{"id":41852,"date":"2026-04-05T11:44:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=41852"},"modified":"2026-04-05T11:44:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:44:57","slug":"easter-in-jerusalem-overshadowed-by-war-and-restrictions-at-the-holy-sepulchre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=41852","title":{"rendered":"Easter in Jerusalem overshadowed by war and restrictions at the Holy Sepulchre"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In the usually lively alleyways of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/jerusalem\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Jerusalem<\/a>&#8216;s Old City, silence reigned on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/easter\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Easter<\/a> Sunday, with the holiday overshadowed by war and restrictions on access to the Holy Sepulchre, where the faithful commemorate Christ&#8217;s crucifixion and resurrection.<\/p>\n<p>On routes approaching the church, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/christians\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Christians<\/a> believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, police at checkpoints screened a small number of worshippers allowed near the site.<\/p>\n<p>All shops in the area were closed, heightening the sense of emptiness.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Happy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/easter\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Easter<\/a>,&#8221; said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, shortly after dawn as he entered the church surrounded by a modest group of clergy, according to AFP journalists at the site.<\/p>\n<div class=\"em-video-wrapper m-em-video\" data-media-video-wbmz535191-f24-en-20260405=\"\" data-wrapper-video-player=\"\" data-show-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ535191-F24-EN-20260405\" data-youtube-script=\"\">\n<div class=\"m-em-video__video\">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent \">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-consent__content__text\">To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.<\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"accept\"><br \/>\n            Accept<br \/>\n                            <svg class=\"a-svg a-svg--icon-check\">\n    <use xlink:href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/build\/images\/svg\/sprite.c98bf387c90bc4a87186b0b783f15ba0.svg#icon-check\" href=\"http:\/\/www.france24.com\/build\/images\/svg\/sprite.c98bf387c90bc4a87186b0b783f15ba0.svg#icon-check\"\/>\n  <\/svg><br \/>\n        <\/button><br \/>\n        <button class=\"a-link\" data-action=\"manage\">Manage my choices<i class=\"a-svg a-svg--icon-edit\"\/><\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock\" data-adblock-content=\"\">\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-adblock__content__text\">One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.<\/p>\n<p>            <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"reload\">Try again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<picture class=\"a-picture a-picture--16x9\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/54da5278-30c4-11f1-ad39-005056a90284\/w:388\/p:16x9\/EN-20260405-081044-081347-CS.webp 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/54da5278-30c4-11f1-ad39-005056a90284\/w:720\/p:16x9\/EN-20260405-081044-081347-CS.webp 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/54da5278-30c4-11f1-ad39-005056a90284\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/EN-20260405-081044-081347-CS.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) calc(100vw - 32px), (max-width: 1076px) calc(100vw - 44px), 850px\"><br \/>\n<\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                                <span>\u00a9 France 24<\/span>            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Outside, a few Catholics and Orthodox <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/christians\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Christians<\/a> tried to reach the church but were kept at a distance by security forces.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How can you tell me I cannot go to church, it is unacceptable,&#8221; said one Catholic from Tel Aviv who had attended Easter worship at the site in previous years.<\/p>\n<p>Security has been stepped up in the Old City, located in annexed east Jerusalem and home to sites sacred to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/jews\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Jews<\/a>, Christians and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/muslims\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Muslims<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has also imposed restrictions on large gatherings as a security precaution due to the constant threat of strikes during the ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/middle-east\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Middle East<\/a> war.<\/p>\n<p>On Palm Sunday, Cardinal Pizzaballa was prevented by Israeli police from entering the Holy Sepulchre for mass, provoking outrage, before Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/benjamin-netanyahu\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> ordered he be allowed in.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In this land where the story began&#8230; we continue to steadfastly protect the freedom of worship for all faiths, especially at this sacred time,&#8221; Netanyahu said in a message marking Easter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/europe\/20260405-pope-leo-condemns-violence-of-war-in-first-easter-mass-amid-iran-conflict\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Pope Leo condemns \u2018violence of war\u2019 in first Easter Mass amid Iran conflict<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Since the start of the war on February 28, debris from Iranian missiles or interceptors has fallen in the Old City, including near the Holy Sepulchre, Al-Aqsa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/mosque\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Mosque<\/a>, and in the Jewish Quarter.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Hard for all of us&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Most Palestinian Christians belong to the Orthodox faith, which celebrates Easter on April 12.<\/p>\n<p>But for many other Christians, the curbs on worship have stripped Sunday&#8217;s Easter celebrations of substance.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very hard for all of us because it&#8217;s our holiday&#8230; It&#8217;s really hard to want to pray but to come here and find nothing. Everything is closed,&#8221; said Christina Toderas, 44, from Romania.<\/p>\n<p>Like many other worshippers, she had resigned herself to watching the mass at the Holy Sepulchre on television.<\/p>\n<p>Otmar Wassermann had also attempted to enter the Holy Sepulchre but failed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I must say I was somewhat frustrated,&#8221; he told AFP, recalling how the feast is generally celebrated every year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The atmosphere is incredible,&#8221; Wassermann said, noting the music in particular. &#8220;People who go there, they have deep faith.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260329-israeli-police-prevent-jerusalem-latin-patriarch-from-celebrating-palm-sunday-mass\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Israeli police bar top Catholic figure in Jerusalem from holding Palm Sunday Mass at Holy Sepulchre<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite his disappointment, the 65-year-old Catholic acknowledged that if the authorities said there was &#8220;danger, then there might be danger&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Father Bernard Poggi, who was preparing to attend mass in another church near the holy site, also said he understood the security measures but added that &#8220;it seems to be more and more that there&#8217;s an unevenness in how the laws are put into practice&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Inside the Holy Sepulchre, the celebrations were being held behind closed doors in front of a very small congregation, a far cry from the crowds that usually gather.<\/p>\n<p>Around the Old City, where hymns and processions usually dominate at Easter, only whispers could be heard among the faithful moving discreetly through its passages.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is really sad. I just hope the war stops,&#8221; said Julio Makhalfeh, a 25-year-old restaurant manager.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We had enough of all this. It is time to bring some normalcy back in our life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260405-easter-in-jerusalem-overshadowed-by-war-and-restrictions-at-the-holy-sepulchre\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the usually lively alleyways of Jerusalem&#8216;s Old City, silence reigned on Easter Sunday, with the holiday overshadowed by war and restrictions on access to the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-russia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}