Thread: St' John Monastery Forced To Close By Israeli Fanatics

St. John Monastery forced to close by Israeli Fanatics and naked Hikers Friday, 14 December 2007

St. John in the Desert Monastery closes its gates

following assault on father superior

by Gil Zohar Toronto Star
One of the most serene holy places in the vicinity of Jerusalem was recently compelled to restrict visits as a result of vandalism, bigotry and theft.

The Franciscan-run St. John in the Desert Monastery, which includes a convent, now only permits Christian pilgrims and secular groups led by a licensed tour guide. Reservations are required to visit the six-hectare Judean Hills shrine, which enjoys a spectacular location amidst heavily forested ancient agricultural terraces. The change in policy follows an altercation there last month involving a group of some 30 Jews described as "settlers" who assaulted the monastery's Father Superior Sergio Olmedo and then trashed the pilgrimage destination.

The monastery, located near Moshav Even Sapir on Hwy. 386, is dedicated to the life of John the Baptist. The shrine is built around the grotto where Christian tradition holds John and his mother lived, and the still-bubbling spring from which they drank. The Arabic name 'Ain al-Habis meaning Spring of the Hermit preserves the ancient tradition tying the place to John.

Elisabeth is buried on the grounds in a tomb that shows Byzantine, Crusader and 20th century construction. A group of nuns lead by Sister Maatje, originally from Neuchatel, Switzerland, live beside the tomb.

St. John in the Desert has long been a favorite hiking destination for Jerusalemites, some of whom combine a visit there with a swim at the nearby Sataf Nature Preserve. Some of those Israeli visitors also came to the 'Ain al-Habis spring – which serves as a baptismal pool – to exploit it as a mikveh. In the spirit of ecumenicalism, Father Sergio permitted the parallel usage.

Unfortunately, he said, over his five years living there "the quality of the visitors has changed." Many of today's Israeli hikers are disrespectful of the site's holiness. "It's a place for meditation and prayer," said the Santiago, Chile-born monk, who has resided in Israel for 14 years.

Some visitors would hop the fence and trespass, armed with guns, he said, reciting a litany of abuse, boorishness and desecration. Women would immodestly wear bikinis at the baptismal pool while men would parade naked. Some would swim in the carp pond, notwithstanding the brackish water, and then wash off in the baptismal pool. Visitors would litter, and not clean up after their pet dogs defecated. Money would be pilfered from the alms collections box.

Not least of the disrespectful behavior was simply talking loudly, and preventing the monks from carrying out their daily routine of prayer.

St. John in the Desert is not just a monastery, explained Father Sergio, but a "hermitage, a place of silence and spiritual rejuvenation."

The final straw on the proverbial camel's back came in the afternoon of Friday, August 17. A group of about 30 men, some carrying machine guns, forced their way past the gate, demanded to use the pool as a mikveh and refused to leave, Father Sergio recounted. "They started to say 'Eretz Israel is our land, and you have to go.' They were very aggressive. They spit at me. They said 'You killed my family.'"

In the ensuing scuffle Father Sergio managed to photograph some of his assailants with his cell phone camera. They were wearing kippot and tzitzit, he noted. Some were dressed in orange in the fashion of activists protesting last summer's withdrawal from Gush Katif. Some were speaking English, and others Hebrew.

Father Sergio, still badly shaken, characterized the group as "fanatics". "I've seen these [kind of] people in Hebron."

Before finally leaving, the enraged crowd went on a mini-pogrom, breaking water pipes, smashing potted plants, and destroying property. Father Sergio and the other monks subsequently found direction signs leading to the property had been vandalized so that the word "Franciscan" read "racist".

Father Sergio lodged a complaint with Israel Police and provided them with his digital photos. No arrests have been made at the time of this writing. The pool remains padlocked.

Monastery closed......latest news .The Monastery was
built on the grotto where John the Baptist was born.

The article Gadfly has removed out of context is by a free lance writer who lives in Jerusalem and I can assure you is quite apolitical and writes many articles including those on Jewish history and Jewish artifacts as well as homophobia in relation to orthodox religions in the Middle East, the Hezbollah and a wide range of topics.

The story he talks about deals with an on-going problem that isn't religious in nature. What has happened in Jerusalem is that numerous religious sites are trespassed on by tourists (in this case Christian tourists coming to see this monastery) as well as Jews and Muslims or Christians living in Jerusalem attracted to the grounds which are built on a wood slope and have a spring of water.

