72 Orbits around the Sun

72 years ago [on November 29, 1947], the United Nations voted for a Jewish state and an Arab state living side by side in peace.  The Jews celebrated and accepted. The Arabs rejected it -- and prepared for war to "push the Jews into the sea" (StandWithUs). 

Jordan restores its authority over Naharayim

In 1994, part of the peace accord between the Jordanian and Israeli governments was that Israel recognized Jordan’s sovereignty over Naharayim (a section of land west of the Jordan River), and Jordan recognized the rights for Israelis freely to farm the land for 25 years.   In the same accord, Israel acknowledged Jordan and its Hashemite kingdom and their special role in the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.  On Sunday, Jordan restored its full sovereignty over Naharayim.  Israeli visitors will no longer be able to freely enter the land.  However, Jordan will allow Israeli citizens who own private property in the land to continue to live and work there, but it is under Jordanian rule.  In response to Jordan’s action, a group of students associated with the Temple Mount called upon the Jordanian government to remove the Waqf and its presence from the Temple Mount. 

The Jordan river can be seen in the Jordan valley area called Naharayim, October 22, 2018 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Prayer for the Middle East

"In the Middle East, concord and dialogue among the three monotheistic religions is based on spiritual and historic bonds.  The Good News of Jesus, risen out of love, came to us from these lands. Today, many Christian communities, together with Jewish and Muslim communities,  work here for peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness, Let us pray that a spirit of [encounter, dialogue, and reconciliation] emerge in the Middle East" (Pope Francis).

Pope Francis' Prayer for the Middle East