By all accounts the ritual of the "holy fire" is an unforgettable experience, even curious lookers-on and sceptics are enthused by the spectacle. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is where the ritual of the "holy fire" takes place every year at Easter. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch enters the packed church at the head of a representative procession of clerics from six Christian denominations. Then he alone descends to the small chamber, considered by the Catholic and Eastern Churches as the site of Jesus' tomb. There he prays according to a time tested tradition and emerges later carrying a cluster of candles lit by "holy fire" said to be miraculously sent from heaven. The details of the flame's source are a closely guarded secret. Believers say the fire is the source of the Resurrection and also the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai.
An Associated Press reporter described the scene as he saw it on Saturday, "Flanking the chanting crowds were dozens of black-clad security police, khaki-uniformed riot-prevention forces and border security guards keeping order. Photographers teetered over the crowds trying to snap photos. Palestinian women ululated as the fire emerged. Young men banged on drums and a few heated pilgrims got into fistfights that were broken up by the Israeli security forces.
Amid them all were clerics in colorful robes designating their particular church, trying to get as close as possible to the ornate chamber in the cavernous Holy Sepulcher where many Christian traditions believe that Jesus was briefly entombed after he was crucified nearby. "
If you are unfamiliar with the ceremony you might wonder what Israeli security forces were doing in the church. Although this year the colourful ceremony was almost uneventful, in the past internecine scuffles, riots and on at least two occasions bloody clashes have marred the event. In 1834 the British parliamentarian Robert Curzon reported that more than four hundred worshippers died during the ceremony. Most of them were trampled to death in the overcrowded church, but some were killed when the governor Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, a guest at the ceremony, was extricated by his guards. They were forced to cut an escape route through the panicking crowd.
The holy fire ritual has been practised for at least 1,200 years, and this year, as in the past, the risk of fire breaking out in the church packed with candle carrying worshippers was a real hazard. In particular the risk is high because the main entrance to the cavernous, spiral-shaped church is also the exit. Six Christian denominations zealously claim different sections of the church. So far the fear of jeopardizing their foothold in the Holy Sepulchre has prevented them from agreeing to build an emergency exit or a fire escape.
Another incident that started on Saturday and continued throughout Sunday had no claim to any kind of sanctity. A much publicised "fly-in" by Palestinian sympathisers from a number of places in Europe turned out to be much-ado- about nothing. The news media coined the projected mass descent on Ben Gurion air terminal the "flytilla", bringing to mind the Gaza blockade runners flotillas.
After the MV Mavi Marmara incident the Israeli government prevented further Gaza flotilla attempts by requesting ports in Greece and Cyprus to deny the flotilla vessels docking and refuelling facilities. Ahead of the scheduled "flytilla" a similar request was made to airlines flying passengers to Israel. They were provided with a list of the people the Israeli government had barred from entering the country. The list was compiled by the Israeli General Security Service (Shin-Bet) and the police intelligence division.
According to some reports, as many as 2,000 Palestinian sympathisers had planned to take part in the "Welcome to Palestine" rally. However the list sent to the airline companies contained only 730 names. Most of the companies complied with the request and cancelled tickets sold to people whose names appeared on the list. A phalanx of 450 uniformed and plain clothes security personnel provided a very inhospitable welcome for the 49 members of the "Welcome to Palestine" group who somehow managed to evade the security dragnet. Over a hundred news media reporters and photographers managed to get only a fleeting image of a few of the potential troublemakers.
I want to pause here to consider the identity of these unwanted tourists.
They have been variously described as anarchists, left-wing sympathisers with the Palestinian cause and "activists" (whatever that means.) I'm sure by now the GSS(General Security Service) knows how to label them. Most of the 49 strong horde were sent home on the first available flight. A few of the would-be-demonstrators who refused to accept the return flight option were arrested pending a court expulsion order.
Some observers have termed the air terminal operation an "overkill," exaggerated and even unnecessary.
Perhaps Christian Science Monitor correspondent Joshua Mitnick, reporting from Tel Aviv placed the air terminal non-event in the correct perspective.
"With turmoil in the region dominating the international agenda and diplomacy on Palestinian statehood mothballed, the vacuum in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle is being filled by the civil disobedience of a limited but creative band of local and foreign activists. After today's round, both sides claimed victory in what many observers said was mainly a public relations battle.
Palestinian organizers of the ‘Welcome to Palestine Campaign,’ argued that Israel’s refusal of the activists focused attention on claims of injustice in the West Bank and contradicted Israel’s boast of being the only democracy in the region. The Israeli government said it blocked activists bent on delegitimizing the Jewish state and sowing chaos, and mocked the activists for supposedly ignoring human rights violations in Syria."
A more critical view of the "keep them out" policy stated, “Israeli government spokespersons are using the ‘Welcome to Palestine’ operation in their campaign against the 'delegitimization of Israel.' It's a shame they don't understand that their refusal to allow the human rights activists into the West Bank illustrates more than anything the occupation's lack of legitimacy.”
Haaretz devoted an editorial to the "Welcome to Palestine” campaign.- "A country that respects human rights in the territories under its control, including the right to nonviolent protest against foreign occupation, must invite peace activists to visit anywhere and welcome them with flowers."
