But now let’s return to that joint statement made by the Pope and King Mohammed VI on Jerusalem.
Reports about it appeared under various headlines:
Reuters: Pope, Morocco’s king, say Jerusalem must be open to all faiths
Crux: Pope Francis, Moroccan leader issue appeal for Jerusalem
Times of Israel: Pope in Morocco urges Jerusalem be protected for all religions
Al Jazeera: Pope in Morocco: Protect ‘multi-religious’ Jerusalem
TRT: Pope says Jerusalem ‘common patrimony’ on Morocco trip
These headlines — these “appeals” for Jerusalem, these demands that Jerusalem “be open for all faiths,” that Jerusalem “be protected for all religions” — all suggest that Jerusalem requires such a worldwide “appeal” to end its current unsatisfactory status, that Jerusalem should be “open to all faiths” as it is not now, that Jerusalem must in the future “be protected for all religions” as it is not now. These tendentious headlines already shape the readers’ response, which is to believe that Israel’s control of Jerusalem must be faulted, and needs to be corrected.
Here is the “joint appeal” on Jerusalem:
On the occasion of the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Kingdom of Morocco, His Holiness and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, recognizing the unique and sacred character of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif, and deeply concerned for its spiritual significance and its special vocation as a city of peace, join in making the following appeal:
We consider it important to preserve the Holy City of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif as the common patrimony of humanity and especially the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.
To this end, the specific multi-religious character, the spiritual dimension and the particular cultural identity of Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif must be protected and promoted.
It is our hope, therefore, that in the Holy City, full freedom of access to the followers of the three monotheistic religions and their right to worship will be guaranteed, so that in Jerusalem / Al-Quds Acharif they may raise their prayers to God, the Creator of all, for a future of peace and fraternity on the earth.
Can Pope Francis tell us how Israel in any way infringes on the rights of any Believer to worship as he or she wishes? Jerusalem is not just a symbol, it is an example of peaceful coexistence. Rarely, and only for security reasons, the Israelis have had to restrict access to the Temple Mount. For example, on a handful of occasions, when the Arabs on the Temple Mount hurled rocks at Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall below, the Israelis have temporarily halted access to the Temple Mount. When Arabs throw rocks at Jews who are visiting Temple Mount, the Israels have made Temple Mount off-limits — to Jews.
Though the Tempe Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Israel has forbidden Jewish prayer on Temple Mount, in order to placate the Muslims. Jews may enter it only to visit the place, not to pray, and only at limited times. Muslims are free to pray on Temple Mount, while Christians and Jews may only visit the site as tourists. Non-Muslims are forbidden from singing, praying, or making any kind of “religious displays.” During times of political tension and fear of riots, on Fridays and some Jewish or Muslim Holy Days, entry to the Haram area is restricted to Muslim men over a certain age, which varies according to decisions taken by security officials. The restrictions do not concern Muslim women, who can enter regardless of their age. Israel clearly bends over backwards to accommodate the Muslims, a fact of which Pope Francis is no doubt unaware.
The Pope might find it useful to compare the freedom of worship in Jerusalem today with what happened in Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation. For nineteen years, from 1948 to 1967, the Western Wall was under Jordanian rule. Although the Jordanians had signed an armistice agreement in 1949 guaranteeing Jews the right to visit the Wall, not one Israeli Jew was ever permitted to do so. Monsignor John Ostereicher reported that the Jordanians dynamited 34 of 35 synagogues in the Old City. He may have undercounted. The Israeli scholar Raphael Israeli says that far more synagogues, 58 of them, were desecrated or demolished in the Old City, part of the deliberate de-Judaization of Jerusalem. The Western Wall was transformed into an exclusively Muslim holy site associated with al-Buraq, the fabulous winged steed that Muhammad was said to have ridden up to Heaven. In the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, 38,000 graves were systematically destroyed, and Jews were not allowed to be buried there. Some of the tombstones were used to line the floors of Jordanian army latrines. This de-judaization of the Old City was all in violation of the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement, Article VIII – 2, which guaranteed “free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives….”
Christians fared a little better, but were hardly enjoying the kind of coexistence that Pope Francis may have been led to believe. In 1952, Jordan proclaimed that Islam was to be the official religion of the territories taken in the 1948-49 war, including Jerusalem.
