Reports Youth Exchange – Report October 22

Trapiste monastery Latrun

On the hill of a former crusader castle a small community of members of the Jesus-Brotherhood lives, works and prays together with local staff and German volunteers. The place where the Monastery of the Silent Monks stands today, served in the 19th century. as a way station for pilgrims from Jaffa to Jerusalem. After being sold to the Order of St. Benedict, the monastery, which became known as the Monastery of the Silent Monks, was built in 1890. Until 1960, it was part of the vow to refrain from talking and instead maintain silence at all times except during prayer. A large church and living quarters are located on the monastery grounds, there is also a beautiful garden and a modest courtyard.

Although this silent order, like all monks in Israel, is absolutely peaceful, their monks have been repeatedly attacked and beaten by Israeli settlers in the past, as these groups want to expel not only Muslims but also Christians from Israel. Similar things have often happened to Benedictine monks of the Dormitio Abbey in Jerusalem. In Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee, the branch of the Dormitio Abbey, a devastating arson attack with a clear anti-Christian background was even carried out by ultra-nationalist groups in 2015 (see below, Day 10).

As a result of the high media coverage and the clear condemnation of the crime by then President Rivlin, criminally underage perpetrators and a mastermind were identified. In the end, only one perpetrator could be proven to have committed the crime. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and a fine equivalent to €13,000. After tough negotiations, the State of Israel paid €400,000 for the reconstruction, and the same amount was raised within a short time through worldwide donations.

The Protestant Empress Auguste Victoria Foundation goes back to the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II. 1898 in Palestine, during which he – together with his wife Empress Auguste Viktoria – also officially visited the Germans in the Holy Land. Thus, he promised the German Protestant congregation in Jerusalem and the Catholic Holy Land Association a convalescent home with hospice (today’s Paulus House with attached Schmidt School opposite the Damascus Gate). This was intended primarily for malaria sufferers and the many Germans in Jerusalem. In addition, he had a church built. At that time, there were several thousand Germans living in the Holy City who were in urgent need of medical assistance. Even today you can see the steeple of the church of Jerusalem from the ridge of the Mount of Olives. Mount of Olives into the sky.

The Church of the Ascension is a sacred building on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, completed in 1914. It was built on the Mount of Olives by the Empress Auguste Victoria Foundation, which was established there in 1899. In 1907 the foundation stone for a malaria hospital was laid and in 1910 the church was consecrated. Today’s Auguste Victoria Hospital provides life-saving medical care to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including specialized therapies in its cancer, diabetes and pediatric units. It is the only facility that provides radiation therapy for the 4.5 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The church stands on one of the highest points of Jerusalem, 850 meters above sea level and almost 1300 meters above the Dead Sea. The church is built in the Wilhelminian-Neobyzantine style. The entire west facade was surrounded by a massive porch to protect it from the strong winds and rainfall. In 1988-1991, after the structural restoration and the elimination of earthquake damage, the works of art were restored to their original condition.

Temple Mount + Dome of the Rock

The Temple Mount is a hill in the southeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, above the Kidron Valley. On its summit is an artificial plateau of about 14 hectares, in the center of which stood the Herodian Temple, a successor building to the post-exilic Jewish Temple, which in turn was built on the foundations of Solomon’s Temple. Since the end of the 7th century. n. Chr. the Dome of the Rock stands here. On the southern side of the esplanade is the al-Aqsa Mosque (completed in 717 CE). The Temple Mount is one of the most controversial holy places in the world and the third largest Muslim sanctuary (after Mecca and Medina).

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the oldest monumental sacred building in Islam and one of the main Islamic shrines. It stands on the Temple Mount, was built in 687-691, and has been restored, altered and extensively added to many times over the centuries, most recently in the early 1990s. On the rock standing in the center of the building, according to popular Jewish tradition, the world was founded, the center of which was the stone in the Jerusalem Temple. At this place Abraham had wanted to sacrifice his son Isaac and here the ark of the covenant had been. The later Temple Mount, in turn, became the holy place of the Israelites with an altar to end the plague only after King David bought it from the Jebusite Arawna.

According to Islamic tradition, it is from this rock that Mohammed is said to have started his ascension and his meeting with the earlier prophets of Judaism and Jesus. The Dome of the Rock is a masterpiece of Islamic architecture of the early Umayyad style and adopts the early Christian Byzantine central building type. The building, with a dome originally of wooden construction, was built over an exposed rock. In archaeological research, the relationship of this rock to previous temple buildings from biblical times is disputed. It is often assumed that the Holy of Holies or the altar of burnt offering of the ancient Jerusalem sanctuary was located on the rock. The Dome of the Rock is an octagon modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and was originally – and still is not – understood to be a mosque, but a shrine or dome. Since 2000, non-Muslims have been allowed to Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque because the many Muslims praying there 5 times a day used to feel considerably disturbed by the numerous tourists.

Jews are only allowed to enter the Temple Mount without a kippah via the tourist entrance and are not allowed to pray there. That is why there are frequent violent clashes on the Temple Mount with Orthodox Jews and radical settler groups who want to tear down the Dome of the Rock to put a new, 3rd temple in its place, for which they say they have already raised several billion dollars.

Via Dolorosa

Every year, tens of thousands of believers walk the processional way with song and prayer or in silence, every Friday at 3 p.m. the Franciscan friars from Jerusalem. The name Via Dolorosa dates back to the 16th century. At that time, however, the Via Dolorosa had only four stations, which in the course of the centuries were extended by Franciscan friars and also changed in the routing, depending on the needs of the pilgrim groups at that time. The Via Dolorosa cannot be the actual path that Jesus had to take from the arrest on the Mount of Olives to the crucifixion site of Golgotha, especially since these narrow streets have existed only since the Middle Ages. It is – as elsewhere in the Holy Land – not decisive whether Jesus really went this way or took another way to Golgotha. What is decisive is that Jesus was led from the Mount of Olives to the place of crucifixion on Friday night and died there on the cross before the dawn of Shabbat at the beginning of the Jewish Passover festival, probably on 7.4. 30 AD.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is located in the heart of the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City and is considered one of the holiest sites in the Christian world. The church stands on the place where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried, and where he rose after three days.

It was built in 335 AD by St. Helena, the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great. It was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt during the Byzantine era and at the time of the Crusaders. This was also the case in the mid-11th century, when the Fatimid Khalif al Hakim enforced harsh laws against Jews and Christians and razed many of their places of worship to the ground. His successor, Khalif al Zahir, allowed the reconstruction of this holiest site of Christianity; the new building was smaller, but more ornate and richly decorated than the original church built by St. Helena.

The church is venerated as Golgotha (Calvary), which literally means “skull”. It got its current appearance at the time of the Crusaders. They were the first to unite the sites of crucifixion and burial under one roof. The 800-year-old façade of the Crusaders is splendidly decorated, and at the entrance there are two massive wooden gates, one of which has been in use since the reign of Saladin in the 12th century. is locked.

