Bomb Fears Keep Pilgrims Away on Good Friday

Fresh threats of suicide bombings and Israel’s closure of Palestinian areas kept many people away from the Good Friday procession marking Jesus’ crucifixion.

Fewer than 5,000 pilgrims took part in the procession Friday, compared to about 10,000 in calmer years.

Shlomo Dror, spokesman for the government’s chief policy advisor on Palestinian affairs, said Israel had fresh warnings that Islamic militants would try to disrupt Passover with more bombings, which have left scores dead.

The tourists on hand Friday were hardy fatalists.

“There’s more chance of catching ‘mad cow disease’ than getting killed in Jerusalem,” said Wahid Ali, 39, of Britain, referring to the worldwide panic over British beef.

Carrying wooden crosses and chanting hymns, the pilgrims trudged along the cobblestones of the Via Dolorosa--or Way of Sorrows--to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which occupies the site where many Christians believe Jesus was buried and resurrected.

Palestinian Christians from the West Bank could not attend the Good Friday procession because Israel has sealed off Palestinian areas in response to the bombings.

In other Good Friday ceremonies, Pope John Paul II presided at a solemn “Way of the Cross” procession around Rome’s ancient Colosseum, where early Christians were martyred. The pope, 75, walked slowly and carried the cross for only the first part of the procession.

* RELATED PHOTOS: B5