This Easter, the government announced it had issued 6,000 permits, though there are 50,000 Christians – mostly Catholic or Greek Orthodox – living in the West Bank beyond East Jerusalem. However, in reality, just 4,000 were given, according to Christian leaders, and often only to a few members of each family who applied.
These permits are valid for just one week and do not allow the Palestinian pilgrims to stay in Jerusalem overnight, meaning they have to make the gruelling journey back to the West Bank by bus or taxi – crossing a multitude of army checkpoints – every evening, limiting the festivities they can take part in. A group from the village of Taybeh said the Israeli military still did not allow them to cross over to Jerusalem for Palm Sunday even though they had valid permits.
The few who do make it to the Old City have been met with increased police brutality in recent years. In April 2023, Palestinian Christian worshipers and international pilgrims were beaten by Israeli police and armed forces as they attempted to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Sounds like we can add violence against christians to the list of things the west supports when it supports zionist Israel.
This happens every bloody year. It happens on Eid, Easter and Christmas.
It’s almost like the people who run an ethno-state are nationalistic and bigoted against anyone that’s not exactly them
Aren’t most states ethnically associated…? Like… the US and Canada are anomalous. European countries are particularly accepting of other ethnicities but still have a core ethnicity. Asian countries are usually pretty homogenous. I imagine African countries are, too. Latin America, I’m not as sure.
Or am I misunderstanding the definition of ethno-state?
An ethnostate is a state made explicitly for one ethnicity that prioritizes that ethnicity over others. The most glaring examples of this are Israel and Apartheid South Africa, but it’s a thing to a much smaller extent in Japan for example. Also note that most European countries do in fact have plenty of native ethnicities; they all just happen to be white. The most obvious example is probably Jews, but there are many others.
Jesus tap-dancing christ you worked hard to matrix bullet-time dodge the PRC and their monomaniacal focus on han identity above all.
Maybe I should get into tap-dancing. More seriously fair enough I should’ve thought of that too.
My bad, I assumed malice unnecessarily.
Some people understand the history and the opportunities of living in a country without tying their identity to the country. They can contribute to it, accept diversity, and yet have a more trascendental sense of self. They understand the state can be helpful for certain goals, and not for others.
It’s like money. If we all agree that a piece of paper and some metal is valuable, then it is. We don’t have to worship it. We can use it when it’s helpful and not when it’s not.
Turns out, the more educated, wealthy, and connected a whole population is, the more they are able to go from conceptual senses of self like “I am French” to a more trascendental sense of self like “I am a living being like so many others, and I happen to live in France”. This can also be achieved with certain wisdom traditions, like with loving-kindness meditation. More broadly, it can also be achieved with reflection.
They get the full Jesus experience
Underrated comment.
Unbearable that the Christian’s can’t easily go to Jerusalem? This sounds a bit dramatic considering the other things going on in this area.
Sure, but I’ll take anything I can get when it comes to waking people up.
“Can’t easily go to Jerusalem” is only one part of the article, and that aside it’s an egregious attack on Palestinian freedom of movement so not really overdramatic. Israel has been doing much flashier things lately so I get your instinct to dismiss this, but this attitude is part of why Israel has gotten away with its crimes for so long; the world only pays attention to the plight of Palestinians when they’re being blown to bits by Israeli airstrikes and then forgets about them when the planes (mostly) stop flying. This article does a good job of highlighting the quieter parts of Israeli oppression IMO.
I think the problem is that palestinians being blown up by Israel isn’t enough to change anything, so Christian’s being denied entrance into Jerusalem means even less.
But only a few people got to goooooooooo!
yeah boo fuckin’ who the christian fundies had to go in person to find out israel is a fascist hell on earth. they clearly thought they would be exempt from that because “they’re good people”
This article is about the actual Christians living in Jerusalem. Many people tend to forget that Israel discriminates against every other faith. Not only Muslims. And there are many Christians living in Palestine which was the birthplace of Jesus.
Still, I can’t care very much about this specific issue. Not being able to go to Jerusalem does not sounds unbearable.
Yeah, sounds like violence visited on people you dont like is fine with you.
The violence I care about. The “not being allowed to visit a holy place”, that I could care less about.
Yeah that, or you’re missing the point that Israel is suppressing everyone not Jewish, and that that is a bad thing?
I’m atheist and find all religions stupid, but even I can look beyond my own pet peeve and recognize something as being bad instead of mocking victims
You two didn’t even have to read the article it’s in the OP about Palestinian Christians. Your reactions are also to criticise Christians instead of “checks out for Israel’s regime”? They’re also Christians in Israel. Assuming everyone in a religion is fundamentalist/extremist would sure make you fit in with the Israeli government ironically enough.
that’s on me. i came in here hot under the collar based on dipshits i know
Having grown up around similar dipshits, I can definitely understand. It happens.
Palestinians
A reminder that the problem is ISRAEL. Not the religions.
Whilst you’re absolutely right in the first sentence, unfortunately religion is the root cause of all this.
The the Abrahamic religions al wanting to do the utmost holy stuff at the same place is one of the fundamental problems of the area.
It’s true that the
JewishZionists currently holding that piece of land, and their promise of allowing the other cults access to the holy place about as trustworthy as Putin promising not to invade Ukraine.It’s not Jewish zionists though, it’s just zionists. There are christian ones, in my gov, funding this genocide.
Fair enough, will edit
Who fucking cares? All this fighting over which fairytale is correct is exhausting. Time to get a life.
Unfortunately you kind of have to care a bit because if you don’t it means innocent people getting slaughtered over it.
I hope to god this shit dies within the next coupla generations.
Israel is an Atheist racial baaes settler colonial project. It has nothing to with religion.
