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ISRAEL: BRAWLING MONKS REFUSE TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK
Ashraf Khalil
Los Angeles Times
Nov 10 2008
CA
While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict naturally garners most of the
world's attention here, it's sometimes easy to forget that Jerusalem
is considered hallowed ground (and therefore worth fighting over) by
a host of overlapping Christian orders -- all constantly struggling
for turf rights.
On Sunday morning, Israeli police rushed into the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, to break up a
violent confrontation between Greek and Armenian Orthodox monks just a
few feet from the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified.
The ugly scene was even captured on video.
While the level of violence Sunday was shocking, inter-Christian
struggles are nothing new here, especially around the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. The site is shared by a host of different Christian
orders, including Greek and Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and
Syrian Orthodox and Roman Catholic. All sides zealously guard their
rights and privileges under a fragile set of agreements that date
back to the Ottoman Empire.
The unhealthy dynamic turns even the most minor maintenance issue
into a multi-directional political stalemate.
Much-needed repairs to the roof have been delayed by sectarian
wrangling. The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit
at the church, which is regularly packed with thousands of visitors
and pilgrims but has only one main exit. But nobody can agree on
where the exit should be placed.
Famously, the keys to the church's front door are held, via mutual
agreement, by a Muslim family to keep the Christians from fighting
over that as well.
Ashraf Khalil
Los Angeles Times
Nov 10 2008
CA
While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict naturally garners most of the
world's attention here, it's sometimes easy to forget that Jerusalem
is considered hallowed ground (and therefore worth fighting over) by
a host of overlapping Christian orders -- all constantly struggling
for turf rights.
On Sunday morning, Israeli police rushed into the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, to break up a
violent confrontation between Greek and Armenian Orthodox monks just a
few feet from the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified.
The ugly scene was even captured on video.
While the level of violence Sunday was shocking, inter-Christian
struggles are nothing new here, especially around the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. The site is shared by a host of different Christian
orders, including Greek and Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and
Syrian Orthodox and Roman Catholic. All sides zealously guard their
rights and privileges under a fragile set of agreements that date
back to the Ottoman Empire.
The unhealthy dynamic turns even the most minor maintenance issue
into a multi-directional political stalemate.
Much-needed repairs to the roof have been delayed by sectarian
wrangling. The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit
at the church, which is regularly packed with thousands of visitors
and pilgrims but has only one main exit. But nobody can agree on
where the exit should be placed.
Famously, the keys to the church's front door are held, via mutual
agreement, by a Muslim family to keep the Christians from fighting
over that as well.