PA official to Lebanon TV: Two-State solution will cause Israel's collapse

Yet another reason Israel doesn't want a two-state solution. Can you blame them?
May 26, 2009

In an interview with Lebanese TV, PLO Ambassador to Lebanon Abbas Zaki aired the Palestinian strategy: Give us two states so we can wear down the Zionist mindset. Once that happens, the Palestinians can take over all of the land, so Zaki told ANB TV on May 7, 2009. He actually lays out the strategy in two separate interviews and, besides rocks and rockets, it includes ideological warfare: "When the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine." 

"With the two-state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made - just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward."

(To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2109.htm) 

Zaki, who is part of the 'moderate' Fatah party, has made other enlightening statements in the past: 

"In light of the blood that is being shed in Gaza, and the crying of the men - not only of the women... The hardest thing is to watch the men crying in Gaza. I now support any operation that will make the women and men in Israel cry. When the Al-Qassam Brigades and all the other forces were told to strike everywhere, I expected things to be carried out quickly. All those who always flex their muscles, and say they want to slaughter Israel - this is their opportunity. Soon, the world will view us as those responsible for the crime. Currently, in light of what is happening to the children of Gaza, any martyrdom operation is permissible, I swear by Allah."

..."Don't forget we're Arabs - we believe in blood vengeance. No one can treat our blood like water. We should have afflicted them with three or four operations, and then their women would have said to those sons of bitches: 'Come home, we are getting killed here.' When Israel focuses on one front, other fronts should be activated.

New TV, January 6, 2009(to view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1980.htm ).

And then he tags the U.S. too, for good measure.

Abbas Zaki: "We consider the U.S. to be an enemy because its only strategic alliance is with Israel."

Interviewer: "How can you consider Israel to be your enemy, if you signed a peace treaty with it?"

Abbas Zaki: "Allow me... This enemy... If I had the capabilities of the U.S. - would I be fighting it or negotiating with it?"

Interviewer: "Israel ceased being an enemy once you signed a peace treaty with it. I don’t know how it could be your enemy. Do you talk to the Israelis as if they were your enemies? Do you talk to Israel as a friendly or enemy country?"

Abbas Zaki: "An enemy country, which owes us certain things. The heroic Vietnamese used to negotiate with the French, while they were slaughtering them."

Interviewer: "I can assure you that in his speeches, Abu Mazen says the U.S. is a friendly country."

Abbas Zaki: "Well, this isn’t true. Perhaps Abu Mazen, in his position, needs to use diplomatic language, but he is the greatest critic of the U.S."

OTV, November 7, 2008 (to view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1933.htm ).

And lastly, some more thoughts:

"The use of weapons alone will not bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results. We act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully. We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide. We talk politics, but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution, when empires collapsed. Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years. We harvest U.N. resolutions, and we shame the world so that it doesn't gang up on us, because the world is led by people who have given their brains a vacation - the American administration and the neocons."[...]

..."The P.L.O. is the sole legitimate representative [of the Palestinian people], and it has not changed its platform even one iota. In light of the weakness of the Arab nation and the lack of values, and in light of the American control over the world, the P.L.O. proceeds through phases, without changing its strategy. Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine."

NBN TV, April 9, 2008(to view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1738.htm)

Israeli Newspaper: Two states based on false assumptions

May 26, 2009

Most Israeli newspapers are liberal, more left wing than the American media, if you can believe it. So when a newspaper publishes an editorial saying the two-state solution is based on erroneous assumptions, its time to take note. 

Here is Monday's editorial from Yediot Ahronot, which outlines these false assumptions which has become the basis for the "two states for two peoples" principle and American faith in it: 

1. The establishment of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders is the substance of the Palestinians' national aspirations. A small, truncated state, the establishment of which would require them to agree to the end of the conflict and its claims is the Palestinians' nightmare, not their national dream.  Three times they could have had such a state (1937, 1947 and 2000), and three times they rejected it. 

2. The gap between the Israeli and Palestinian position is bridgeable.  The reality is otherwise.  The maximum that the Israeli Government – any government – will be able to offer the Palestinians and still survive politically is far from the minimum that the Palestinian administration – any administration – will be able to agree to and survive politically. 

3. Egypt and Jordan want to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and will, therefore, render assistance. The reality is opposite: Both Egypt and Jordan prefer the continuation of the existing situation in which the conflict continues and they can continue blaming Israel.  As long as the conflict goes on, the Egyptians have the ultimate excuse to all of their troubles in the region.  For the Jordanians, a Palestinian state on their border, under (it is reasonable to assume) a Hamas administration, would be the end of the Hashemite monarchy.  

4. A permanent settlement would bring stability and security to the region. The exact opposite.  There is no chance that a small, truncated Palestinian state would be viable.  The frustration that would be created in such a situation, certainly in Gaza, with Israel lacking defensible borders is a clear foundation for instability.  

5. There is a chance now that we cannot miss.  If we compare the current situation to that which prevailed in 2000, the clear conclusion is that the chance to reach an agreement then was far greater than it is now – and it did not happen.  Is it possible today to reach an agreement in Judea and Samaria, to say nothing of Gaza, when Hamas is the dominant Palestinian movement?  

6. Progress on the Palestinian issue is essential in order to aid the Arab countries against Iran. What does one have to do with the other?  The Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt) have a supreme interest in blocking Iran, with or without the Palestinian issue.  

7. There is only one solution to the conflict. Says who? When, either here or in the US, was a deep study ever done on all the possibilities?  One can easily point to alternative solutions that would also free the Palestinians from Israeli control."  The author believes that the chances to conclude a permanent agreement, now, based on the "two state" solution are no greater than they were at Oslo, Camp David or Annapolis and declares, "One hopes that the almost assured failure will not have negative repercussions in other areas, such as stopping Iran or US-Israeli relations."

Christian gravestones vandalized by Muslims in West Bank

May 25, 2009

Reuters reports: 

Vandals desecrated some 70 graves in two Palestinian Christian cemeteries on Sunday in what a Palestinian Authority official said was a rare attack on the Christian minority in the occupied West Bank.

Watch how everyone interviewed goes out of their way to stress that this was a rare or isolated incident.

