The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been closed since February 28 when the war between Iran and Israel began, and has remained so throughout Holy Week. On Easter Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presided over the Easter Vigil Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, held behind closed doors with a small group of friars due to Israeli restrictions amid the war with Iran. «Here, inside this Sepulchre, we are not facing a symbol: we are facing a real void,» Cardinal Pizzaballa began his homily, referring to the prolonged closure of one of Christianity's most sacred sites. «Easter begins like this: not with an explanation, but with a rupture. Not with emotion, but with a disorienting question,» said the religious leader, whom Israeli police had prevented from celebrating Mass here on Palm Sunday, causing an international uproar that forced Benjamin Netanyahu's government to change its policy. In the rite at this basilica, located in the occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, the patriarch and about twenty people, including clergy and some frires who live in the complex, participated according to a video of the Mass, while Israeli police prevented the faithful who gathered nearby with palm branches, crosses, and candles from entering. Some of the faithful who came to the place expressed their sadness and frustration at not being able to participate in one of the most important celebrations on the Christian calendar. «And for us, why is it closed?», lamented one. Along the same lines, Deivis, a Christian residing in Tel Aviv, echoed his question and stated that «they should let people in because religion is for everyone». Since the start of the war with Iran, Israel has kept the entrances to the Old City under heavy police deployment, and bars and shops have remained closed since the conflict erupted in the middle of Ramadan, halting all economic activity and prayers on the Temple Mount. In parallel, the traditional Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) of the Jewish Passover festival was celebrated this Sunday. About fifty rabbis participated, praying in the underground section of the Western Wall instead of on the plaza. «It is really very difficult to want to come and pray and find nothing,» Cristina Toderas, 44, a resident of Jerusalem originally from Romania, told EFE. «Outside the Old City, the churches are open.»
