Pope fever grabs Israel

May 10, 2009 - 2:05 PM by Nicky · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Religion

The pope arrives in Israel tomorrow, and to put it bluntly, the whole country’s gone pope crazy. Or to be more accurate, all the authorities have gone pope crazy.

Pope Benedict XIV on route to Israel

We’ve got conferences, briefings and meetings; press trips to see the places the pope will visit, media tours to explore the Christian holy sites, even an expedition to examine Jerusalem’s ancient olive groves in the Garden of Gethsemane. Well, they do date back centuries.

There’s pope stamps, a new pope website (translated into nine languages and including live footage of his pilgrimage), and pope memorabilia. The Technion is even presenting him with a bible the size of a pinhead, as a welcome present.

The country’s leaders are laying out their welcome mats, from the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, to Stas Misezhnikov, the Tourism Minister, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and the Mayor of Nazareth. Everyone is getting in on the action.

At Ben Gurion airport they’re taking the welcome mat seriously, and doing a trial run today of rolling out the red carpet in preparation for Pope Benedict XVI ’s landing there tomorrow. He’s expected in at 11.15am, with an entourage of 40 and a press corps of 70.

Pope Benedict’s schedule is exhausting. He’ll visit 23 sites across the country in just five days. Every minute appears to be accounted for as Israel’s leaders scramble for photo opportunities in what – apart from this visit – has admittedly been a pretty bad year PR wise.

While all this fuss may be passing the average Israeli by – most people here seem more interested in tonight’s Depeche Mode concert, while kids are piling up their bonfires for Lag Ba’Omer – Jerusalemites at least will be only too aware of the visit, as major congestion is expected there on Monday and Tuesday with all the main roads closed in the capital.

I won’t be rushing out to join the cheering crowds, but I’d still like to say welcome from Israelity, and wish the pope a pleasant stay.
If you get tired of the crowds, give us a call.

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