A church official in the village of Jiffna near Ramallah where the attack took place called in Palestinian security officials to investigate, but neither he nor the investigators said they had any initial clues who was responsible.

"This unfortunate incident has brought Muslims and Christians closer and many from the Muslim community have shown solidarity with us and have condemned this action," said Greek Orthodox Church official George Abdo.

Abdo said it was the first time such an incident had occurred in the village.

Issa Kassissieh, a Palestinian Authority official and adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas on Christian affairs, said he believed it was "an isolated act against Christian symbols".

"Palestinian Christians and Muslims have always lived in harmony in the Holy Land," Kassissieh said.

Jiffna, northeast of Ramallah, is home to some 1,600 inhabitants, about two thirds of whom are Christians from the Greek Orthodox and Catholic communities. The Palestinian Authority says 50,000 of the West Bank's 2.5 million Arab population are Christians.

Christians have emigrated from Palestinian territories en masse in the past three decades. The official line is that the Israeli occupation is causing dire economic conditions is forcing them to leave. No mention of Muslim persecution of Christians. They've always lived in harmony. Right.

But the decline of Christian numbers in Bethlehem long pre-dated the building of the security barrier. Scholars note that it even pre-dated Israel’s capture of the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. 

Greater Bethlehem, which includes the linked towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala, was part of the British mandate of Palestine until 1948, then fell under Jordanian control until June 1967. Israel administered the area until it handed authority to Yasser Arafat’s P.A. in 1995 as a result of the Oslo peace accords.

Israeli political analyst Yoram Ettinger, a former Israeli government liaison to the U.S. Congress, revealed several years ago that in the run-up to the handover to Arafat, former Bethlehem mayor Elias Freij, an Orthodox Christian, lobbied the Israeli government not to transfer Bethlehem, saying it would become a town with churches but empty of Christians. Freij later became a P.A. minister, and died in 1998.

Read more here (http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48189) and here (http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/pope-in-bethlehem-a-missed-opportunity-aaron-klein-argues-benedict-ignored-murder-persecution-of-christians/).

Israeli Defense Minister: Talk unlikely to halt Iranian nukes

May 25, 2009

Talking to Iran would most likely fail to halt the Islamic regime's nuclear program, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio on Monday. 

"I believe that the chance the dialogue has of stopping Iran's nuclear efforts is very low," Barak told Israel Radio. "I also believe the Americans understand this. They only think that there is logic to this, even if the chance is low... in order to contend with what needs to, or is likely to happen in the future." 

President Barack Obama's early diplomatic overtures to Iran have been rebuffed so far. Iran posed one of the most "serious potential threats" to Israel, Barak said, stressing that Israel would not take any options off the table to defend itself.

Bibi to U.S.: Whatever on the settlements

I wonder if he'll take that tack on Iran as well

May 25, 2009

At least one person is willing to stand up to President Boy Wonder Obama. The two-time prime minister of Israel Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu isn't taking orders from the White House despite behaving himself during meetings in D.C. last week.

Netanyahu on Sunday rebuffed U.S. calls for a full settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank and vowed not to accept limits on building of Jewish enclaves within Jerusalem.

The note of defiance set the stage for a possible showdown with U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, which, in talks with Netanyahu in Washington last week, pressed for a halt to all settlement activity, including natural growth, as called for under a long-stalled peace “road map.”

“The demand for a total stop to building is not something that can be justified and I don’t think that anyone here at this table accepts it,” Netanyahu told his cabinet, referring to Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to an official.

Netanyahu said Israel had no plans to set up any new West Bank settlements. But he told Obama, according to the official, that his government “does not accept limitations on building” within what Israel defines as its capital, the Jerusalem municipality, an area that includes Arab East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank captured in a 1967 Middle East war.

Commentary from Ed Morrissey of Hot Air:

One can cheer this in at least one aspect. It sends notice to Obama that Israel will not allow itself to become a doormat to Obama’s ambitions in the Middle East. Israel has no reason to have any confidence in the road map, and Obama’s insistence on unilateral compliance is laughable just a few weeks after Hamas provoked a war in Gaza. The Palestinians have done nothing to comply with the road map requirements, and Israel rightly objects to being held accountable alone for its responsibilities.

National Health Care, America? Don't Do It!

May 24, 2009

If you need any more reason to not nationalize health care in the U.S., let this be a shining example of why not (from the Jerusalem Post):

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert will undergo prostate cancer surgery at a New York hospital next month. Spokesman Amir Dan said Olmert would leave for New York on June 4. He would not name the hospital, to protect the former premier's privacy. Last month Olmert's office said tests showed that his prostate tumor had grown and immediate treatment was required. Dan said Israeli doctors recommended Olmert be treated by experts in the US. Olmert,63, made his condition public in October 2007. A year later he announced his resignation over multiple corruption allegations.

Israel has national health care. The U.S. still has private health care, at least until the Dems can get their hands on it. But where does Israel's highest elected official go for his surgery? Answer: Not his own country. No, he goes to a place where health care is still private and perhaps still good. His own doctors recommend it.

40% of Israeli Arabs don't believe Holocaust happened

Startling numbers are not just in Iran

May 24, 2009

A new poll shows that 40 percent of Israeli Arabs, those who live in Israel with Israeli passports next door to Jewish neighbors, don't believe the Holocaust ever happened. The disturbing poll results mark a significant increase in Holocaust deniers and those who refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist as Jewish democratic state.

Professor Sami Samocha, who conducted the survey, said the poll results are usually related to current affairs. Ynet reports:

"The most moderate year was 1995 – the golden era of the Rabin government, the Oslo Accord, and the attitude to the Palestinian people," he said. "Four years later, the great disappointment with the Netanyahu government and the October events worsened the situation."

 

In 1995, only 7 percent of Arab-Israelis said the State had no right to exist. Meanwhile, the figure rose to 22 percent last year. Samocha said the Gaza blockade, the Second Lebanon War, and the aftermath of the October 2000 Riots are exacerbating factors in this poll.

The Associated Press jumped on that statement, qualifying in the first paragraph the news service's article that "the results were likely more statements of protest than belief." Using Samocha's own words, the AP downplays the startling rise in Holocaust denial among Israeli Arabs, blaming a rising frustration among the minority group. Recognizing the Holocaust justifies Israeli policies, Samochoa says.

