ISRAEL PILGRIMAGES CANCELLED; JUBILEE BOOM OVER

JERUSALEM, Oct. 13, 00 (CWNews.com/Fides) - The explosion of trouble in the Holy Land is affecting tourism including religious tourism, causing pilgrimages by groups of Italians, Americans, and other nationalities to be interrupted and cancelled.

This morning the last charter flight of Italian pilgrims out of Israel left Tel Aviv airport. All pilgrimages have been cancelled until there is some opening for peace, which is highly improbable at the moment. There is skepticism in both Israeli and Palestinian circles, and the peace process has come to a standstill. Some speculate that if hardliner Ariel Sharon joins the National Unity government there will be no hope. Sharon is supported by the ultra-religious Orthodox Jews who want to rebuild the Temple and rid the Temple Mount area of Muslims and mosques.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem there is concern for the Muslim Friday prayers. Israeli police have said no young men will be allowed to enter the mosque area "to avoid the worst." Tension is high in the city. Many Jews have not gone to work; they are at home preparing for the Succoth feast, but also to protect their families if necessary. The authorities advise people not to go out in the evening. Many Christians and Muslims are also staying at home. "This morning," one city office-worker said, "there were only six people on the bus. Usually it is crowded." Yesterday, Christians met at St. Stephen's Church to pray for peace in the Holy Land. There were some 400 present of all denominations, of both Jewish and Palestinian origin. The prayers were in Arabic.

"The situation in the Holy Land, in Jerusalem is a mystery," says Father Frederic Manns, director of the Franciscan Bible Center in Jerusalem. "There have never been so many pilgrims from all over the world as in this Jubilee year. It has been a real explosion of pilgrims, as if to confirm the words of the prophet Isaiah: 'All the peoples will come to Jerusalem.' The hotels and holy places have been filled up; people have waited for hours to pay their visit to Calvary or the stable at Bethlehem ... but where there is goodness, also evil sets to work: now everything is at a standstill."

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