HOLY LAND

A Lutheran church ceremony in Jerusalem has ordained what will be the first Palestinian female pastor in the Holy Land

Many Christians around the world flock to Jerusalem each Easter to try and relive firsthand the events written about in the Bible on what is the most important week and day on the Christian calendar.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims have taken part in Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem at the start of the Holy Week

We are getting a look at the site's future in what will be called AdventHealth Millenia.

Palestinians Christmas Palestinian scout band members parade through Manger Square at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, during Christmas celebrations, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. In Germany, church services were scaled back and one cathedral held a special Christmas vaccination campaign. Spain ordered people to wear masks, even outdoors, and in France, hospital workers decorated a Christmas tree in a crowded intensive-care unit. “I hope that this COVID will finish,” Pizzaballa said before departing Jerusalem and crossing through an Israeli checkpoint into Bethlehem. The offer of shots was a sign of “care for one’s neighbor” that was consistent with the message of Christmas, cathedral provost Guido Assmann said.

A Palestinian who gives tours of Bethlehem, and the different meanings it holds for different people, reflects on another subdued Christmas in the West Bank city.

A spokesman for Christian churches in the Holy Land on Wednesday accused Israel of discriminating against Christian tourists during the normally busy Christmas holiday season. Israel last month closed its borders to foreign tourists in response to the outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant. For now, restrictions remain in effect for other foreign tourists, including Christian pilgrims who traditionally have flocked to sites like Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem, the biblical town in the occupied West Bank revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus.

An amateur diver uncovered the four-foot long sword, which likely once belonged to a Crusader knight almost a millennium ago.

The Central Florida health care system AdventHealth purchased the shuttered religious theme park Holy Land in Orlando, deed documents show.

REUTERSIt appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is finally on his way out as Israel’s prime minister. With just minutes to spare ahead of a midnight deadline on Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid notified Israel’s president that he had formed a new government.But if Netanyahu's 12-year run is indeed at an end, expect key segments of the GOP to treat Bibi as though he had not lost power, much as they continue to venerate Donald Trump and look at Joe Biden’s victory as illegitimate.Israel has emerg

Dror Moreh speaks with Insider about his new documentary, "The Human Factor," a look into the Mideast peace process through the eyes of US negotiators.

President Biden on Thursday evening addressed the "mutual, unconditional cease-fire" between Israel and Hamas, saying he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "commended him for the decision to bring the current hostilities to a close within less than 11 days." During their conversation, Biden said he "emphasized what I've said throughout this conflict: The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups that have taken the lives of innocent civilians in Israel." Biden also praised Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his top officials for brokering the cease-fire, and said the United States will provide "rapid humanitarian assistance to Gaza" in "full partnership with the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas ... in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal." He expressed his sorrow and condolences over the fighting resulting in "the tragic deaths of so many civilians, including children." Over the last week, Biden said, the U.S. has been involved in "intense diplomatic engagement," and he believes "the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy. My administration will continue our quiet and relentless diplomacy toward that end. I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I've committed to working for it." More stories from theweek.comAngelina Jolie stands perfectly still, unshowered, covered in bees for World Bee DaySan Francisco General Hospital has 0 COVID-19 patients for 1st time since March 2020What the left gets wrong about the Israel-Palestine conflict

Employees criticized Apple for staying silent, calling on it to acknowledge Palestinians living under an "illegal occupation," The Verge reported.

Israeli-arabs gesture and wave Palestinian flags at Israelis in a Jewish community building, during renewed riots in the city of Lod on May 11. Oren Ziv/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe images and reports coming from Israel, Jerusalem and Gaza in recent days are shocking. They are also surprising to those who thought the 2020 Abraham Accords and subsequent agreements to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan would place the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians permanently on the backburner. As someone who has been writing and teaching about the Middle East for more than 30 years, I had no such illusions. The reason for this is that at its heart, the so-called “Arab-Israeli conflict” has always been about Israelis and Palestinians. And no matter how many treaties Israel signs with Arab states, it will remain so. In a phone call on May 12, President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of his “unwavering support for Israel’s security and for Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself and its people.” Biden was referencing the rocket attacks on Israel launched by Hamas, the Islamist group that governs Gaza. By targeting civilians, Hamas is committing a war crime. In all probability, so is Israel, by bombing and shelling Gaza. Rockets light up the night sky as they are fired towards Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images Despite the carnage the Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli retaliation inflicts on Israelis and Gazans, the Biden administration is focusing on a sideshow, not the main event. That main event is an unprecedented conflict taking place on the streets of Jerusalem, Haifa, Lod and elsewhere. It’s what scholars call an “intercommunal conflict,” pitting elements of Israel’s Jewish population against elements of Israel’s Palestinian population who have had enough and have taken to the streets. Hamas could not maintain its credibility as a movement if it sat by while Palestinians in Israel battled Jewish Israelis there. The reality is that Israel is having its Black Lives Matter moment. As in the United States, a brutalized minority group, facing systemic racism and discriminatory acts has taken to the streets. And, as in the United States, the only way out starts with serious soul searching on the part of the majority. But after the spate of Palestinian suicide bombings in the early 2000s that horrified Israelis and hardened their attitudes toward Palestinians, this is unlikely to occur. Relatives of the Abu Hatab family mourn over the bodies of their family members after an Israeli air strike struck their house without warning during the night, in Gaza City early on May 15, 2021. Mahmoud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Many reasons, one source Palestinian anger can be attributed to multiple issues. In April, Israel attempted to impede access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for Palestinians living in the West Bank. Israeli police then raided the Muslim holy site, reportedly after Palestinians threw stones at them, injuring 330. At the beginning of May, Mahmoud Abbas, the current president of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, cancelled the first Palestinian legislative elections in 15 years. Finally, when the current conflict spilled over into the West Bank, the Israeli occupation and continued colonization of Palestinian territory were thrown into the mix. These significant issues explain Palestinian anger. However, the intercommunal nature of the ongoing conflagration is due to two other issues. First, Jewish settlers attempted to evict eight Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency had settled the families in the neighborhood during the 1950s. Jewish settlers filed suit in 1972 claiming their right to the homes where those families lived. They argued that Jews had owned the Palestinians’ homes before the division of the city in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. By right, they argue, the homes belong to their community. Jewish neighborhoods housing more than 215,000 encircle the predominantly Palestinian eastern part of Jerusalem, where Sheikh Jarrah is located. For Palestinians, the attempt to evict the families is representative of Israel’s overall policy of pushing them out of the city. It is not only a reminder that in a Jewish state Palestinians are second-class citizens, but a reenactment of the central tragedy in the Palestinian national memory: the nakba of 1948, when 720,000 Palestinians fled their homes in what would become the state of Israel, becoming refugees. A member of the Israeli security forces fires tear gas at Palestinian protesters, during confrontations with them in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, on May 14, 2021. HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images Growing anti-Arab racism The second reason for the intercommunal nature of the current conflict is the emboldening of Israel’s extreme right-wing politicians and their followers. Among them are latter-day Kahanists, the followers of the late Meir Kahane. Kahane was an American rabbi who moved to Israel. Kahane’s anti-Arab racism was so extreme that the United States listed the party he founded as a terrorist group. Kahane proposed paying Israel’s Palestinian population $40,000 each to leave Israel. If they refused, Israel should expel them, he argued. Kahanism and like-minded movements are on the rise in Israel. A Kahanist was recently elected to the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, and Netanyahu courted his support when the prime minister was attempting to form a government in February, 2019. Kahanists and other ultranationalist thugs — the “Proud Boys” of Israel — march through Palestinian-Israeli neighborhoods chanting “Death to Arabs” and assault them. The current crisis began on May 6, 2021. Pro-Palestinian protesters in Sheikh Jarrah had been breaking the Ramadan fast together each night of the holiday, a custom called iftar. On this particular night, Israeli settlers set up a table opposite them. In the settlers’ group was Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Kahanist deputy. Rocks and other objects began to fly. Then the violence spread. In the coastal city of Bat Yam, a Jewish mob marched down the street busting up Palestinian businesses, while another mob attempted to lynch a Palestinian driver. The same scene was replayed in Acre, only this time it was a Palestinian mob that assaulted a Jewish man. Another Palestinian mob burned a police station to the ground in the same city. And in a Tel Aviv suburb, a man presumed to be a Palestinian was pulled from his car and beaten. [Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.] Lod is a city south of Tel Aviv with a mixed Palestinian and Jewish population. Not only was it the site of a Hamas missile strike that killed two Palestinians, it was where heavy fighting took place between Palestinian and Jewish mobs. The fighting began after a funeral of a Palestinian man who was killed by an assailant presumed to be Jewish. It was so heavy at times that the Israeli government brought in border guards from the West Bank to quell the unrest. The mayor characterized what was happening in his town as a “civil war.” The mayor also reminded the residents of Lod, “The day after, we still have to live here together.” He did not explain how this was to happen.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: James L. Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles. Read more:Protests by Palestinian citizens in Israel signal growing sense of a common struggleHas Trump proposed a Middle East peace plan – or terms of surrender for the Palestinians? James L. Gelvin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Rep. Louie Gohmert from Texas accused the Biden administration of "silencing" Trump-supporting Americans.

