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TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Israeli-‐Holy See Talks Expected to be Concluded by Year End .................................................................................... 3 Father Pizzaballa Re-‐Elected as Custos of the Holy Land ............................................................................................... 3 A Statement regarding police measures on Holy Saturday .......................................................................................... 5 Declaration on Cremisan by the Salesian Middle East Province ................................................................................. 6 10th Extraordinary Prayer .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Restoration of Seventh Station completed ........................................................................................................................... 8 Syria: Death of Fr. François Grieves the Franciscan Presence ..................................................................................... 9 Christian schools in Gaza risk closure .................................................................................................................................. 10 “At the Gates of Zion” about Christians in the Holy Land ........................................................................................... 11 Christian graves vandalised in the cemetery in Jaffa ................................................................................................... 13 Jewish converts offer a window on conservative Christianity .................................................................................. 13 King Abdullah II and Cardinal Sandri attend American University of Madaba inauguration ...................... 15 Visiting the southern West Bank ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Bubbling over with optimism .................................................................................................................................................. 17 ‘We are third-‐class citizens’ 'If Israel recognizes the Armenian genocide it won't be the end of the world' ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 Archaeologists unearth part of ancient Roman road in East Jerusalem .............................................................. 23 Enormous Monument Discovered Beneath Sea of Galilee ......................................................................................... 23 Spectacular 1,500-‐year-‐old mosaic discovered in southern Israel ......................................................................... 24 Jerusalem on the ancient Madaba map ............................................................................................................................... 25 Top 10 Israeli ancient mosaic discoveries ......................................................................................................................... 27 In Jerusalem's Old City, a sacred treasure trove goes on display ........................................................................... 29 The mysterious Mount Berenice ............................................................................................................................................ 32
TO OUR READERS: While the editor tries to exercise the best judgment 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. Cover photo by Miriam Mezzera
May – June 2013/03
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ISRAELI-‐HOLY SEE TALKS EXPECTED TO BE CONCLUDED BY YEAR END Talks to resolve differences between the Holy See and Israel could be concluded by the end of the year, Israel’s deputy foreign minister has said. Speaking to the Hebrew daily Maariv on Thursday, minister Ze’ev Elkin said he thought the agreement, which concerns unresolved property issues related to the Church in Israel, would be signed by the end of 2013. In a joint statement issued Thursday after the conclusion of a plenary meeting at the Vatican of the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission set up to resolve these outstanding issues, the Holy See and Israel said the talks took place “in a thoughtful and constructive atmosphere”. The parties noted that “significant progress was made and the parties committed themselves to accelerate negotiations on the remaining issues and look forward to an expedited conclusion in the near term.” The next plenary meeting, they said, would take place “by December 2013 in Jerusalem.” The talks during this latest plenary were headed by two new figures on both the Holy See and Israeli sides: Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, and Minister Elkin, Israel’s deputy foreign minister. They have both replaced their respective predecessors, Msgr. Ettore Balestrero and Daniel Ayalon, who have been reappointed elsewhere. The two officials were said to have worked well together and made significant progress in the talks. The Times of Israel reported June 7 that the two main points of discussion revolved around Vatican requests to build two new centres in Israel: a church in a section of archaeological interest in the Caesaria National Park, and at the Cenacle on Mount Zion. Vatican Insider reported that agreements were made for the Church to build on and administer both sites under certain conditions, although this has not been confirmed by either the Holy See or the Israeli government. Talks to resolve these outstanding issues related to the Fundamental Agreement between Israel and the Holy See have been taking place for almost 15 years. Officials insist the outstanding disagreements are not about principles but are more of a bureaucratic concerning property rights. Terrasanta.net – June 7, 2013
FATHER PIZZABALLA RE-‐ELECTED AS CUSTOS OF THE HOLY LAND Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa has been re-elected Custos of the Holy Land for another three years. The Italian friar was elected Custos for the first time in May 2004 and re-elected in 2010 for three years. His first important engagement during his third term will be the Holy Land Custody Chapter, due to take place 1-15 July in Jerusalem. General Visitor Fr. Renato Beretta OFM, appointed in July 2012 by the Minister General of the Order, will preside over the meeting.
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The Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land have had a presence in the Middle East for eight centuries and throughout this time have ensured, on behalf of the Catholic Church, care of the main holy sites in the places where Jesus lived his earthly life. The Friars Minor of the Custody number around 300 and are of various nationalities. They welcome pilgrims, officiate in the holy places, assist the local Christian community, are engaged in the study of the Scriptures and in archaeological research, and dialogue with people of other religions and cultures. Fr. Pizzaballa was born in Cologno al Serio, in the diocese and province of Bergamo (Italy), April 21, 1965 and has been a priest since September 15, 1990. He became a Franciscan on September 5, 1984, becoming part of the Province of Christ the King, of the Friars Minor of Emilia Romagna. On 14 October 1989 he made his solemn profession. After the first cycle of philosophical and theological studies, he obtained his Bachelor of Theology June 19, 1990 at the Pontifical Antonianum University of Rome. He completed his postgraduate studies at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem, obtaining a degree in Biblical Theology June 21, 1993. He subsequently received his Master's degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was assigned to the Custody of the Holy Land in July 1997. He was Professor of Biblical Hebrew at the Franciscan Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology in Jerusalem, and in the context of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, worked in the pastoral care of Hebrew-speaking Catholics. From May 2001 to May 2004 he was superior at the convent of Sts. Simeon and Anna in Jerusalem, home to a community of Hebrew-speaking Catholics. From 2005 to 2008 he was also Patriarchal Vicar (of the Patriarch Mgr. Michel Sabbah) for Hebrew-speaking Catholics. On 18 March 2008 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Pizzaballa as a consultant for five years to the Commission for Relations with Judaism at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In his capacity as Custos, Fr. Pizzaballa welcomed Pope Benedict XVI during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land (8-15 May 2009) and his visit to Cyprus in June 2010. A few days ago, Fr. Pizzaballa took part in the election of Fr. Michael Anthony Perry as Minister General of the Friars Minor. From May 22nd he replaces Fr. José Rodríguez Carballo whom Pope Francis appointed to be Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Michael Perry was born in Indianapolis (in the U.S.) in 1954. He made his solemn profession in the Order of Friars Minor in 1981 and was ordained a priest in 1984. Before being elected vicar general and procurator of the Order, he was, inter alia, Minister Provincial of the Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the U.S.
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He has worked for Catholic Relief Services where he had concrete experience of interreligious collaboration with Muslim and Jewish humanitarian organizations in a time of natural disasters such as the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia in 2004. Fr. Perry was also a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 10 years. Terrasanta.net – June 28, 2013
A STATEMENT REGARDING POLICE MEASURES ON HOLY SATURDAY Press Release: Here below is a statement from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, concerning the Israeli police measures on Holy Saturday- May 2013. We, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, watched with sorrowful hearts the horrific scenes of the brutal treatment of our clergy, people, and pilgrims in the Old City of Jerusalem during Holy Saturday last week. A day of joy and celebration was turned to great sorrow and pain for some of our faithful because they were ill-treated by some Israeli policemen who were present around the gates of the Old City and passages that lead to the Holy Sepulcher. We understand the necessity and the importance of the presence of security forces to ensure order and stability, and for organizing the celebration of the Holy Fire at the Church of the Resurrection. Yet, it is not acceptable that under pretext of security and order, our clergy and people are indiscriminately and brutally beaten, and prevented from entering their churches, monasteries and convents. We urge the Israeli authorities, especially the Ministry of Interior and the police department in Jerusalem, to seriously consider our complaints, to hold responsibility and to condemn all acts of violence against our faithful and the clergy who were ill-treated by the police. We deplore that every year, the police measures are becoming tougher, and we expect that these accidents will not be repeated and the police should be more sensitive and respectful if they seek to protect and serve. We also denounce all those who are blaming the churches and holding them responsible for the Israeli measures during Holy Week celebrations. On the contrary, the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem condemn all of these measures and violations of Christians’ rights to worship in their churches and Holy Sites. Therefore, we condemn all measures of closing the Old City and urge the Israeli authorities to allow full access to the Holy sites during Holy Week of both Church Calendars. The Heads of Churches of Jerusalem: +Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate +Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarchate +Patriarch Norhan Manougian, Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarchate +Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land +Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem +Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate +Aba Fissiha Tsion, Locum Tenens of the Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate
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+Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek-Melkite-Catholic Patriarchate +Archbishop Moussa El-Hage, Maronite Patriarchal Exarchate +Bishop Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East +Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land +Bishop Pierre Melki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate +Msgr. Joseph Antoine Kelekian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate The Latin Patriarchate – May 13, 2013