Today the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is administered by 6 Christian denominations. At the top are the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and the Roman Catholic Churches, the latter represented by the Franciscans. In the 19th c. were joined by the Coptic Church of Egypt, the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, and the Orthodox Tewahedo Church of the Ethiopians. These churches received only a few chapels, and the Ethiopians are limited to the dilapidated Deir al-Sultan monastery on the roof.

The coexistence of the Christian denominations is determined by the so-called “status quo,” a decree issued by the Turkish sultan in 1852. Since there have long been disagreements over the claims of the various denominations to the church, which have led to physical confrontations on several occasions in the past, the keys to the church are held by the Muslim Joudeh family. The second wooden gate that allows access today is opened and closed every day by a representative of the Muslim Nusseibeh family. This custom is part of the current status quo of religions in Jerusalem and dates back to the Muslim dominance in the city in the days of Saladin. The conflicts of the Graves Church residents keep complicating urgently needed renovation work. The symbol of the disputes became a Wooden ladder (see below picture “Entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre”), which was built in the 19th century. was placed on the facade above the main portal. It is still there today, as it is unclear who would be authorized to do so.

Following agreement between the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic Churches, the overdue restoration of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre began in 2016. The marble slab above the burial bench was removed so that the original rock surface could be examined, on which, according to tradition, Jesus’ body was laid. As part of the restoration, a window opening was cut and glazed into the marble facing of the inner wall of the burial chamber on the opposite side of the burial bench. The window provides a view of the remains of the rising rock wall, confirming that the burial chamber is a single grave, which is rare in the region. Also in the Gospel of John it says that Jesus was buried in a new tomb where no one had yet been laid.

The Austrian Pilgrimage Hospice to the Holy Family in Jerusalem is a pilgrim hostel of the Catholic Church of Austria in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located at the corner of Via Dolorosa and el-Wad Street of the Muslim Quarter, situated at the 3rd station of the Way of the Cross. Founded in 1856 and opened on March 19, 1863, the hospice is the oldest national pilgrimage house in the Holy Land.

Kehilat Kol HaNeshama is a Jewish Reform community in southern Jerusalem advocating pluralism, equality, social justice, peace and volunteerism. It is a caring, supportive community where people pray, study, engage in Jewish education, celebrate life cycle events, and engage in social activities. Although the majority of Jews in the USA belong to this liberal direction, they are a vanishingly small minority in Israel. Their rabbis are volunteers – unlike the approximately 4,000 Orthodox rabbis paid by the state. Only to them are reserved marriages, funerals and decisions on the interpretation of the Torah. Since there are no registry offices in Israel, couples who do not want to or cannot get married by an Orthodox rabbi must get married in Cyprus, for example, since Israel recognizes marriages performed abroad. There are about 40% Orthodox and 10% ultra-Orthodox Jews. The latter reject the state of Israel and refuse to work as well as to perform military service (men 3, women 2 years – no alternative service possible, conscientious objectors face prison sentences). About half of Israelis describe themselves as non-religious.

Talitha Kumi School (TK School)

Founded in 1851 by Kaiserswerth deaconesses and today sponsored by the Berlin Mission, the German Evangelical Lutheran school Talitha-Kumi in Beit Jala near Bethlehem passes on the message of reconciliation and peace in the spirit of the Gospel and offers Christian and Muslim girls and boys a protected space. Here they can learn with each other and develop into self-confident personalities. In 2017, Talitha-Kumi was awarded the “Excellent German School Abroad” seal of approval. It offers the “German Abitur” and also the customary “Tawjihi” as school-leaving qualifications.

There are 135 children enrolled in kindergarten for the 2020/2021 school year. Approximately 700 students attend classes in grades 1-12. 30% of them come from Christian families, 70% from Muslim families. Enrollment is still ongoing for the vocational school (community college), and in the 2019/2020 school year, about 100 students would be trained there in hospitality and food service.

“Talitha Kumi” means “Girl, get up!”. This appeal is still the name, program and mission of the oldest Protestant school in Palestine. It comes from the Gospel of Mark, where it says, “And Jesus took the child by the hand, and said, Talitha Kumi, girl, I say unto thee, arise.” Talitha Kumi School sees all of its educational work as a contribution to overcoming conflict and violence and thus to peace. One of the goals of teaching is to teach tolerance and respect to members of different denominations and religions. The spacious and abundantly planted school grounds provide a protected space in which such work is possible. Talitha-Kumi is also a place where representatives of both sides of the Middle East conflict can meet and get to know each other.

The extracurricular activities include joint devotions, regular workshops on peace education and the training of students as mediators. These mediators learn and practice how to resolve conflicts that arise peacefully. After their training, they mediate in conflicts of their fellow students and carry their skills for peaceful conflict resolution into their social environment as well.

Brief information about Palestine:

Palestine is internationally recognized as a state entity by 138 UN member states (72%) and has had observer status at the UN since 2012. It includes the Gaza Strip (360 km², about 2.1 million Palestinians) and the West Bank (about 2.7 million Palestinians), with the Palestinian Authority also claiming East Jerusalem (about 8.4 km² and over 0.3 million Palestinians) as its capital. In the whole of Jerusalem (125 km²) currently live about 0.95 million people. More than 0.75 million Jewish settlers already live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These settlements are considered illegal by the International Court of Justice and the UN.

The West Bank has been divided into 3 zones since 1995 (Oslo Accords). Zone A is administered entirely by the Palestinian Authority, which is also allowed to make independent decisions there. In Zone B, such action is possible only with Israeli approval, e.g., for building permits. Zone C is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Israeli military administration. It accounts for 62% of the West Bank.

Zone A (18%): Under Palestinian self-government.

Zone B (20%): Palestinian self-rule under the control of the Israeli military.

Zone C (62%): Blockaded by the Israeli military and not recognized by the Israeli government as belonging to the Palestinian autonomous areas.

Sources: Wikipedia articles West Bank, Palestine, Gaza Strip, Jewish settlement, etc. (9/9/22) and BpB.

JIK particularly supports (with more than 220 T € so far) the Tent of Nations (ToN) Daoud Nassars, who with the slogan “We refuse to be enemies” has been fighting for 32 years in court to preserve his 42 ha land (family owned since 1916). He is not allowed to erect any buildings there, has to live in caves or underground dwellings without water and electricity. Therefore, he collects water in self-dug cisterns & uses solar panels. Countless times the ToN was attacked, over 10 T trees were destroyed, damages of over 150 T € were caused. Several times his life and that of his family were threatened. As Christians, they counter the occupation, the countless destructions and attacks on their lives with peaceableness and charity. There, the EdK-LandArt project (Ø:30m) is created from stones of the surroundings, among others with JIK funds. Work is scheduled to continue from April. The ToN (approx. 13 T visitors annually before Corona) offers the following 10-day work camps from March to November, in addition to children’s and women’s development projects: Tree planting, weeding & wheat harvesting, cave restoration & fruit harvesting, children’s summer camp, almond & fruit harvesting, grape & fig & olive harvesting.