For a second year, Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday without the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter because of the coronavirus.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Holy Land officials announced Saturday that the religious experience would temporarily close to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The park’s doors will close at the end of the day Saturday and stay closed through the remainder of the month. “During the closure, The Holy Land Experience team members will receive their full pay,” Mike Everett said. The religious experience at Vineland and Conroy Roads near The Mall at Millenia draws hundreds of people every year for the park’s annual free admission day, allowing the organization to keep its tax-exempt status.

His church works with a school in Bethlehem, part of the reason for their visit to the Holy Land, he said. The Angel Hotel was the first area of coronavirus concern in the Bethlehem area. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Palestinian security forces staffed checkpoints and turned foreigners away, while schools, colleges, kindergartens and national parks were ordered closed. They left the next morning for a trip but were called back to the hotel the next day and told to go into quarantine. And if they need to quarantine us there for a time we understand that.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando’s biblical theme park, the Holy Land Experience, will lay off most of its employees as it undergoes a corporate restructuring, according to a letter sent to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. According to the letter, Holy Land Experience staff affiliated with stage shows and/or support would be laid off as part of a corporate-wide ministry reorganization. “(Holy Land Experience) will be permanently shutting down most department(s) and/or eliminating most positions,” the letter said. Some employees, based on their tenure with Holy Land, will be eligible for a severance package plan. Holy Land will continue to operate its educational attractions, including a biblical museum.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will discuss his still-secret Middle East peace plan at the White House next week in an unusual meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Benjamin Gantz. Israeli voters have twice failed to give either faction a clear majority, leading to an unprecedented third showdown. Netanyahu has made his close relationship with the American president a centerpiece of his campaign, and Trump has made it clear he favors Netanyahu. If Trump releases his much-touted Middle East peace plan crafted by his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner before Israel's next election, that may also be viewed as an effort to help Netanyahu as he vies to hold onto power in Israel. The White House did not say whether Trump will unveil the peace plan publicly or only talk with the two Israeli leaders about it behind closed doors.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will discuss his still-secret Middle East peace plan at the White House next week in an unusual meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Benjamin Gantz. Israeli voters have twice failed to give either faction a clear majority, leading to an unprecedented third showdown. Netanyahu has made his close relationship with the American president a centerpiece of his campaign, and Trump has made it clear he favors Netanyahu. If Trump releases his much-touted Middle East peace plan crafted by his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner before Israel's next election, that may also be viewed as an effort to help Netanyahu as he vies to hold onto power in Israel. The White House did not say whether Trump will unveil the peace plan publicly or only talk with the two Israeli leaders about it behind closed doors.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will discuss his still-secret Middle East peace plan at the White House next week in an unusual meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Benjamin Gantz. Israeli voters have twice failed to give either faction a clear majority, leading to an unprecedented third showdown. Netanyahu has made his close relationship with the American president a centerpiece of his campaign, and Trump has made it clear he favors Netanyahu. If Trump releases his much-touted Middle East peace plan crafted by his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner before Israel's next election, that may also be viewed as an effort to help Netanyahu as he vies to hold onto power in Israel. The White House did not say whether Trump will unveil the peace plan publicly or only talk with the two Israeli leaders about it behind closed doors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem on January 23, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his election rival Benny Gantz to Washington next week to discuss the White House's peace plan, Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday. "President Trump asked me to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to come to the White House next week to discuss regional issues as well as the prospect of peace here in the Holy Land," Pence said after meeting Netanyahu at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. "I think that the president is seeking to give Israel the peace and security that it deserves so I gladly accept his invitation," Netanyahu said.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims flocked to the West Bank town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Tourists and pilgrims visit Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 24, 2019. At least 15,000 pilgrims were staying overnight in Bethlehem for Christmas, she said. A worshipper kisses the star inside the Church of the Nativity on Christmas eve in Bethlehem on December 24, 2019. Bethlehem is close to Jerusalem but cut off from the holy city by Israel's separation barrier.

