Palm Sunday: Entry and Access to Jerusalem

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it…                                    Mark 11: 1-3

Holy week begins with Jesus’ theatrical entrance via the East Gate, not the Roman West Gate, into Jerusalem. His entrance on the donkey is a creative act of nonviolence, a protest against Rome’s imperial power and those who pray for a Messiah to deliver them through military strength.  Judaism taught that Jerusalem would be the center stage for the coming of the Messiah, and that the city would herald his coming.  And so they thought he was the Blessed One, hence the cloaks on the ground, the palms, the chants, even the stones shouting out.  Hosanna, in the highest is  this poor Jew from Galilee with his rag-tail group of followers.

I am struck by the sad irony that this poor Jew from Galilee had complete access to this holy city while the Palestinian Christians that have lived in the holy land ever sense do not.

Palestinians, Christians and Muslims do not have access to their holy city. Both are subject to a complicated system of permits and ID checks in order to enter or leave Jerusalem, a “matrix of control” as Jeff Halper from the Israeli Coalition Against Housing Demolitions calls it. 

In addition to these general restrictions, men under 40 are barred from worshipping at the Al Asq Mosque.  Restrictions tightened after the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 and then again after the building of the Separation Barrier and its accompanying bureaucracy of checkpoints with the simple purpose of restricting movement. Since the early 1990s, Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza have been required to get permits to enter Jerusalem.

Usually about 2,000-3,000 permits are issued for holy week which is not nearly enough for all those who wish to enter and worship in the Old City on the Mount of Olives or at the Holy Sepulcher.

Furthermore, when Easter and Passover occur at the same time, Palestinian areas are put under military closure, which means that even Jerusalemites are not allowed inside the Old City to go and worship or visit family.

In 2011 while I was there, the Old City was closed for most Jerusalemites and the checkpoint was closed for 10 days making entry into the Holy City completely forbidden. It also meant nobody could access Bethlehem either further impacting its economy based on tourism. It was difficult to participate in the events in Jerusalem knowing that many of my fellow Christians could not join me.

The permit and ID systems are in direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants and treaties to which Israel is a signatory. As the occupying power, Israel, is also denying freedom of religion by denying Muslims and Christians access to their holy sites.

On Palm Sunday in 2010 a group of Palestinians and internationalists tried to access Jerusalem from Bethlehem with a nonviolent march through the checkpoint but Israeli forces violently repressed the crowd and arrested 11 people and injured many more. As a form of collective punishment, the government closed the checkpoint from Palm Sunday through Maundy Thursday. Like Jesus, they came in on donkeys waving palms. This time, however, empire’s army wasted no time squashing their uprising with military force for being subversive and threatening the security  of the temple-state once again.

In addition to these kinds of restrictions, Palestinians do not have access to the same roads or public transportation system. Their cars have different colored license plates that indicate what roads they can travel on and which are forbidden. This Jim Crow of a system is one of the many reasons people now refer to Israel as an Apartheid State.

Lastly, another form of restrictive movement is the law around Jerusalem residency. In 2002 Israel banned family unification between Palestinians and their spouses from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The effect of this ban has meant that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have to marry within the city; they are not free to marry anyone from outside including the rest of the West Bank. It also means they have to choose where they are going to live. If they stay in Jerusalem they are given certain freedoms which are denied to other Palestinians like social insurance and of course freedom of movement inside of Israel. But this freedom comes at a cost. They cannot leave and if they do they can have their residency revoked for living abroad while studying or working.  These restrictions force people to leave or loose their Jerusalem IDs or live illegally in Jerusalem. There are many issues with these restrictive laws including the violation against the forced transfer of people under occupation, which is against the 4th Geneva Convention.

Once again the Holy City has become marked by oppressive political and economic forces that privilege the few over the many or in this case that tries to reduce the many to just a few. It is clear that these restrictions on movement serve one main purpose which is to change the demographics so that Jerusalem will be a Jewish majority city. If this is allowed to happen it  closes the window on the possibility of a just peace, a capitol for Palestine and  the possibility of a two state solution. It is for all these reasons and more that Land Day focused on Jerusalem this year and it is why we must all march to Jerusalem and reclaim its promise and hope. 

As I finish this blog on Friday evening I am receiving emails and videos from the Global March to Jerusalem. Many people were teargassed or injured today including one death in Gaza. One of the pictures that came in showed this huge horse being used to control the crowd. I couldn't help but think of Jesus on his donkey and the Palestinians who tried to get to Jerusalem on donkeys in 2010. The contrast is too much to pass up.

I end with this Call to Worship from Wellington United Church of Christ’s Palm Sunday Service that I created. Please join me in prayer:

One:  Blessed is the Messiah who comes in humble victory from the East.

Many:  Blessed is He who rides through our lives with songs of hope and stones shouting out with joy.

One:  Hosanna in the highest, blessed is the One that refuses to restore the kingdom through violence.

Many:  Blessed is the One who enters the uncertain terrain of our own turbulent times of violence and endless wars.

One:  Blessed is the Messiah who entered the dangerous streets of Jerusalem, who cleansed the temple of blasphemy, who drank from the cup.

Many:  Blessed is the One who enters our lives of pain and suffering so we can be healed and restored; who calls us to costly discipleship, to share his love poured out for us.

All: Blessed is the Messiah, the Holy One that calls us again and again to pick up our cross and follow him all the way home.