DECLARATION ON CREMISAN BY THE SALESIAN MIDDLE EAST PROVINCE The following is the declaration of the Salesian Province of the Middle East reacting to the verdict of the Israeli Special Appeals Commission given on April 24, 2013, concerning the construction of the Cremisan separation wall. Statement on the verdict of the Court regarding the Israeli separation wall in the Cremisan district. Bethlehem, May 2, 2013 The Salesian Middle East Province strongly deplores the April 24, 2013 verdict of the Israeli Special Appeals Commission on the Cremisan district separation wall. The Commission approved the route of the wall according to plans submitted by the Israeli authorities, rejecting the position of the Salesian Province and families of the town of Beit Jala. The Salesians of the Middle East continue to support the position of the Beit Jala families, remaining firm on their position on the issue of the wall, as they repeatedly expressed in previous press releases and also to the Israeli Court. In summary: 1. The Salesians of the Middle East reject the imposition of a wall that divides people in the Holy Land and separates various religious institutions. 2. The Salesians petitioned the aforesaid Court that the separation wall not separate the properties of the Cremisan convent in the town of Beit Jala and that all properties of the Cremisan convent remain joined with the town of Beit Jala. 3. The Israeli authorities decided upon the entire route of the wall by unilateral decisions, regardless of the legal opinion on the construction of the wall issued by the International Court of Justice on July 9, 2004. 4. The Salesian Middle East Province expresses its full and continued solidarity with the Palestinian families in Beit Jala, who are penalized in their rights and deprived of their property due to the construction of the wall. Moreover, it expresses its intention to continue its support for the legal case of these families against the wall, reserving the right to take legal action to protect ownership which has not been defined in previous agreements between the two states. With our prayer that peace and justice will come to the Holy Land. Father Munir El Rai, Salesian Middle East Provincial The Latin Patriarchate – May 6, 2013
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10TH EXTRAORDINARY PRAYER 10th edition of the Extraordinary Prayer of all Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace, beginning from Jerusalem, at the Syriac Catholic Church of St. Thomas, Jerusalem. In these times of changes and challenges both in the East and in the West, the urgency of an intercessory prayer for our time is more evident than ever. In this tenth edition of the Extraordinary Prayer of all Churches, which will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2013, at 6 pm Holy Land time, in the Syrian Catholic Church of St Thomas in Jerusalem, the “Mother Church” of Jerusalem once again calls all Christians and Christian communities in the world to pray for reconciliation, with God and with one another, for unity and for peace. The Extraordinary Prayer of May 18, 2013 is organized by the Syriac Catholic Church in close collaboration with the sister Syriac Orthodox Church. It will be based on the profoundly spiritual Pentecost rites of the antique Syriac tradition and held in Aramaic, the language used by Christ himself, and also the liturgical language still used by the Syriac Churches. Some of the prayer’s invocations will be prepared by Christians of Syria, the region where the Syriac Church originally developed from the Patriarchate of Antioch: they will in this way entrust the great difficulties of the present times to the prayer of the whole Christendom. The Extraordinary Prayer will also be an occasion for invoking reconciliation and expressing mutual forgiveness; it will be a faithful invocation to the Holy Spirit and to the Mercy of the Holy Trinity for our time, beginning from Jerusalem. As for the preceding editions of the Extraordinary Prayer, all Jerusalem Churches and all Christian communities, and especially their pastors, are invited to personally participate to the celebration. The prayer will be broadcast live or in differed mode by Christian TV channels in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America and possibly in Asia and Australia in six languages, in order to allow Christians and all persons of good will around the world to join, in a spiritual communion with the Jerusalem prayer. It will be followed by a documentary on the hosting Church. The Extraordinary Prayer of all Churches was born during a Vigil of Prayer at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by clergy representatives and lay worshippers in 2005, and is based on the inspiration of the urgent necessity of an intercessory prayer for our time involving all Churches, beginning in and proceeding from Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, in fact, all Christian Churches are present, as nowhere else. As the birthplace of the Church from the blood and the water that flowed from the side of Christ on Golgotha - according especially to Orthodox theology - and the original place of the effusion of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Holy Town has an extraordinary spiritual
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vocation to be a living spring of ecclesial communion. The lack of communion in the Church in fact is not only a counter-testimony to Christ’s message, but it is also, and especially, a negative spiritual reality, which weakens her spiritual strength. The Extraordinary Prayer is characterized by an irresistibly joyful spirit. Since 2009, starting with the first broadcast prayer then organized at the Syrian Orthodox Convent Church of St. Mark in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Church, using, each time, the words of one of the Christian traditions represented in the Holy City, publicly calls all nations in the name of Christ to “repentance for the forgiveness of sins, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24, 47). The Custody of the Holy Land – May 13, 2013
RESTORATION OF SEVENTH STATION COMPLETED On Friday, June 7, the restored altar of the Seventh Station of the Way of the Cross was blessed. After Holy Mass celebrated in the upper Chapel of the Sacred Heart, Fra Artemio Vitores, Custodial Vicar, inaugurated the renovated Chapel of the Seven Station with a benediction. Following several months of reconstruction and restoration, the Seven Station has become a “pearl" of the Way of the Cross. The history of the Seventh Station unites devotion with topographical and archaeological data. According to ancient testimony, there had been a gate to the city in the Western Wall at this point. Over the centuries, the column at this gate became associated with Jesus’ sentence to death and finally with Jesus falling the second time, which is still part of the devotion of the Way of the Cross. Christians called this gate, known as the Old Gate (see Nehemiah 12:39), the Gate of Judgment and the column, the Column of Sentencing. In 1875, the Custody of the Holy Land took possession of the site where the base of the column is located. From 1894 to 1900, the Chapel of the Seventh Station was restored and embellished with help from France. The painting of Jesus falling under the cross was the work of Francois Lafon (1899) and the altarpiece was made in Paris. During 1995-1996 a shop stall adjacent to the Chapel of the Seventh Station was made into a space adjacent with the sanctuary, so that more pilgrims would be able to assist at mass is celebrated there. More than 100 years since the Chapel was founded, the Custody of the Holy Land decided to carry out a complex restoration project. At the beginning of December 2012, the wooden altarpiece was removed and, together with the painting, was sent to Cracow, Poland.
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The AC KONSERWACJA ZABATKOW company owned by Mr. Aleksander Piotrowski, carried out the remaining restoration of the altar during the month of March. Plans for the lower part to be realized in stone were prepared by the architect Jozef Dudkiewicz, and the work was carried out by a local company. A stone arch was created in the vault above the altar where a verse is written in Latin: Et baiulans sibi crucem exivit in eum, qui dicitur Calvariæ locum (Io 19,17). The restoration was completed in May to the delight of all. The work of the architect Mr. Dudkiewicz and Mr. Dudkiewicz’s restoration work were generously donated by these two gentlemen from Cracow, Poland. By Jerzy Kraj OFM The Custody of the Holy Land – June 7, 2013
SYRIA: DEATH OF FR. FRANÇOIS GRIEVES THE FRANCISCAN PRESENCE On Sunday the 23rd of June, the sad news came from Syria: Father François Mourad was killed in the Custody’s monastery, where he had come to seek refuge and offer his assistance. The conditions of his death are not clear. He was apparently alone in the monastery when it was completely pillaged. Father François was well known in this region to which he retired several years ago to live as a hermit. After completing his novitiate in Rome as a Franciscan of the Custody, he heard a more urgent call from the Lord to lead a contemplative life. He followed this call in Syria, of which he as a citizen. His relationship with the Custody remained strong and he came regularly to one of its monasteries or another to help by replacing an absent friar. “He was always a bit ‘one of us’,” in the words of the Father Custos. Since the beginning of the war in Syria, he left his hermitage to be with a friar in fragile health and to serve a neighboring community of religious sisters, as well as to seek a bit more security. The tragic circumstances of his death are particularly painful for the Custody. The Custody’s presence in Syria is multifaceted, having always followed its mission of service to the people and continuing to do so in these troubled times, without political or religious distinction. A few weeks ago the Holy Land magazines of the Custody reported that in the Orontes region, the Custody had received “some one hundred people, Christians and both Sunni and Alawi Muslims. They were able to live together because the priest had categorically forbidden political discussions in the monastery. They were in need of everything: bread, water, electricity. The friars and Franciscan sisters did everything they could to obtain medicines and urgent supplies for them.” The Custody tries to support its friars in Syria as much as possible by sending them what they need, but the risks of travel are enormous. The friars, emphasizing the religious nature of their activity, have made agreements with the various groups to guarantee their safety as they move about. However, the situation at present is unpredictable and the extremist groups are on the rampage. No movement, even for clergy, can be assumed to be safe, as evidenced by the kidnapping of two bishops of whom there has been no news for two months.
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Nevertheless, the friars increase their efforts to come to the aid of the people. As well as the medical care offered in their dispensaries, in which Franciscan Sisters and Rosary Sisters work alongside the friars, some of the monasteries have become “dormitories”. The friars distribute food to the refugees and to everyone who comes to the monastery doors, participate financially with parishioners in the restoration of family homes that have been destroyed, help the most marginalized and sometimes serve as intermediaries when parishioners are kidnapped. The policy of opening their doors to everyone, sometimes earns the friars reprisals from one camp or the other. One monastery was bombed last December; it is now deserted. The death of Father François is a terrible blow for all the friars. Even so, they continue to be a great spiritual comfort to the people they serve. “War has a negative impact everywhere and on everyone, but it has also brought Christians of all rites closer together for mutual aid and prayer in common.” In some villages of the Orontes region, where the Franciscans are the only clergy who remain, they celebrate the sacraments for all the rites. In other places, they organize times of prayer that everyone attends. “Our role,” says a friar living in the Orontes region “is to be God’s fools who continue to bring hope to everyone who thinks that there is no future, that there is no hope, no charity.” The tragic situation in Syria impresses on us the need to pray for the fastest possible end to the war. However, it appears to be pulling neighboring Lebanon toward renewed violence, as well as weakening Jordan, which is dealing with the influx of refugees. The Custody calls on the international community to find ways to enter into dialogue with the forces in play in order to enact a truce and open the way to reconciliation. None of the measures taken so far, which are liable to bring about more violence and increase the number of deaths, can give Syria what it needs: conditions that will favor the speediest return of peace. On the feast day of St. John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord, may our prayer bring the support that our brethren in Syrian need and prepare this region to find the way to a just and lasting peace. The Custody of the Holy Land – June 24, 2013
CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS IN GAZA RISK CLOSURE A law in Gaza proposed the separation of boys and girls in schools for the next academic year. Five Christian schools, including three Catholic schools are threatened with closure (as well as schools run by the UN). The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem deplores this perspective and plans to meet with the Hamas leaders, including the Minister of Education, to achieve “ a solution for the benefit of students.” In the Gaza Strip, public schools have already applied the principle of single-sex classes from the age of 9. With the new law, private institutions are directly targeted because these schools have mixed classes in Gaza. The three Catholic schools in Gaza have 1,500 students. A school is run by the Sisters of the Rosary and the Latin Patriarchate supports two other schools. For the Patriarch, “such a decision is a serious concern.” Physically, there is a problem of space, organization and teachers. “In addition to having to find additional space for duplication of facilities, our schools need to hire more staff. We do not have the means,” explains the Patriarch.