The Convention Palace, a joint investment of the Consolidated Contractors Company “CCC” and the Palestine Investment Fund “PIF”, was one of the projects that were part of Bethlehem’s preparations to welcome the new millennium. The architecture was synchronized with the nearby landmarks such as the “Murad Castle”, the museum and the historic “Solomon Pools”, preserving the historical and archaeological nature of the area. The premises, located on the southern outskirts of Bethlehem, include a huge auditorium, an exhibition gallery, a theater with more than 2,300 seats and state-of-the-art technology, meeting rooms and a cafeteria. The Palace hosts several important local and international events throughout the year and has managed to maintain international standards of hospitality. The area in and around the Palace of Congress welcomed thousands of visitors every year (until 2019) to explore the history and heritage of the place and enjoy the interesting mix of events and activities, especially the programs held in the summer. The Castle Museum houses one of the largest ethnographic collections of Palestinian history and culture.

Bethlehem University (BU) – a university sponsored by the Catholic Church and located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine – opened in 1973, making it the oldest university in the West Bank. The Holy See entrusted the management of the university to the De La Salle Christian School Brothers, who still run the university today. To meet the demands of the growing student population, BU was expanded to include the Library (1978), the Faculty of Science Annex (1980), the Auditorium and Dining Hall Building (1990), the Institute for Community Partnership/ICP (1991), “Bethlehem Hall” for the Faculties of Nursing and Education (1995), Turathuna: Center for Palestinian Heritage (2000), and “Millennium Hall” for the Faculties of Humanities and Business Administration (2002). In 2011, a new building for educational sciences was opened.

At the beginning of the 2017/2018 academic year, there were 3308 students enrolled, of which 77.2% were women. There are several reasons for this high percentage of female students:

– The fields of study offered at Bethlehem University are more likely to be taken by women.

– Men get permission from their families to study abroad more easily.

– Many young men work after graduating from school in order to be able to support their families.

– More men are imprisoned in Israeli prisons than women.

Although the university is Catholic, there are 76% Muslims and only 24% Christians. This figure is comparatively high given less than 1% Christians in all of Palestine. Interfaith dialogue and the peaceful coexistence of religions are among the key points of BU’s mission. A large proportion of students come from the eastern parts of Jerusalem (46.2%) or the Bethlehem region (44.3%). Another 7.7% come to the university from Hebron. As of August 2017, 17,197 students have received their degree from BU.

With a total of over 420 employees (approximately 50% faculty), Bethlehem University is the largest employer in the region. Bethlehem University offers 21 bachelor’s and four master’s degree programs.

Unlike many other universities, BU relies on donations to fund 2/3 of its day-to-day operations. This comes from the discrepancy between actual tuition costs and student fees adjusted for family economic strength.

Israel refers to a 759-kilometer-long barrier along the border line between Israel and the West Bank as the barrier. Most of the fence runs through the territory of the West Bank. Construction began in 2002 to curb suicide bombings in Israel’s heartland. It is more than questionable whether its decline is due to this wall construction. In 2004, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel was violating international law by building the facilities. Construction would have to be stopped immediately, property confiscated for construction would have to be returned, or those expropriated would have to be compensated in some other way. According to critics, the plant represents a severe disruption to Palestinians. In some cases, he said, it cuts off villages and towns from their fields and wells, threatening to destroy the economic base of farmers. In addition, the construction would result in the destruction of agricultural land. The majority of the barrier (at least 700 kilometers) will be constructed as a heavily secured metal fence with barbed wire, a ditch, a fence with motion detectors, a raked sand strip for tracking footprints, an asphalt patrol path, and more barbed wire on the Israeli side. On both sides of the fence, a military restricted area with a total width of 70 meters will be erected, which will be additionally monitored visually by observation posts. In small parts, near Qalqiliya and Jerusalem (totaling at least 25 kilometers), where this width cannot be maintained, a wall of reinforced concrete up to eight meters high will be built. Parts of this wall were built by Palestinian workers from Hebron, among others. Gate systems exist at irregular intervals.

Approximately 20% of the installations run along the Green Line, the armistice line between Israel and the West Bank in 1949, which delimited the territory controlled by Israel until the Six-Day War in 1967; in approximately 80% they deviate from this line, running almost exclusively within the West Bank.

The Church of the Nativity is the church in Bethlehem built over the presumed birthplace of Jesus Christ. The Church of the Nativity is one of the few completely preserved early Christian church buildings. The cave, which Christians consider the birthplace of Jesus, was built from the 2nd century. worshipped Emperor Hadrian allegedly erected an Adonis sanctuary over it in 135, probably also to stop Jesus worship again. Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helena had a memorial church with rich mosaic floors built at the birthplace, which they dedicated to Jesus Christ before 335. The building was a five-nave, 27-meter basilica with an atrium in front to the west and a polygonal apse to the east. The apse was 17 meters wide and had a four-meter-wide opening in the center that provided a view of the Grotto of the Nativity. In 386 Jerome settled in Bethlehem, where he completed his Latin translation of the Bible, Vulgate. The Constantinian basilica was built in the 2nd half of the 5th century. completely rebuilt with a western narthex. The Crusaders restored the church from the ground up (1161-1169).

Under the Turks, the church increasingly deteriorated. In 1670 the Greek Orthodox Church began to renovate the church. At the presumed place of birth in the Grotto of the Nativity, exactly on the central axis of the basilica, a silver star with the Latin inscription “Hic de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est” (Here was born of the Virgin Mary Jesus Christ) was placed by the Roman Catholic Church in 1717. Its 14 prongs symbolize the 14 genders in Jesus’ family tree.

After severe damage by an earthquake (1927), the British Mandate Administration and later the Franciscans had excavations and restorations carried out. During the 2nd Intifada in 2002, a 39-day siege of the site by the Israeli military occurred after 40 armed Palestinian fighters took refuge in the Church of the Nativity and entrenched themselves there. In addition, about 160 other people (including 60 priests, monks and nuns) were trapped on the church complex. The fire changes destroyed some windows; adjacent buildings sustained major damage.

Nazareth as the most probable birthplace of Jesus

However, the newer theological-historical research holds with a large majority Nazareth for the birthplace of Jesus, because of the 4 gospels only the gospel of Luke (written more than 50 years after Jesus’ death) mentions Bethlehem as the birthplace, because for the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy the Messiah had to come from the city of David (= Bethlehem). In the tax estimate of Quirinus mentioned by Luke – as in other tax estimates in the Roman Empire – by no means everyone had to move to their hometown (in this case Joseph with Mary to Bethlehem), which would have been a logistical nightmare. Also, the tax estimate of Quirinus mentioned by Luke falls in the year 6/7 of our era, that is, about 12 years after the actual birth of Jesus at the time of King Herod. Furthermore, the NT always speaks of Jesus from Nazareth.