"When they say 'there was no Holocaust,' they are protesting. They are saying 'I am not giving legitimacy to the Jewish state,'" he said. "It's an index of despair, frustration and protest."

Palestinians and Arabs in Middle Eastern countries deny the Holocaust occurred, usually blaming Jews for making it up to gain sympathy. The Holocaust is not taught to all Arabs in Israel. One student I met here said he didn't believe the Holocaust occurred until a German was able to convince him otherwise. Education is a major factor in this issue - whether it is taught at all that a genocide of 6 million Jews occurred, or whether it is taught that this is a lie. This young man only believed what he was taught until someone explained to him the truth.

A Two-State Inconvenience for the US and Arab Nations

May 21, 2009

Some analysts writing after the Obama-Netanyahu meet and greet in DC claim that despite their pleas for a Palestinian state, subsequently reported by a breathless drive-by media, American officials and Arab nations are quite happy with the status quo. And one even calls it a "fiction."

STRATFOR explains why many don't expect two states to emerge any time soon: 

First, at present there are two Palestinian entities, Gaza and the West Bank, which are hostile to each other. Second, the geography and economy of any Palestinian state would be so reliant on Israel that independence would be meaningless; geography simply makes the two-state proposal almost impossible to implement. Third, no Palestinian government would have the power to guarantee that rogue elements would not launch rockets at Israel, potentially striking at the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem corridor, Israel’s heartland. And fourth, neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis have the domestic political coherence to allow any negotiator to operate from a position of confidence. Whatever the two sides negotiated would be revised and destroyed by their political opponents, and even their friends.

For this reason, the entire peace process — including the two-state solution — is a chimera. Neither side can live with what the other can offer. But if it is a fiction, it is a fiction that serves U.S. purposes. The United States has interests that go well beyond Israeli interests and sometimes go in a different direction altogether. Like Israel, the United States understands that one of the major obstacles to any serious evolution toward a two-state solution is Arab hostility to such an outcome.

Click to read the full article. He concludes 

Netanyahu has promised that the endless stalemate with the Palestinians will not be allowed to continue. He also knows that whatever happens, Israel cannot threaten the stability of Arab states that are by and large uninterested in the Palestinians. He also understands that in the long run, Israel’s freedom of action is defined by the United States, not by Israel. His electoral platform and his strategic realities have never aligned. Arguably, it might be in the Israeli interest that the status quo be disrupted, but it is not in the American interest. 

Another major topic discussed in DC was Iran as a nuclear power. Israel's general view is to strike offensively. But Obama wants to talk for the rest of the year before he has to take any harsher action beyond mean words.

From the Wall Street Journal: 

Yet as Thérèse Delpech, a leading nonproliferation expert at France's Atomic Energy Commission, warned last October at a Brookings Institution lecture, "We [the Europeans] have negotiated during five years with the Iranians . . . and we came to the conclusion that they are not interested at all in negotiating, but . . . [only] in buying time for their military program." In those five years, she also noted, Tehran never implied that if only the Americans were at the table the clerical regime would be amenable to compromise.

...Americans and Europeans don't like to dwell on the problem of anti-Semitism in the region, preferring to see it as tangential to geopolitics and economics and treatable by the creation of a Palestinian state. But Israelis are acutely conscious that unrelenting anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are important factors in the Shiite Islamic Republic's increasing popularity among Arab Sunni fundamentalists -- especially in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood would probably triumph in a free election. In Iran, the anti-Jewish passion among the revolutionary elite appears to have actually increased as ordinary Iranians have soured on theocracy and state-sanctioned ideology.

For the full article, click here.

Pope Ends Rancorous Israel Trip With Visit to Other Christian Communities

May 15, 2009

Article originally printed here.

Pope Benedict XVI ended his five-day visit to Israel on a positive note visiting Christian churches of other denominations and solidifying his stance on anti-Semitism after a rancorous week laden with comparisons to his predecessor and disappointment among Israelis.

In his farewell address, the Pontiff emphasized the “solemn” occasion of visiting the Holocaust Memorial and hoped to shed some of the aspersion cast on his statements, which appeared to be rote and lacked enough remorse for the majority of the Israeli public. Local media was awash with criticism for the Pope’s statements since his first day in the country.

“I wish to put on record that I came to visit this country as a friend of the Israelis, just as I am a friend of the Palestinian people,” he said at the airport.

Addressing his speech on the Holocaust directly, Benedict said meeting Jewish survivors was a deeply moving encounter that brought back memories of those “brutally exterminated” he said, choosing the word “exterminated” rather than “killed,” a word many Jews felt wasn’t strong enough in his previous speech.

Compared to Pope John Paul II on virtually every leg of his journey, Benedict was accused of failing to follow the lead of his predecessor in expressing remorse for the Catholic church’s historic persecution of Jews. He also omitted his own experience in the German army.

But Rabbi David Rosen, a spokesman for interfaith dialogue in Israel, has said all along that this Pope is an academic, not a diplomat.

“Benedict is shier than his predecessor and not comfortable in public relations, dealing with image,” he said. “There is a big difference in style the way they communicate and the nature of their communication.”

During this papal visit, Palestinians scored a major political boost from the Pope as he called for a Palestinian state in several speeches and sermons and expressed empathy with the suffering of the people. And as he left the country, he again noted the separation wall, something he called “one of the saddest sights for me during my visit to these lands.”

“Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders,” he said. “Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres absolved Benedict of his statements on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, saying they carried “substantive weight.”

In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pope Benedict condemned anti-Semitism and hate against the State of Israel, the prime minister’s office said. Netanyahu asked the Pontiff to sound his moral voice against Iran.

On his last day, Pope Benedict visited the Greek Patriarchate, the Holy Sepulchre Church, the tradition site of Jesus’ death and burial, and St. James Armenian Convent, where he praised progress in relations between Catholics and Orthodox faiths.

Archbishop Nourhan Manougian reminded the Pope that many nations have yet to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in Turkey. The Pontiff did not address the sticky political situation in his speech, but the 200 Armenians gathered were nevertheless pleased for the recognition of their community as the last stop on the Pope’s tour in the Holy Land.

