During the week covered by this review, we received 16 articles on the following subjects:
The Pope and the Vatican
Anti-Semitism
Israel
Jewish Holidays
Christians in Israel
Christian Tourism
Miscellaneous
History
Archaeology
The Pope and the Vatican
Haaretz, April 13, 2014
On Friday, April 11, Pope Francis gave a strong public apology for “the evil in the deeds of priests who sexually abused children.” He has also appointed a committee to formulate a sterner stand on this issue. These actions follow a UN report as well as calls from children’s rights agencies, who demand the immediate removal of bishops and priests suspected of abuse, and the referral of these cases to the civil authorities.
Makor Rishon, April 18, 2014
In this three-page article, Yehuda Yifrach relates the bitter conflict in progress at the moment regarding David’s Tomb. The structure, near the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, was built around 1330, and has been a source of dispute between Jews, Christians, and Muslims almost ever since, as the second story of the building has also been identified by the Vatican as the site of the Last Supper. Now there are rumors of a possible treaty between the Israeli government and the Vatican. This treaty would crystallize the long-term standing of the Catholic Church in Israel, but in particular, would give control over the Last Supper Room into Catholic hands. Jewish organizations are bitterly opposing this move, saying that a flood of Christian pilgrims will stop any Jewish activity at the site, and give de facto ownership to the Vatican. These organizations are also concerned because of the mentality the Vatican has displayed in the past regarding the sovereignty of the state of Israel, and the Vatican’s attempts to emphasize how Catholics were affected by the Holocaust. Neither the Israeli government nor the Israel Antiquities Authority could speak as to possible details of the treaty, except to deny that any sort of handover was contemplated, but a recent article in the formal Vatican newspaper appears to regard it as almost settled.
Anti-Semitism
Israel Hayom, April 16, 2014
Passover has always been a time when anti-Jewish outbursts have been particularly strong, from the medieval blood libel to the Holocaust in the 20th century, when a third of the Jewish people was murdered. Even now, the state of Israel is paying a dear price for the end of the exile. But “the only response the murderers of our people understand, the most fitting, strong and efficient, is the building of new life wherever Jewish blood has been spilt.”
Israel
Israel Hayom, April 18, 2014
This article reports on a discussion event recently held at Uppsala University in Sweden. This event was planned and run by a team from the Jerusalem Institute for Justice, headed by Adv. Caleb Myers. The evening was attended by Palestinians, supporters of Israel, and non-partisans. Sweden has a strong history of anti-Israel feeling, and many questions in this vein were asked by the Palestinian contingent, particularly concerning apartheid and expulsions from the territories. However, others present expressed their support of Israel and thanked the team for coming to communicate their stand, recognizing that it is almost never covered in the local media. The trip included a visit by Myers to the Swedish parliament, where some, particularly among the Christian Democratic party, showed support for Israel. However, in Sweden, as everywhere else in Europe, the right-wing is strengthening, so there is much yet to be done.
Jewish Holidays
The Jerusalem Post, April 14, 2014
In this article Raymond Apple sets out his opinion that the Last Supper was not a Passover Seder, quoting especially the lack of explicit identification, the differences in time mentioned, and the fact that “the supper story was not history but theology.” Apple does recognize that the Seder and the Last Supper have similar elements that are interpreted differently.
Haaretz, April 16, 2014
In this article, Gilad Elon sets out the theory that Passover is an amalgam of two feasts, and in fact had nothing to do with Egypt. Both were spring feasts, but the one to do with the sacrifice was celebrated by the semi-nomadic portion of the people and was meant to ward off evil, while the one to do with the matza was celebrated by the settled farmers, and marked the beginning of the harvest. According to Elon, the element of non-rising bread had to do with barley being the first crop that is ready to be harvested, and barley barely rises in any case. The two feasts were slowly merged during the reigns of Saul and David, but especially during King Josiah’s reforms in 622 BC, which was also when the pilgrimage element was added. The holiday was reinstated after the return from Babylon, and continued until 167 BC, when it was briefly suspended during the Maccabean Revolt. The Seder in its early forms began to take shape after the destruction of the temple in AD 70, when rabbinic Judaism changed the celebrations to allow for the fact that the temple had been destroyed.
Christians in Israel
Haaretz, April 18, 2014
This article surveys some of the Easter traditions of the village of Rama, especially its women’s club, called “Hamilat Atib” (“The Perfume Bearers,” after the women who came to the empty tomb). The club meets every week for a variety of activities, from visiting homebound people to having computer courses. Twice a year, at Christmas and at Easter, the club holds a big bake sale of special holiday fare; for example, some of the cookies carry the design of a crown of thorns, and some of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The traditional Easter feast is sometimes held at Rama on Saturday evening, after a candlelight procession has brought the Holy Fire back to the village from Akko.
