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| Arab Christian Bedouin woman from the town of Al-Karak, Ottoman Empire, 1898. |
By Sani P. Meo
Showing posts with label Holy Land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Land. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Arab Christian Bedouin woman from the town of Al-Karak, Ottoman Empire, 1898... before WWII shaped Western imposed borders & bigotry that ended freedom & respect for Arabs in The Holy Land
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Israel Deports Father Nadino Capovilla
Khader El-Yateem
OUTRAGEOUS: Israel Deports Father Nadino CapovillaOnce again, the Israeli government reveals its fear — not of violence, but of truth. Father Nadino Capovilla, a globally respected priest from Venice, a man of peace and justice, has been denied entry into the Holy Land. Detained for hours at Tel Aviv airport and ultimately deported on vague claims of “national security,” his only real “threat” was his unwavering commitment to human rights, justice, healing, and reconciliation.
Father Nadino traveled with Pax Christi, a delegation seeking dialogue and solidarity with communities impacted by war and occupation. His crime? Standing with the oppressed. Speaking truth. Advocating for peace.
Let’s be honest: this was not about security. This was about silencing a voice that exposes the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the apartheid policies, the daily humiliation of Palestinians, and the escalating violence against the Christian and Muslim communities alike.
Israel, which calls itself “the only democracy in the Middle East,” is clearly terrified of those who carry a message of justice. If a respected Italian priest had been treated this way by any other country, our governments and media would be up in arms. But when Israel acts, there is silence — even when priests are spat on in the streets of Jerusalem.
We must name it. This is not democracy. This is repression. This is apartheid. This is genocide.
From Palestine, and from all corners of the world that still believe in
dignity and human rights, I stand in full solidarity with Father Nadino
Capovilla. May his message grow louder in the face of those who try to
silence him. Thursday, July 24, 2025
A July 16th 2025 Letter from Presiding Episcopal Bishop Sean Rowe on Crisis in Gaza Palestine: "We join Archbishop Hosam in his call for the Israeli military to end the bombing of hospitals and the seige of Gaza: for the restoration of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza under United Nations supervision, and release all unjustly detained people and hostages..."
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Exclusive Part 1: After the latest Israeli settler attacks, Christians in the Holy Land ask American Catholics for help: “Soldiers are usually with the settlers. They’re protecting the settlers, and they’re not doing anything” to protect those [the Palestinians] under attack. There’s nothing we can do. It’s a peaceful village, very quiet. I have a family tree of 600 years in Taybeh. I’m not gonna leave.”
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| Adobe stock |
Exclusive Part 1: After the latest Israeli settler attacks, Christians in the Holy Land ask American Catholics for help
Christians in the Holy Land expressed hope and quiet defiance last week after a string of internationally reported attacks by Israeli settlers, one of which left three Palestinians dead.
One of the villages reportedly attacked was Taybeh, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. Taybeh is “100% Christian,” Nadim Khoury told CatholicVote via phone on Friday. A resident of Taybeh, Khoury is the founder of Taybeh Brewery, colloquially known as Taybeh Beer.
This week’s attack in his town was far from an isolated incident, according to Khoury. He fluently listed from memory a number of similar instances of violence and intimidation against local Christians by alleged Israeli settlers.
“Last month, they went inside 14 homes and they broke the doors while people were sleeping,” he said. “Last harvest … they didn’t allow the people to go into their groves to harvest their olive oil.” Last week, he went on, settlers brought sheep to graze on the crops of hardworking locals, ruining their business. They “ate all the wheat and barley that the farmers were growing on the mountains of Taybeh,” Khoury said.
Wednesday night, he went on, they broke into people’s homes to “kick them out,” and when the residents resisted, the attackers “burned the homes.”
Footage of some of the violence was widespread on social media this week.
Asked about Israeli soldiers arriving to police the violence, Khoury expressed a sentiment that several other local Christians who spoke with CatholicVote also volunteered: “Soldiers are usually with the settlers.”
“They’re protecting the settlers, and they’re not doing anything” to protect those under attack, he explained. “There’s nothing we can do. It’s a peaceful village, very quiet. I have a family tree of 600 years in Taybeh. I’m not gonna leave.”
Asked what his hopes are for the future, Khoury answered simply: “Nothing is left for us except hopes. We pray so hard for peace and prosperity in this area. We have deep roots in this area. We cannot give it up. We must keep fighting for it.”
Khoury’s friend and pastor, Father Bashar Fawadleh, spoke along similar lines. In a phone call with CatholicVote Friday, Father Fawadleh expanded on his parishioner’s allusion to settlers aiming to get locals to leave their hometowns.
The priest said he knew of “more than 140 families” who have left their cities in the West Bank. “In Taybeh we are also bleeding from emigration,” he said, with 10 families having left since October 7, 2023.
“We have to stop this bleeding,” he said, and asked that CatholicVote spread the word to American Catholics that “we need support.” What is needed, he said, is the creation of good jobs, and — ultimately — a peaceful end to the violence and intimidation.
Father Fawadleh expressed gratitude to American Catholics who stand in solidarity with the Christians of the Holy Land. But the hope he encourages in his flock, he said, “is very deep for our side – because it’s built on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the now-empty tomb in Jerusalem.”
“We are still awaiting the third day,” he went on, “to have the new life, to have liberty and freedom for our society, our country, and our population. And we hope that one day we have justice, and from justice we can have the fruit of justice, [which] is peace.”
The pastor is confident, however, that Christians are not alone in that hope.
“That is the
dream that we are all dreaming here in the Holy Land,” he said, both “the Jews
and the Palestinians. We are all dreaming that we can live together without any
problems, without any occupation, without any killing, so that we can all live
together in this very important and very holy place — the homeland of Jesus.”.... READ MORE https://catholicvote.org/exclusive-israeli-settler-attacks-christians-holy-land-ask-american-catholics-for-help/
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies
Monday, April 21, 2025
His watchwords were "encounter," "dialogue," "reconciliation" and "build bridges, not walls." Pope Francis, who reached out to the margins of society, has died at 88
"Francis repeatedly railed against the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, urging negotiations to end the fighting. In November 2024, he voiced his frustration to diplomats at the Vatican, saying, "I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where there is suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue.""
Pope Francis, who reached out to the margins of society, has died at 88
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Pope Francis exits the memorial to the victims of the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 25, 2015, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images. |
He died Monday at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, according to a statement from the Vatican.
Francis was one of the most popular popes in decades and a towering figure on the world stage, addressing not just Catholics but the men and women of our time.
The outspoken pope lent his voice to almost every modern issue facing the world, often taking the side of the marginalized and vulnerable. He spoke out against commercial exploitation of the environment, rich countries' unwillingness to accept migrants, the alienation caused by technology and the lucrative sale of weapons of war... READ MORE https://www.npr.org/2025/04/21/1013050313/pope-francis-dead
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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
Sala Regia
Monday, 25 November 2024
"In this regard, how can I not refer to the many ongoing armed conflicts
that remain still unresolved, despite the fact that they cause immense
sufferings for the countries at war and the entire human family. Here I
would point to the hypocrisy of speaking of peace and dabbling in war.
In some countries where there is much talk of peace, the highest
yielding investments are in the production of arms. This hypocrisy
always leads to failure. The failure of fraternity, the failure of
peace. May the international community make the force of law prevail
through dialogue, for dialogue “must be the soul of the international
community”. [14]
I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine,
where people are suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails
over dialogue. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you
most heartily for taking part in this commemorative ceremony. Through
the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, our Mother, I invoke God’s
blessing upon the beloved nations of Chile and Argentina, which I
likewise invoke upon all peoples who long for peace and concord, and to
every man and woman committed to the cause of fraternity and social
friendship." https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/november/documents/20241125-atto-commemorativo.html
ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE DELEGATION OF THE ʺUNIVERSAL PEACE COUNCILʺ
Consistory Hall
Monday, 25 November 2024
______________________________________
Dear friends,
I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you during your visit to Rome and I commend your dedication to the cause of peace in the Holy Land, which sadly has witnessed much violence and suffering through the centuries. Unfortunately, our own day is no different and for over a year now, the dark clouds of conflict have once more engulfed the region of the world you call home. It is terrible, terrible.
