Under shadow of war with Iran, Jerusalem heads into subdued Passover and Easter |
AP — Jerusalem’s major holy sites are shuttered and many families are dejected and exhausted ahead of Passover and Easter as the Iran war enters its fifth week.
The mood stands in stark contrast to a usual spring, when longer days herald a period of family gatherings and an influx of tourists for the major Jewish and Christian holidays.
Metal shutters are drawn on nearly all stores in the Old City, home to key holy sites, and only scattered footsteps echo on deserted stone alleyways. Vast plazas are missing the typical throngs of faithful and tourists.
Jerusalem has largely escaped past wars, with Israel’s enemies appearing to be hesitant to launch missiles near the city’s Muslim holy sites. But since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on February 28, Jerusalem has repeatedly come under fire.
Earlier this month, an intercepted Iranian missile sprayed shrapnel on the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, just steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most important sites in Christianity.
The church, built on what is revered by many Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, remains closed under IDF Home Front Command guidelines prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people.
Missile debris also hit a road leading to the Western Wall.
From his office overlooking the plaza at the holy site, now also closed to worshipers, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, whose purview encompasses the Western Wall and other Jewish holy sites in Israel, lamented the empty plaza.
“The heart aches greatly, it bleeds, seeing the Western Wall as it looks now,” he said.
The massive priestly blessing for Passover, which usually draws tens of thousands, will take place with just 50 worshipers, Rabinovitch said.
That’s the maximum allowed to pray together in the enclosed area by the Western Wall under wartime safety guidelines — reminiscent of the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Easter........