard) and physically prevented many worshippers from reaching the holy site to participate in the ceremony. They also canceled, without explanation, the permits they had previously issued to 700 Gazan Christians to come to Jerusalem for this occasion. The Greek Patriarchate rejected the excuse of the Israeli authorities that this was a safety measure, pointing out that there has never been a stampede or serious incident during this ceremony for centuries.

These heavy handed restrictions and deviations from the historic Status Quo Agreement came on the heels of a sharp increase in attacks on Christian Churches, cemeteries, and clergy by Jewish fanatics. An Anglican cemetery was recently desecrated; another church was vandalized, and the statues of the virgin Mary and Christ were broken and smashed to the ground by a Jewish fanatic. The Armenian Convent was also vandalized, as hateful anti-Christian messages were spray painted on its walls. Christian nuns and clergy report multiple incidents of being attacked, humiliated, and spat on by Jewish settlers, particularly in the Old City of Jerusalem. The current government seems to handle such incidents, where the perpetrators are usually known or briefly arrested, with tolerance and timidity, and many fanatics feel that they have powerful representatives favoring their views within the current government, particularly its Minister of Police and other officials. These attacks seem to mirror other restrictions and attacks on the Al Aqsa Mosque and attempts by Jewish extremists to alter the sensitive arrangements governing access to these Holy Places.

Despite public announcements that it will respect the religious freedom of all groups, and that it does not intend to alter the Status Quo Agreement, the behavior of the current government and the public pronouncements of some of its ministers are a source of serious concern. The impunity with which such attacks have been met must end, and the Israeli authorities must realize that there is a price to be paid for failure to respect the religious freedom of all people, including Christians.

We call on all churches to stand in solidarity with the Christians of the Holy Land and we call on our elected representatives to communicate these concerns directly to the Israeli government.

The political situation in the Holy land is precarious enough and we should not enable religious zealots and fanatics to inflame matters and use the power and control of the Israeli Government over the Holy Sites to disrespect the religious rights of others in their attempt to assert domination and control.