RELIGION, POLITICS COLLIDE IN JERUSALEM FILM
By Rebecca Harrison

Reuters
April 14 2008

JERUSALEM (Reuters Life!) – Featuring turf wars between priests and
ritual sheep slaughter, a new Israeli film shows how religion and
politics collide to make Jerusalem’s Old City one of the most intense
and colorful places on earth.

Studded with church spires, synagogues and slender minarets, the
single square kilometer (247 acres) inside Jerusalem’s ancient
ramparts is sacred to three major faiths and cuts to the heart of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Holy Fire", by Israeli director Yoram Sabo, splices images from
festivals and interviews with religious figures to pay homage to
Jerusalem’s unique character and explore the foibles and fervor of
its inhabitants.

"Jerusalem is a crazy place but that’s part of its beauty," Sabo,
a secular Jew, told Reuters. "It is run by religious people who can
seem like freaks, but I want to show that they believe in what they
are doing and that as a secular person you need to judge them by
different criteria."

Jerusalem is home to the Western Wall remnant of the ancient Jewish
temple compound, Islam’s revered al-Aqsa mosque and the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, which marks the traditional site of the crucifixion
and resurrection of Jesus.

Hundreds of pilgrims tramp daily through a warren of alleys in its four
quarters — Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian — alongside bearded
rabbis in long black coats or monks swathed in cloaks and tunics.

One of the film’s characters is an Orthodox Jew who aspires to
rebuild the ancient Jewish temple on Temple Mount, known to Muslims
as al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). Sacred to both religions,
it is one of the most contentious spots on earth.

Jews are banned from praying at the site, which has been a frequent
flashpoint for violence between Israelis and Palestinians, but Yehuda
Glick is shown on camera muttering a few words to his God when the
Muslim guard’s back is turned.

"GOD’S WILL"

"Holy Fire", which premiered at this month’s Tel Aviv documentary
festival, features footage from hundreds of CCTV cameras dotted around
the Old City.

Palestinian children in the Muslim quarter practice throwing stones.

A senior Muslim cleric comments it is the only way for them to vent
their frustration at the Israeli occupation.

Sabo highlights some of the similarities between the religions — both
Jews and Muslims are shown preparing to slaughter sheep for religious
festivals — and strives to illustrate the motivation for their fervor.

But ultimately believers on both sides argue it is "God’s will"
they alone control the most holy sites.

Conflict is also fierce in the Christian sections of the city, where
Greek and Armenian patriarchs tussle over who should take the lead
in key religious ceremonies.

A Franciscan monk tells how control over the grounds of the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre is painstakingly carved among six sects, to the
point where even a single step was split between two groups after it
prompted a skirmish early last century.

"There are a lot of passions here," the monk says.

Sabo, who spent three years shooting the film, said he became
fascinated with the Old City as a child and first visited after
Israeli troops captured the city in the 1967 Middle East war.

"I used to come here as young student and I felt strong and proud,"
he said. "Now 40 years later, I wanted to come and see again what
makes it so beautiful and strange, but not as an arrogant kid. This
time I just wanted to listen to people."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress