On Riverbank Where Jesus Was Baptised, Fragile Agreement To Clear Deadly Mines
Image by Getty Images
Ghost churches on the western bank of the Jordan River, near where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, could be reopened to pilgrims as part of a project to remove booby-traps and land mines.
The river banks were once a war zone between Israel and Jordan, and were littered with thousands of mines and unexploded ordnance. The two neighbors made peace in 1994 but it took many years before some mine clearing began.
The site in the Israeli-occupied West Bank opened in 2011 and has stairs for pilgrims to descend into the muddy river where John the Baptist and Jesus met two millenia ago.
The Halo Trust, a Scottish-based charity, is looking to raise $4 million to make western site safe. It says it will need two years to clear the small churches along 247 acres of land.
Most importantly, it says Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities all support the effort.
The mined area is about a half-mile from Qasr al-Yahud where Christian pilgrims already flock to be baptized.
“After (the church area) is cleared and rebuilt, the local economy will benefit,” Halo’s West Bank project manager Ronen Shimoni said.—Reuters
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
