Old City Holy Fire ceremony held under attendance restrictions
The Holy Fire ceremony for Orthodox Easter Sunday took place on Saturday at the Old City’s Church of the Holy Sephulcre under police-imposed attendance restrictions.
Although generally peaceful, clashes broke out between some Christian pilgrims and Israeli police officers at the ceremony, which has not taken place in its full capacity for two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The police limited access to 4,000, compared to 11,000 who have attended the ceremony in the past, hoping to avoid a tragedy like the Mount Meron crush last year, when 45 men and boys were trampled to death.
Police had originally wanted to limit the ceremony to 1,000 inside and 500 outside, sparking anger and frustration among church officials. Ultimately, it upped the number to 4,000, allowing 1,800 inside the church itself.
“The limitation of the crowd during the ceremony in the area of the church area was due to safety reasons only and in order to avoid overcrowding that could endanger the safety and security of the public,” the police said in a statement. “The purpose of the police activity was to enable the Christian public to practice freedom of worship and the ceremony to be held safely and securely – and so it was.”
The clashes occurred when some pilgrims tried to break past the blockades by force and the police officers tried to stop them. The officers reacted violently
with one video showing a policeman grabbing a pilgrim’s neck.
The police did not report the incident in their official statements, but rather said that, “since early morning hours and throughout the day, the Israeli Police took actions in order to enable a proper and safe Holy Fire ceremony... The police deployment was completed after comprehensive assessments , extensive staff work, a field tour, coordination meetings with church leaders and approval of plans headed by the Jerusalem District
Commander.”
Hundreds of policemen, border guards and volunteers were deployed and worked to regulate participants in the area.
Holy Fire is said to be a glow that rises from Jesus’ tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the Saturday of Light – the day before Orthodox Easter Sunday. The glow is believed to turn into a column of fire from which the clergy and pilgrims light candles and light up the church, which is kept dark before the ceremony begins.
The Palestinian Authority
issued a statement that it “rejects, in the strongest terms, Israel’s illegitimate decision to impose additional punitive restrictions on the entry of Christian pilgrims and worshipers to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the sacred service of Orthodox Easter.”
The PA accused Israel of “violating the status quo, upending centuries of Christian heritage and Palestinian traditions.”
Joint List MK Sami Abu Shehadeh attended the ceremony, noting in a Twitter post that he only managed to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher “after many delays and crossing dozens of police checkpoints that detained the people and harassed them.”
He wrote that “under Israeli occupation only Zionist settlers have the freedom to celebrate their feasts in Jerusalem. Today I accompanied our people through the barriers imposed by armed Israeli forces in the Old City. Despite the oppression our resilient people celebrated Holy Fire Saturday.
“Yes to freedom of religion and worship; no to occupation and racism,” the MK concluded.