The current situation makes the promotion of peace all the more important and I am delighted to see that your delegation is composed of young people from different backgrounds and faiths. This is a clear sign that the desire for peace is rooted in the human heart and is able to bring about unity in diversity. We all know, however, that your task is not easy. As a result, I would like to offer you three brief points to consider.
The first is that we need young people to carry out this important service because they possess a certain idealism, enthusiasm and hope that reminds all of us that a better world is possible, peace is possible. In particular, young people can help others to discover the crucial elements that prepare the way for peace: forgiveness and a willingness to let go of past prejudices and hurts. Young people are creative, but it is terrible to meet young people who have fallen prey to ideologies. In these cases, ideology takes the place of rational thought and the desire to do good. While we must always remember and learn from history, an unhealthy attachment to past hurts and prejudices can never lead to true and lasting peace. In fact, it only perpetuates the spiral of conflict and division.
The second point is always to engage in dialogue, since it is the principal tool at our disposal. “Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word ‘dialogue’” (Fratelli Tutti, 198). Dialogue is the only path for peace, for encountering one another. Young people can be great artisans of peace through dialogue.
The third is never to lose hope. Hope never disappoints. Do not lose hope. It is so easy to become discouraged when we see the devastating effects of war and hatred, not to mention poverty, hunger, discrimination and various other realities that threaten the prospect of peace. They are the fruit of war. This may lead us to think that our engagement in dialogue is futile because it produces few concrete results. Perhaps you may have even been criticized for focusing on the need to dialogue in order to advance the cause of peace. In those moments, remember that anything worth doing is not easy. It requires sacrifice and a willingness to recommit ourselves each day, especially when things seem not to go our way. Keep hope alive, dear young people, always bearing in mind that we are all part of one human family. We are all brothers and sisters, and efforts to promote reconciliation, harmony and peace will always be worth our time and effort. And of course, never lose your sense of humour, that healthy joy! That is very important! Do not lose the capacity for joy, which helps us to see things more clearly.
Thank you for your visit and I assure you of my prayers for your commitment to peace in the Holy Land. I bless all of you and I ask, please, to remember me in your prayers. Thank you!
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
From Buenos Aires to Rome: Key dates in the life of Pope Francis
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| March 13, 2013: Elected 266th pope, the first from the Americas, the first Jesuit and the first to take the name of Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi. |
Dec. 17, 1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
the eldest of five children to Mario Jose Bergoglio, an accountant from
Italy, and Regina María Sívori, the daughter of Italian immigrants. READ MORE https://www.reflector.com/news/national/from-buenos-aires-to-rome-key-dates-in-the-life-of-pope-francis/article_d36561a2-681a-5aef-8334-d5e00b596159.html
Thursday, April 17, 2025
"For many Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians, Maundy Thursday is not just a memory of faith but a reminder of their enduring connection to the land where Jesus walked... "
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| Sliman Mansour's The last supper (العشاء الأخير), oil on canvas, 1994 |
Maundy Thursday, the night of the Last Supper, marks a profound moment when Jesus shared a final meal with his disciples in Jerusalem, breaking bread and offering wine as symbols of his body and blood—a gesture of love, sacrifice, and unity. This sacred event, rooted deeply in the land of Palestine, took place among olive trees, stone streets, and communities that still exist today.
For many Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians, Maundy Thursday is not just a memory of faith but a reminder of their enduring connection to the land where Jesus walked.
In a time when access to holy sites is often restricted and daily life is marked by struggle, the Last Supper becomes a symbol of resilience, hospitality, and hope—a sacred moment echoing through centuries of steadfast faith under occupation.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
"We urge you to reconsider your stance and retract this endorsement. We need the Church’s voice to stand with justice and truth, not with narratives that conceal suffering and excuse oppression.