Schmidt School

The Schmidt School was founded in 1886 as a private girls’ school under Catholic school sponsorship. The objective to this day is to offer girls’ education at the highest level: intercultural, interreligious, multilingual, holistic and independent of the social and religious background of the students. Today, this offer is taken up by 500 girls of Christian or Muslim faith. Since 2008, the Schmidt School has belonged to the circle of 140 German schools abroad worldwide and since 2015 it has held the seal of approval “Excellent German School Abroad”.

The Schmidt-Schule offers both the “German Abitur” and the national “Tawjihi” as school-leaving qualifications. International quality standards are guaranteed by the joint school supervision of the federal and state governments in Germany. This guarantees access to the world’s leading universities for the students. The Schmidt School is located in the heart of Jerusalem, right by the Damascus Gate. It is one of the leading educational institutions in Jerusalem, equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories, media center, smartboards, elementary school library, music rooms, auditorium, sports facilities, etc. It offers the entire educational program from elementary school to high school.

The focus of the education is the formation of the students’ personality. The Schmidt School is known for educating young women to be active, confident, critical and creative individuals who have the courage to stand up for their beliefs. This is complemented by a challenging academic program in natural sciences, languages, and art and music. This predestines these students to take on leadership positions in various fields later on. In this context, it is important that female students learn to live up to their social responsibility already during their school years. This is achieved through numerous social projects initiated annually by the students. This also includes an intensive examination of the three world religions that so intensively shape everyday life around the Schmidt School.

Yad Vashem

Even though I have been to Yad Vashem countless times since 1982, this visit shakes me anew each time, as the Holocaust remains ultimately incomprehensible and inexplicable even after reading so many scholarly books. A list of over 11 million Jews in Europe and the USSR (over 16 million Jews worldwide at the time) is on display at Yad Vashem, which was approved at the Wannsee Conference on Jan. 20. 1942 served as the basis for the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question”. So at least 11 million Jews were to be murdered if the war had lasted long enough. From this point of view, it is completely irrelevant whether almost 6 million or even about 6.5 million Jews were killed, since it was supposed to be 11 million. Approximately 4.5 million Jews killed are now recorded by name in Yad Vashem. In total, about 40% of the Jews of that time were murdered. Only recently have there been as many Jews worldwide as there were before the Holocaust.

The Shoa memorial shows with an overwhelming abundance of documents, eyewitness accounts, etc. the Nazi persecution of Jews / extermination, among other things, with the goal: to arouse emotions so that such a thing should never be repeated. However, the causes and antecedents of Nazi anti-Semitism are presented only very superficially, which would be absolutely necessary for a deeper understanding.

All Israelis visit Yad Vashem several times in their lives (during their school/military years) and the Auschwitz concentration camp. Very many are shaken and draw from it the lesson never again to be a defenseless victim and therefore always to fight back and in case of doubt to shoot first. The message that the Holocaust also conveys – never again oppress, discriminate against, degrade, kill, rob, etc. other people (even if they are Muslims) – is unfortunately neglected by many Israelis. – is unfortunately neglected by many Israelis, as the shameful result of the Knesset election on 1.11.22 shows, so that Israel will probably now have a right-wing government under Netanyahu with a racist-fascist party alliance.

Dominus Flevit

The church belongs to the Franciscan order and was built in 1955 on the foundations of a 6th century Byzantine church. built. The sensational excavations of the 1950s revealed a Jewish-Christian cemetery from the 1st century. free. The ossuaries, or stone caskets for storing the bones, have numerous scribbles with some of the oldest Christian symbols. Particularly striking is a monogram of the “Constantinian” type, which apparently dates from much earlier Judaeo-Christian times (Constantine died in 337 AD). Further, valuable sarcophagi with plant ornaments or geometric patterns were found, which can be seen today in the Museum of Flagellation.

To the left of the main entrance are preserved the remains of a Christian mosaic from the Byzantine period, which were uncovered during the construction of the present church. On this, some very rare motifs (for example, a pierced pearl in reference to the corresponding parable of Jesus) are particularly worth seeing. Architecturally striking is the teardrop shape of the dome. On the 4 sides of the dome, the architect has installed “tear vases”, an allusion from his homeland to keep the last tear of a dying person in special vessels.

The church is best known for interior photographs, because unlike other Christian churches, Dominus Flevit does not face east, but west: through a window behind the altar, the view falls on the Old City in the direction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which represents redemption in the Christian faith, and the Dome of the Rock, both of which are (almost) at the same level as Dominus Flevit.

Mary’s Tomb

The Tomb of Mary in the Kidron Valley near Jerusalem is considered by early church tradition to be the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The tomb is at the foot of the Mount of Olives, near the Church of All Nations.

A small church was built there in the 4th century. erected. Crusaders restored and expanded it in the 12th century before it was destroyed by Saladin after the conquest of Jerusalem. The crypt was spared in the process and has been preserved to this day, as Mary is also venerated in Islam.

The present church belongs to the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches; the Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox churches may share it. A steep staircase behind the façade leads down to the tomb where Mary is said to have lain for a few days until her Assumption. In addition, the graves of her parents Joachim and Anna and her husband Joseph are shown there. Next to the entrance to the church is the entrance to the Catholics’ Grotto of Betrayal, which is said to have been built on the spot where Jesus’ capture took place. According to a Jerusalem tradition, Mary died on Mount Zion in the circle of the disciples. This is commemorated by the Roman Catholic Dormitio Church. In Ephesus there is another site where Mary is said to have died or ascended to heaven according to a much more recent hypothesis. The trend is clearly toward the second tomb for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pond Bethesda

In the 1st century AD the cultic worship of the Bethesda water increased. There are remains of a sanctuary of the healing god Serapis/Aesculapius. Around a central water reservoir several small bathing rooms are arranged, into which the water was led. Next to them, votive offerings show that people actually believed themselves to be healed by this water. In the Byzantine period in the 5th century, the pools were vaulted with arched structures and a three-nave basilica was built on top. Only remains of this church and of its successor churches are preserved. The Byzantine basilica, due to its location above the ponds, is a sign of remembrance of Jesus’ healing miracles, while the Church of St. Anna, built by the Crusaders in 1142 to the east of the basins, is an expression of Marian devotion, since the dwelling of Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents, was believed to be next to the Bethesda pond. In 1856, the entire area was ceded to France, which in 1874 entrusted the administration of the site to the White Fathers (French order of the African Mission).

Dormitio Abbey

Dormitio Abbey of the German Benedictines is a Roman Catholic monastery and church on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, south of the old city walls. The imposing complex with its unusual tower is visible from afar and is one of the landmarks of the old town. The abbey is very close to the tomb of King David and the Upper Room. According to tradition, the Mother of God Mary fell asleep on this site, and hence the name Dormitio Mariae – an ancient name of the feast of the Assumption of Mary. Thus, the area holds special historical and spiritual significance for both Jews and Christians.