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As we also know, men and women are not allowed to teach students of the opposite sex beyond the age of ten. Patriarch Twal believes that we will never go “in this direction” and “cannot disagree.” The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem hopes to discuss the issue with the ministers of the Gaza Strip (including Education). ” This decision was not taken by the higher authorities, but from a counselor. For this reason, I intend to go to Gaza together with the Director of schools of Palestinian (Rev. Faysal Hijazen) at the earliest opportunity and, together with leaders of Hamas, to find a solution for the good of the students.” Initial values Education is a priority in the Diocese of the Holy Land. On one hand, Catholic schools are a means of helping Christians to remain in the region. On the other hand, the Church, through its institutions, is always pleased to be at the service of the students (with a vast Muslim majority) in the educational, cultural, and academic fields. ”The schools have religious and social values of great importance”, said the Patriarch. “Through the schools and the presence of students – boys and girls – there is a real communication channel with their parents. Through this, we are able to develop friendships with many families in Gaza, whether Christian or Muslim, Fatah or Hamas,” said the Patriarch, who adds:” We believe in the importance of education in the schools where we teach openness to others. Children in schools learn and play together, and grow in the virtue of dialogue for the future.” The Latin Patriarchate – June 26, 2013
“AT THE GATES OF ZION” ABOUT CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND HM Television and the EUK Mamie Foundation have just published a new documentary on the current situation of the Christians in the Holy Land entitled, “At the Gates of Zion”. The audiovisual production with a duration of thirty minutes contains interviews with Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, Fr. Artemio Vítores, Custodial Vicar of the Holy Land, Amal Hazeen, Christian from Bethlehem in the Palestinian Territories and currently professor in the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, and Majdi Hashoul, seminarian from the diocese of Haifa, Israel. The purpose of this video is to help Christians around the world to get to know the difficult situation in which the local Christians are living in the Holy Land, the land where Our Lord lived
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and walked during His life. In 1948, the Christian population in Israel was 30%. Now it is only 1.2%. These statistics clearly denote a tragic reality. The video is produced especially for groups of pilgrims before traveling in order to help them to be prepared and to know the local situation of the Christians. Cardinal Edwin O’Brien affirms in the video: “We encourage pilgrimages to the Holy Land. It is a great sign of support , not only financial support for the charitable works that the Church is doing there, but also psychological support for the Christians. When they see the interests that the world-wide family of Christians takes in them, it encourages them to persevere”. Professor Amal Hazeen recalls in the interview her youth and childhood, when she would go every morning to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the profound impact this had on her. She also tells the memories of her visits to Jerusalem and to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre: “Being Christian and having been born in that land is a great gift.” However she laments the difficulties that the Christians in Bethlehem, for example, have to visit the holy places today: “Today, unfortunately, it is fairly difficult for Christians to go there. They cannot travel through different cities without a permission for residents that is hard to obtain – Christians and Muslims alike.” Madji Hashoul is a young seminarian for the diocese of Haifa, Israel, and he is currently a subdeacon and is soon to be ordained a deacon. He explains: “Our situation remains for the most part unknown in the world. Many do not even know of our existence. We are there, we live there. We are not recent converts, we have been Christian since the time of Jesus. The local Christians are Arab Christians.” And he continues: “As Christians in Israel, we do not consider ourselves first, second, or third class citizens. No, we feel even more inferior. There is an attitude of discrimination both in job opportunity and when one frequents different institutions. Unfortunately, one experiences inferiority.” Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, while he recognizes that the situation is very difficult and even tragic, still remains very positive because of the depth of the faith of the local Christians in spite of the persecution: “I just couldn’t get over the depth of faith of those who were there, and the youth, how serious they are about their catholic faith. The activities and the unity that they show. They are a minority and because of that they bond together very tightly. They are strong in their identity and despite the many obstacles that face them, nothing stops their practice of the faith and their enthusiasm for the faith.” Professor Amal, after explaining the situation of the local Christians in her intreview, proposes a solution: “Dialogue is needed here. When someone prepares to dialogue, they should take into consideration the issues of peace, justice, equality. Everyone should have the right to be able to live in fraternity and peace and be able to visit those places freely.” Madji Hashoul, on the other hand, concludes his intervention in the video asking Catholics throughout the world to visit them: “The most important thing for us is that those who visit those holy places keep us in mind, that they keep in mind that this small local Christian community is part of the Universal Church, and an important part at that, because it has survived centuries of extremely intense persecution.” For more information about the videos and testimonies, visit: http://www.eukmamie.org/en/television/specials/zion Zenit – June 04. 2013
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CHRISTIAN GRAVES VANDALISED IN THE CEMETERY IN JAFFA Attackers desecrated graves in an Arab Christian cemetery in Jaffa and the headstones were sprayed with Hebrew graffiti; apparently the incident took place probably in the night between Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 June. Even the tyres of five vehicles parked nearby were slashed. The attackers had daubed "price tag" and revenge" at the site, formula with which, since the early months of 2012, acts of vandalism have been "signed" against Christian and Muslim places of worship perpetrated by groups of extremist settlers in retaliation before the dismantling of illegal Jewish settlements. In a statement, the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land - which includes the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Religious Affairs, as well as representatives and leaders of different religious communities - expressed outrage over the attack against the cemetery. Last Wednesday, the police officer Galit Ziv told a parliamentary committee that in 2012 they had opened 623 files on "price tag" incidents and arrested 200 people. The police said Ziv – considered these acts ideologically-motivated "nationalistic crimes". Agenzia Fides – June 14, 2013
JEWISH CONVERTS OFFER A WINDOW ON CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANITY Jewish-born Christians, especially within the Christian conservative movement, shed light on the expectations and the assumptions of Christians and Jews alike. “My dad had his conversion before I was even born,” Sam Phillips said Thursday. “Growing up, my dad went to Jewish camp in the summer,” Mr. Phillips, 26, said of his father, Howard J. Phillips, founder of the Conservative Caucus, who died last month. “We just found this old 8millimeter video of his bar mitzvah.” The elder Mr. Phillips helped make Ronald Reagan president and worked with Jerry Falwell in the Moral Majority: he was a titan of conservative Christianity. In 1998, he told an interviewer, using language typical of some members of the religious far right, that true political victory would mean “biblical justice, biblical jurisprudence,” a return to the understanding that the United States “must live by the rules” that God makes. So I was surprised, as many others were, to learn from his obituaries that Mr. Phillips was born Jewish and did not become a Christian until the 1980s. Mr. Phillips was exceptional in his fervor, but he was not unique in his journey. The conservative movement, and its Christian wing, includes quite a few Jewish converts to Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism. Besides Mr. Phillips, there are Marvin Olasky, who helped popularize the term “compassionate conservatism”; the columnist Robert D. Novak; Lewis E. Lehrman, who in 1982 challenged Mario M. Cuomo for the governorship of New York; and the activist lawyer Jay Alan Sekulow, founder of the American Center for Law and Justice.
