Thousands of Christian Egyptians Enter Israel for Easter Holy Fire Rite in Jerusalem

haaretz.com ^ | Apr 28, 2016 7:59 PM | Nir Hasson

[Trumpinator]

Around 6,000 Egyptians, almost all of them Coptic Christians, have entered Israel to attend the annual Holy Fire ceremony at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday.

There has been a sharp rise recently in pilgrimages to Jerusalem by Egyptian Copts, after the Coptic patriarch, Pope Tawadros II, in effect rolled back a ban imposed by a predecessor in 1980, in the wake of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.

Tawadros himself visited Israel in November for the funeral of Archbishop Anba Abraham, the Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Near East.
The accession of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi in June 2014 also helped break the taboo against visiting Jerusalem.

read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.716893

[Trumpinator]


The accession of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi in June 2014 also helped break the taboo against visiting Jerusalem.

Sissi, the leader Nobel prize winner Obama tried to depose.

Blessed Easter/Pascha to Eastern Christians everywhere. You are not alone or forgotten even by those not of your denomination/faith.

[BlackVeil]

Great news! Good to read.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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[Ready4Freddy]

I thought there weren’t any left (Egyptian Christians)

[Trumpinator]

Coptic Christians are about 10 to 20% of the Egyptian population.

[SunkenCiv]

Not too sure I knew that, thanks T.

Jan 2015:
WATCH: ‘Egypt’s Al-Sissi Deserves the Nobel Prize for Speech on Islamic Extremism’
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/videos/1.636645

Sep 2015:
Sisi nominated for 2015 Nobel Peace Prize
http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/166657/news/sisi-nominated-for-2015-nobel-peace-prize

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nobelpeaceprize/index

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nobelprize/index

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ignobelprize/index

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/nobelprize/index