Nazareth Basilica incident "re-evaluated"
Ecclesiastical sources in Israel say that the incident was serious but that Israel is not involved. Balanced position from the Custody of the Holy Land. Catholics in Nazareth protest against the incident.
Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) - Though serious, the attack against the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth has been completely re-evaluated. Already yesterday evening, shortly after explosions were set off within the Shrine, the Basilica's highest authority, the Custos of the Holy Land, Francescan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa released a statement saying that police has informed him that "there is no evidence that thiis attack was motivated by anti-Christian sentiment." Meanwhile, in Nazareth, a peaceful march, organized by local Catholic Church leaders, is currently taking place to protest against yesterday's incident.
It seems that the motives that brought to the incident have been determined. The deliquents involved were three: the Havivi couple already mentioned yesterday and their 20-year-old daughter. The couple had already lost custody in the past of two minor child, the couple having been deemed incapable of carrying out their duties by Family Court judges. The same happened Thursday, for the same reason, with the couple's third youngest child. This would have brought the couple to carry out some kind of astounding gesture to draw wide public attention to what they believed was an "injustice". Thus, it was not a case of anti-Christian religious extremism. Even more so considering that, of the three, only one, the man, is definitely not Christian: if he is of Jewish origin, he is not, in any case, observant. The women, and thus also her daughter, are not Jewish and could be Christian. The Havivi's daughter blamed the incident on "economic recession".
Considering this, what is perhaps more worrying than the incident itself is the furious crowd that made use of it as an excuse for violence and destruction. Protestors wanted at all costs to massacre the deliquents within the Shrine, and in the sacred place itself, attacked police forces gratuitously. It would be absurd to think that the agitators were Christians, parishoners who had rallied around to "defend the Shrine." According to Church sources in Israel, no practicing Christian believer would have ever behaved in such a manner of sacrilegious craze. These same sources underscore the exaggerated tones of Palestinian politicians and militants, often definitely not Christian, who take advantage of a "bizarre" family tragedy to lash out once again against Israel. "We have often criticized the Israeli government on various issues," the Church sources say, "but launching unfair accusations and suspicions would certainly not help our credibility; it would be useful only for confirming the prejudices of those who feel that we are all anti-semitic anyway, quick to accuse 'the Jews' regardless of the facts."
For his part, the Custos of the Holy Land, in his statement, drafted and released "in real time", expressed "sadness" for the "attack" and "appealed for calm." He also made known "his appreciation for a call he received from Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which the Acting Prime Minister expressed concern about the incident and then assured the Custos that the government would act swiftly and decisively in the face of any attacks on the holy places in Israel."
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