“The significance is that we are one of the Christian communities in the Old City and for us it is a great honor to be visited by the Pope,” said Michael Zakarian. “It is good for Armenians to be recognized especially being such a small minority”

More than 40,000 Attend Nazareth Mass

May 14, 2009

From an amphitheater built specifically for this mass, Pope Benedict XVI exhorted Christians and Muslims in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth to repair damaged relations between them and to “find the way to a peaceful coexistence.”

The Galilean city, with a 30 percent Christian population, has been marred by tensions in recent years between Christians and the Muslim majority. Muslims tried to build an unauthorized mosque that would have towered over the Basilica of the Annunciation, but the Israeli government put a stop to the construction in 2002 and offered alternative sites for the Islamic house of prayer.

Tensions persist, however. Prior to the visit, the Northern Islamic Movement called on Muslim leaders to boycott interfaith meetings with the Pope. Benedict offended Muslims worldwide when he quoted in September 2006 a medieval description of the religion as “evil and inhuman” and ”spread by sword.” Benedict made it clear that the text did not reflect his own views, but Muslims violently protested in cities around the world and even attacked churches in Palestinian areas. 

Earlier this month, an imam strung up a banner across Nazareth’s main square warning the Pope: “Those who harm Allah and His Messenger – Allah has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment.”

Despite these threats though, Muslims, Druze, Jews and Christians participated in the interfaith dialogue in Nazareth and during a song about peace sung in three languages, the Pope and the representatives of different religions on the platform clasped hands and stood together - a far cry from the interfaith meeting in Jerusalem on Monday that ended abruptly after an Islamic judge  used the platform to criticize Israel in unscheduled speech.

The Pontiff also met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon to discuss the peace process and agreements on land and taxes between the Vatican and Israeli government. 

Some 40,000 worshippers attended the mass on the hill surrounding the 7,000-seat amphitheater, the biggest in Israel. The theater was built on Mount Precipice, where a mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff according to the New Testament.

“This is first-class exposure and will encourage tourism in the future. We are expecting a wave of tourism following this,” said Mayor Ramiz Jaraisy told reporters prior to the mass. “We hope for a specific call from the Pope for people to come and make prilrimage to the Holy Land.”

At the mass, Archbishop of Galilee for the Greek Melkite Church Elias Chacour welcomed the pope and pled for his”moral and spiritual support” to stem the exodus of Christians from the Holy Land. The flight of Christians “fills me with pain” and that the future is not encouraging.

But while exhorting local Christians to stay in the Holy Land and calling on several occasions for a Palestinian state, the Pontiff failed to address Muslim persecution of Christians. He blamed the economy, limited movement and Israeli policies as the reasons Christians are leaving the Holy Land.

Tomorrow, the Pontiff will visit the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried, and Saint James Armenian Church before he returns to the Vatican.

Palestinians Boosted by Pope’s Call for Statehood

May 13, 2009

BETHLEHEM - Palestinians scored a major political boost from Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the Holy Land as he called for a Palestinian state in several speeches and sermons and expressed empathy with the suffering of Palestinians on Wednesday. 

“It is understandable that you often feel frustrated,” the Pontiff told residents living in the Aida refugee camp. “Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian State, remain unfulfilled. Instead you find yourselves trapped, as so many in this region and throughout the world are trapped, in a spiral of violence, of attack and counter-attack, retaliation, and continual destruction.”

Earlier addressing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Pope said: “the Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbors, within internationally recognized borders.”

Speaking in the shadow of the concrete barrier erected by Israel in response to terror attacks, the Pope appealed for an easing of Israeli security restrictions on Palestinians.

“Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached – the wall. In a world where more and more borders are being opened up – to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges – it is tragic to see walls still being erected.”

He also called on Palestinian youths to “have the courage to resist any temptation you may feel to resort to acts of violence or terrorism.”

The Palestinian Authority deployed 4,000 police throughout the city and closed several roads. The city was decorated with Vatican and Palestinian flags side by side and posters declaring, “Our Pope is our hope.” 

If any group needed his support, it was the Palestinian Christians, a minority of just 2 percent whose numbers remain under threat by a flagging Palestinian economy, Israeli military control of the borders and Muslim persecution. The Pope personally encouraged Gaza Christians as well, 100 of whom were able to attend the mass in Bethlehem with special permission from the Israeli army. 

“My heart goes out to the pilgrims from war-torn Gaza: I ask you to bring back to your families and your communities my warm embrace, and my sorrow for the loss, the hardship and the suffering you have had to endure,” the Pope said in his sermon at Manger Square. “Please be assured of my solidarity with you in the immense work of rebuilding which now lies ahead, and my prayers that the embargo will soon be lifted.”

Of Gaza’s 1.6 million population, about 3,000 Christians remain. The Pontiff bolstered Christian communities in the West Bank as well asking them to persevere and exhorting them to build up their churches, consolidate their presence and “offer new possibilities to those tempted to leave.”

The Christian population of Bethlehem, once at 80 percent, has gone down to 20 percent now. Many have left for safety, comfort and better opportunities in other countries. Rami El-Araj, a Bethlehem resident, said he attended Pope John Paul II’s mass in 2000 with a group of his friends.

“Now I’m alone - everyone left since then,” he said.

Mass in Jerusalem Gets off to Political Start

May 12, 2009

JERUSALEM - The Pope’s first mass in Israel became a political platform when Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal blamed Israel for the problems facing Christians in the Holy Land.

“Holy Father, you stand before a small flock that is shrinking, that suffers from emigration, largely due to the effects of the unjust occupation and all its humiliation, violence and hatred,” he said referring to Israeli authority in some Palestinian areas and at checkpoints. “Jesus wept in vain over Jerusalem and continues to do so.”

Most Christians in Israel and the Palestinian Authority are Arab, and many relate nationalistically as Palestinians, not Israelis. Palestinian flags flew in the crowd and the traditional mass songs were sung in Arabic by local congregants at the mass site, an outdoor area in the Kidron Valley built specifically for the mass.

“Around us, we have the agony of the Palestinian people, who dream of living in a free and independent Palestinian State, but have not found its realization; and the agony of the Israeli people, who dream of a normal life in peace and security and, despite all their military and mass media might, have not found its realization,” Twal continued.