The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. also resulted in the destruction of the Hall of the Last Supper, and a Jewish-Christian church was established in the 5th century. was replaced by the Byzantine basilica Hagia Sion. At the beginning of the 7th century. the Persian king Korush razed the basilica to the ground, and it was not until about 500 years later that the Crusaders built a church called Sancta Maria in Monte Sion on the remains. This was laid in ruins a short time later by the Muslim rulers of the country after their victory over the Crusaders. The land became German property when Kaiser Wilhelm II acquired it from the Turkish Sultan on the occasion of his visit to the Holy Land and gave it to the German Association of the Holy Land. In April 1910 the monastery and church were consecrated. In addition to their center in Jerusalem, the German Benedictines also maintain a priory in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee and care for the Shrine of the Multiplication of Bread there. True to their premise “ora et labora”, the monks of the abbey, in addition to monastic life and worship, also devote themselves to peace work, the care of pilgrims, the education of young people, handicrafts and arts and crafts. In addition, the Jerusalem Church serves as a center of cultural-spiritual events.

Sepphoris

Sepphoris (Hebrew Zippōrī) was an ancient city in Galilee. It was in the 1st c. v. Chr. a larger city of the region and was located about 8 kilometers north of Nazareth. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, then had Sepphoris rebuilt after its destruction and made it his magnificent capital. Sepphoris was situated on a hill and was visible from afar. Its streets were covered with precious broken marble. A Roman theater was built into a hill. From the 1st c. n. Chr. comes a burgher basilica with white mosaic floors and rich wall paintings. Ordinary and genteel houses were found side by side in the downtown area. There were two markets where there was a lively trade in regional goods – probably mainly food (wheat, olives, grapes, dried fish), ceramics, jewelry and woven fabrics. In 1993 the remains of a synagogue from the 5th century were found. Especially the well-preserved mosaics, which represent, among others, the god Helios, form one of the peculiarities of Sepphoris.

The mosaic of the synagogue is divided into 7 panels, which are differently preserved, but overall show severe destruction. The pictorial program of the mosaic is a mixture of biblical-Jewish and extra-biblical motifs. Thus, in panels 7 and 6 (near the entrance) there are representations of biblical stories. Panels 4, 3 and 2 contain Jewish symbols, panel 1 has a wreath in the center from which the water streams of life flow. Panel 5 contains a representation of the Zodiac. In the center you can see the four horses of the sun chariot of the god Helios. The god himself is not depicted figuratively-anthropomorphic, but as a sun with rays. This is an important difference to other representations of the Zodiac, where the sun god is depicted as a human figure. Of the figural zodiac signs around it, only four are largely preserved. Outside the zodiac, in the corners of the square in which the zodiac is embedded, there are figural representations of the four seasons.

In the 12th century, the Crusaders built the Gothic Church of St. Anne and a castle in Sepphoris, which they called Le Saforie, and incorporated it into their Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1516 the place, now called Saffuriyya, became part of the Ottoman Empire and was inhabited exclusively by Muslims. In 1745, a fortress was built on the hill next to the village. The church of St. Anne, to which pilgrimages were still made in the 17th century, was destroyed by the beginning of the 19th century at the latest. Under the British Mandate, Saffuriya became the largest village in the Galilee and lived mainly from the cultivation of olives. In 1949, the moshav Tzippori was founded south of the village. The remaining Arab settlers were deported in the 1960s and the village was demolished.

Was Jesus in Sepphoris?

Josef (His profession “tekton” in Greek does not mean carpenter, but building craftsman; there was no specialization supervised by a chamber of crafts yet). and his son Jesus (from “Iēsoûs” = Greek and “Jeshua” = Hebrew, which means “God helps”) probably went regularly from Nazareth, which is only 8 km away, to Sepphoris, since there was long-term work at this large construction site, unlike in the village of Nazareth. There he probably also got to know the Greek culture or philosophy, because some views of Jesus resemble those of the Greek Cynics, according to Prof. Lang, who even calls him a Jewish Cynic.

Monastery Stella Maris

The Carmelite monastery Stella Maris (Latin Stella Maris ‘Star of the Sea’) is located on the slope of the Carmel mountain in Haifa. The name Stella Maris is an invocation to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The 19th century church building and Stella Maris Monastery are located on the western slope. According to the 1st Book of Kings, the trial of strength between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place on Mount Carmel in the 9th century BC (1 Kings 18:37-39). Above a grotto commemorating Elijah’s stay, the sanctuary of Stella Maris was built. In the 12th century, under the rule of the Crusaders, hermits first inhabited caves on Mount Carmel to imitate the life of the prophet Elijah.

The Bahá’ís (about 8 million worldwide) believe in an all-knowing and all-loving God. Their young religion originated in Iran, where the religion’s founder Bab was executed in 1850 and 20,000 followers were killed. Especially in Islam, the Bahai are considered to be apostates from the true faith and are subject to persecution and discrimination in many countries (even in Israel they are only tolerated.). All the people and nations of the world, with their completely different abilities, characteristics and appearance, should join together, live peacefully with each other, preserve nature and work together to ensure that all living beings are well. This can only succeed if all people know enough. That is why Bahai attach great importance to good schools and, above all, to the fact that every person can attend them and learn throughout his or her life.

Bahá’ís believe in an eternal, inaccessible, omniscient, and omnipresent Creator God and thus join the tradition of Abrahamic monotheism. But the Bahá’ís see the role of their own and also other religions and prophets completely differently: Their prophet does not proclaim a final, uniquely correct revelation or understand the Bahá’ís as the excellent people of God and other religious communities as infidels. Bahá’ís believe much more in a kind of evolutionary theory of religions. The Bahá’ís explain the fact that there are so many divergent religions by the fact that each religion responds only to the needs and circumstances of its time. With the development of new social forms and advancing culture, there is room for a new revelation, a new prophet. Thus, Bahá’ís also see themselves as only one link in the chain after Krishna, Moses, Christ, Mohammed, and many more. The messages of religions and the God to whom they refer are always the same in the eyes of Bahá’ís. But to live according to the guidelines of a religion whose teachings refer only to its centuries-old time of origin is out of time, according to the Prophet Bahá’u’lláh.

On the holiest days of the Ridvan period, the 1st when Baha’u’llah, the successor of the Bab announced that he was the Promised One, the 9th when his family visited him in the Garden of Ridvan, and the 12th when he left the Garden, the Baha’i do not work. They meet on these days to hold devotions and celebrate. In some countries, such as India, children are also off school. Exact beginning of Ridvan festival is April 21, 2 hours before sunset. For the feast, religious gatherings are held in devotional rooms with common prayers and celebrations. The story about the time Baha’u’llah spent in the Garden of Ridvan is told, read aloud, or acted out by the children as a play. Afterwards, celebrate at home with a good meal. Even though there are no set rituals for the celebration. For the Bahai do not know such. Likewise, there are neither ceremonial services nor a religious clergy. Community affairs are carried out at the local, national and international levels by democratically elected bodies. Also on the first Ridvan day, local bodies are convened, the “spiritual councils,” each consisting of 9 people. Before that, they must be elected from the entirety of the community and then exercise their religious office for one year.

