Israel Considers Mandating Military Service for Israeli Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced that legislation under consideration to introduce universal conscription would mandate that Israel's Orthodox Jewish fundamentalists as well as its Arab citizens participate in military and national service. More here.

Russian President Visits Holy Places in Jerusalem, Bethlehem

As part of his recent state visit to Israel Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has made a pilgrimage to the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, stopping at the Church of the Resurrection (the "Holy Sepulchre") in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. In Jerusalem the president was welcomed by Patriarch Theophilus III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem and representatives of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem. More here.

Israel Approves Construction of 1,600 Housing Units in East Jerusalem

The Israeli Interior Ministry has authorized the construction of 1,600-unit apartment complex in predominantly Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem. The Interior Ministry simultaneously announced that it would shortly approve the construction of a further 2,700 more housing units in East Jerusalem. The approval comes as the Palestinian National Authority prepares to request admission to the United Nations as an independent state. More here.

Weekend Protests in Israel Draw 300,000

Over 300,000 Israelis took to the streets over the weekend in one of the largest popular demonstrations in the country's history to protest what demonstrators called the Israeli government's social justice violations, with one speaker (a rabbi) saying that, "[Israel] has room for all...Jews and non-Jews." More here and here.

Israel, Jordan, Dispute Site of the Lord's Baptism

Jordan and Israel are disputing which country occupies the site of the baptism of the Christ in the Jordan River, with each claiming to have the true site. Israel recently renovated its site, which is technically in the West Bank and therefore part of Palestine, and opened it to regular visits by pilgrims, but the authenticity of Jordan's site has been affirmed by both the recent Amman meeting of representatives of the Alexandrian, Antiochian, Jerusalemite, and Cypriot Orthodox Churches and by the Roman Catholic Church. More here.

Palestinian Orthodox Metropolitan Backs Calls for Preservation of Jerusalem Cemetery

Metropolitan Theodosius (Hanna) of Sebaste of the Jerusalemite Orthodox Church has added his voice to calls from Palestinian and Israeli Arabs that the destruction of the Holy City's historic Mamilla Cemetery be halted. The cemetery, which is the burial place of many Palestinian Arab residents of Jerusalem, is being razed to make way for the 'Museum of Tolerance.' More here.

Israel Opens Jordan River Site to Daily Visits

Israel has opened the site of the Lord's baptism in the Jordan River to daily visits for the first time since the area's occupation by Israeli forces. More here.

Ancient Church Discovered in Acre

Israeli archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 6th century church in the city of Acre. More here.

Jordanian Orthodox Protest Greek-Dominated, Pro-Israeli Hierarchy

In a protest Sunday evening faithful of Jordan's Metropolis of Philadelphia based in Amman called for the Arabization of the hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the resignation of Patriarch Theofilos III (Giannopoulos) in favor of a Palestinian or Jordanian Arab native to the Holy Land. The protests were organized after Patriarch Theofilos renewed land use agreements with the Israeli government that he had indicated he would cancel when he replaced deposed Patriarch Irenaios (Skopelitis) in 2005. More here.

Israel Approves West Bank Housing Expansion

The Israeli government has approved the construction of 294 homes on Palestinian Arab territory on the West Bank in the wake of an announcement from the US government that it still expects a peace between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority to include Palestinian Arab control of the entirety of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The houses will become residences for Jewish fundamentalists wanting to live in the area. More here.

Churches Protest Israeli Taxation

The leaders of Israel's churches are protesting the Israeli government's decision to tax ecclesiastical properties, saying that the move will destabilize the delicate Ottoman-era status quo currently governing relations between the governments of the Holy Land (the Israeli and Jordanian governments and the Palestinian National Authority) and its historic churches. More here.

Efforts Made to Reduce Immigration of Jerusalem's Christians

The Roman Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land's Franciscans have agreed to work together to expand the availability of affordable housing to Jerusalem's Christians in the hopes of stemming the immigrations of the Holy City's Christian residents. More here.

Sarah Palin at the Wailing Wall

After a visit to Jerusalem's Wailing Wall last month the controversial US politician Sarah Palin said that she it was "overwhelming to be able to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith." Palin is apparently Jewish as she might otherwise have made her comments after visiting the Holy Sepulchre...

Patriarch Theophilos Celebrates Annunciation in Nazareth

On yesterday's feast of the Annunciation Patriarch Theophilos III (Giannopoulos) of Jerusalem celebrated the festal Divine Liturgy in Nazareth's Church of the Archangel Gabriel. Reflecting the mixture of peoples present, the services were celebrated in a mixture of Arabic, Greek, Romanian, and Slavonic. More here.

Update (10/4/2011): Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan) of Kiev was present in Nazareth on the Annunciation as part of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and concelebrated the festal services with Patriarch Theophilos. More on his visit can be found here.

Palestinians Demand Access to Jerusalem During Holy Week, Pascha

Palestinian Arabs from the West Bank are demanding greater access to Jerusalem during Holy Week and Pascha. This year Israel's Passover holidays fall over part of Holy Week and Pascha and as Israel has enforced a military closing off of the West Bank during the Passover holidays for the past several years the West Bank's Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics will be unable to attend the services in the Holy City if the blockade is not lifted. More here.

King of Jordan Visiting Russia

King Abdullah II bin Hussein of Jordan is on a state visit to the Russian Federation to discuss relations between the two countries, the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. More here.

Israeli Arab Actor Gunned Down in West Bank

The half Jewish, half Arab Catholic Israeli actor Juliano Mer Khamis has been killed in Jenin on the West Bank. More here.

Russian Jewess Refuses to Renounce Orthodoxy for Israeli Citizenship

Again and Again has an amazing story here.

Russian Orthodox Buildings in Jerusalem to be Repurchased

Two wealthy Russian businessmen have agreed to help the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society purchase the Hostel of St. Sergius and the old headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem from the Israeli government, which currently uses them to house the Ministry of Agriculture and various other agencies.

The properties were expropriated from the original Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission under the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and given to the Moscow Patriarchate, which under Soviet pressure allowed them to be sold to Israel in exchange for a shipment of oranges.

An agreement has already been reached in principle with the Israeli government and it is hoped that the properties will be legally returned to the Russian Orthodox Church sometime in 2012. More here.

Pictured is St. Sergius' Hostel, which currently houses the Ministry of Agriculture.

PNA Applies for World Heritage Site Status for Bethlehem Church

The Palestinian National Authority has submitted an application to UNESCO for the designation of the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem as a world heritage site. The action is controversial in Israel as only independent states can apply for the granting of this status. More here.