An Israeli official rejected the accusation and said Israel views her Christian residents as allies. 

 

“Don’t blame us for the decreasing numbers of Christians in the Holy Land. It has to do directly with Palestinians themselves,” Raphael Ben-Hur, senior deputy director-general of the Tourism Ministry told Newsmax. “There is a diminishing number of Christians in Bethlehem and it has nothing to with Israel and nothing to do with occupied territories. It has to do with the Muslims. 

Without addressing the politics of the situation, Pope Benedict XVI empathized with the local Christians and called on local authorities to take care of the minority group.

“I wish to acknowledge the difficulties, the frustration, and the pain and suffering which so many of you have endured as a result of the conflicts which have afflicted these lands, and the bitter experiences of displacement which so many of your families have known and – God forbid – may yet know,” he said in his homily at the foot of the Mount of Olives. “I hope my presence here is a sign that you are not forgotten, that your persevering presence and witness are indeed precious in God’s eyes and integral to the future of these lands.” 

The head of the Catholic Church also addressed the “tragic reality” of Christian emigration from the Holy Land that leaves a “great cultural and spiritual impoverishment to the city.”  

“As I urge the authorities to respect, to support and to value the Christian presence here, I also wish to assure you of the solidarity, love and support of the whole Church and of the Holy See,” he exhorted.

Following the Pope’s statements, Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat told Newsmax he accepts the challenge to care for the Christian flock in his city.

“I accept the urging. I think we should make the Christians that live in Jerusalem feel more comfortable as residents of the city and I’m committed to serve them as much as I am any other resident of the city,” he said. “I accept the challenge and I hope Christians around the world also accept the challenge that I am giving them to see all the Christians in the world come here at least once in a lifetime.”

Barkat, who was elected in November, has a goal to attract 10 million tourists, of all religions, each year to Jerusalem. 

To shouts of “Viva il Pappa” (long live the Pope), strains of bagpipes, organ choruses and cries from emotional worshipers, the Pope rode in on the “Popemobile,” his trademark vehicle, which Israeli security deemed unsafe for most locations on this visit. 

Meanwhile the Vatican sought to clarify issues its spokesman said were misreported.

“The pope was never in the Hitler Youth, never, never, never,” the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters in Jerusalem.

He said that the Pope, like all other youths in Germany, was forcibly drafted into the Wehrmacht for a short time till his capture by the Allied forces. However, in “Salt of the Earth,” then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that he was automatically enrolled into the Hitler Youth: “At first we weren’t, but when the compulsory Hitler Youth was introduced in 1941, my brother was obliged to join. I was still too young, but later, as a seminarian, I was registered in the HY. As soon as I was out of the seminary, I never went back.” 

Lombardi did not explain the discrepancy. 

“It was not his choice,” Lombardi said. “If you know the Pope you now he is absolutely not a militaristic person. He was compelled to be in this group.”

Controversial Headlines Greet Day Two of Pope Visit to Israel

May 12, 2 009

JERUSALEM - Israeli papers were awash with disappointment in the Pope’s speech at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, while several Muslims were arrested Tuesday morning for distributing fliers condemning the Pontiff’s visit.

Day two of the Pope’s visit to Israel, before the Holy Father even presided over his first mass, and controversy is coming from all sides. Several Jewish officials were expecting specific condemnations and an apology from the Pope for the Holocaust. But the Pope addressed these issues in his first speech at the airport, according to Vatican Spokesman Federico Lombardi.

“He already named at the airport the Shoah (Holocaust) and the 6 million Jews murdered and ... anti-Semitism,” Lombardi said at a news conference. “His meditation was centered on ... the engagement of the Catholic church to engage themselves forever against the crimes against humanity and the right of the peoples.”

After his closely watched speech on Monday, many Israelis expressed disappointment. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau called the speech “a missed opportunity” without personal remorse and mention of 6 million Jews killed. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said the Pope was detached.

“He came and told us as if he were a historian, someone looking in from the sidelines, about things that should not have happened,” Rivlin told Israel Radio. “He was a part of them.” 

On Tuesday, the Pope headed out on a tour of holy sites in Jerusalem. Removing his red shoes, the Pope entered the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine and part of the compound that comprises Islam's third-holiest site, the Al Aksa Mosque. A rock in the shrine is believed to be the place Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. 

“Here the paths of the world's three great monotheistic religions meet, reminding us what they share in common,” Benedict XVI said while visiting with Muslim leaders.  

“Fidelity to the One God, the Creator, the Most High, leads to the recognition that human beings are fundamentally interrelated, since all owe their very existence to a single source and are pointed towards a common goal,” he said.

The quick tour was followed by a prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, directly adjacent to the mosque area. The Pontiff placed a note in the wall, as is tradition. 

“God of all the ages, on my visit to Jerusalem, the ‘City of Peace,’ spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the aspirations, the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world,” the note read. “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft; send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of all who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion.”

At the Heichal Shlomo synagogue, Benedict reaffirmed Christian-Jewish cooperation and “lasting reconciliation” between the two faiths as he met with the two chief rabbis of Israel, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar.

“Jews and Christians alike are concerned to ensure respect for the sacredness of human life, the centrality of the family, a sound education for the young, and the freedom of religion and conscience for a healthy society,” he said. “An indication of the potential of this series of meetings is readily seen in our shared concern in the face of moral relativism and the offences it spawns against the dignity of the human person."

The Pope noted the Christian population in Israel which also values “opportunities for dialogue with their Jewish neighbors.”

Metzger, the chief Ashkenazi rabbi, thanked the Pope for his visit to “the eternal capital of the Jewish people,” Jerusalem.

Metzger thanked Benedict for preventing the return to the Catholic Church of the Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson to his position as an example to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“Had you not done so a message may have been understood by another Holocaust denier, the president of Iran, granting legitimacy to his sinful declarations of his will and intention to destroy our country,” he said.

Despite Talk of Compassion, Pope Speech Failed to Please Some

May 12, 2009

By Nicole Jansezian

JERUSALEM - Two heads of state, symbols of their religion and nation respectively - Pope Benedict XVI, 82, and Israeli President Shimon Peres, 85 - met this afternoon both appearing slightly frail and walking tentatively, a cautious pace that seemed to characterize their mission of peace.

