Beit Jala, part 2

Father Majdi al Siryani, the head of the schools for the Latin Patriarchate of Israel, was filling us in on the particulars of the difficulties of living in the West Bank when he related a remarkable and sad, sad story. He held up a card that was about the size of a driver's license, and told us that very few Palestinians have access to it. It is a "Jerusalem" card, granting the holder permission to enter the holy city of Jerusalem.
"The thing to understand is this," he said. "Jerusalem is like our downtown here" for people from Bethlehem, Beit Jala and surrounding communities. "This is our city, too. But if you are Palestinian, once you turn 16, you no longer can just enter the city. You have to have one of these cards to get in." And it is rare indeed to get such a card. Father Majdi nods his head over to the two young staffers from the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation who have been showing us around Bethlehem and Beit Jala tody. He asks Ramzy: "Have you ever been to Jerusalem?" Ramzy shakes his no. Amazing. Same to Armani. Again, no. And as I mentioned before, the drive, without the obstacles of road blocks and 50-foot concrete barriers is no more than 15 or 20 minutes. Like the drive from Milford to Loveland. Or Park Ridge to downtown Chicago. Or Greenfield to Indianapolis. Nothing.
"So we started this program that would bring kids -- and these are kids under age 16 -- to Jerusalem for a day."
The following is an excerpt from "Living Stones, The Voice of the Holy Land Christians" Vol. 6, No. 1 about the program...
"...While most of their countrymen slept in late on a Monday morning holiday (in 2006), 750 of Palestine's youngest pilgrims woke with dawn to take part in HCEF's Second Annual 'Journey to Jerusalem.' For one fleeting afternoon, children from 52 of the Holy Land's parishes representing a wide spectrum of denominations and 13 different cities gathered together as one Christian body...
"...The children, ages 12-14, were chosen to participate in large part because at 16, when they are issued their official ID, access to the holy city and other Israeli-controlled territory becomes next to impossible. For many, the Journey to Jedrusalem was their first time visitng the holy sites. Sadly, it could very well be the last time for a good number of these children, too. The combination of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, more permanent and restrictive checkpoints, and the Separation Wall's unchecked construction is — daily — putting Jerusalem beyond the reach of most Palestinians.
"This year, the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation extended a special invitation to five parishes from Nazareth, a Christian town within Israel's borders, to join the pilgrimage with their brothers and sisters in faith from the West Bank. While it is true that Arab Christians from Israel enjoy greater freedoms than their sister communities in Palestine, Father Suhail Khoury, a Nazarene parish priest, still lobbied political leaders for appropriate permissions. 'I was refused at first,' he said, 'but after many, many calls, we were able to get through.' ...As trying as the process was on Father Khoury, he pressed on because he recognized how important it was for his students to have this experience. 'Obviously, it's good to visit the holy places, but my students are also learning a lot about life in the West Bank, sharing and praying with other children...'
"Though late arriving, the group from Nazareth had much better luck than some other groups. Five adult leaders from Nablus were turned away at the city's checkpoint — a place from which cars from inside the city are not allowed to leave, nor is outside vehicular traffic allowed to enter. Additionally, the bus from Jenin was waylaid at the Bethany checkpoint south of Jerusalem and forced to travel halfway around the city to Hizma in the north. All told, those children spent more than six hours on a trip that would take little more than 90 minutes as the crow flies. Worst of all was the plight of the children from Ain Arik, whose plans were foiled when none of their adult leaders were issued permits to travel. Their absence kept HCEF from its previous goal of 900 pilgrims."