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These men are all very different, and in many cases have not met each other. But it is worth inspecting their common experience as converts. Jewish-born Christians, especially within the Christian conservative movement, offer a window into the expectations and the assumptions of Christians and Jews alike. People who know them may be elated, others uncomfortable — and it can be hard to predict who will feel what. And while converting can make one an oddity in both one’s old and new communities, Jewish heritage can also confer a unique perspective on the conservative Christian world the convert has joined. Some of these men are not particularly identified with Christianity. Despite his political past, Mr. Lehrman is today known mainly for his philanthropic support of research into American history. But other converts, like Mr. Phillips, move in Christian political circles where Jews are constant objects of interest. Many evangelicals are passionate Zionists, believing the State of Israel heralds Jesus’ eventual return. But their end-times vision often involves the mass conversion of the Jews. So while evangelicals often profess a special love for the Jewish people, that love can feel backhanded to its recipients. Sam Phillips said that before his father became a Christian, Jerry Falwell would refer to him on television “as his Jewish friend, and how it was important to treat them well” — “them” being the Jews. Both before and after his conversion, the younger Mr. Phillips said, Christians were often enthusiastic about his father’s Jewish ancestry. “I think the only experiences I heard were positive,” Mr. Phillips said. Mr. Lehrman did not return phone calls, but a pair of 1985 newspaper columns present another angle on conversion: the suspicion it can engender. Mr. Lehrman had been accused of opportunism by Jimmy Breslin, the Daily News columnist: “Lewis Lehrman, the politician, went out and changed his religion from Jewish to Roman Catholic and then announced it in all the political stories.” William F. Buckley countered that Mr. Lehrman had not advertised his conversion, merely confirmed it when asked by reporters, and that Breslin clearly “intended political harm (Jimmy is an ardent Democrat).” What’s more, Mr. Buckley added, if Mr. Lehrman were guilty of opportunism, it was a poor attempt at opportunism. The notion, he wrote, “that a conservative Jew can multiply his votes by becoming a Christian is politically superficial.” Mr. Lehrman’s Jewish vote in 1982 was “not large,” and it came mainly from religious Jews who would be affronted, he wrote, “by what they must deem apostasy.” In other words, by converting, Mr. Lehrman stood mainly to lose the votes of Jews upset that he had left. Converting from Judaism to Christianity may offend fellow Jews, but it can seem heroic to certain ardent Protestants and Catholics, thrilled that a non-Christian has seen the light. Mr. Sekulow, a talk-radio host and a lawyer who often represents Christians in religious-liberty cases, makes his journey from Judaism to Christianity part of his public story. He, too, declined to be interviewed, but one can read his essay “How a Jewish Lawyer from Brooklyn Came to Believe in Jesus” on the Web site of Jews for Jesus. Mr. Olasky, a former adviser to George W. Bush and the author of “Compassionate Conservatism,” grew up Jewish and became an evangelical after college. He now edits World, an
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evangelical magazine, and said in an interview that being raised Jewish has its pluses and minuses in the evangelical world. “I came from a not particularly Bible-oriented household,” Mr. Olasky said, “so there are lots of things, as far as memorizing parts of the Bible, that folks that grew up in the evangelical subculture have, and I just don’t have that.” While he has felt no anti-Semitism from Christians, Mr. Olasky said he has encountered resentment from Jews. One time he was seated at a dinner next to a religious Jew. “And he would not talk with me through the whole dinner,” he said. “I encounter that occasionally.” As a journalist, however, being from a different background has been an advantage, Mr. Olasky said. He said he had collected around himself at World magazine many reporters, including Christians and adult converts from other faiths, who also did not grow up in the mainstream evangelical subculture. That, he said, gives them an edge. “We don’t do public relations,” Mr. Olasky said. Indeed, it was World that first reported that Dinesh D’Souza, a conservative Christian, was engaged to another woman while still married to his wife. “Everyone in the evangelical community is mad at us for some reason at one time or another,” Mr. Olasky added. “We’re not part of the movement.” By The Associated Press Haaretz – May 25, 2013
KING ABDULLAH II AND CARDINAL SANDRI ATTEND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF MADABA INAUGURATION The official opening of the American University of Madaba (AUM) was held on Thursday afternoon, May 30. AUM is affiliated to the of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of which Pope Benedict blessed the first stone on May 9, four years ago, during his pastoral visit to the Holy Land. Among the officials present were His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan; His Beatitude Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who represented Pope Francis. Fr. Rifat Bader, Director of the Center for Catholic Studies and formation for media explained: “The presence of the King, the Patriarch and Cardinal Sandri authoritatively confirms that the path of the new university institution should be viewed in the context of the great and enduring mission carried out by the Latin Patriarchate in Jordan in the field of education. 160 years ago the early phases of the first school of the Latin Patriarchate beyond the Jordan appeared in what was then a closed and marginal world. Today, that same mission continues to facilitate the birth of a University with high standards and international academic connections, serving the Jordanian people, both Christians and Muslims.”
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The American University of Madaba opened its doors in October 2011. Students today are about 850, but the University, at full capacity, can accommodate eight thousand. There are about twenty active courses, concentrated in the areas of information technology, economic sciences and medical health. The Latin Patriarchate has contributed significantly to the building of the university. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is a member of the Board of Directors, which now runs the fully independent University, from an academic and financial point of view, on the pattern of other Middle Eastern Universities and is accredited by the certification bodies of the American University of New Hampshire. Agenzia Fides – May 28, 2013
VISITING THE SOUTHERN WEST BANK Few dare to visit the beautiful and expansive South Hebron Hills, but a trip there sheds valuable light on the dynamics of Israeli occupation. You won't find the South Hebron Hills highlighted in any travel guide or advertised by the Tourism Ministry. This area is not even technically part of Israel, though Israelis are free to travel there and a few thousand have settled there. If you are interested in going beyond the headlines and getting a taste of the reality on the ground that virtually no tourists and few Israelis ever see, you can visit the Palestinian communities of the South Hebron Hills. Located just an hour and a half south of Jerusalem, at the bottom tip of the West Bank, the South Hebron Hills are designated as Area C – part of the roughly 60% of the West Bank under full Israeli sovereignty. A drive down Route 60 from the Gilo checkpoint will take you on a winding road where the incongruent desert landscape becomes immediately evident. Settlements like Carmel, Ma'on and Otniel speckle the hills amid rural communities like Susya, Jinba and Umm el Heir, where Palestinian shepherds and farmers live in tents and tin shacks. Some Israelis may have heard of the area, where the settlement of Susya arose in 1983, because of the national archaeological site in Jewish Susya established in 1986 after ruins of a synagogue were discovered. (A number of Palestinian families were expelled then to make way for the site and there are eight villages in the area currently under threat of demolition.) While the area is beautiful and expansive, few visitors go there because it is a flashpoint in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Yet it is one of the most informative and important areas for those seeking to gain an understanding of Israeli occupation and the acrimonious dynamic between settlers, soldiers and Palestinians. If you would like a guided tour, one option is to go there with Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran IDF combatants who talk about their experiences serving in the West Bank during the Second Intifada. Tours are offered in English around once a month and dates are listed on their website. They usually depart from International Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma), across from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. If you are looking to go beyond information and engage in direct action, join the weekly trips that leave from Jerusalem with a political group called Ta’ayush, active in the South Hebron Hills
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for over a decade. Bear in mind that such a trip may also include tense confrontations between Palestinians, settlers and soldiers. Every Saturday for over a decade, a small group of Israelis meets with Palestinian residents and accompanies them to their lands in support of their daily humanitarian needs like grazing and farming. Through their presence and documentation, they try to prevent skirmishes by settlers and soldiers. For example, thanks in part to Ta’ayush activists’ documentation and legal work, the Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that soldiers cannot issue closed military zone orders and evacuate Palestinians from an area because settlers have provoked a confrontation – rather they must do everything possible to enable the agricultural work to continue unabated. Palestinians welcome Israeli and international activists who wish to learn about their situation. Hot tea with fresh local sage and lots of sugar is always offered to visitors, a soothing respite from the rough terrain and scorching sun that characterize the South Hebron Hills. By Mairav Zonszein
Haaretz – May.22, 2013
BUBBLING OVER WITH OPTIMISM The artists who contributed to ‘Effervescence,’ an exhibition that looks at life in mixed ArabJewish cities, are working toward full acceptance of each side. Coexistence between Jews and Arabs has been around a while, at least as a topic for discussion. But the Effervescence exhibition, currently running at the Nahum Gutman Museum in Neveh Tzedek, Tel Aviv, takes a somewhat off-center perspective on the issue. “The exhibition looks at life in mixed [Jewish-Arab] cities in Israel,” explains curator Dr. Rona Sela. Besides serving as an exhibition curator, Sela spends much of her working time researching social and political elements of photography in this part of the world. “It examines the Palestinian voice in the cities with mixed populations,” she adds, before qualifying the term. “Actually, I don’t think ‘mixed’ is a good word. I prefer ‘binational.’ You know, ‘mixed’ implies some kind of balance of power between the two parties, and cooperation, and that is something that, in practice, doesn’t really happen.” Effervescence incorporates a wide swath of types of works and subject matter, by both Arab and Jewish artists. The full-blown title of the show is “Effervescence – Housing, Language, History – A New Generation in the Jewish-Arab Cities,” and the handsome book of the same name, in Hebrew and Arabic, edited by Sela, is divided into three main categories – Changing Domains, Cultural Agents, and Rewriting the Cities. The Changing Domains section focuses on the transformation experienced by Lod after the State of Israel came into being; one part looks at the creation of Upper Nazareth in 1956; there is a chapter entitled Marching in the Urban Domain, which discusses the importance of parades and the way mass public activity has impacted on Ramle; and a chapter on Planning, Society and Activism, and the way they interconnect. Sela is, of course, alert to the fact that most aspects of life here are construed, or misconstrued, as having some kind of political bearing. Naturally, when you curate an exhibition of works that
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gives voice to the Arab side of urban evolution you are venturing into a political minefield, whether you like it or not. “This topic has all sorts of strata to it, and you can’t ignore the political side, but I try as hard as I can to orient things in the direction of morals and ethics, of democratic rights, exercising those rights, and adopting an equal approach to all human beings,” says the curator. Sela says she is not getting on her soapbox, and that she aimed to act merely as a conduit for the artists’ ideas and opinions. “I am only a mediator. I am bringing the artists’ voice to the fore. This is not my struggle.” Although Sela says she is not directly involved in the topic she feels it is an area worthy of wider attention. “The common bond between all the artists in this exhibition is that, Palestinian and Jewish alike, they are all telling the story of the Palestinians, and their struggle, which I feel is a struggle for democracy, of all of us. The Palestinians are basically saying that they feel they are second-class citizens and they want to be on the same footing as everyone else. All this started in 2000, when the Palestinians decided to do everything in their power, and to use all democratic means, to improve their lot.” The exhibition tries to convey that sense through all manner of artistic media, including feeding off events from the past. There is, for example, an intriguing pairing of a monochrome group print taken at a party that took place in 1924 at the house of a Jaffa resident called Alfred Roch, and a parodied version of the shot, taken in 2012, called A Sketch of Manners (Alfred Roch’s Last Masquerade). THE CHANGING Domains section features two very different prints, of the same spot, taken in close temporal proximity. The first was taken by David Eldan, who created the national photography archives in 1948, of the Arab neighborhood of Manshiya, at the northern edge of Jaffa, which was largely destroyed during the War of Independence. The second was taken just a few months later by Hans Haim Finn. The latter print was taken during a ceremony to mark the opening of a park in the memory of the fallen members of the Irgun Zva’i Leumi on the site of Manshiya, which mostly lay in ruins. Another set of color prints, from 2007, documents a group of people marking the grid of the streets that once ran through Manshiya, part of which is now covered by the lawns of the Charles Clore Park. As far as Sela is concerned, all vehicles of expression are kosher. “I don’t just bring works of art to get this message across,” she declares. “There are things produced by members of society who have no connection at all with art, but who are publicly active in bringing about change and who make things that are very visual.” Some of these are on display at the museum and include homemade T-shirts with social and/or political statements, and tailor-made maps. “This is not a conventional art exhibition,” states Sela. “This is an exhibition that addresses art and activism, and the public domain.” The curator also looked into numerous aspects of the themes she wanted to put on display, outside the artistic sphere too.
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“I did research over a two-year period. I met with dozens of organizations and movements, Jewish and Palestinian, and I think that comes through in the book of the exhibition.” The volume is, indeed, a weighty tome – all 250-plus pages of it – with essays by architect and planner Dr. Haim Yacobi who lectures in the Department of Politics and Administration of Ben-Gurion University, Hana Hamdan-Saliva, a post-doctoral student at the UAB University in Barcelona, and Dr. Dana Piroinski, who specializes in the late Middle Ages and 20th-century urban areas. The book closes with an article by Sela, titled “Weaving the Change – Activism and Change since 2000 in Israeli Binational Cities.” “This is different from the coexistence activity which took place, say in the 1970s, when Jews and Palestinians would meet up briefly and then each would go their separate way. This activism, which you can see in the exhibition, is about creating a new, more equal society, which entails fully accepting the other, as is, as an equal.” Effervescence – Housing, Language, History – A New Generation in the Jewish-Arab Cities closes on August 17. For more information about the exhibition: (03) 516-1970 and www.gutmanmuseum.co.il By BARRY DAVIS
The Jerusalem Post – June 6, 2013
‘WE ARE THIRD-‐CLASS CITIZENS’ 'IF ISRAEL RECOGNIZES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IT WON'T BE THE END OF THE WORLD' Cut off, is the way the new head of the Armenian church in Jerusalem feels about his and his people's status; cut off from an Israeli bureaucracy and cut off from the rest of the world by the municipality. On a recent afternoon in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Armenian Patriarchate’s new leader was treated as royalty. Black-robed priests and pilgrims young and old, visiting from Armenia, snapped photos and grinned excitedly, as they waited in line to kiss Archbishop Nayrhan Manougian’s hand during a reception. Elected the 97th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem in January, Manougian is now one of the top Armenian Christian leaders worldwide, in a community scattered over the globe. In Jerusalem, where the Armenian Christian presence dates back almost 1,700 years, he is also one of the most powerful Christian clerics. The Armenian patriarch shares oversight at the ancient Christian holy sites with the Greek Orthodox and Latin (Roman Catholic) patriarchs. But despite the historical presence, the tiny Old City Armenian community often feels sidelined, Manougian told Haaretz. As the number of community members relentlessly shrinks, and is now only a few hundred, he worries if there will be future generations. Day-to-day life, he says, is also a balancing act, finding a place between the powerful Jewish Israeli and Muslim Palestinian communities. Israeli scholars echo the same concerns.
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At the core of Armenian insecurities are successive Israeli governments that have ruled over them since 1967 but never officially acknowledged the 1915 Armenian genocide or its estimated 1.5 million deaths by Ottoman Turkish forces. Many of Jerusalem’s Armenians, including Manougian, are the children and grandchildren of the survivors of the genocide. His father fled Armenia through the desert that became known as the “death fields,” as he headed to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. Born in Aleppo in 1948 and orphaned by age 5, Manougian grew up in that city, with poor relatives and the stories of the survivors around him. After seminary and ordination, serving Armenian Christians took him from Lebanon, across Europe and the United States, and to Haifa, Jaffa and finally in 1998, to Jerusalem. Here, Armenians believe that Israel’s silence on the events of 1915 is based on maintaining favor with Turkey. “If you ask me, [recognizing the genocide] is what they have to do,” said Manougian of Israel. “What if they accept it? It won’t be the end of the world.” Manougian also felt marginalized by Israel, while waiting five months for the state to officially recognize his title. Manougian was elected after the 2012 death of Patriarch Torkom Manoogian. Palestinian and Jordanian leaders recognized him days after the January election. Israel did not do so until June 23. Initially, the patriarchate postponed Manougian’s inauguration, waiting for Israel to reorganize the government following its January 22 elections. But as months passed and the recognition application continued to be ignored, the patriarchate on June 4 held the inauguration anyway. There is no law requiring it, but sending a formal letter of recognition is a Holy Land tradition dating to the Ottoman era, Manougian said. “The first [Israeli] letter was signed by Ben-Gurion.” The Prime Minister’s spokesperson did not give a reason for the delay. But Dr. Amnon Ramon, a Hebrew University and Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies expert on local Christians, said that his impression was that the delay was caused by bureaucracy and lack of priority. In researching his 2012 book, “Christians and Christianity in the Jewish State” (in Hebrew, published by the JIIS), he found that Israel’s relations with Christians and church institutions are among the lowest priorities in policy and practice of the local and national government bodies, he said. While Ramon works on improving government relations with Christians, he also encourages Christians, including Armenians, not to allow caution to stop them from lobbying for their own needs. Christians “have to look at the Israeli side, the Palestinian side, be very cautious, and sometimes this leads them to inaction.”
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Old City Armenians live more closely with the Palestinians and say their relations with them are better than with official Israel or some of their Jewish neighbors. Bishop Aris Shirvanian says that “they don’t spit on us,” referring to a phenomenon sometimes encountered by Christian clergy in the Old City. “We have no legal problems with them,” said Bishop Aris Shirvanian. But the Palestinians have also not recognized the Armenian genocide. “The whole of the Islamic countries do not recognize the genocide because Turks are Muslims,” he said. Being Christian in Jerusalem is complicated, he added. “When you are dealing with two sides [Israelis and Palestinians], you have to not take one side against the other.” First to adopt Christianity Armenians have a long, continuous presence in the city, from at least the fourth century, after Armenia was the first nation in 301 C.E. to adopt Christianity as its official faith, said Yoav Loeff, a Hebrew University teacher of Armenian language and history. Until World War I, most of the Armenians here were monks or other church people. After the war, the numbers in Jerusalem grew, as Armenians fled the genocide and developed a vibrant lay community here. There were also artisans who came to the city in 1919 under the patronage of the British Mandate to renovate the vividly decorated ceramic tiles on the Dome of the Rock. Their craft of hand-painting tiles and ceramics deeply influenced Jerusalem’s artistic heritage. This can be seen still today on signs and architectural facades, and in the pottery in Israeli and Palestinian homes. The patriarchate also opened a photography studio here in the 1850s, and the period portraits done by some of its photographers are still renowned. Until the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, local Armenians lived mostly in Jerusalem, with some in Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramle and Ramallah too, numbering about 25,000 in total, Manougian says. While the majority fled the war to surrounding areas − Ramallah, Jordan, Lebanon − a few thousand ended up in the Old City’s Armenian Quarter. But with growing economic and political tensions and lack of opportunities, most left over the years. There are no official statistics, but historians estimate that there are some 3,000 people of Armenian descent in Israel, but most do not identify with the community, coming from the former Soviet Union and having married Jews. The community’s center of life today is in the Armenian Quarter, which has an elementary school, middle school, high school, a seminary, the 12th-century St. James Cathedral, the Church of the Holy Archangels, and the Armenian manuscript library. But barely 400 Armenians live there now, down from around 1,500 in 1967, said Manougian. “I’m afraid that if things go on like this, there won’t be any Christians left in this country,” he said, alluding to the wider phenomenon of an ongoing exodus of Christians of all denominations from the Holy Land. The city and state are not helping Armenians to flourish, he added. “Nobody knows anything about Armenia or Armenians ... It’s not even on the list of their [concerns]. We don’t belong to the community − they don’t [accept] us as members. We are third-class citizens.” Fueling this feeling are occasional spitting incidents. On June 19, for example, an Orthodox Jewish man spat at the feet of patriarch Manougian, during a procession of senior church clergy as
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they walked toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Bishop Shirvanian, who was present, said that such spitting incidents have declined during the past year, but “you never know when it will happen while walking down the street .... Most Jews are respectful, but some of the ultra-Orthodox are obstinately spitting.” A spokesperson for the Jerusalem police spokesperson said that it received two spitting complaints from the Armenians this year. A 16-year-old and an adult were both arrested and held for several hours. “We only know about it if a complaint is filed;” added the spokesperson. “We always offer [church] processions a police escort, because of this problem.” Freedom of movement in and out of the Old City is also unpredictable. Nestled inside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, the Armenian Quarter relies on the Jaffa Gate for access to the rest of the city. But the city closes the gate to vehicular traffic for several hours at a time on more than 40 days a year, during large events like the recent light festival and car races, church officials say. On June 16, the Latin Patriarchate issued a statement on behalf of Old City residents, pilgrims, churches and patriarchates, which said that Jaffa Gate provides “the only access to our patriarchates, churches and convents. Instead of finding solutions to these interruptions that cause great inconvenience and disruption, the situation has gone from bad to worse.” In recent weeks, Manougian said he had to get a police permit to travel through Jaffa Gate on the Feast of Ascension, cancel plans to attend an event at a Tel Aviv embassy, and console pilgrims denied access to the Old City holy sites, because of closures. The municipality, he said, “should have called the heads of the communities and asked them, ‘What do you think?’ Instead, they just announce and do it.” A municipal spokesperson said that access is closed to residential vehicles only during certain hours announced in advance, during certain city festivals − such as the two days of the Formula One events and the nine days of the recent light festival. Additionally, there are sometimes temporary closures of Old City Gates on holy days of the city’s various religious groups. At those times, he said, residents with cars can use different gates. In dealing with the Israel’s Interior Ministry, too, a frustrated patriarchate has to wait “months, or years,” says Manougian, to get visas to bring Armenians to study or teach at the quarter’s schools and seminary. Priests ordained for life to serve the Jerusalem patriarchate who do get visas find themselves having to return yearly to the Interior Ministry to renew them. Father Pakrad Derjekian, a patriarchate priest for 32 years, says that when he applied for Jerusalem residency, he was told that he had been living in the city for so many years on visas with no problem, so he should continue. Clerics are “most of the time refused for Jerusalem residency,” he said. “So we stopped applying.” Christians of all denominations have problems getting visas to study and teach here, and those who have long-term assignments have trouble getting Jerusalem residency, confirmed Christianity researcher Yisca Harani. By Lauren Gelfond Feldinger Haaretz – June 28, 2013
