Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 21:35:14 GMT
Israel denies UN envoy barred from pre-Easter ceremony in Jerusalem
(...)
A United Nations envoy accused Israel on Saturday of trying to block him and other diplomats from a pre-Easter "Holy Fire" ritual in the packed Jerusalem church Christians revere as the burial site of Jesus.
The incident, following two days of violence at a separate flashpoint holy site for Jews and Muslims, pointed up rising tensions in the politically charged city ahead of Pope Francis's Holy Land visit next month.
Israel dismissed the UN complaint, calling it an attempt to inflate a "micro-incident" and noting there was no reported violence among the tens of thousands of Christians who thronged to the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem's old walled city.
"Holy Fire" is a traditional Orthodox Christian ceremony at which they say a miraculous fire appears at the site identified as Jesus's tomb every year on the day before Easter.
Robert Serry, the UN's peace envoy to the Middle East, said in a statement Israeli security officers had stopped a group of Palestinian worshippers and diplomats in a procession near the church, "claiming they had orders to that effect".
(...)
Terry Balata, a Palestinian witness, told Reuters she heard the Israeli officer tell Serry, who was with about 30 other diplomats and worshippers, "so what?" when he identified himself as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's envoy to the region.
Charging "unacceptable behaviour from the Israeli security authorities," Serry demanded in his statement that all parties "respect the right of religious freedom."
(...)
A United Nations envoy accused Israel on Saturday of trying to block him and other diplomats from a pre-Easter "Holy Fire" ritual in the packed Jerusalem church Christians revere as the burial site of Jesus.
The incident, following two days of violence at a separate flashpoint holy site for Jews and Muslims, pointed up rising tensions in the politically charged city ahead of Pope Francis's Holy Land visit next month.
Israel dismissed the UN complaint, calling it an attempt to inflate a "micro-incident" and noting there was no reported violence among the tens of thousands of Christians who thronged to the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem's old walled city.
"Holy Fire" is a traditional Orthodox Christian ceremony at which they say a miraculous fire appears at the site identified as Jesus's tomb every year on the day before Easter.
Robert Serry, the UN's peace envoy to the Middle East, said in a statement Israeli security officers had stopped a group of Palestinian worshippers and diplomats in a procession near the church, "claiming they had orders to that effect".
(...)
Terry Balata, a Palestinian witness, told Reuters she heard the Israeli officer tell Serry, who was with about 30 other diplomats and worshippers, "so what?" when he identified himself as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's envoy to the region.
Charging "unacceptable behaviour from the Israeli security authorities," Serry demanded in his statement that all parties "respect the right of religious freedom."
Fair use for educational and discussion purposes
Full article (The Jerusalem Post)
A little bit of a mess, the whole incident. Israel seems to still be a little cold towards Christianity. But what mainly caught my eye and prompted me to share this was the "miraculous fire" claim. I think that's the first time I'm hearing about it. That "so what?" towards the end made me laugh, but I suppose it's not exemplary.