In 1953, Jordan restricted Christian communities from owning or purchasing land near holy sites, and in 1964, further prohibited churches from buying land in Jerusalem. Jordan sought to “Islamize” the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
In order to counter the influence of foreign powers, who had run the Christian schools in Jerusalem autonomously since Ottoman times, the Jordanian government in 1955 brought Christian schools under government supervision. They were allowed to use only approved textbooks and teach in Arabic. Schools were required to close on Arab national holidays and Fridays instead of Sundays. Christian holidays were no longer recognised officially, and observation of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath was restricted to Christian civil servants. The Jordanian government did not allow Christian institutions to expand. Christian churches were prevented from funding hospitals and other social services in Jerusalem.
Some intrepid reporter should ask Pope Francis if he knows what happened to Jewish sites and Christian institutions in Jerusalem when it was under Muslim rule from 1948 to 1967. And as a follow-up question, he should be asked how he thinks the three monotheistic faiths fare today in Jerusalem, under Israeli rule. His answers, or his failure to answer, should prove instructive.
Michael Copeland says
Thank you for the informative background.
mortimer says
Yes, the history of ill-treatment of minorities in Jerusalem under Islamic rule speaks for itself. The destruction of Jewish and Christian historic archeology by Muslim authorities speaks for itself. The Jewish authorities charged with the regulation of religious sites in Israel have done an outstanding job of being fair-handed.
Patrick healy says
Rhetorical question for my pope, but how is the religious integration of Mecca coming along?
Is he intending to visit and negotiate access for Jews and Christians.
Michael Copeland says
Thank you for the informative background.
Thank you for the perceptive critique.
mgoldberg says
Indeed, how does this Pope of Rome have the gall to pretend away the tyranny of Islam on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount? There, there is utter bigotry against jews and christians and of course, any others, who are NOT allowed to even utter a prayer. Those people, may not carry their holy texts up there, nor be seen praying as that is unclean and will get them thrown off the Mount on the few hours they are ‘allowed’ under supervision to walk there.
This after the Jews, the liberal idiots of course, chose to share the mount that is the MOST important site for Jews in the world, and by giving back the Temple Mount to the muslims, which they had been barred from setting any foot upon by the people the were returning it to, then got the same treatment once again. Got that? They had been barred from even setting foot there, the place where their holy temples had been built and destroyed, and the calls to destroy the jews and Israel continue to this day by those same people. Now… we have the mealy mouthed leftist globalist pope of rome who has the gall, the utter gall, to proclaim that the freedom for all to pray must be returned.
Got that? He means to end Jewish sovereignty and bring some other UN type governence to bring that utopian control- a totat fantasy, to Jerusalem.
Meanwhile there is no freedom for Christians to pray in muslim lands, except as controlled subjects and or worse. In Israel, Christians have total freedom of worship. Muslims too have such freedom, but he and the muslims want to end that freedom brought by who? The
Jews and Israel.
laszlo PAP says
ask mosad to help and bring justice back and then treat the muslims the way they have treated the others
mortimer says
Francis insults our intelligence. Jerusalem is already protected for all religions.
The problem is Islamic terrorism and the primary, canonical Islamic source which cannot be rewritten to remove the violent bits.
Islam itself is one of the biggest obstacles to world peace, because Islam is inherently supremacist and militant and practices jihad until victory.
Sun says
“… where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.”
There is no mutual respect and dialogue in Islam.
Naram-Sin says
Well, maybe the Vatican should be open to all faiths. It’s about time St. Peters became a mosque. Maybe the Sistine chapel could be dismantled and used to line the latrines for Muslim visitors.
Geof Barrington says
The Vatican should be open to all Faith’s
The pope is not truly a pope but rather a globalist .
Globalists are like muslums ..their only loyalty is given to globalism . Since the globalists want to destroy all religons the pope would in fact like to open up the Vatican to any and all religons to water down the religon ge falsely represents
CRUSADER says
Muzzies have historically declared their desire to have Jihad brought to the Vatican and water their horses at the altar of St Peter’s Basilica. IF this current Pope persists in his acquiescence, this may come to term…
CRUSADER says
Sistine Chapel latrines!
Capital idea!!!!
Really.
Universally, men standing at urinals prefer to look up, anyway!
Jehuda Ewert says
well, it is, last time I checked.Christians allow jewish and christian police protecting their side, Muslims are angry that Israeli muslim police protects their side.Their Al Aqusa mosque is the only muslimic holy site without any bombs since decades.But the Pope is paid by Soros.Soros is as jewish as Stalin was Christian. Plus he grew up with an SS officer as foster parent, helping doing holocaust.If Soros is jewish because his biological parents were jewish, than Stalin and Hitler were Christian, because their birthmothers were Christian (both grew up in a single parent household with their mother. See, 100% female custody can produce successful……genocidal dictators….
gravenimage says
I am *no* fan of George Soros, but the claim that he was heavily involved in the Holocaust is just absurd. He was just fourteen when the war ended. And no, the thing about Soros growing up with an SS officer is utterly false.