Christian clergymen carry a wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem, Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. Christians are celebrating the return to the Holy Land of a tiny wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger nearly 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)BETHLEHEM – A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus' manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope. The return of the relic by the Vatican was a spirit-lifting moment for the Palestinians, a small minority of whom are Christian. Troubled Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is preparing for the occasion, where pilgrims from around the world flock to the city.

Pope returns from Holy Land visit, vows to fight child abuse Pope Francis returned to the Vatican following what many described as a very successful pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the trip, the 77-year-old pontiff advocated for peace between Israel and Palestine, but on his flight home he made a point of addressing church child abuse scandals, comparing the issue to holding a "Satanic mass." Allen Pizzey reports.

Muslim leader, rabbi join Pope Francis on trip to Holy Land During Pope Francis' visit to the Holy Land, the pontiff shared a personal moment at one of Israel's holiest sites with two close friends from Argentina – a rabbi and a Muslim leader. Adriana Diaz reports.

Pope Francis makes push for peace in Holy Land pilgrimage The pope is wrapping up his three-day visit to the Middle East, where he invited the Palestinian and Israeli presidents to Rome to pray for peace. CBS News' Allen Pizzey reports.

Pope Francis visits the Holy Land Pope Francis is in the Middle East for a three-day trip that will include his first visit to the Holy Land as leader of the Catholic Church. Allen Pizzey reports.

Pope Francis to visit Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories Pope Francis is making his first visit to the Holy Land since becoming leader of the Roman Catholic Church. In anticipation of his visit, some children are learning Aramaic, the ancient language Jesus spoke. Adriana Diaz has a preview of Francis' visit from the last all-Christian village in the West Bank.

Pope’s historic visit to Holy Land stirs controversy Pope Francis is making his first trip to the Holy Land as leader of the Catholic Church. But while the pope has said the visit is about celebrating improved relations between Catholics and Orthodox Christians, it comes amid continuing tensions between Christians and Jews. Allen Pizzey reports.

The Holy Land through the eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg toured Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the PBS special, "Israel: The Royal Tour." Greenberg, who recently watched the special with the leader at the Los Angeles premiere, discusses Netanyahu's reaction with the "CBS This Morning" co-hosts.