Passover

This evening as the sun sets, the Jewish Passover begins. The first 2 days forbid any form of work, as also the last day on April 22. Limited work may be done on the 17th, 18th and 19th April. So the City is practically shut down. Countless Jews are flocking to the Wailing Wall to pray.

Palm Sunday procession

Likewise the Christian Passover is celebrated by countless people flocking into the City. The largest group is the Copts from Egypt ... simply thousands are ascending Jerusalem. The Via Dolorosa is packed with people. Hardly any space to move. Yesterday's Palm Sunday procession saw lots of people walking the 2 km from Bethpage to St Anne's Church in the Old City. It was as usual festive but noticeably less reperesented by arab christians from Palestine. Many have not received permission from Israel to enter jerusalem and join in the celebrations. Too bad. Hopefully they get permission when the pope comes to visit next month.

Soldiers and muslims
standoff this morning

This morning Mass was celebrated at the 5th Station ... which takes place only once a year. But I was at the other end of the street ... taking pictures of the muslims demonstrating at Bab Hutta because the Al Aqsa Mosque is still out of bounds to all ... including muslim worshippers after yesterday's violence. Soldiers blocked the northern entrnces and crowds stood their ground, blocking all traffic. They chanted and several times it appeared dangerous ... but luckily not one shot was fired. By noon the crowds dispersed.

Well let's hope the next few days will be calm and each religion can celebrate its feast in safety and dignity ... all rights respected.