What has happened is the privacy of the monks is disrupted. They can't maintain the privacy they need to meditate. So there is no religious hatred going on as much as Gadly would like to try exploit this issue to incite some. Its a matter of humans not respecting privacy and trespassing attracted to the grounds for picnics and through pure ignorance not deliberate religious acts damaging a precious fragile area.

This is the exact same problem faced in Jerusalem and all its surrounding areas for all three religions and their sites and they all face this kind of problem equally. There is a constant battle by an inter-faith antiquities council and the Israeli government department in charge of trying to protect antiquities and historic sites from the reality of an ever growing and crowded population of Jerusalem citizens of all three faiths as well as tourists wanting to go to these sites and not realizing the damage they cause just by sitting on the grass, climbing fences, breaking tree branches, leaving garbage behind, i.e.,chewing gum, cigarette butts.

Its unfortunate this hate monger tries to expropriate the article of actually a very middle of the road peaceful person to try incite hatred.

Originally Posted by roobarb

The article Gadfly has removed out of context is by a free lance writer who lives in Jerusalem and I can assure you is quite apolitical and writes many articles including those on Jewish history and Jewish artifacts as well as homophobia in relation to orthodox religions in the Middle East, the Hezbollah and a wide range of topics.

The story he talks about deals with an on-going problem that isn't religious in nature. What has happened in Jerusalem is that numerous religious sites are trespassed on by tourists (in this case Christian tourists coming to see this monastery) as well as Jews and Muslims or Christians living in Jerusalem attracted to the grounds which are built on a wood slope and have a spring of water.

What has happened is the privacy of the monks is disrupted. They can't maintain the privacy they need to meditate. So there is no religious hatred going on as much as Gadly would like to try exploit this issue to incite some. Its a matter of humans not respecting privacy and trespassing attracted to the grounds for picnics and through pure ignorance not deliberate religious acts damaging a precious fragile area.

This is the exact same problem faced in Jerusalem and all its surrounding areas for all three religions and their sites and they all face this kind of problem equally. There is a constant battle by an inter-faith antiquities council and the Israeli government department in charge of trying to protect antiquities and historic sites from the reality of an ever growing and crowded population of Jerusalem citizens of all three faiths as well as tourists wanting to go to these sites and not realizing the damage they cause just by sitting on the grass, climbing fences, breaking tree branches, leaving garbage behind, i.e.,chewing gum, cigarette butts.

Its unfortunate this hate monger tries to expropriate the article of actually a very middle of the road peaceful person to try incite hatred.

You make me laugh....
The mother of the idiots is always pregnant.

'Israel' is the most anti-Christian terrorist regime in the world...is anyone surprised?

Originally Posted by Defensor

'Israel' is the most anti-Christian terrorist regime in the world...is anyone surprised?

Yes it is. I know people who went to the Holy
Land and jews would spit at them ...
Tell you some thing ..
Last FEB, a book was published in Italy
written by the son of the Rabbi in Chief in Rome
Ariel Toaff who teaches in an University in Israel.
The Title of the book: Bloody Easter ,book translated
in French and In English.
In this book .he admits Jews in the middle ages
would sacrify christian children and use their
blood for yeast.
A few months after the publication the book
was retired from the stores. .

I send you a copy of the newpaper,,

Originally Posted by gadfly27

Yes it is. I know people who went to the Holy
Land and jews would spit at them ...
Tell you some thing ..
Last FEB, a book was published in Italy
written by the son of the Rabbi in Chief in Rome
Ariel Toaff who teaches in an University in Israel.
The Title of the book: Bloody Easter ,book translated
in French and In English.
In this book .he admits Jews in the middle ages
would sacrify christian children and use their
blood for yeast.
A few months after the publication the book
was retired from the stores. .

I send you a copy of the newpaper,,

TOAFF A.

