️
JUST IN: Theodosios Atallah Hanna, Palestinian Archbishop of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, in an open letter to US Vice President JD Vance:
“The purpose of this message of mine is to remind you as you visit the holiest sacred place for Christians in the world with your Christian, moral and humanitarian duties, namely to reject injustice, tyranny, occupation and oppression.
How can a Christian ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people especially what happened during the two years in Gaza which was a War of Holocaust.”
“It is not possible to come to Jerusalem and Palestine without hearing what the Palestinians say about their suffering, pain and concerns and in particular what the Palestinian Christians say - as you will visit their blessed and glorious church tomorrow. It seems that you will be surrounded by security men, preventing you from hearing anything that may bother you. The side that is hosting you.
In the Church of Resurrection there will be a number of leaders, fathers, monks who will tell you frankly that Jerusalem is hungry for peace and our holy country is also hungry for peace but the peace we are calling is peace based on justice and respect for human rights.
What I would like to tell you is that it is not in your power to ignore the existence of the Palestinian people and it is sad and painful that you come to these Holy Lands for an unholy purpose and that is to adhere to the occupation, its oppressive policies and practices against the Palestinian people.
You fed us with speeches about peace, but you did not do anything for the sake of peace, no, you ignored Palestinian rights and proofs, and when the Palestinians lived their new burden during the two years of conquered and affected Gaza, you supportd their oppressors who with your weapons killed many Palestinians, making you partners in this crime committed against our people.
I hope that your entrance to the Church of Resurrection will be an agent to change something in your character towards what is better and what is best, especially that you say you are a Christian. I hope that the grace of the holy tomb and the blessing of the wheel of the wheel will touch your life and your thought to be more just and humane. We pray for you and for the rulers of this world - those who lost their humanity, so that the humanity they lost returns, and will be their compass in the right direction.
What you should hear is what you will not hear at all during your visit, from your Israeli friends: that Palestine exists and its people exist and its cause is a living issue that many people support around this world, especially in America ...
American politics has only brought destruction - not only in Palestine but also in other places of the world. The successive American administrations played a destructive role in more than one place and a spot in this world where oil was poured on the burning fire to make it more ignorant and leave behind destruction, destruction and inhuman disaster.
Palestinian Christians and all our people are calling you as you enter the Old City of Jerusalem with tight Israeli guards that they wish you and your president to be more just.
Do you know that Palestinians are not allowed to enter the Church of Resurrection that you will visit tomorrow? They are also prevented from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the City of Jerusalem.
You crossed the oceans to reach Jerusalem, but a Palestinian who is half an hour away from Jerusalem by his car, cannot reach the Holy City, because there are barriers, gates and fences manned by the military.
Do you know that the war of genocide in Gaza left a huge destruction, a disaster and a tragedy that cannot be imagined by a human mind, and all of this is with the blessing of the American administration and those with it?”
Mike