When it comes to sexuality, however, the Bahá’ís are similarly conservative as their related religions: Sexual relations before and outside the framework of marriage, as well as the practice of homosexual love, are forbidden. Homosexual people can be active members of the religious community, but they must suppress their predispositions or inclinations and try to remain faithful to the laws of God or guidelines of Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í religion, however, does not discriminate against or punish homosexuals.

Rosh haNikra (Head of the Rock Cave) is a place on the Mediterranean Sea near Naharija in northern Israel, just on the Lebanese border. On this site, since the early Bronze Age, there was a place called Misrephoth-Maim in the Bible (Joshua 11:8; 13:6). As early as 332 BC, on the orders of Alexander the Great, a first tunnel was dug through the rock to create a passage for his troops on their way back from the city of Tyros. At the time of the British Mandate for Palestine, a first paved road was built that passed through the rock. Border posts and customs office were also installed. During World War 2, the British drove a 250-meter tunnel through the rocks for the Haifa-Beirut-Tripoli rail line to send war materials north from Egypt. During the 1948 war for Israel’s independence, the railroad bridges were blown up by the Israeli Palmach in the Grottoes to prevent a Lebanese invasion through the tunnel. Because of the border, a wall separates the tunnel into an Israeli part about 200 meters long and a Lebanese part about 50 meters long. In an attack by terrorists on an Israeli bus near Rosh haNikra in 2002, 6 Israelis were killed and at least 7 others were injured.

Since 2021, the German warship “Magdeburg” has been leading the international UNIFIL mission there to help Lebanon monitor maritime traffic and stop weapons smuggling.

Acre is an ancient port city in the northern district of Israel on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The old town is surrounded by a strong fortification. On the land side, the old town is enclosed by the new town. While the population of the New City is majority Jewish, the Old City is inhabited almost exclusively by Israeli Arabs and is one of the most oriental cities in Israel. The port of the city, which for several centuries was an important port of the eastern Mediterranean, has now lost much of its importance. Of economic importance today is the industry, especially iron processing.

From the 1st yr. v. BC, Acre, which had already existed since the Bronze Age, belonged to the sphere of influence of Tyros. After extensive destruction and numerous reconstructions, Akko again achieved economic prosperity under Persian rule. In 64 BC the city was captured by the Romans and became part of the Roman province of Syria. During the Islamic expansion, the city came under Arab rule in 638, which lasted until 1104. In the Middle Ages, Acre was the only port on the Levant coast where goods could be unloaded in any weather, which is why it was of particular strategic importance to the Crusaders who conquered Acre in 1104. During the Crusades, the seat of the Latin bishopric of Acre existed here, founded in 1135. In addition to pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, Christian merchants also used the port to trade goods from Damascus, some 180 km away.

In 1187, besides Jerusalem, Acre was also reconquered by Sultan Saladin. After a bitter and long siege, the city finally fell again to the Crusaders, who had received reinforcements from the 3rd Crusade under Richard the Lionheart. Since Jerusalem remained in the hands of Saladin, Acre now became the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of St. John and the Order of the Temple also moved their headquarters to Acre as a result. In 1190, during the siege of Acre, merchants from Lübeck and Bremen founded the Teutonic Order (Teutonic Knights) as a hospital community. In 1198 it was transformed into a knightly order, with Acre becoming the official seat of the Grand Master.

After the final conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 1244, Acre was one of the last bases of the Crusaders until Sultan al-Ashraf Chalil captured the city in 1291. With the loss of Acre, the resistance of the Crusader states was broken and the Crusades failed. Sultan al-Ashraf Chalil had the fortifications ground down so that the Crusaders would never again be able to establish themselves on the coast. In 1517, under Sultan Selim I, Acre became part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1799 Acre was besieged by Napoleon for 61 days to no avail. Cannons left by him still stand on the ramparts.

Tiberias

The city was built by Herod Antipas from the year 17 and replaced Sepphoris as the capital of the Tetrarchy of Galilee – Perea in the year 19 AD. The name was chosen by Herod Antipas in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The city was built in Roman-Greek style with palaces and typical Roman buildings such as forum, theater and racecourse. In the process, the Jewish cemetery of the neighboring town of Hammat was built over, which is why the town was initially avoided by observant Jews as “unclean”. According to early Christian sources, John the Baptist was executed in Tiberias before the year 30 AD. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70, the city soon became the spiritual and religious center of the Jews. At the beginning of the Islamic expansion, the city was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in 637. However, it continued to be inhabited by Jews. In 1099 the Crusaders conquered the city, which they used as a base after fortifying it with a city wall. Tiberias formed the center of the principality of Galilee within the kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1187, after a short siege, the city was conquered by Sultan Saladin, with only the citadel of Tiberias still offering resistance. The combined army of the Crusaders was crushed in battle at nearby Hattin, so the city once again fell to the Muslims. After several destructions, only a few remains of the ancient city, such as the amphitheater, are preserved. Noteworthy are the hot springs in which you can bathe in some hotels in Tiberias.

Bread multiplication church in Tabgha

The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves is a Roman Catholic church located in the western part of Tabgha on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee and is believed to be the site where the miraculous multiplication of bread and fish took place at the feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:13-21). The present church belongs to the Benedictine Priory of Tabgha and was built in 1982 in Byzantine style. Previously, in the same place there were two predecessor buildings from the 4. and 5th c. The whole complex of the Church of the Multiplication of Bread was originally covered with mosaics. These mosaics from the 2nd Byzantine construction are preserved. Very famous is the mosaic on the altar, which depicts a basket with 4 loaves (the 5. bread is analogously the one used in the Eucharist) and a fish to the left and right of it. In 2015, the atrium of the Church of the Multiplication of the Bread was seriously damaged by arson (see above, Day 1, Latrun Monastery) Directly attached to the church is the Benedictine Priory belonging to the Jerusalem Dormitio Abbey. The Beit Noah Center for the Disabled and Youth is also located on the premises.

Capernaum

Cafarnaum is an archaeological site in the northern district of Israel. It is located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Cafarnaum was a Christian pilgrimage destination in late antiquity as a setting for New Testament stories, and became so again in the 20th century. The area of the archaeological site is about 5 hectares; the western part is owned by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, and the eastern part belongs to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. On display are, among other things, remains of ancient housing and a representative synagogue from the beginning of the 5th century. The black stone foundations below are remains of the 1st century synagogue where Jesus taught, and a “House of Peter,” the latter built over by a modern Roman Catholic church. Archaeologists suggest that the house church is on the site of an early Christian meeting room from the late 1st century AD and ultimately dates back to the house of Simon Peter, which is also mentioned in the New Testament. This is evidenced by chalk inscriptions that name Jesus with titles of highness as well as Peter and show traces of cultic gatherings. They date back to the 3rd century at the earliest. For the assumed early Christian meeting room of the 1st century it can be argued that it was plastered more frequently than other, neighboring rooms, thus possibly being particularly valuable for the inhabitants of Cafarnaum at that time. Furthermore, an inscription was found where the words “Petr esti” are still legible. I think that where it says Petrus on it, there was also Petrus in it.

