Fears, tensions surround Pope’s Holy Land visit

JERUSALEM — When Pope Francis sets foot in the Holy Land next week, he’ll be treading on diplomatic eggshells at virtually every stop.

Israeli-Palestinian politics are just one of the many sensitive issues Vatican officials are navigating. Other sore points are incidents of anti-Christian vandalism in Israel, lingering tensions between the Holy See and the Jewish community, historic disputes with rival Christian denominations and closed-door real estate negotiations with Israel.

“This is the Holy Land. It’s complicated,” said Hana Bendcowsky of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, an interfaith group.

Vandals in Israel have recently scribbled anti-Christian graffiti on several Christian holy sites and properties. Israel’s internal security agency says it fears there could be more such attacks, and local Vatican officials have urged Israel to safeguard Christian holy sites ahead of the Pope’s visit.

Every stop on Francis’ itinerary carries symbolic weight and tiptoes around political sensitivities.

The Pope will first spend half a day in Jordan on May 24, visiting the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan River, before arriving in the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders and celebrate mass in Bethlehem, near the site traditionally thought to be the scene of Jesus’ birth.

Instead of a quick 10-minute drive from Bethlehem to neighbouring Jerusalem, the Pope will fly by helicopter 45 kilometres to an official welcoming ceremony at Israel’s international Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. He then flies back to Jerusalem to meet Israeli leaders and visit holy sites and Israel’s Holocaust memorial.

The zigzag takes into account Jerusalem’s disputed status. Israel claims the city as its undivided capital but its control of East Jerusalem, captured in 1967, is not internationally recognized.

In Bethlehem, the Argentine pontiff will visit the Deheishe refugee camp, home to Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in the 1948 war surrounding the establishment of Israel. Palestinian officials are eager for Francis to see the impoverished camp and hear Palestinian grievances against Israel.

“The Pope will see the reality,” said Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian official helping co-ordinate the papal visit.