The pair of octogenarians planted an olive tree at the official residence of the president and attended a somber ceremony at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, where the Pope met six Holocaust survivors.

“The Catholic Church feels deep compassion for the victims remembered here,” Benedict said at the memorial service. “As we stand here in silence, their cry still echoes in our hearts. It is a cry raised against every act of injustice and violence. It is a perpetual reproach against the spilling of innocent blood.”

Peres, meanwhile, sought to anoint the Pope as the spiritual leader who would provide the impetus for peace in a conflicted region. 

“In you we see a promoter of peace; a great spiritual leader; a potent bearer of the message of peace to this land and to all others,” he said at the official welcoming ceremony in his garden. “This year, the year of your visit here, may reveal an opportunity for us and our neighbors, to attain peace.” 

Significantly, Peres noted “ties of reconciliation and understanding” emerging between the Holy See and the Jewish people. 

While the Israeli public is generally amiable toward the Pope’s visit, some groups were expecting specific statements. Ha’aretz newspaper noted that the Pope has a dangerous balancing act, especially at Yad Vashem where he will “make do with the adjacent memorial hall.”

“Many Jews will feel that this is not enough, and will expect the German Pope, with his own Hitler Youth past, to make a further gesture, perhaps an apology for the Holy See's conduct during the war years,” the newspaper continued. “Whatever he says, there are too many people to run afoul of.” 

Indeed, the offense began with one of the attendees at the ceremony. Buchenwald survivor and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau called the speech “a missed opportunity” without personal remorse and mention of 6 million Jews killed.

“A few points were missing in the pope's address,” Lau told Israel’s channel 1. “There was no mention of the Germans, or Nazis, who conducted the massacre. ... Instead of the word ‘murdered’ as the previous pope John Paul II used, Benedict XVI used the word ‘killed.’ There is a very clear difference between the two verbs.”

At the President’s House, Pope Benedict said his pilgrimage to the holy places “is one of prayer”  for peace for the Middle East. The Pope empathized with “ordinary” Israelis as in his speech. 

“What parents would ever want violence, insecurity, or disunity for their son or daughter? What humane political end can ever be served through conflict and violence?” he asked. “I hear the cry of those who live in this land for justice, for peace, for respect for their dignity, for lasting security, a daily life free from the fear of outside threats and senseless violence.”

 

The Ministry of Tourism is expecting between 10,000 to 15,000 additional tourists in conjunction with the Holy See’s tour of the Holy Land. At the Nazareth mass, an outdoor arena will hold 40,000 people, while the Jerusalem mass will accommodate 5,000 to 6,000. The State of Israel has alloted about $10 million for this visit. 

This is Benedict’s first visit to Israel as Pope, but not his first visit. The Pope was friends with the late Teddy Kolleck, Jerusalem’s legendary mayor. As Pope he is literally following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, according to Rabbi David Rosen, an Israeli expert in Jewish-Christian relations.

Rosen warned that while political leaders, religious officials and journalists would be analyzing all of the Pope’s words, the truth is “Benedict is shyer than his predecessor and not comfortable in public relations.”

With a placid demeanor, the Pope appeared drained from days of travel and showed little reaction at the events he attended on Monday. 

“John Paul II had to work on relations before he came,” he said. “Now Benedict is walking in his footsteps, literally, the same agenda.”

Rosen said the order of Benedict’s agenda is symbolic. He first visited the President’s house showing the importance of office, then headed to Yad Vashem empathizing with the Holocaust and lastly to Notre Dame for an inter-faith dialogue to stress the importance of building bridges between the faiths.

Pope Benedict Welcomed in Jerusalem

May 11, 2009

JERUSALEM - With church bells ringing, sirens of a police motorcade wailing and helicopters whirring overhead, Israel’s capital welcomed Pope Benedict XVI.

The city’s mayor, Nir Barkat, greeted the Pope and other dignitaries at helipad near Hebrew University and told His Holiness to feel at home during his stay.

“In Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and the Jewish people, we promote pluralism, dialogue and freedom of religion,” said Barkat. 

In his five-day visit, the Pope will tackle divisive religious issues in a city that three religions claim as holy. This evening, he will meet the parents of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit at President Shimon Peres’ official reception, he visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial,  then immediately following that, he will attends an inter-faith dialogue with Jewish and Muslim leaders.  

As he did in Jordan during the past three days of his journey, Benedict XVI will also encourage the Christian community in Israel and the Palestinian territories, a minority living among Jews and Muslims here.

The Pope took the opportunity at Ben Gurion Airport to address anti-Semetism upon his arrival in Israel.

“Sadly, anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head in many parts of the world. This is totally unacceptable,” said the pontiff. “Every effort must be made to combat anti-Semitism wherever it is found, and to promote respect and esteem for the members of every people, tribe, language and nation across the globe.”

The German pope has been criticized for lifting an excommunication order on a bishop who said the Jewish death toll during the Holocaust was exaggerated. The bishop has not been reinstated to his position. 

“Tragically, the Jewish people have experienced the terrible consequences of ideologies that deny the fundamental dignity of every human person,” the Pope said.  “It is right and fitting that during my stay in Israel I will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust), and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude.”

Tomorrow the Pope will tour Old City sites, including the Dome of the Rock. He will end the day with a mass in Jerusalem’s Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives. His visit follows months of preparation regarding security, infrastructure and tourism.

“I take my place in a long line of Christian pilgrims to these shores, a line that stretches back to the earliest centuries of the Church's history and which, I am sure, will keep and continue long into the future,” the pope said during his address on the tarmac. “I come, like so many others before me, to pray at the holy places, to pray especially for peace - peace in the Holy Land and peace throughout the world.”

Pope Walks Out of Meeting After Palestinian Outburst

Welcome to Jerusalem

May 11, 1009

Article originally published here.

JERUSALEM – An meeting of 300 religious leaders hosted by the Pope came to an abrupt end Monday night when a Palestinian sheikh, who was not on the program, forced his way to the pulpit to criticize Israel.

The head of Sharia courts in the Palestinian Authority, Taysir Tamimi, made an animated plea to the Pope to fight for “a just peace for a Palestinian state and for Israel to stop killing women and children and destroying mosques as she did in Gaza.”

