"This moment in Jerusalem feels heavy in a way that is hard to fully grasp. The Old City stands closed under the Israeli occupation, its narrow streets unusually silent, and for the first time in modern history, both Al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been shut for such a prolonged period. Places that have always been alive with prayer, footsteps, and quiet devotion now feel distant, almost unreachable. For many, it is not just about restricted access, but about a deeper sense of separation from something sacred and rooted in identity. And still, people hold on, to faith, to memory, to the belief that these doors will open again, and that the life and spirit of Jerusalem will return to what it has always been." Palestinian Artist Sliman Mansour

Jerusalem (القدس), oil on canvas, 2010- Sliman Mansour.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWRYoApDR7R/    

sliman.mansour

This moment in Jerusalem feels heavy in a way that is hard to fully grasp. The Old City stands closed under the Israeli occupation, its narrow streets unusually silent, and for the first time in modern history, both Al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been shut for such a prolonged period. Places that have always been alive with prayer, footsteps, and quiet devotion now feel distant, almost unreachable. For many, it is not just about restricted access, but about a deeper sense of separation from something sacred and rooted in identity. And still, people hold on, to faith, to memory, to the belief that these doors will open again, and that the life and spirit of Jerusalem will return to what it has always been.

 

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Pope Leo XIV: Planes should bring peace, not war and destruction ...Pope Leo XIV thanks the Italian national airline ITA Airways for carrying the Pope on his Apostolic Journeys, and laments the use of aircraft as carriers of death and destruction in theaters of war.

Pope Leo meets with a delegation from ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group  (@Vatican Media)

By Devin Watkins

Just twenty days ahead of his Apostolic Journey to four African nations, Pope Leo XIV met with a delegation of executives and staff from ITA Airways, Italy’s national airline, and the Lufthansa Group.

The Pope thanked ITA Airways and its predecessor, Alitalia, for its service to the Popes, beginning with Pope St. Paul VI.

He praised its “qualified and experienced professionals” for creating a “serene atmosphere” for the Pope, his entourage, and the journalists who fly with him to cover his Apostolic Journeys.

ITA Airways, he added, helps papal visits abroad become filled with “almost a family atmosphere, where respect is joined with devotion.”

“Meeting you gives me the opportunity to express my personal appreciation and gratitude, and that of the Holy See, for this precious service,” he said.

Pope Leo said papal flights offer an eloquent symbol of the mission of the Successor of Peter in contemporary society, as he always travels to countries as “a messenger of peace.”

“His routes are what they always should be, namely bridges of dialogue, encounter, and fraternity,” he said.

However, noted the Pope, aircraft have often been used in theaters of war to bring destruction and fear.

“Airplanes should always be carriers of peace, never of war!” he said. “No one should be afraid that threats of death and destruction might come from the sky.”

Pope Leo recalled the aerial bombardments of the World Wars and other conflicts, which still continue today.

“After the tragic experiences of the twentieth century, aerial bombings should have been banned forever!” he said. “Instead, they still exist, and technological development, positive in itself, is being placed at the service of war. This is not progress; it is regression!”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV renewed his gratitude to the employees of ITA Airways for their help in his mission to spread the peace of the Gospel.

“In our current scenario,” he said, “it becomes even more important to trace routes of peace in the skies, and I thank you because, in the mission the Lord has entrusted to me, I know I can count on you.”

 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-03/pope-leo-xiv-ita-airways-papal-journeys-audience.html

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"On the International Day for the Right to Truth about Human Rights Abuses, we honour victims and human rights defenders who break the silence and uncover the facts." Volker Türk, United Nations Human Rights

Volker Türk

@volker_turk

 

Knowing the truth about human rights violations is crucial to reconciliation and justice. On the International Day for the Right to Truth about Human Rights Abuses, we honour victims and human rights defenders who break the silence and uncover the facts.

 https://x.com/volker_turk/status/2036398864719057139/photo/1

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These are torture camps. There are hundreds of children among them. The world is watching, and doing nothing.

 Munther Isaac منذر اسحق

@MuntherIsaac

These are torture camps. There are hundreds of children among them. The world is watching, and doing nothing.

 

 https://x.com/MuntherIsaac/status/2036328255460876418

 

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B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم

 

@btselem

 

As of March 2026, some 9,446 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons; 4,691 of them are under administrative detention, imprisoned without charge, trial, or the ability to defend themselves. 

 

Even during the illegal and deadly Israeli-American attack on Iran, Israel continues to operate a network of torture camps for Palestinian prisoners from north to south, where they are subjected to systematic abuse, including physical and psychological violence, inhuman conditions, starvation and denial of medical treatment. 

 

84 identified Palestinians, including one minor, have died in Israeli torture camps over the last two years, and there is grave concern that the real number is higher. 

 

This policy persists with the full support of Israel’s political establishment, judicial system, prison authorities and media. The Israel Prison Service and the Minister for National Security have publicly bragged about the harsh conditions imposed on Palestinian prisoners. 

 

These torture camps are part of the planned, extensive assault Israel is waging against Palestinian society, intended to break down and destroy Palestinians as a group. Link to our report “Living Hell” >>  https://www.btselem.org/publications/202601_living_hell

"The parallels between the Germany of the 1930s and the United States of America today are frightening." A Holocaust teacher’s warning: Will ‘good Americans’ speak up this time? | PennLive letters

Photo Credit: The Nazi concentration camp at Dachau was liberated by American soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division, Seventh Army, on April 30, 1945. Prisoners who were able to stand and to comprehend that the hour of deliverance had come cheered the liberators just days before the final collapse of the Third Reich.

Published: Mar. 23, 2026

As a former Social Studies teacher who taught a 30-day unit on the Holocaust, I had the good fortune to have had several Holocaust survivors and numerous college professors speak to my classes over the years.

As we discussed how Germany, a country with a constitution, an elected government, and a system of law was taken over by an ego-maniac (Hitler, and the Nazis), the lyrics of the song from the musical South Pacific, a”You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught," were offered as one of the explanations.

When asked by the students if there weren’t any “good Germans” who stood up to the Nazis, the poem “First They Came” by Pastor Martin Niemöller was introduced.

The parallels between the Germany of the 1930s and the United States of America today are frightening.

We have a government today that violates the Constitution, refuses to obey the decisions of the courts, and kills American citizens... READ MORE   https://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2026/03/a-holocaust-teachers-warning-will-good-americans-speak-up-this-time-pennlive-letters.html?gift=6cf2e016-c23b-421b-b8fd-e1b2d895a4ba 

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