Pasque di sangue
Ebrei d'Europa e omicidi rituali

Collana "Biblioteca storica"

pp. 392, NON DISPONIBILE
978-88-15-11516-4
anno di pubblicazione 2007

Ariel Toaff a Fahrenheit, 8 febbraio 2007
Questo libro affronta coraggiosamente uno dei temi più controversi nella storia degli ebrei d'Europa, da sempre cavallo di battaglia dell'antisemitismo: l'accusa, rivolta per secoli agli ebrei, di rapire e uccidere bambini cristiani per utilizzarne il sangue nei riti della pasqua. Per quel che riguarda l'Italia, processi per omicidio rituale si ebbero quasi esclusivamente nella parte nord-occidentale, dove vi erano comunità di ebrei tedeschi (askhenaziti). Il caso più famoso accadde nel 1475 a Trento, dove numerosi ebrei della comunità locale furono accusati e condannati per la morte del piccolo Simonino, che la Chiesa ha poi venerato come beato fino a pochi decenni fa. Rileggendo senza pregiudizi la documentazione antica di quel processo e di vari altri alla luce della più vasta situazione europea e anche di una puntuale conoscenza dei testi ebraici, l'autore mette in luce i significati rituali e terapeutici che il sangue aveva nella cultura ebraica, giungendo alla conclusione che, in particolare per l'ebraismo askhenazita, l'"accusa del sangue" non era sempre un'invenzione.
Ariel Toaff insegna Storia del Medioevo e del Rinascimento nella Bar-Ilan University in Israele. Con il Mulino ha pubblicato "Il vino e la carne. Una comunità ebraica nel Medioevo" (1989; tradotto in francese e inglese), "Mostri giudei. L'immaginario ebraico dal Medioevo alla prima età moderna" (1996) e "Mangiare alla giudia. La cucina ebraica in Italia dal Rinascimento all'età moderna" (2000).

copyright by Società editrice il Mulino

consultate la licenza d'uso

Per le opere presenti in questo sito si sono assolti gli obblighi
derivanti dalla normativa sul diritto d'autore e sui diritti connessi.

Originally Posted by gadfly27

TOAFF A.

Pasque di sangue
Ebrei d'Europa e omicidi rituali

Collana "Biblioteca storica"

pp. 392, NON DISPONIBILE
978-88-15-11516-4
anno di pubblicazione 2007

Ariel Toaff a Fahrenheit, 8 febbraio 2007
Questo libro affronta coraggiosamente uno dei temi più controversi nella storia degli ebrei d'Europa, da sempre cavallo di battaglia dell'antisemitismo: l'accusa, rivolta per secoli agli ebrei, di rapire e uccidere bambini cristiani per utilizzarne il sangue nei riti della pasqua. Per quel che riguarda l'Italia, processi per omicidio rituale si ebbero quasi esclusivamente nella parte nord-occidentale, dove vi erano comunità di ebrei tedeschi (askhenaziti). Il caso più famoso accadde nel 1475 a Trento, dove numerosi ebrei della comunità locale furono accusati e condannati per la morte del piccolo Simonino, che la Chiesa ha poi venerato come beato fino a pochi decenni fa. Rileggendo senza pregiudizi la documentazione antica di quel processo e di vari altri alla luce della più vasta situazione europea e anche di una puntuale conoscenza dei testi ebraici, l'autore mette in luce i significati rituali e terapeutici che il sangue aveva nella cultura ebraica, giungendo alla conclusione che, in particolare per l'ebraismo askhenazita, l'"accusa del sangue" non era sempre un'invenzione.
Ariel Toaff insegna Storia del Medioevo e del Rinascimento nella Bar-Ilan University in Israele. Con il Mulino ha pubblicato "Il vino e la carne. Una comunità ebraica nel Medioevo" (1989; tradotto in francese e inglese), "Mostri giudei. L'immaginario ebraico dal Medioevo alla prima età moderna" (1996) e "Mangiare alla giudia. La cucina ebraica in Italia dal Rinascimento all'età moderna" (2000).

copyright by Società editrice il Mulino

consultate la licenza d'uso

Per le opere presenti in questo sito si sono assolti gli obblighi
derivanti dalla normativa sul diritto d'autore e sui diritti connessi.

Sanctus Simon Tridentinus, Ora Pro Nobis

Originally Posted by Defensor

Simoninus est beatus.

Sanctus Simon Tridentinus, Ora Pro Nobis

Simonino is a Saint.Do you read Italian ? I forgot my latinorum..

This doesnt belong in the "Word Politics" section.

It should be in conspiracy, or religion, with all the other Jew hate
rants.