I hasten to add that the Haaretz editorial opinion in no way expresses anything close to the consensus in Israel.
Noam Sheizaf, an editor of +972, a dovish Israeli-Palestinian blog, said "Palestinians understand they will not see a sovereign state from the peace process, and they are trying to bring their issue back to the basic denial of human rights," ….. "If I were a newsroom editor I would focus on Syria and Afghanistan as well. But from a Palestinian perspective something is better than nothing."
I'm trying to visualise another scenario, the “welcome them with flowers” approach. Based on past experience and the demonstrations staged at some European airports after members of the "Welcome to Palestine” campaign had their flight tickets cancelled, I doubt if a bouquet welcome would have had much effect. I'm sure they would have exploited every opportunity to demonstrate at the Ben Gurion air terminal and on their way to Bethlehem.
Nevertheless, another group of "activists" did receive considerable local publicity.
Columnist Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz."Just as the so-called "flytilla" of pro-Palestinian activists from abroad - which was so dramatically overstated here by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch - was dying, as expected, with a whimper, the deputy commander of the IDF's Jordan Valley brigade saved the day for the pro-Palestinian activists. " Harel was referring to the clash between 200 cyclists and an IDF patrol commanded by Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner. There is every reason to believe that the cyclists were of the same political persuasion as the activists blocked at Ben Gurion air terminal. They weren't out for a Sunday jaunt, they were bent on disrupting traffic on the Jordan Valley highway. The confrontation which lasted about two hours wouldn't have warranted news media mention had it not been for the brutal striking of a Danish cyclist by Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner.
It appears to have been a case of "entrapment." Eisner struck the Dane with his M-16 rifle while one of the cyclists video filmed the whole despicable incident. Cognisant of the likelihood of a confrontation the IDF too takes the precaution of having its camera man accompany the intercepting force. Such was the case in the MV Mavi Marmara incident. Later the BBC used IDF footage in its documentary film refuting the Turkish version of that clash.
Well our schlemiel cameraman forgot to check his batteries before he joined the patrol and couldn’t photograph it. So it's our verbal version against the Sunday cyclists' neatly edited YouTube clip. Eisner claims he was provoked and attacked before he struck back.
Once the initial IDF investigation was completed Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz relieved Eisner of his post. Admittedly, the military police investigation has yet to be concluded, but Lt. Gen Gantz preferred an early response instead of waiting for the results of the MP probe which is not expected to contradict the initial findings. At the conclusion of the full investigation a recommendation will be made regarding further action to be taken.
I'm not familiar with the exact location where the incident occurred, however it seems that it would have been better handled if a specialised police unit had intercepted the cyclists. Perhaps not the YAMAM (an acronym for the Central Special Unit) a tough anti-terrorist border police unit better suited to deal with really violent encounters. It is equivalent to the US SWAT unit, the French GIGN and the German GSG-9. On the other hand the YASAM (Special Patrol Unit) is a police riot and disturbances dispersal unit trained and equipped to handle less violent confrontations. I don’t know why Eisner’s patrol was deployed instead of a YASAM unit.
Apparently the foreign news media took no special interest in Shalom Eisner and his short temper.
The low profile meeting between Palestinians and Israelis this week hardly raised a ripple of interest. It should have been a tête-à-tête between Prime Ministers Netanyahu and Fayad, but ended up as a postal delivery, merely a letter from Mahmoud Abbas to Bibi Netanyahu. Thomas L. Friedman and others have often urged Israel to make an extra effort concerning peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. True, it’s bound to annoy the West Bank settlers and their Knesset representatives. It would also entail a building freeze, but like the adage about bringing a horse to water, the Palestinians won't sign any accord that doesn't demand the repatriation of their refugees. The US and the EU understand that Israel will never agree to rehabilitate Palestinian refugees within its borders. Acquiescing on the refugees is tantamount to national suicide. The parameters of a bilateral agreement have been drawn up in previous negotiations. All that remains is to call their bluff on the refugee issue. Israel's international image has everything to gain if we take the initiative.
Initiative of another kind demonstrates cooperation is possible. At least 500 million birds of 200 different species fly across Israel each spring and autumn en route to and from Africa, Europe and Asia. And more than 70 native Israeli species, such as the hoopoe (its national bird since 2008), cuckoo, Egyptian vulture, short-toed eagle, hobby and lesser kestrel, often head to warmer Africa in winter.
Hordes of birdwatchers from across the globe flock to strategic locations along the migratory route twice every year to take in this extraordinary sight. All year long, naturalists work hard to preserve flyways, gather data on the visiting birds and teach adults and children how to make these feathered friends feel welcome
These initiatives have continued and expanded. Israel now has a national network of 10 bird-watching stations run in cooperation with the Israel Ornithology Centre. Ornithologist Yossi Leshem is working with Palestinian and Jordanian authorities to attract additional eco-tourists and birdwatchers to the Middle East. This kind of “fly-in” is definitely welcome.
.
Have a good weekend
Beni 19th of April 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment