Israel Blocks Cardinal Pizzaballa From the Holy Sepulchre, Then Netanyahu Says He Should Be Allowed In

A police stop that set off a diplomatic headache

Israeli police on Sunday blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with the Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, for a small private celebration on Palm Sunday. The basilica is one of Christianity’s most important sites, which made the decision predictably explosive. Jerusalem, as ever, had no shortage of unnecessary complications.

The news spread by mid-morning, and the reaction was immediate.

The Latin Patriarchate described the move in a sharply worded statement as “manifestly unreasonable and disproportionate,” saying it amounted to “an extreme violation of the fundamental principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship and respect for the status quo.” The point, the patriarchate stressed, was that the visit was private and should not have interfered with the already strict security arrangements in Jerusalem.

At the Angelus, Pope Leo expressed his “closeness” to Christians in the Middle East, who he said “suffer the consequences of a horrific conflict and, in many cases, cannot fully live the rites of these holy days.”

Italy piles on

The indignation quickly reached the Italian government.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Israel’s decision “an offence not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom.” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the ban “unacceptable,” voiced his outrage and summoned the Israeli ambassador. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the incident as a “worrying and unprecedented episode.”

Support for Pizzaballa also came from Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein. From France, President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the police decision.

The Israeli embassy in Rome responded without exactly calming the situation. Ambassador Jonathan Peled said, “We would have preferred a different response, but we understand the sensitivity of the Christian world.” Meanwhile, the Italian bishops’ conference, the CEI, expressed its own “outrage” and called on leaders everywhere to support a truce for Easter.

Prayer at the Mount of Olives

As tensions rose, Pizzaballa went to the Mount of Olives for a prayer for peace, held under restrictions reminiscent of the COVID period. “We are living through a very complicated situation, but we want peace,” he said during the liturgy. “Today Jesus weeps over Jerusalem,” he added, on the day Christians recall Jesus’ entry into the holy city on a donkey, the opening act of Holy Week and the road to Easter. “But war will not prevail.”

Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, Yaron Sideman, insisted the stop had been necessary for security reasons.

Then came the first signs of a shift.

President Isaac Herzog called Pizzaballa personally. “I have just phoned the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to express my deep sorrow for the unpleasant incident this morning,” Herzog said, adding that he reiterated Israel’s “unwavering commitment to religious freedom for all faiths and to preserving the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem.”

A few minutes later, Netanyahu posted on X that he had ordered the relevant authorities to ensure that Cardinal Pizzaballa be given “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The prime minister also said that in recent days Iran had repeatedly targeted Jerusalem’s holy sites for all three monotheistic religions with ballistic missiles, and that in one attack missile fragments had fallen just a few metres from the Holy Sepulchre.

Later in the evening, Netanyahu said work was under way on a plan to guarantee celebrations at the Holy Sepulchre.

Pizzaballa, for his part, closed the day by saying: “We do not want to force the issue, but beyond security there must also be respect for prayer.”