Mount of the Beatitudes

The Mount of Beatitudes is an elevation on the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee. According to Christian tradition, this is the place where Jesus of Nazareth delivered the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the Beatitudes (“Blessed are …”) (Mt 5:3-12). Moreover, it is here that he is said to have chosen the apostles from among his disciples (Luke 6:12-16). Today, there is a monastery and the Church of the Beatitudes on the hill. The latter has an octagonal floor plan. The church, built in 1937, is also visited for its beautiful gardens and view over the Sea of Galilee.

Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a sparsely populated, hilly stretch of land in the Middle East. Internationally recognized as part of Syria, they were occupied and mined by Israel in the 1967 6-Day War and annexed in 1981. In 1967, Israel destroyed 194 Syrian villages and farms with 82,709 inhabitants. Before the Israeli occupation, nearly 130,000 Syrians lived in the Golan Heights; two months later, there were only 6,396. Israel administered the territories as part of its Northern District; however, the annexation was not recognized by most states. Syria still claims the area in its entirety and counts it as part of its al-Quneitra governorate; a narrow buffer zone has been monitored by UN peacekeepers since 1974 (UNDOF). The status of the Golan Heights has been an obstacle to peace negotiations between the two states. During the Syrian Civil War, the region again became a flashpoint with rocket attacks from Syria and Israel. In 2019, the Golan Heights were formally recognized by the United States as part of Israel. Meanwhile, the Golan Heights are now being systematically resettled and used for agriculture.

Hisham Palace

The Palace of Hisham is an Umayyad palace complex preserved only in ruins five kilometers north of Jericho. It was probably completed during the reign of Caliph Hisham or his successor al-Walid II around 743 A.D. In addition to the palace building, the site also contained a separate reception hall, a spacious bath, and a mosque. Only a few years after its construction, the structure was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned.

The palace of Hisham was designed as a winter residence and consisted of several individual buildings. The largest structure was the residential complex, originally two stories high, located in the west; next to it there was a mosque and a bathhouse with an attached music room. To the east of the complex was the 40 × 135 meter forecourt with a centrally located fountain covered by a pavilion. The palace had a richly stuccoed and originally colored facade, which is only partially preserved. It also had its own water reservoir, which was connected to fresh water sources via an eight-kilometer aqueduct, still partially preserved today, and other sophisticated irrigation systems.

The bathhouse, which is located in the north of the complex and is larger than average, is architecturally derived from Roman models. It was heated by a hypocaust and had latrines. The floor of the reception hall is covered with a very well preserved mosaic. One of the individual motifs shows a fruit-bearing tree – probably the tree of life – with three gazelles and an attacking lion. The mosaic ensemble, consisting of 6 million pieces, has been completely uncovered in restoration work until 2021 and made accessible to tourists: A steel construction leads visitors several meters above the complex, so that the predominantly geometric representations can be viewed from above. The massive columns of the complex are decorated with acanthus capitals, the roof, which is no longer preserved, was covered with vaults and crowned by a dome. Human and animal figures in great abundance completed the decoration. Overall, the mosaics, stucco designs and sculptures of the palace, which show clear Sassanid and Byzantine influences, are considered among the highest quality works of the period anywhere.

Mountain of temptation

The Mount of Temptation is a mountain a few kilometers outside the city of Jericho in the West Bank. According to Christian tradition, Jesus of Nazareth resisted the temptations of the devil at this place while fasting there for 40 days. Today, the Greek Orthodox monastery of Qarantal (Deir al-Quruntul) is located on its slope, and the Jericho cable car leads up there. Around 340 A.D. Chariton the Confessor, founder of the first monastery in the Judah desert, abandoned it due to overcrowding and founded a chapel on the top of the mountain as well as another in a cave further down the eastern slope where Jesus is said to have stayed. Duka and the caves in its vicinity were until the 8th century. inhabited before being abandoned and not repopulated until the Crusader period. In 1874 the Greek Orthodox Church bought the site and established the Sarandarion Monastery here in 1897.

Petra

The heyday of the city began around the 2nd century BC when Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Empire, which reached as far as Damascus and just before Jerusalem, and the impressive facades carved into the rock were created. In 106 AD Emperor Trajan defeated the Nabataeans and occupied Petra. At that time the rock city of Petra had about 30,000 inhabitants, but due to changes in trade routes decided by the Romans began the decline of the city.

After two earthquakes and the conquest of the region by the Arabs, the city was abandoned and the myth of the lost rock city was born. In 1812 Petra was rediscovered by the Swiss Johann Burckhardt. The legendary reputation of Petra is due to the ornate facades and houses, up to 40 meters high, carved directly into the rock. Most often pictured is the Treasure House of Petra, which was the location of the Holy Grail in an Indiana Jones film adaptation. Other great monuments are the rock tombs with the Ed-Deir and the great Roman amphitheater. Today Petra is one of the most important and most visited sites in the Middle East and is one of the 7 new wonders of the world.

Masada – history and present

410 meters above the Dead Sea, Herod the Great had a mountain massif of over 18 hectares leveled from 36-30 BC and built a gigantic winter palace with several palaces, thermal baths, palace villas (all lined with marble and magnificently painted), warehouses, cisterns, etc., of which little can be seen today. After his death in 4 BC, the Romans established a small garrison here. After Jewish Zealots stormed the Jerusalem royal palace in 66 AD and massacred the Roman garrison, Titus conquered Jerusalem in a punitive action 4 years later and had the temple destroyed. Masada was now the last refuge of the Zealots in the hopeless fight against the Romans and for their freedom. On 2.5.73 AD, after a 4-year siege, the fortress, which was considered impregnable, fell. The Romans had forced thousands of prisoners of war to build a ramp over which they used their war machines to bring down the walls of the fortress. According to the Roman Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, approximately 1,000 men, women and children would have resisted over 15,000 Roman soldiers until they chose mass suicide over surrender. Archaeological evidence, however, calls this account into question. Presumably, he and later historians deliberately magnified the “myth of Masada” of the brave resistance of the Jews. “Masada (= Israel) must never fall again” was the slogan used a few years ago when Israeli recruits were sworn in there. Politically, the fortress stands for Israel’s unconditional will for freedom, thus establishing a connection to the Shoa.

Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a group of ancient Jewish texts attributed to eleven caves near the archaeological site of Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank. From 1947 to 1956 the caves were discovered, mostly by Bedouins. The manuscripts were partly acquired from the antiquities trade, partly found during the archaeological investigation of the caves. About 15 scrolls are still recognizable as such. The rest, an estimated 900 to 1000 rolls, has disintegrated into more than 15,000 fragments. The manuscripts are dated on the basis of the letter forms (paleographically) to the period of the 3rd century. v. Chr. until the 1st century n. Chr. dated. The radiocarbon method was used to verify and confirm this dating in some cases. Most of the texts are written in Hebrew; almost all are literary and have religious content. There are hardly any everyday texts such as letters. The literary character distinguishes the Qumran manuscripts from other ancient textual finds in the region (with the exception of Masada) and, despite the diversity of content, makes them appear to many experts to belong together.