Kairos Palestine, the most extensive Palestinian Christian ecumenical non-violent movement, is based on Kairos Palestine document: A Moment of Truth, launched in 2009, affirming that the Palestinian Christians are part and parcel of the Palestinian nation, calling for peace to end all suffering in the Holy Land by laboring for justice, hope and love, embraced by the Christian community, signed by all historically recognized Palestinian Christian organizations, and endorsed by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. https://www.kairospalestine.ps/
You can now read Kairos Palestine letter to The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the resource "“Translate Hate document: The Catholic Edition” on the link below. "
By partnering in this document, the USCCB has alienated the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land, causing deep pain to a community struggling for survival. Ignoring their unalienable rights to live in their ancestral homeland and offering the State of Israel a justification for their forced displacement by considering their human and national rights as blood libels, only deepens this harm.
We urge you to reconsider your stance and retract this endorsement. We need the Church’s voice to stand with justice and truth, not with narratives that conceal suffering and excuse oppression." kairospalestine.ps/images/Kairos_
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| READ MORE https://www.kairospalestine.ps/images/Kairos_Palestine_letter_to_The_U.S._Conference_of_Catholic_Bishops.pdf |
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Wednesday, February 19, 2025
The 1,700+ year old Armenian Christian Quarter in Jerusalem (and all faith based communities of the Holy Land) are in dire danger as Israel engineers more land & property grabs
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Armenian Quarter in the old city of Jerusalem, historically Palestine |
| Old City Jerusalem Neighborhoods | |
Friday, February 14, 2025
A Humanitarian Plea from the Churches of Jerusalem: Defending the Dignity and Presence of the People of Gaza. Feb. 14 2025 Jerusalem, the Holy Land
The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem speak firmly against the uprooting of the people of Gaza from their land. Will American Christians, who claim to care for Middle Eastern Christians, for once listen to the Heads of Churches and speak against this evil plan?
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
It’s revealing that Netanyahu’s first meeting was not with American Jewish leaders but with American evangelicals.
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".... The situation is deeply worrisome on many levels. It is utterly shocking that these evangelical leaders chose to meet with a man subject to an active International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes instead of raising a prophetic call for peace or engaging with Christians in Israel and Palestine. Even worse, they completely ignored the urgent plea of 21 evangelical pastors and leaders from across the Middle East who issued a collective call to the global church last August, urging the world to listen to our cries and hear our stories.
Even more reprehensible, as Huckabee later admitted in an interview with Joel Rosenberg, the “universal feeling” among these pastors was not concern for peace or justice but anxiety over the disruption of their Holy Land tours. Rather than mourning the thousands of Palestinian children buried beneath the rubble in Gaza or pleading for the starving, wounded and displaced, they sought reassurance that, once the conflict subsided, they could return to treading the sacred ground where Jesus once walked — untainted by the bloodshed and dire suffering of innocent lives.
I write from the perspective of a Palestinian American evangelical who cares deeply about the church. I’m profoundly grateful for the American missionaries who have sacrificed to come to the Middle East and proclaim the gospel. Many faithful churches and dedicated missionaries work tirelessly, partnering with numerous God‑honoring ministries in the region to bring the hope of Jesus to desperate, shattered communities. Yet the credibility of our gospel witness as evangelicals is now at stake. We risk missing the opportunity to show the people of Gaza, a people on the brink of extinction, how deeply God loves and cares for them.
A significant generational shift is underway away from a false gospel of empire toward a faith that upholds justice, mercy and truth. Many young Christians recognize that true faithfulness to Christ cannot be reconciled with the destruction of Palestinian lives, the bombing of churches, hospitals and refugee camps or the systematic starvation of an entire population...." |
| Displaced Palestinians make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) |
Monday, February 10, 2025
Nine Quarters of Jerusalem- A New Biography of the Old City by Matthew Teller, lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city’s depth and cultural diversity.