“Israel destroys Palestinian cities and establishes settlements on Palestinian land,” he cried in a rising voice, adding that Jerusalem “will remain the capital of a Palestinian state.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the outburst a “provocation” and said that instead of “fostering peace and co-exstistence chose to plant seeds of division and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians and also between Jews, Muslims and Christians.”

“It is a shame that the extremists are those who represent the Palestinians and the Muslims in his important event in the presence of the Holy See,” said Aviv Shiron of the Foreign MInistry.

The speech was given in Arabic with no translation, but most local Christians and Muslims present understood what was said. Others simply understood the intent.

“If the Pope wasn’t there, I could stand up and leave the room, but I didn’t want to insult the Pope,” Oded Wiener, director general of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, told Newsmax after the incident.

Wiener and his Palestinian friend from the Islamic land trust were supposed to present a gift to the Pope after the scheduled speeches, but the Pope left the stage after Tamimi finished his speech, which wasn’t stopped by officials at the dialogue.

During the speech, some in the audience got up to leave, but most attendees stayed put, some laughed while others even applauded enthusiastically when Tamimi finally brought his statement to a close.

The Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that the interruption was “a direct negation of what a dialogue should be. We hope that such an incident will not damage the mission of the Pope” and inter-religious dialogue.

“We hope also that inter-religious dialogue in the Holy Land will not be compromised by this incident,” Lombardi added, in his statement.

Outbursts like these are not uncommon for Tamimi, who was specifically banned from speaking tonight because he has chosen to speak off-topic at other gatherings.

“All religious people in the world of all other religions need to guard the Palestinians from Israel and protect their lands,” he implored.

Wiener accused Tamimi of “time and again” spoiling the dialogue.

“We want to speak about peace and he speaks hatred,” he said. “He embarrassed the Pope and wasn’t supposed to speak tonight. The fact that a person like him ... used an internal stage instead of seeking peace, promoting peace instead of using the opportunity with the Pope to promote peace, he spoke about hatred and terrorism.”

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Imam: Mosque is a jihad factory

May 8, 2009

You know how American troops are very careful not to target mosques  in military operations? Respect for religious sites and all. Perhaps time to rethink that strategy. From Israel National News:

A Muslim cleric in the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization has redefined the purpose of the mosque, generally known around the world as the Islamic house of worship.                                                                 

In a video clip of a televised sermon broadcast on Al Aqsa (Hamas) TV on April 24, the unidentified cleric declared, “True foundation and education start in the mosques… “ A transcript of the sermon, in subtitles, was provided by the Washington-based media watchdog organization, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

The point made by the cleric underscores the importance of security measures carried out by Israel Police on Fridays at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, especially during periods of tension, prior to Israeli national and Jewish holidays, or immediately following terror attacks.

“Do you realize what the mosque is? It is a prime factory educating men to fear and please Allah; [it is] the prime factory for educating Jihad fighters,” the cleric continued in the video clip. “The mosque is the life of Muslims, and the symbol of their courage and honor.”

During his sermon, the cleric also explained that even a Muslim fetus is not free of the obligation to make war.

“The Palestinian fetus in its mother’s womb, the Muslim fetus throughout the world in its mother’s womb, call [on Muslims] to unite through fear of Allah, through pleasing him, and through choosing Jihad and Resistance [terror],” he proclaimed.

Obama to confront a Middle Eastern nation over its nuclear program...

...But it's not Iran! How’s this for change?

May 7, 2009

Iran gets a hug. Israel gets a warning. The Bamster’s latest foray foreign policy has left many heads spinning. The West has come to accept his tactful strategy of “talking” to Iran. Even Israeli Pres. Shimon Peres said Israel accepts, even cheers the U.S. in chatting with Ahmadinejad. 

So it came as a shock when this news was reported in the Washington Times: 

President Obama's efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons threaten to expose and derail a 40-year-old secret U.S. agreement to shield Israel's nuclear weapons from international scrutiny, former and current U.S. and Israeli officials and nuclear specialists say.

The issue will likely come to a head when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mr. Obama on May 18 in Washington. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to seek assurances from Mr. Obama that he will uphold the U.S. commitment and will not trade Israeli nuclear concessions for Iranian ones.

Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, speaking Tuesday at a U.N. meeting on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Israel should join the tUniversal adherence to the NPT itself, including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea, ... remains a fundamental objective of the United States," Ms. Gottemoeller told the meeting, according to Reuters.

She declined to say, however, whether the Obama administration would press Israel to join the treaty.

A senior White House official said the administration considered the nuclear programs of Israel and Iran to be unrelated "apples and oranges."

It’s no wonder Israelis are nervous about Obama. A recent poll of Israelis showed that while 60 percent said they had either a "somewhat favorable" or "very favorable" opinion of Obama, and 14% said their attitude toward him was unfavorable, only 32% of the respondents said they approved of Obama's policies toward Israel, and 21% said they disapproved.

The Hebrew-language newspaper Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today) noted in an editorial today that the American demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is nothing new, but questions the timing. "The [American] government is currently showing a terminological openness toward policy initiatives that are not to Israel's liking. This willingness must not be applied to the policy of ambiguity that has characterized Israel's nuclear policy for decades."

More numbers in the poll: 66% of Israelis said they would support military action if diplomatic and economic efforts failed to stop Iranian nuclear armament and 75% of them would support this action even if Obama was opposed.

Pilgrim of Peace?

Christians are ambivalent; Jews are apathetic; some Muslims are angry, some are attending mass

May 7, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI announced that he is coming as a "pilgrim of peace" to the Holy Land, and indeed, many positive expectations can be attributed to his visit. But lurking among all religious groups in the country is a quiet murmuring about the Pontiff's time here.

Muslims: Benedict offended Muslims worldwide when he quoted in September 2006 a medieval description of the religion as "evil and inhuman" and "spread by sword." In Nazareth, Imam Nazem Abu Salim and his followers strung up a banner across the city's main square warning the Pope: "Those who harm Allah and His Messenger – Allah has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment." Benedict did not endorse the text, and made it clear that it did not reflect his own views, but Muslims violently protested in cities around the world and even attacked churches in Palestinian areas. The Northern Islamic Movement called on Muslim leaders to boycott interfaith meetings that are to be held during the Pope's visit. 