In the Qumran script, a group of texts stands out that were composed in a Jewish community with a special character. This community called itself Jachad and is often identified in research with the Essenes. Members of the Jachad followed the commandments of the Torah with great radicalism and, in addition, their own commandments, of which one knew nothing outside the Jachad. The Jachad rejected the Jerusalem Temple and believed that liturgy in their own group could replace the Jerusalem sacrificial cult. Many writers were convinced that they were living in the end times. This was compatible with an interest in wisdom literature, which is well represented in the spectrum of Qumran writings. Persons of early Christianity are not mentioned in the Qumran texts, which are on average 100 years older.

On the current state of research: Prof. Reinhard Kratz ” Qumran – The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origin of Biblical Judaism”, Munich 2022).

Star of David – Menorah – Jerusalem Cross

1. star of David

Depending on the purpose and use of the hexagram, the interpretation of this symbol also varies. For example, the Star of David is interpreted as a symbolic representation of the relationship between man and God. The triangle pointing downward says: Man has received his life from God. The triangle pointing upward says: man will return to God. The outline has 6 outer vertices and 6 corners bent inward, which together form 12 corners. These 12 corners of the star are said to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Also, the 6 triangles represent the 6 days of creation and the large hexagon in the center represents the 7th day, the day of rest (as in the menorah, the 7-branched candelabrum).

In the Hellenistic world, the hexagram was initially a decorative motif generally used by Jews and gentiles and had no direct connection to Judaism. In the early Middle Ages, the hexagram acquired a defensive meaning and was used equally by Muslims, Christians and Jews as a talisman against demons and the danger of fire. Church buildings, Bible manuscripts, Christian and Jewish signatures on official documents were decorated with this symbol. To avoid the 14th c. Jewish mystical texts connected the hexagram as a talisman – as well as other symbols – with older representations on a shield, which is said to have been connected with the power of God and to have once protected King David (the hexagram consists of two equilateral, interwoven triangles – Greek “Delta” = initial and final letter of David). With the advent of printing in the 15th c. some Jewish publishers in Europe used the hexagram for the design of their imprimatur.

The Jewish community of Prague used the Magen David (Star of David) on their banner for the 1st time in 1490 during the public celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Vladislav II as King of Hungary. In 1598, Emperor Rudolf II granted the head of the Jewish community in Prague, Mordechai Meisel, the right to have a banner of the same design made for his private synagogue as a sign of special favor. The banners were taken out of the synagogue and publicly displayed only on special occasions such as coronation ceremonies, visits of the king to Prague or birth of an heir to the throne. Throughout history, the banners underwent some changes. Thus, since the middle of the 16th century. a Jewish hat embedded in the Star of David.

With the Enlightenment in the 18th century. an, the hexagram was considered a general symbol of faith. In Europe, Jewish emancipation raised hopes for full citizenship in the newly formed European nation-states. Until now, Judaism had never been recognized as an equal by the other religions of the book. For the integration-minded Jews of the Enlightenment, who championed Judaism as a religion, a symbol representing the religion, like the cross represents Christianity, became necessary. The Star of David (Magen David) offered itself as such a symbol. Gentile architects used the Magen David to delineate the similar building forms of churches when building synagogues.

When European Jews at the end of the 19th century. Finally, as Jews became increasingly equal and involved in political life, anti-Semitism grew in non-Jewish circles. Zionism can be seen as a response to this: the movement to establish an independent Jewish nation-state. The Zionists adopted the Magen David, as a secular rather than a religious symbol. During the Nazi era, the police order of September 1, 1941, compulsorily imposed on those considered Jews under the racial laws the wearing of a modified version of the Magen David, the “Jewish Star” (“Yellow Star”), to publicly identify their clothing. This can be seen as a repetition of events in medieval Europe, in that Christian princes ordered the wearing of a Yellow Patch to make Jews recognizable to Christians.

With the founding of the State of Israel on 14.5. In 1948, the Magen David became the emblem of the national flag of Israel. M. In my opinion, the choice of the Star of David as the symbol of Israel was not a good choice because of the past history.

The menorah, on the other hand, is the oldest peaceful religious symbol of Judaism, since Moses was already commissioned by God to make a menorah, and is not so negatively politically biased or ideologically charged.

3. Jerusalem cross

The sign associated with the Kingdom of Jerusalem, founded by the Crusaders in 1099, actually appears on coins, seals and flags that have nothing to do with the world of the Crusades. It is a Greek cross, with a smaller Greek cross arranged in each of the 4 quadrants again. The 5 crosses of the Jerusalem Cross are interpreted as the 5 wounds of Christ. Most likely, the Jerusalem Cross is the development of a Greek cross with small dots in place of the small Greek crosses used by the very first Christian communities in the Middle East in Roman times, a thousand years before the Crusades. Many signs found in various places in the Holy Land refer to the Jerusalem Cross, including a certain number of mosaics in which it appears in a form completely identical to its present representation. Its origin can be traced back to the Phoenicians in the form of a white eight-point cross, which is said to represent the 8 Beatitudes of Christ. With the Crusades, the Jerusalem Cross acquired a political meaning and a territorial identity in addition to its spiritual significance. It was first used as a coat of arms by the crusader Gottfried von Bouillon in 1099. He made the coat of arms of the Duchy of Bouillon, the Belgian crutch cross with four additional Greek crosses, the symbol and national emblem of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. There it was used in gold on silver until 1291. At 14th c. the cross was painted in red color under King Giorgi V the Radiant until the 15th c. to the flag of Georgia. The mostly noble Jerusalem pilgrims, who were knighted at the Holy Sepulcher by the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, chose it in the 14th c. also to their emblem, similar to the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. The representation of a Latin cross without the crucified is first found on sarcophagi of the 4th/5th century. Century. The Latin cross prevailed especially in Western Christianity, where it was perceived as the actual form of Jesus’ cross (hence “passion cross”). It is therefore the usual form of the crucifix in the Western tradition. At the latest with the depiction of the suffering Jesus on the cross, the focus was placed on the crucifixion of Jesus, which then naturally made the non-Christians, especially the Jews (= “Christ murderers”), the target of persecution. The early Christians, e.g. in Rome, on the other hand, used the fish as their secret religious identification sign, each letter symbolizing a word (Greek “ἰχθύς” (Ichthys): Ιησούς – Iesóus– Jesus, Χριστός – Christós– Christ (the “Anointed One,” in Hebrew “Mashiach” = Messiah), Θεού – Theoú– God, Υιός – Hyiós– Son Σωτήρ – Soter– Savior, Redeemer. Even in the Roman catacombs, Jesus is portrayed only as the Teacher, the Savior, the Good Shepherd, the Savior, etc., without the accusatory component of Christ crucified.

The choice of religious symbols can therefore certainly bring about a change in this religion itself.