Maps divide the walled Old City into four quarters, yet that division doesn’t reflect the reality of mixed and diverse neighbourhoods.
Beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, much of the Old City remains little known to visitors, its people overlooked and their stories untold.
Nine Quarters of Jerusalem lets the communities of the Old City speak for themselves. Ranging through ancient past and political present, it evokes the city’s depth and cultural diversity. Matthew Teller’s highly original ‘biography’ features the Old City’s Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also spotlights its Indian and African populations, its Greek and Armenian and Syriac cultures, its downtrodden Dom Gypsy families and its Sufi mystics.
The book discusses the sources of Jerusalem’s holiness and the ideas – often startlingly secular – that have shaped lives within its walls.
It is an evocation of place through story, led by the voices of Jerusalemites.... READ MORE https://www.matthewteller.com/nine-quarters-of-jerusalem/
MATTHEW TELLER
My newest book Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture (Saqi Books, 2024), co-edited with Palestinian friends Mahmoud Muna, Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia, gathers almost a hundred accounts of Gazan lives and stories from before and during Israel’s ongoing assault, by Gaza’s writers and artists, but also its doctors and shopkeepers, its farmers and students and office workers. ‘A most significant collection, one that frightens, awes and inspires,’ said Philippe Sands. Suad Amiry called it ‘essential reading’ and Fatima Bhutto said: ‘Daybreak in Gaza must be shared with the world.’
My previous book Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City (Profile Books and Other Press, 2022) reassesses histories and outlooks on Jerusalem as told through stories of the communities that live – and have lived – inside the city’s walls. Jonathan Dimbleby called it “original and illuminating” and Raja Shehadeh said it “reveals the Old City of Jerusalem better than any other book written about the city.” It was the Observer‘s ‘Book of the Week’ and a ‘Book of the Year’ in the Daily Telegraph, Geographical magazine and elsewhere.
My book Quite Alone: Journalism from the Middle East 2008-2019 collects some of my travel, feature journalism and news reporting.
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Wednesday, January 8, 2025
This Week in Palestine December 2024: The War of the Narratives by Sani P. Meo
"... TWiP was initially intended to be a guide for tourists and pilgrims, offering them information on where to go and what to do while visiting the Holy Land. That was back in late 1998 and 1999. By the year 2000, TWiP had started to emerge as a voice for Palestine, promoting it in the best way possible, advocating for its rights and cause, and bringing out the best in Palestine.
The history of This Week in Palestine was published in an article in the June 2022 issue themed “Palestinian Archives” – in my opinion, one of the most powerful editions. The article, “TWiP: An Inadvertent Archive,” offers an in-depth exploration of the wonderful journey of This Week in Palestine that has included every single human emotion one can imagine.
However harsh this year has been on the Palestinian people, it has also been an excellent one for This Week in Palestine, at least from the standpoint of popularity and credibility. During the past year there has been a surge of around 350 percent in TWiP’s readership, which is understandable because of the grace of Gaza and the fact that people around the world want to know more about Palestine. Thanks to the young generation who by using social media have brought the question of Palestine to the international stage. It’s worth noting that this keen interest in Palestine, translated through millions of pro-Palestine posts on various social platforms, has come with a price. It has irked mainstream media and sent it on a frantic journey to debunk the Palestinian narrative. As TWiP turns 26, the war between the Palestinian narrative or story and that of the Zionists is reaching a peak.
In her article “Working with the British Media on Gaza,” published in the May 2024 issue of TWiP, Leila Sansour lists a few tactics that the Western political establishments use against the Palestinian narrative: “…from the willful choice of always starting history on October 7 and disregarding all the voices that have painstakingly pointed out the flaws in this approach, to denying Palestinians the right to comment on just about anything that concerns their plight.”..... " READ MORE https://thisweekinpalestine.com/twip-turns-26/
TWiP Turns 26
The War of the Narratives
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 | ||||
| December 2024 issue of This Week in Palestine https://thisweekinpalestine.com/320-dec-2024/ |
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