Advertisement Pax ChristiICN Would you like to advertise on ICN? Click to learn more.

Holy Week message from retired parish priest in Gaza


Fr Manuel Musallam

Fr Manuel Musallam

Fr Manuel Musallam, 71, has recently retired, after serving as parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza for 14 years, through last year's devastating bombing and the ongoing siege. For most of that time he was not been allowed to visit his family and friends in the West Bank. He sends the following Easter message.

"We Christians of Palestine have been under occupation for many long years. We've been suffering with bitterness at being kept away from the Holy Sites. We've been denied our right to worship in Jerusalem. Many Christian generations have never been able to reach Jerusalem to visit its holy places.

"The occupation has been continuously imposing unlawful obstacles. This year, we are confronted by the Israeli Apartheid Separation Wall, checkpoints and roadblocks guarded by Israeli soldiers denying us movement and access to Jerusalem.

"All these measures not only suffocate the Palestinian people, but also asphyxiate peace in Israel and Palestine.

"Palestinians are denied the freedom to worship as and where they please, even at Easter. In particular, they are prevented from going into Jerusalem. The Zionist claim that Palestine was "a land without a people for a people without a land" has had a disastrous impact on the Palestinians. "It does not mean that Jerusalem is without a people, but rather it should be evacuated to be handed over to another people. David Ben Gurion himself articulated the plan in 1937 when he declared: 'We must expel Arabs and take their places.'"

"Every stone built in the Apartheid Wall, every axe strike digging under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and every house destroyed by Israel will increase the intensity of resistance and resentfulness. However, cooperation with Palestinians will give Israel the hope for a future, dominated by serenity and peacefulness."

"We lament Jerusalem, and miss its beautiful ceremonies. This year thousands of tourists will weep with us. They will not be able to march the 'Way of the Cross' with Palestinians. There will be no national Palestinian folklore to discover or Arab religious crafts to take with them as gifts, and no local prayers, hymns and music to experience in the warm faith of believers in Palestine. They will be shocked entering the Holy Sepulchre to find Israeli police inside.

"Easter symbolizes liberation from sin and slavery but hopes of national liberation are evaporating. The slavery and humiliation of occupation are felt more keenly than ever by Palestinian Christians.

"We are appalled by the continuous threats of more war. And we are distressed by the daily humiliation, hunger, thirst, unemployment and the absence of sustainable development in our country.

"Palestinians have been building and enhancing Jerusalem for 5,000 years and never stopped - except during the occupation, which has practically destroyed everything we had accomplished. Unable to find any traces of their own heritage, he observes, the occupiers have annexed some of the Palestinians' holy places.

"Jerusalem was the city of God, peace and prayer, but has been converted into a city of man, war and hatred. Instead of becoming the key to the doors of heaven, it has become a key to war and blood."

"Jerusalem, the holiest place on earth, is now the focus of sin and crime, because one man is killing another, insulting him and trampling his dignity and his right to live.

"We do not accept the speech of Israeli leaders that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that building in it is no different from building in Tel Aviv. Occupation is a sin and a form of terrorism, and when relying on the texts of the Torah to kill people or expel and remove them from their land it rises to the level of a crime against humanity. All perpetrators should be judged by the International Criminal Court before being judged by the just court of God."

He says: "Supporters of Netanyahu's remarks, and those who fail to condemn them, simply give Israel more time and excuses to intensify its crimes against the Palestinian people. Hence they become accomplices in a "sin against the nations".

In his appeal to the world this Easter, what seems to worry Fr Manuel most is how the dwindling numbers that are now allowed to reach the holy sites might cause them to be turned into historic monuments or even destroyed. In the eyes of Israeli leaders, these places are "pagan sites" and whoever destroys them is brought closer to God. "A long time ago," he says, the Zionist Jewish leader Theodore Herzl said: "If one day we recover Jerusalem and I am still able to do anything when we do so, my first action will be to cleanse it thoroughly. I will remove everything that is not holy and burn the monuments that are centuries old."

"Israel has devastated and tortured us in their many wars. We ask you to see the wounds of innocent Palestinian people and to be compassionate towards the Palestinian holocaust that you witness with your own eyes and touch with your own hands, and to know those who perpetrated this crime against our children. Search with us for justice that is the mother of peace. Protect us and safeguard our Holy Sites."

Adverts

The Archbishop Romero Trust

We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information.

We Need Your Support

ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. As our audience increases - so do our costs. We need your help to continue this work.

You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN.

Mobile Menu Toggle Icon