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ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH PART OF ANCIENT ROMAN ROAD IN EAST JERUSALEM The section of road, one of two that connected Jerusalem to Jaffa, is the best preserved segment ever found. The Israeli Antiquities Authority uncovered what archaeologists have called the best preserved section of an ancient road that once connected Jerusalem with Jaffa. The road segment was unearthed about two weeks ago during an archaeological dig in Beit Hanina, an east Jerusalem neighborhood, in advance of construction work planned in the area later this year. The authority announced the discovery on Tuesday. “Several segments of the road were previously excavated by research expeditions of the IAA, but such a finely preserved section of the road has not been discovered in the city of Jerusalem until now,” David Yeger, who headed the excavation, said of the segment of the road, which is eight meters wide and well paved. “The Romans attached great importance to the roads in the empire," he said. "They invested large sums of money and utilized the most advanced technological aids of the period in order to crisscross the empire with roads. These served the government, military, economy and public by providing an efficient and safe means of passage." Archaeologists were aware of the existence of this and another road connecting Jerusalem and Jaffa thanks to historical documents and other archaeological finds. The roads were operational from the second to the fourth centuries, and according to findings from this latest dig, were repaired several times. "The construction and maintenance of the roads was assigned to military units, but civilians also participated in the work as part of the compulsory labor imposed on them by the authorities,” Yeger said. Haaretz – June 25, 2013
ENORMOUS MONUMENT DISCOVERED BENEATH SEA OF GALILEE A vast monument beneath the Sea of Galilee - possibly a Bronze Age burial site - has been discovered by a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University. The cone-shaped structure is approximately 39 feet high and 230 feet across and weighs about 60,000 tons, according to a press release from the American Friends of Tel Aviv University. The researchers documented their findings in the March 2013 edition of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, the Times of Israel reported. The structure is thought to be approximately 6,000 years old, dating back to the early Bronze Age (3300-2200 BC). Archaeologist Dr. Yitzhak Paz, of Ben-Gurion University and the Israel Antiquities Authority, said the monument resembles ancient European burial sites and may have been connected to Beit Yerah - a major settlement during the early Bronze Age, nearly a mile south of where the monument was found.
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The discovery was made after nearly 10 years of research on the site. A large pile of stones in an otherwise smooth area was found in the southwestern area of the Sea of Galilee when it was surveyed by sonar technology in 2003. Further exploration revealed that the stones constituted a purpose-built structure of basalt, which is commonly found on the Golan Heights but not at the Sea of Galilee, leading researchers to conclude that the stones were intentionally brought to the site. Professor Shmuel Marco of Tel Aviv University said ”the base of the structure — which was once on dry land — is lower than any water level that we know of in the ancient Sea of Galilee.” The Journal of Nautical Archaeology article attributed the submergence to either tectonic movement or rising water levels. According to a June 10th press release, the research team plans to further investigate “past tectonic movements, the accumulation of sediment, and the changing water levels throughout history” to determine how the structure ended up at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee. They are specifically looking for further artifacts to help them more accurately date the monument, and provide clues as to its purpose and builders. Terrasanta.net – June 20, 2013
SPECTACULAR 1,500-‐YEAR-‐OLD MOSAIC DISCOVERED IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL Floor is centerpiece of sprawling Byzantine village unearthed at Beit Kama. A magnificent 1,500-year-old mosaic floor has been uncovered by archeologists near Kibbutz Beit Kama in the south, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Sunday. The mosaic was the most outstanding find in a Byzantine-era village unearthed in the Negev during a survey conducted prior to construction of a highway. The village, which thrived from the 4th through 6th centuries C.E., encompassed about six dunams – or an acre and a half – and was discovered under the fields of the kibbutz. Among the finds was a public building measuring 12 meters by 8.5 meters (about 40 feet by 26 feet) containing the mosaic floor. Archaeologists assume the building was a public one due to its size and relative opulence. The colorful mosaic includes geometric motifs and features amphorae – wine containers— in the corners, as well as a pair of peacocks and a pair of doves pecking at grapes on grapevines. The combination of so many motifs in one mosaic is unusual, say Israel Antiquities Authority officials. The building also features a system of water channels, pipes and water pools. The site, situated on an ancient road that led north from Be'er Sheva, apparently included a large estate with a church, residential buildings, storerooms, a large water cistern, a public building and agricultural fields equipped with irrigation pools. One building appears to have served as a hostel for travelers passing through the area, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. The site was excavated prior to the southern extension of Route 6. By Yanir Yagna Haaretz – May 13, 2013
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JERUSALEM ON THE ANCIENT MADABA MAP A mosaic map found on the floor of a 6th-century Byzantine church in Jordan offers a useful and unusual guide to the Old City of Jerusalem. It might seem odd at first that this tourism tip highlights a mosaic floor in Madaba, Jordan – but bear with us. A link to the colorful mosaic can be found here. Enlarge it and follow along. And a modern map of today’s Old City could be helpful for orientation and comparison. This huge mosaic map once carpeted the floor of a 6th-century Byzantine church, built in Madaba at the height of the Eastern (Christianized) Roman Empire. Today, the map adorns the interior of the Greek Orthodox church of St. George, built on the same spot at the end of the 19th century. The mosaic depicts the entire Holy Land, though several geographical areas have not survived, leaving large gaps in the map. Towns are indicated by small towers, a boon for scholars who knew of some of them from contemporary writings, but never knew their location. Jerusalem commands a central place on the mosaic, completely out of proportion to the scale of the map, but entirely in proportion to its historical and spiritual significance. The detail of the Holy City is remarkable, down to the level of identifiable structures. The “orientation” of the map is east, as the word itself indicates; that is, the top of the map is east and north is to the left. (Rotate your modern map a quarter-turn counter-clockwise to correspond to the ancient orientation.) The city of the 6th century was an expansion of the Aelia Capitolina, as it was rebuilt and renamed by pagan Rome 400 years earlier. The artist’s perspective and sense of proportion is quirky, to say the least, but we can still tour today’s Old City according to his masterpiece. Let’s start with the gates and streets. On the left end of the map – the north – was the largest and most vital gate of the city, corresponding to the Damascus Gate of today. Inside it was an oval plaza, uncovered in excavations in the 1970s, along with a Roman tower. Today they can be explored (for a small fee) to the left and below the current gate. The tall column on the plaza was once topped by the statue of an emperor (maybe Hadrian?), which was removed in the 4th century when Christianity became the imperial religion. The Arabic name of the gate, Bab el-Amud (the Gate of the Column), indicates that the column was still standing in the 7th century when the conquering Arab armies came to town. The column was apparently the central point from which distances in the land were measured. A
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milestone on the Beit Guvrin road, just south of the Elah Valley, notes that you are now 24 [Roman] miles from “AEL CAP” (Aelia Capitolina), possibly measured to this exact spot. From the plaza, two streets cross the city from north to south. The more easterly one (closer to the top of the map) corresponds to El-Wad Street of today, curving down the “wadi” from the Damascus Gate to the Western Wall. The other is the Cardo (Maximus). One of the columns of its colonnade can be seen in the little Catholic chapel at Station VII on the Via Dolorosa; but far more familiar is the line of restored columns, paving stones and a sidewalk that slice through the Jewish Quarter. The easterly gate, now known as Lions’ Gate or St. Stephen’s Gate, connects to El-Wad Street by means of an east-west street (the beginning of the Via Dolorosa). That thoroughfare appears on the map as far shorter than it ought to be. To the right of it is the Temple Mount, in reality a vast trapezoid covering some 35 acres, but reduced here to an almost inconspicuous strip. Some scholars suggest that the obscurity was deliberate, since the area was considered cursed (“not one stone will be left upon another”) and was abandoned by the Byzantines – witness the fact that when the Muslims arrived, they had to excavate through debris to expose the great rock now capped by the gold dome. The western Jaffa Gate is at the bottom of the mosaic, just right of center. The street that runs east from the gate was the Roman "Decumanus," which intersected with the Cardo at a "tetrapylon" (four pillars), still visible inside a coffee shop in the Arab market, near the meeting point of David Street and Jewish Quarter Road. An extension from the Decumanus off to the right (south) is today’s Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate Road, which leads to Zion Gate and the Jewish Quarter. That street immediately passes behind two tall towers, each with a window, that were once part of King Herod’s great citadel (today’s Tower of David Museum). One tower is thought to be “Phasael,” the largest of them all and the one that still stands today; the other – which has not survived – was probably “Hippicus,” the second-largest; “Mariamne,” the smallest, had disappeared by the time the map was made. Red-roofed buildings indicate churches, and here are two of the biggest. Exactly half-way along the Cardo is the huge Church of the Anastasis (Resurrection), better known now as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (tomb). It appears to be upside down, but should be seen as a kind of aerial view. A staircase climbs from the Cardo through a triple doorway to a court of the church believed to be the site of Calvary, and then to the tomb of Jesus under a gold dome. Further south along the Cardo, and abutting it from the opposite side of the street, was another great basilica, the Nea [New] Church. Two of its thresholds, unearthed in the 1970s, are buried beneath the parking lot of the Jewish Quarter; two apses are preserved in a small chamber to this day. Processions apparently took place along the Cardo from the Nea to the Holy Sepulcher. There are other identifiable features on the map, but these are the most familiar ones to Jerusalem's residents and visitors. By Mike Rogoff Haaretz – May 26, 2013
