Israel vandals hit mosque, church as Christians threatened

Jerusalem (AFP) - Vandals suspected of being Jewish extremists hit a mosque and a church in Israel, police said Tuesday, in the latest of a string of racist and religious attacks.

In a separate development, police arrested an Israeli man after he threatened the Roman Catholic bishop of Nazareth and demanded that Catholics leave the country or face God's wrath.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP vandals had scrawled "Close mosques and not yeshivas" (Jewish seminaries) on the outer wall of a mosque in the small Arab town of Fureidis, near the northern port city of Haifa.

The tyres of several nearby cars had been slashed.

Police were also investigating vandalism at Tabgha church on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which was built on the site where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Church officials said a group of religious Jews in their early teens had damaged crosses there and attacked clergy. 

Elsewhere in northern Israel, police arrested a Jewish man in his 40s for threatening Roman Catholic Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Nazareth, and members of his faith.

- Letter from the 'Messiah' -

In the letter, the suspect said all Christians, "except Protestants and Anglicans," should leave Israel by May 5 that if Marcuzzo and his community did not comply, they would all be "killed by the heavens".

There are also other Christian communities in Israel, such as the Eastern Orthodox, Armenians and Copts.

The letter, which was signed by "the Messiah, Son of David," quoted Jewish sources who hold that Christianity is a form of idolatry and should be banned. 

The suspect said the message must be distributed to the community through the media by 1700 GMT Tuesday, saying every hour of delay would "cost the lives of 100 Christian souls."

Reacting to the vandalism, police spokesman Rosenfeld said "crimes committed for nationalist motives are extremely serious."

President Shimon Peres apologised to the mayor of Fureidis in the name of Israel's citizens, and said in remarks relayed by his office "we will do our utmost to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also condemned the incidents.

"Whoever did these deeds is not part of my people," she wrote on her Facebook page, pledging to "catch and punish" those responsible. 

The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land said there was "a grave and increasing frequency of what are called 'price tag' attacks, which, in the absence of any real response, are becoming a dangerous phenomenon, threatening one and all."

Denouncing the attacks in Tabgha, the letter to the bishop and the Fureidis attack, it demanded "a thorough and serious investigation of those who incite, on an almost daily basis, against those who differ from them in opinion or belief.

"We pray that the events of yesterday and today might be the last of these criminal events, witnessed by our holy places and religious symbols in this Holy Land," its statement added.

Politically motivated acts of vandalism with their trademark Hebrew graffiti are euphemistically known as "price tag" attacks.

Carried out by suspected Jewish extremists, thought to be predominantly teenagers, the attacks initially targeted Palestinians and their property. They have since grown in scope to include Christian sites and anyone opposed to the settlements.

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• Israel vandals hit mosque, church as Christians threatened

3 Public Papal Masses Bringing Eager Expectation

Common Hope Is Peace for Troubled Homeland

By Chiara Santomiero

JERUSALEM, MAY 11, 2009 (Zenit.org).- "We are awaiting the Pope like children await their father," says Eli Hajjar, thus summarizing the Christians' sense of expectation at Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land.

The Holy Father arrived today in Israel, after spending a busy three days in Jordan. He does not return to Rome until Friday, scheduled to give 29 addresses during his weeklong pilgrimage.

Hajjar, a 21-year-old student at Bethlehem University, is part of a parish group that gives catechism classes to kids and does social activities for the elderly.

Many of the members of his group are now involved in preparing for the papal trip, particularly the Mass the Pontiff will celebrate Tuesday in Gethsemane.

"We are decorating the streets the Pope will pass by," Hajjar said. "Some are participating in the choir that will sing during the liturgy. [...] All of us are praying that the Pope has a tranquil trip."

"Today the Christians, and especially the Catholics," he continued, "live the great hope that the Pope will bring peace again to our lives. Also Jews and Muslims, for their part, hope to better know this great man who is the Successor of Peter."

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is also awaiting the Pope with hope. Vicenzo Bellomo an Italian layman from the Fidei Donum movement, has been in the Middle East for three years, working for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land in the region of Bethlehem.

"The visit to Bethlehem," he explained, "is a visit to a closed-in surrounded territory. From here, one can only leave with permission. It's a bit like visiting the imprisoned, though it is a very special site."

The Pontiff will celebrate Mass there on Wednesday.

Bellomo said there is a "very beautiful hope, with great enthusiasm and great confidence in this Pope."

"Words of truth are hoped from him, about Gaza and about the situation of the Christians here," he added.

Nazareth

The last large Mass on Benedict XVI's schedule will take place in Nazareth on Thursday, his last full day in the Holy Land.

For that celebration, too, the climate of expectation is notable. Discalced Carmelite Father Renato Rosso is organizing the buses for the faithful of the St. Joseph parish, the only Latin-rite parish in Haifa, including a group of about 100 Catholic Action youth.

"For the majority of them this is the first occasion not only to meet the Pope, but also to come into contact with Christians from diverse parts of the world," he said.

And again, peace is the principal hope for these Christians.

"Also on the part of Jews and Muslims," Father Rosso reflected, "this trip is seen as a sign to reaffirm the will for peace and to encounter a solution for the great problems of the Palestinian community."

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Vatican picks Nazareth as venue for papal mass

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent

The large mass that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate during his May visit to Israel will be held in Nazareth, and not in Haifa, as had been proposed.

Haaretz has learned that the Vatican made the decision last weekend following a visit by a Vatican delegation that met here with representatives of the two cities. The Christian historical associations with Nazareth tipped the scales in its favor despite some Vatican preference for Haifa.

Israel was notified Sunday about the plans for the mass, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of worshipers, although a formal announcement of the pope's visit and his schedule are only expected next week.

Speaking to Haaretz, Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jeraisi confirmed the details regarding the Vatican's decision on the venue of the mass, and said the city has begun making arrangements for the visit. The mayor indicated that Precipice Mountain will be the venue for the mass; it was prepared for such an event in 2000, when John Paul II visited Israel.

Jeraisi said he met Monday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other officials, and that Nazareth was promised government help for the papal visit, including an allocation from the state budget.

The Nazareth municipality had been concerned about a possible Vatican preference for holding the mass in Haifa as the government believed Nazareth lacked the appropriate facilities. "We are pleased," Jeraisi said, "that in the end the Vatican took the correct and proper decision from our point of view, because no one can deny the status of Nazareth, and we will do whatever we can to ensure the visit and the mass will take place as they should, with the utmost success."

Vatican adviser Wadia Abu Nasser, who will accompany the pope on his visit, said the pope is scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 11. The mass in Nazareth will take place on the 14th. The Vatican envoy in Israel will announce further details about the visit in the near future.

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