Christian Tourism
Ha’ir Kol Ha’ir, April 10, 2014
This article is a survey of one of the many possible day trips available in the Old City. Of particular interest is the detailed description of sites to see along the Via Dolorosa, such as the beautiful overlook onto the Temple Mount, the Church of Saint Anne, and the Church of the Flagellation.
Ha’ir Kol Ha’ir, April 10, 2014
This article surveys the Talbieh neighborhood of Jerusalem, built on land originally purchased by the Greek Patriarchate. Visitors will be especially interested in the Montserrat Monastery, which was a center for biblical scholarship and where the Bible was translated into Catalan; the Jerusalem Theater; and Hansen House, which originally functioned as a hospital for lepers run by the German Deaconess sisterhood.
Ha’ir Kol Ha’ir, April 10, 2014
This article surveys another day trip in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem. This neighborhood is of particular interest, having been founded in 1873 by German Templars, who believed that the Christian life could only be lived rightly in the Holy Land. The tour includes the miller’s house, the public house, the cinema (dating from 1928), and the Templar cemetery.
Miscellaneous
Haaretz, April 14, 2014
A rally took place on April 12 in Nazareth, opposing the drafting of Christian Arabs into the IDF. The rally included role playing of entrances and exits through checkpoints, barbed wire, and closed military zones. The debate regarding this issue has been growing, and the opposition says that the draft intends to “disconnect Palestinian youth from affiliation with their people.”
The Jerusalem Post, April 18, 2014
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III commemorated Maundy Thursday by washing the feet of 12 clergy members in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A mass was also celebrated at this ceremony.
History
Haaretz, April 14, 2014
This article is a historical retrospective on World War II events on April 14, 1944. On this day, Henk Drogt, a policeman in Avereest, Holland, was executed by the Germans in Scheveningen for having refused an order in 1943 to arrest the seven Jews of Avereest. Drogt had been engaged to be married when he was arrested, and his fiancée bore him a posthumous son, Henk Brink, who grew up in South Africa. It was there that Brink met El Al pilot Mark Bergman and told him his father’s story, and especially the fact that Drogt had not been recognized in Israel. Bergman then set out to find the three eyewitnesses necessary for Yad VaShem recognition, and on March 19, 2008, Brink received the Righteous Gentile status in his late father’s name.
Haaretz, April 17, 2014
This article is a historical retrospective on events in England on April 17, 1222. On this date a Christian cleric was burned at the stake for having converted to Judaism. The cleric, originally thought to have been one Robert of Reading, has since been discovered to have been an anonymous cleric who converted and married a Jewish bride. This case is singular in that it is the first time burning at the stake is mentioned in English history, and also since this form of execution was not legally permitted until 1401. Following this incident, decrees were made against the Jewish community, forcing them to wear a distinguishing symbol, do business only with other Jews, and forbidding the building of new synagogues.
Archaeology
Haaretz, April 13, 2014
The papyrus called The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, discovered in 2012, has been declared by a combined team of experts from Columbia and Harvard Universities and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be an ancient document rather than a modern forgery. This decision was based on a comparison with other papyri that have been dated between the fourth and eighth centuries AD. Karen L. King, who gave the papyrus its name, insists that “all the document proves is that the early Christians actively discussed issues such as sexual relations, abstinence and marriage.” However, some in the academic world remain convinced that the document is a forgery; foremost among them is Leo Depuydt, an Egyptologist from Brown University who has published a rebuttal on the subject.
The Jerusalem Post, April 11, 2014
This article is an in-depth survey of the Spring Citadel, the site of which has recently been opened to the public. The 19-year dig, led by Prof. Ronny Reich and Eli Shukrun of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was extremely complicated. The team has dated the citadel to approximately 1800 BC, which is the time of Abraham. The fortress remained unconquered until David’s conquest of Jerusalem; Doron Spielman, vice president of the City of David Foundation, says that this capture was of paramount importance, since “this was the first time we had a place called home.” The open site displays to the public what life in the citadel would have been like during ancient times, complete with candle sconces and a Bronze Age–era house. Dr. Gabriel Barkay, who heads the City of David’s Temple Mount Sifting Project, also says the site is unique, since “we have no other findings which are as monumental in terms of their preservation from the Middle Bronze Age [2200–1570 BC].”