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.