Nevertheless, many Muslim students who attend Christian schools in Nazareth and Bethlehem will be attending mass with their classmates.

Jews: Benedict offended Jews when he reinstated Holocaust-denying bishop Richard Williamson a couple months ago. Another lingering issue is the proposed beatification (one step below sainthood) of Pius XII, accused of ignoring the Holocaust. Because of that, Benedict will visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial but will not go inside the main room which has a plaque critical of the former World War II era pope.

During Operation Cast Lead in January, the Pope appeared unsympathetic to Israel when he sympathized with Gazans. He mentioned during a mass the deaths of Palestinians killed in Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which Israelis found unfair since he never mentioned the daily rocket attacks on southern Israel, ongoing for nine years.

Christians: You would think that the Christian community would be most thrilled about this visit, but a general skepticism has pervaded the rankled minority. A Jerusalem resident, who once lived in Bethlehem, said he has no expectations from the Pope. He ticked off on his fingers the reasons: 1. the last time a Pope was here, the economy proceeded to head south after his visit (that could, technically, be attributed to the intifada, not the pope); 2. the Pope is visiting, like his predecessor, a Palestinian refugee camp and will probably make a monetary donation there, like his predecessor did in 2000. There are no Christians in a refugee camp - why give them the money and not the Christians who are also struggling economically? So asked this unhappy Christian who has long since left the West Bank with no plans of returning.

Christians in Gaza are also offended that the Pope is visiting Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, but not going to Gaza. Admittedly going to Gaza would be a security nightmare. But they are upset nonetheless.

Israel activates 'Operation White Cloak'

May 7, 2009

Operation White Cloak is underway. Really, I could stop writing right there: I love the name 'White Cloak.'

Yes, this is the Israeli security detail for protecting the Pope, replete in his white robes, but without his Popemobile, deemed "not safe enough" by Israel's ultra-vigilant security. Israel is deploying 60,000 police officers and 20,000 secret service agents and soldiers during the week of the tour, most of them in Jerusalem.

Protecting the Pope is the most intense security detail for Israel, according to Raphael Ben-Hur, senior deputy general of the tourism ministry, even greater than that of visiting American presidents.

“The Pope is one of the most important people all over the world and we have to secure him,” he said.

I was here for U.S. Pres. George W. Bush's visit nearly a year ago to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary. He was only here three days but the city was shut down. Certain streets were forced to evacuate and if any cars remained, they were towed. The entire neighborhood of the Central Bus Station, a major transportation hub, was desolate during Bush's speech at the convention center. I walked about a mile after the event until I could even find a taxi to catch. The neighborhood was vacated.

The Ministry of Tourism is expecting between 10,000 to 15,000 additional tourists in conjunction with Il Pappa's tour of the Holy Land. At the Nazareth mass, an outdoor arena will hold 40,000 people, while the Jerusalem mass will accommodate 5,000 to 6,000.

The State of Israel has alloted 43 million shekels (a little more than $10 million) for the trip. The Pontiff's official tour has been a good excuse for the three cities on his tour to get a much-needed facelift, just like the last papal tour in 2000 when John Paul II visited. Olive trees have been planted in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem. The walkway down to the mass site - in the valley between the Eastern Gate of the Old City and the Mount of Olives - is getting repaved so as to accommodate the Popemobile. The area was once a haven for drug addicts and dealers. Now it is a massive construction site which must be done for Tuesday's mass.

Nir Barkat, Jerusalem’s mayor, has a vested interest in the trip too because it shines the spotlight on his city. Bringing 1 million tourist s a year to Israel’s capital was a stated goal of Barkat’s campaign. This international exposure should be a boon to the city.

Already, an extra 10,000 to 15,000 tourists are expected in conjunction with the pope’s visit.

In Nazareth, an amphitheater for the mass has been built along with a helicopter pad, according to a reporter who visited there. New roads, sidewalks, and other general construction needed since the founding of the state, she said. I can't wait to see it myself. Nazareth, the city where Jesus was raised, now has a Muslim instead of Christian majority, a switch in the last few decades.

As I've reported before, Christians in Israel and the Palestinian territories are leaving for various reasons. Here is some info from the website Palestine Facts:

After World War II, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was 80% Christian and Nazareth 60%. Now those percentages are 20% and 30% respectively, and are shrinking. Jerusalem Christians were a plurality in the 1920s; today, they number under 2 percent of the city's population.

Serious violations of religious freedom are reported from within the Palestinian Authority, especially the persecution of Muslims who have converted to Christianity. In the Christian town of Bet Jella, a human rights lawyer reported brutal interrogation methods and arbitrary arrests based on fabricated criminal charges against Muslims who have converted to Christianity and their families. His report includes testimony about torture from victims who were terrified to criticize the Palestinian Authority and their secret police.

In Nazareth, the Christian population has decreased dramatically due to the rise and spread of militant Islam. The Islamic Movement (a radical Muslim group) has demanded the construction of a mosque near the Church of the Annunciation, a mosque even some moderate Muslims oppose. On Easter, 1999, the Muslim group burned Christian stores and targeted Christians over the issue; attempts to intervene were frustrated because Christians are terrified to speak out.

Hundreds of Christian families have left Palestinian towns like Bet Jella and Bethlehem during the al-Aqsa intifada, caught literally in the crossfire between Palestinians and Israelis. On the West Bank, a nearly-permanent Muslim boycott of Christian businesses is achieving its objective: driving the Christians to emigrate.

In October 2000, Christians were attacked in Gaza after a Palestinian Muslim leader called for a "jihad" against both Jews and Christians.

In February 2002 a Muslim mob, including Palestinian Authority Special Forces, burned Christian businesses and attempted to destroy the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in Ramallah. The attack occurred after a Christian man killed a Muslim while being pursued by a Muslim gang because he refused to pay protection money for safe passage to his home.

Christians in the Palestinian territories will also get to see the Pope - about 200 Gazans have received passes to attend the mass in Bethlehem. I had thought there were only 2,000 Christians of the 1.6 million residents there, but latest statistics claim there are 3,800. I'm not sure that these passes were actually issued either.