Document
Holy Fire Saturday in Jerusalem on 11 April was marked with violence against Christian worshipers, as Israel security personnel once again denied Christians their right to worship freely in Jerusalem. Worshipers who managed to enter Jerusalem’s Old City found themselves trapped between checkpoints placed a few meters from one another. Access to the Holy Sepulchre Church was denied, as was access to the Orthodox Patriarchate at the rooftop of the church. The plaza area inside the Patriarchate remained empty except for approximately 100 Christians who endured beatings and checkpoints before they managed their way through. Inside the Patriarchate’s plaza there were more armed Israeli security personnel than worshipers. As per Jerusalem’s legal historical Status Quo, local worshipers have the right to assemble inside the Patriarchate and to wait for the Holy Fire once it arrives from the empty tomb.
Christian organizations and governments have been calling on Israeli authorities to protect the status of Jerusalem as a city holy to the three monotheistic religions, but the calls are going unheeded. The World Council of Churches is asking the government of Israel, once again, to allow unimpeded access to Jerusalem’s holy sites as per the Status Quo, and to refrain from violence against worshipers who simply want to exercise their faith.
Lessons learned need to be taken by the relevant Israeli authorities in Jerusalem, to avoid violence against ordinary civilians who simply want to pray and to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The approach of setting up barricades in Jerusalem Old’s City has failed, and a new approach is needed by Israeli authorities to organize access safely and humanely. Over the last couple of years, we have been saying that the approach underway is not conducive to freedom of worship, protecting the dignity and safety of the local Christian community, and respecting Jerusalem’s legal and historical status quo.
At the same time, hinderance to Muslims’ free access to Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharief in Jerusalem must be addressed and resolved. Christians and Muslims are feeling increasingly unwelcome in Jerusalem, and this message needs to reach the entire world, particularly the government of Israel.
The World Council of Churches wants to see Jerusalem as a city where all faiths enjoy equal rights: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. But this can happen only through the willingness to admit the failure of the current structure and to seek a new one that ensures equity and justice.
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
General secretary
World Council of Churches