The single incident the claim that he was involved with the Holocaust is based on is that Jewish children were used by the Judenrat as messengers. At one point he received some slips of paper for people he knew and was disturbed. He went to his father, who told him they were deportation notices. He said he should deliver them, but tell the recipients not to report, and to escape if they could.
He actually was able to save several lives by doing this.
That does not mean I like anything about Soros now. But really, it is not necessary to make things up about his childhood.
Geof Barrington says
Your version of Soros is one version and not nessesarily true and probably unprovable .
From what I see of Soros I believe the other version
No Muzzies Here says
Looks like Francis is not doing his job, but instead in acting as a political head of state to promote Islam. He has ceaselessly used his position to promote the Islamization of Europe. He has praised Islam as being as good as his Catholicism. He has equated the Bible and the Quran.
These are not the actions of a pope. They are the actions of someone who wants to eliminate Catholicism.
Walter Sieruk says
All this amply talk about “peaceful coexistence” in the State of Israel between the Jews and the Arab /Muslims , the “Palestinians” Is totally unrealistic, as a lasting peace between the two peoples can’t hold. This is because Islam instructs I t’s followers to fight ,fight and fight until Islam rules supreme , in accord the doctrine of the jihad found in the Quran 2:191, 4:89. 9:5, 111,123. 47:4.
For with Islam no genuine lasting peace is possible. As in is written the Bible in Psalm 55:20, 21. Reads “Such men do violence to those at peace with them and break their promised word; their speech is smoother the butter but their thoughts are of war.” [N.E.B.]
gravenimage says
No Jews or Christians live safely in the “Palestinian Territories”.
Walter Sieruk says
How odd that pope Francis is too ignorant to know that all this land of the State of Israel m and even more, including the West Bank and the truth is the God had given all land that now composes the State of Israel, including all of Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights and the Golan Heights do belong to the Jewish people.
This may be found in the Bible, as seen in, for example, Genesis 28:13-15. 35:10-12. Deuteronomy 32:48,49. Psalm 105:7-11. 135:4. In other words, the Jews have all this land by Divine Right. Furthermore, the Jewish people should have this land by historic rights as shown in First Kings 4:20,21, 24,25. 8:55, 56. Furthermore, The Bible in Psalm 135: 4 reads “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for his special treasure.” [N.K.J.V.]
Guy Jones says
Isn’t it stunning that Muslims never extend the same religious respect, accommodation and reciprocity, that they demand of other faiths?
Why should Muslims’ perpetual supremacism, totalitarianism, belligerence and spite, be rewarded with theological and cultural accommodation that is not extended by Muslims to non-Muslims, in turn? This represents the quintessence of utterly meek, cowed and emasculated dhimmitude, under the bootheel of Islamic totalitarianism.
I mean, Israelis aren’t even allowed entrance into many Arab countries. And, non-Muslims aren’t allowed to enter Mecca. Among many other examples of Muslims’ goose-stepping arrogance and belligerence.
warren nicodemus says
That thing they call a Pope . Is no Pope .
Lydia Church says
And lest we forget, there are Bible prophesies about the antichrist bringing peace to the middle east and Jerusalem for a time and by compromise. The one world religion plays a role.
gravenimage says
Hugh Fitzgerald: Pope Francis and King Mohammed Make an “Appeal for Jerusalem” (Part Two)
…………………..
Just as Saudi Arabia is open for all faiths? sarc/off
Jerusalem is open to all faiths *now*. This will not be the case if Muslims are successful in destroying Israel.
More proof that this pontiff is an idiot.
CRUSADER says
GravenImage, do you think that the Third Temple should get erected atop Temple Mount?
Rose Keeling says
Wolf in sheep’s clothing, that’s all this guy/pope is…. how dare he!
Isn’t he suppose to be preaching the Lords word to help save people… but instead he likes to play politics as he sits back living off everyone’s money behind walls and security… doesn’t sound like he’s following in Jesus footsteps… and his actions have more than proven that.
I don’t listen to this guy and never would. People need to walk away from this vile, evil, self centered man and stop the flow of money to this shameful organization he’s running…
He’s just more of a “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality…. a coward that doesn’t preach peace, but rather he thinks he can tell the world what to do. He’s nothing but an egotistic self serving politician wanta be wearing popes clothing. He needs to go away and ask God to forgive him and leave the rest of us alone! uggg.