Pope talks of justice in Jerusalem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Omar Karmi - May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jerusalem yesterday for the start of a five-day tour of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. He was officially received with a lavish reception at the residence of Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, where a children’s choir sang in English, Hebrew and Arabic. In front of 300 invited diplomats, Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious dignitaries and senior Israeli officials, the pontiff urged “peace and security through justice for everyone”.

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Pope walks out after Muslim cleric accuses Israel of 'slaughter'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

The head of the Palestinian Sharia court, Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi, fiercely denounced Israeli policy in the presence of Pope Benedict on Monday and appealed to the pope to help end what he called the "crimes of the Jewish state." Speaking at an interfaith conference held at the Notre Dame Church in East Jerusalem, al-Tamimi accused Israel of slaughtering women, children and senior citizens. The speech was delivered in Arabic, without simultaneous translation, but after the pope was informed of the political nature of al-Tamimi's speech, he left the conference.

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On His Tour, Pope Runs Into Politics of Middle East and Holocaust
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Rachel Donadio - May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI said he came to the Middle East as “a pilgrim of peace,” but on Monday, his first day in Israel seemed to underscore the tensions in the region rather than ease them. After the pope visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and offered the “deep compassion” of the Roman Catholic Church for Hitler’s victims, Jewish leaders expressed disappointment that the pontiff, who is German, had not mentioned Germany or the Nazis.

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Pope visits Jerusalem holy sites
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
May 12, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI has been visiting sites in Jerusalem holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians on the second day of his visit to the Holy Land. He visited the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, becoming the first pontiff to see the site, and then the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest places. He said Mass in the Josaphat Valley and is later to pray at the reputed site of Christ's Last Supper. A row has broken out over the German-born Pope's time in the Hitler Youth. The Pope is meeting both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during his tour.

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Peres to pope: We may achieve peace this year
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ronen Medzini - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

"This year, the year of your visit here, may reveal an opportunity for us and our neighbors to attain peace," President Shimon Peres said as he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI at his official residence in Jerusalem Monday afternoon. "While many political clouds still darken the horizon, and the voices of incitement obscure the sound of peace, and much violence converged on the crossroads of our lives, most peoples in this region yearn for peace," the president said.

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Pope Underlines Support for a Palestinian State
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Rachel Donadio - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

On the fourth day of his first trip to the Middle East as pope, Benedict XVI arrived Monday in Israel and immediately called for a solution to the conflict that would yield a “homeland of their own” for both Palestinians and Israelis. While he did not use the word “state,” he made clear in a brief speech that he was underscoring the Vatican’s previous support for the creation of a Palestinian state, albeit with a stronger resonance imparted by the setting and timing of his remarks within minutes of arriving in Israel.

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PA says in charge of pope's east J'lem visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Erfat Weiss - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

Several hours before the pope's visit, the question of east Jerusalem's status has been put to the test once again: The Jerusalem Police on Monday morning sealed off a conference hall at the Ambassador Hotel in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood following the Palestinian Authority's plan to hold a briefing for foreign and Palestinian journalists ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel. A senior PA official told Ynet in response that "when the pope arrives in east Jerusalem, he and his visit are our responsibility."

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Israel Closes Media Center, Upsetting Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - May 11, 2009 - 12:00am

The Israeli police on Monday closed down an official Palestinian media center that had been set up in East Jerusalem for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, as Israel and the Palestinians competed to exercise authority in the contested part of the city. As the pope arrived in Jerusalem, each side accused the other of exploiting his visit for political gain. Though the pope’s movements have been carefully choreographed to avoid obvious political minefields, every step and word was bound to be closely scrutinized.

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Fears of sectarian violence in Nazareth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Nation
by Jonathan Cook - May 10, 2009 - 12:00am

Anti-Christian banners and billboards have sprung up along the main route to Nazareth’s Roman Catholic church days before Pope Benedict XVI is due to arrive in Israel’s largest Arab city to conduct an open-air mass. The signs, including one denouncing those who “harm God or his messenger”, have been posted by a radical Islamic group in the city as part of a campaign to stop the Pope’s visit.

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A Papal Visit and Then It's Over!
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Elias Harfoush - (Opinion) May 10, 2009 - 12:00am

I read a comment made by a reporter for an American Catholic newspaper about the visit of Pope Benedict XVI's to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, saying: "If he simply manages to get back to Rome without starting a war, some might declare the trip a success!"

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