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TOP 10 ISRAELI ANCIENT MOSAIC DISCOVERIES A fantastic ancient floor found in the Negev is just the latest in a series of discoveries throughout the country. The spectacular mosaic floor found in the Negev near Kibbutz Beit Kama is just the latest magnificent tiling discovery of ancient times in Israel. There are dozens of these marvelous, meticulous creations, some almost 16 centuries old. Most of the mosaics were installed in ancient churches and synagogues. They tell Bible stories, extolled donors, beautified the experience of faith and even educated people. The mosaics brim with human and animal figures, some fanciful, some realistic; some from Jewish tradition and some, like the pagan sun god Helios galloping across the sky, borrowed from other cultures. When the first synagogue mosaic in the country was discovered (now on display at Beit Alpha National Park) in the 1920s, scholars were amazed to discover that it was full of human and animal images – ostensibly prohibited by the Second Commandment. But scholars now tell us that Jewish thought of the day allowed such depictions – as long as they were not going to be worshipped. Also, these images are part of a tradition stretching across the region in the Byzantine period, which spanned the fourth–seventh centuries. You can arrange an entire tour of Israel centered on nothing but the mosaics. Here to help you out are ten of the best ever discovered in Israel. 1. To catch several mosaics at once, visit the Inn of the Good Samaritan’s mosaic museum, where the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has also set up a shelter for pilgrims to hold mass at the site of a sixth-century church, including, of course, a mosaic floor. 2. Cornucopia and gratitude: The church mosaic uncovered at Kibbutz Beit Kama is one of several all over the Negev, dating back to the time when Christian pilgrims crisscrossed that region. In the northern Negev, near Kibbutz Nirim (off of Road 241 or 242) is another beautiful “stone carpet.” Restored by the Jewish National Fund, this sixth-century mosaic on the ancient site of Maon, like many ancient synagogue and church mosaics, features an inscription mentioning the names of the donors (some things never change) as well as intricate depictions of agricultural motifs such as grape-harvesting and brimming baskets of fruit, animal and birds. (To visit the first of these ever discovered, the sixth-century Shellal mosaic, will require a little more fuel than a trip to the Negev – after its discovery during World War I it was eventually taken to Canberra, Australia, where it is on display at the war museum there.) 3. The Bird Mosaic of Caesarea and other fauna: Birds are a common motif in mosaic floors, and in fact, have given their name to the Bird Mosaic of Caesarea. Some of them, like storks
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and pelicans, still cross Israel’s skies. Others are fanciful or humorous, road-runner style. Around them are wild animals and repeating geometric patterns that would put an Amish quilting bee to shame. The Bird Mosaic is clearly signposted, on the way to the aqueduct in Caesarea. It is special in that it is not from a church or a synagogue, but rather from a room in the villa of a wealthy Byzantine-era Caesarean. 4. A cross on the floor: Most mosaics are famed for the detail of their depictions of animals, plants and human figures. But the beauty of the mosaics at Mamshit National Park, which contains two churches, is in their simplicity. A rare depiction in Byzantine Christian art of a cross on the floor of the eastern churches reveals its antiquity, since after the 427 CE crosses were prohibited as floor decorations. 5. Thanks to the antiquities robbers? Other Christian artistic and religious symbols include fish and peacocks. Both can be found on the mosaic floor of the Byzantine church at Horvat Midras, southwest of Jerusalem, not far from Beit Guvrin National Park. Ancient pilgrims apparently marked the tomb of the prophet Zechariah at the site. This magnificent mosaic was discovered in 2011 – “thanks” to an illegal dig by antiquities robbers. The Israel Antiquities Authority subsequently mounted an excavation, unearthing the floor featuring depictions of animals. Complex geometric patterns create beautiful frames on this floor. 6. The curse of the balsam makers: Birds also appear in the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue at Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea, whose dominant colors seem to mimic the surrounding desert scenery – shades of beige and brown, with green highlights, recalling the oasis home of the community that built it. Like other synagogues the mosaic reveals that the community was wealthy enough to pay the designer, the mosaic master and his extensive team – no small outlay, as you’ll learn at the charming audiovisual presentation at Beit Alfa National Park’s mosaic. In the case of Ein Gedi, the wealth came from the cultivation of balsam, used in cosmetics and medicines. Because producing these products was so lucrative, it was apparently kept under close wraps. The long inscription in its synagogue mosaic brings down a curse on anyone who reveals the “secret” – presumably the coveted, eyes-only balsam recipe. 7. The sacrifice of Isaac: Some mosaic artisans outdid themselves in human depictions. Not everyone approved of such depictions, because some of them, like the sun god Helios or the signs of the Zodiac, were pagan or had been adapted by Christians. In fact, at one point in the history of the synagogue in Tiberias (Hamat Tverya National Park), the building was renovated, including a wall right across the beautiful floor, obviously to hide what some new building committee considered offensive. At Beit Alfa National Park, discovered back in the 1920s, you’ll find an entire Bible story depicted in stone– the Binding of Isaac, right down to the altar, Abraham holding the knife, and a hand emerging from a cloud, with the first words of the fateful verse: “Lay not thy hand upon the lad” (Gen. 22:12). Here and elsewhere people are amazed to find they can recognize some of the ancient Jewish symbols. Flanking the mosaic depiction of the doors of the Holy Ark is the seven-branched candelabrum, one of Judaism’s most enduring symbols, as well as a shofar, lulav and etrog. The only symbol most people can’t quite make out is the incense pan, which, like the candelabrum and the shofar, commemorated worship at the Jerusalem Temple, long destroyed by the time these mosaics were created.
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8. Mosaic as story teller: At Tzippori National Park, you’ll find the mosaic-as-story reaching new heights. The Binding of Isaac is there, too, but alongside the sacrificial scene a remnant of the mother of the “offering” – Sarah – appears. The story continues up the mosaic to the Zodiac, where, as in many other synagogue mosaics, the names appear in Hebrew. The four seasons are also shown, named and bearing their appropriate symbols, such as a bowl of grapes for summer or water for the rainy winter season. These were educational devices, scholars tell us, dating from a time when what some consider “merely” astrology today was a scientific pursuit. In the Tzippori mosaic, the design includes the symbol of the sun, often associated in Psalms with redemption, as well as the Temple symbols. The entire story reminded worshippers that redemption, first promised to Abraham, would shine like the sun, and the Temple would be rebuilt. 9. Jewish symbols at Susya: At Susya, in the southern Hebron Hills (which is over the Green Line, reached from Road 31 in the northern Negev) lies another synagogue floor replete with Jewish symbols. Here, too apparently the synagogue board decided to replace their Zodiac with a more “conservative” geometric pattern. The Bible story here depicts Daniel in the lion’s den. 10. When even King Herod observed the law: Finally, the relatively simple mosaic at the Herodian Mansions in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter may be among the most poignant in Israel. It once decorated a Jewish home during the Second Temple period, when even King Herod observed the Jewish law proscribing human or animal images. What this mosaic with its simple geometric pattern lacks in color and designs compared to others, it makes up in the history it brings alive: on it are the charred remains of a wooden beam that fell from the mansion’s ceiling and burned itself to cinder on the floor, together with the rest of the magnificent Jewish homes of Jerusalem’s Upper City one month after the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE. Phone Numbers (sites not listed are not gated and open 24/7): National Park sites are open from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. in winter; 8-5 in summer; site closes one hour earlier on Friday; entry up to one hour before closing time Mamshit National Park: 08-6556478 Inn of the Good Samaritan: Tel 02-6338230 Susya (Sunday-Thursday 10–5; Friday 10–2): 02-9963424 (Hebrew) Beit Alfa National Park: 04-6542004 Hamat Tverya National Park: 04-6725287 Herodian Mansions (Sunday–Thursday 9– 5; Friday 9-¬1): 026283448 (Information courtesy of Tourism Ministry website.) By Miriam Feinberg Vamosh Haaretz – May 26, 2013
IN JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY, A SACRED TREASURE TROVE GOES ON DISPLAY Jerusalem's Franciscan friars have been custodians of the Holy Land's religious artifacts for some 800 years. Now they are going to allow the items to go on public display. In 1906, during renovations at the Franciscan friary in Bethlehem, the workers found a treasure. Buried in the ground was the oldest known organ in the world − built in the 12th century − as well as 13 ancient bells. Twelve of the bells had been cast in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. The 13th, however, was a big surprise: a bell in the Chinese style.
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The Franciscan friars who researched it concluded that it had come from the court of the Mongolian Emperor Mongke Khan (a grandson of Genghis Khan). In 1245, the king of France had sent a diplomatic delegation to Mongke, headed by the Franciscan Friar William of Rubruck, with the aim of forming a military alliance between the Crusaders and the Mongols. After his return, the friar journeyed to the Holy Land and gave the bell from Central Asia to the heads of the monastery in Bethlehem. The bells and organ were probably buried in the 15th century, under orders from the Turkish sultan, who prohibited the sounding of Christian bells in the land of Israel. And so, for 450 years the bells and organ were buried, until being unearthed just over a century ago. In two years, the Mongolian bell and its companions will be put on display, along with the organ and hundreds of other valuable religious and artistic items − most of which were sent to Jerusalem as a tribute to the Church over the centuries by members of the European nobility and carefully preserved without being displayed to the general public. The items will be shown in no less than three new or revamped museums that the Franciscan order is planning to open in the Old City of Jerusalem. The owners of the treasure are members of the Franciscan order in Jerusalem and the Custodia Terrae Sanctae − Guardians of the Holy Land, an organization that, for some 800 years, has been charged with guarding the holy sites in the Holy Land on behalf of the Catholic Church and the pope. Semi-secret collection The Custodia controls, among other things, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Heading the Custodia is the custos (custodian), a high-ranking Franciscan who is appointed by the pope. Historically, the generations of custodians were responsible for curating and preserving this property. Opening the gates of the Custodia to the masses never crossed their minds, and it certainly never occurred to them to put the treasures held there on public display. This caution was fed by the Christians’ sense of insecurity under Muslim or Ottoman rule, and the perception of their role as the Catholic Church’s last line of defense in the Holy Land. Presumably, the trauma of the order’s ejection from its “mother base” on Mount Zion in the 16th century did not add to the friars’ sense of security. In any case, over the years the most stunning trove of religious artifacts and art in the land accumulated in the cellars of the Custodia. Most of the objects were sent by kings and nobles from Europe, or brought by delegations of pilgrims, beginning in the Middle Ages. Throughout most of its history, the collection was semisecret and hidden.
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“These objects were never put into use for fear they would be stolen. They were kept in a hidden room, entered through a secret and concealed door. Even most of the friars didn’t know about it,” says Prof. Eugenio Alliata, the director of the order’s Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology in Jerusalem. Two people held the keys to the room: the custos himself and another high-ranking friar. Now, says Alliata, security has improved and modern devices are making it possible to display the treasure publicly without fear. “This is part of the land’s cultural heritage. It is important that people see it,” he notes. The collection is a faithful representation of the art popular among the European nobility in Catholic countries over the last centuries. Most of it consists of gifts sent or brought by pilgrims to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It includes liturgical paraphernalia made of gold and silver, inset with precious stones and made by Europe’s finest artists. There are gifts from nearly every selfrespecting Catholic king. Some of the items − from France, for example − are rare works of art, the likes of which no longer exist in their country of origin because of the French Revolution (which settled accounts with art objects, as part of the eradication of the noble class) but were preserved in Jerusalem vaults. Of the three planned museums, the small Franciscan Archaeological Museum − currently open as part of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum − on the Via Dolorosa will be renovated and significantly enlarged before its reopening in 2015. The archaeological collections will be exhibited there, including impressive finds unearthed by Franciscan researchers or purchased from antiquities dealers. Among other items on display in the museum will be fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls that are owned by the order. Nearby, a multimedia museum will open, which will have a 3-D installation depicting the history of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Via Dolorosa. But the museum due to attract perhaps the most interest will open on the Custodia’s premises near the New Gate, and will feature a historic collection of liturgical objects and works of art. Among the thousands of items, there are, for example, a ceremonial scepter donated by King Louis XIV of France, and a 16th-century golden chalice with an inscription from King Philip III of Spain. King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy sent a silver candlestick decorated with two eagles. Mexican Emperor Maximilian I (a brother of Austrian Kaiser Franz Joseph) ruled his country for two-and-ahalf years, but in 1865 − a year and a half before his death − he paid 15,000 francs to a Parisian artist for two valuable ritual articles. These were a chalice and a monstrance (a vessel for the display of the consecrated Eucharist), gilded and inlaid with precious stones. The chalice was lost and the monstrance was sent, in Maximilian’s name, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and is in the collection. Elite European art The collection also includes vestments made of silk, gold and wool, censers (a covered incense burner), crucifixes, crowns, trays, paintings, sculptures and more. According to art historian Prof. Nurith Kenaan-Kedar of Tel Aviv University, the entire collection is considered elite European art, with the prevalent styles being Baroque and Rococo. “You won’t find avant-garde here − it is mainstream and conservative. These are also things that correspond with art made in Europe, not here,” she says.
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In this context, one item that was actually made here stands out: a lovely miniature model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, crafted from olive wood and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory. The model was apparently made by friars in Jerusalem or Bethlehem. The museum near the New Gate will also display the collection of hundreds of apothecary jars that constituted the first pharmacy in Jerusalem, which operated under the auspices of the Custodia in the 17th and 18th centuries. A part of the collection is already on display at the archaeological museum. All concerned agree that the decision to establish the museums and open the secrets of the Custodia to the public bears a close connection to the personality of Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the incumbent custos. Pizzaballa is a graduate of Hebrew University, he speaks fluent Hebrew, is very familiar with Israeli society, and has extensive connections in academia. In the coming days, the new Pope Francis is expected to announce the name of the next custos. Church sources speculate there is a chance Pizzaballa will be asked to remain for another three-year period, which would make him the longest-serving custos since the position was established 800 years ago. “The demand to see the items is high, and requests have been sent to us from all over the world,” says Custos Pizzaballa. According to him, the museums are planned in a way that will be inviting to the Israeli public and not only to Christian pilgrims: “By means of the museum, the public will be able to learn about Christianity and Christianity’s connection to Jerusalem. A deep familiarity with Christianity will be able to strengthen the relations between the Jewish public and the Christian world.” By Nir Hasson Haaretz Haaretz – May 31, 2013
THE MYSTERIOUS MOUNT BERENICE Above the Galilee lies a pile of ruins with a stunning view and a scandalous past... or so the locals will tell you. The jagged cliff jutting 200 meters skyward near the Sea of Galilee shoreline north of the Tiberias hot springs apparently just begged for a brilliant story to go with its dramatic lines. The fact that a pile of ruins lay atop it only added to the mystery. Generations of locals provided the story – the ruins, they said were the palace of the scandalous first-century Queen Berenice. According to ancient historians she was the greatgranddaughter of Herod the Great and sister of King Herod Agrippa II, and during one hiatus in her rich romantic career, committed incest with her royal brother. Who knows what she got up to on that mountaintop, generations of Tiberians would wonder, looking up at the ruins. But the ruins you find when you get up there (after a somewhat strenuous walk; see below) are not those of the palace of an infamous Herodian royal but the remains of a magnificent Byzantine church with a spectacular view. The historical corrections comes compliments of archaeological excavations in the 1990s by the late Prof. Yizhar Hirschfeld.
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You’ll understand right away why the early sixth-century Christians chose this spot to build their church. It’s not just any spectacular view – it takes in every important point in Jesus’ Galilee ministry from Bethsaida, Capernaum, Tabgha and Magdala and – especially on a clear day – Mount Hermon and the mountains of Gilead. Consider a late afternoon visit, when the rays of the setting sun bathe the water and the mountains in red-gold hues. You’ll find yourself in the ruins of a colonnaded basalt-stone basilica – almost 50 meters long and 28 meters wide, ending in a semicircular apse in the east with floors featuring colorful mosaics and marble tiles. In front of the building’s three entrances is a courtyard with a huge cistern. When you wander around the ruins of the church, you’ll see a huge crack in an ancient wall. That’s a remnant of a particularly disastrous earthquake that took place in 749 C.E. that left its mark throughout the country; you’ll also see it, for example in the massive fallen pillars at nearby Beit Shean. The earthquake happened after the Muslims supplanted the Christians in ruling the country; as a result, most felled churches were not rebuilt. But the Mount Berenice church was an exception: archaeologists say they see clear evidence that the Christians of Tiberias rebuilt their house of prayer in the second half of that same century and continued to worship there until the 13th century. The mysteries of the church continued to unfold with the discovery of what ancient pilgrims would have considered its most important attraction: Underneath the central apse, a smoothed stone block was unearthed, about one meter long and weighing almost half a ton. In its center was a small hole. It looks exactly like the stone anchors that fishermen used in those days, but weighed 10 times more – much too heavy to have been used by the ancient fishermen in the lake below. Instead, scholars tell us it was an object of adoration as an early Christian symbol of hope. No wonder these tenacious believers stayed anchored to this spot. To reach the church in your car via Tiberias, drive to the Aleph neighborhood of Tiberias, just south and opposite the Gai Beach Hotel. Drive up Shiloah Street turn onto Toledano Street and follow the signs. You’ll reach the beginning of the unpaved 1.5 km-long road, blazed by the Jewish National Fund, which has seen better days, that leads to the church. If you decide not to chance it with your car, you can park and walk up – the walk is a steep one so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to admire the unfolding view as you stop to catch your breath. Thanks to tour guide Dovev Pe’er for assistance with the preparation of this article. By Miriam Feinberg Vamosh Haaretz – May 31, 2013