Christian-Muslim Land Dispute Roils Nazareth

From where she sits in the small grocery her family owns on Casa Nova Street, Juliette Mazzawi can hear the fiery words emanating from the loudspeakers at a makeshift mosque just down the block.

The 43-year-old Christian listens to what she considers to be anti-Christian sermons and feels afraid--and she’s surprised to feel that way.

“In Nazareth, we have never felt like Muslims and Christians, separate from each other,” she said from her minimarket as she looked out at shops offering crosses, rosaries and other Christian souvenirs. “But now there is a lot of fear, even between neighbors.”

An Israeli Arab city known to Christians as the place where Jesus grew up, Nazareth in recent years has been a shabby but tranquil spot where Christians and Muslims worked together to attract the tourists on whom both communities depend. Both looked to 2000, when the pope is expected to visit Nazareth and other biblical sites, as a time of new prosperity for their struggling city.

But all that could be in peril as a dispute between the two sides threatens to spoil the millennial party and scare the tourists away.

The problem involves a piece of land, about half an acre, in the heart of Nazareth and in the shadow of its central church, the huge, modern Basilica of the Annunciation. The church, according to tradition, is on the site where the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her that she would bear a son.

Bracing for a flood of Y2K pilgrims, the city planned to build a public plaza on the land next to the church, which until recently held a municipal school. Mayor Ramez Jeraise, a Christian, said he hoped that the plaza would help ease congestion and improve access to the church.

But Nazareth’s Muslim leaders, who consider the plot sacred land, objected to the plan and said they hope to erect a giant mosque there. They argued that the two structures, perhaps linked by a bridge, would symbolize modern Nazareth’s dual identity, with Muslims in the city now outnumbering Christians by about 40,000 to 25,000.

Street Fights Erupted on Easter Sunday

In the worst incident to arise out of the dispute, street fights broke out Easter Sunday between rival groups of young people, who scuffled and hurled stones and firebombs at homes, shops and churches. The atmosphere has remained tense since.

The Israeli government, which some critics say is manipulating the conflict to win votes in next month’s national elections, is now trying to mediate a solution. Not all are happy with the proposed compromise, however, and the tug of war over Nazareth’s identity and future appears likely to continue.

“The situation is very tense,” Mayor Jeraise said. “If it goes on like this, I’m afraid that all our preparations will be for nothing.”

City Council member Salman abu Ahmed, whose Islamic movement recently won a majority of seats on the 19-member council, largely on the strength of the land dispute, said the problem is not religious. “It’s a political issue with the mayor, nothing else. But this land is holy for us, and we must build a mosque here and protect it.

“There must be a place for Muslims at the center of Nazareth,” he said. “We have a right to have a mosque here.”

Some Christians in Nazareth expressed fury at the idea. “It would be higher than the church!” Anan Bullous, 30, declared as he sat beneath a wall painting of a biblical scene in his living room a block away. “It would reflect badly on the image of the church.”

Others, including Bullous’ mother, Naifeh, 65, believe that a mosque--although not too grand--should be built on the site. “Why not?” she asked.

But Roman Catholic officials in Israel have let it be known that they are opposed to a mosque near the church and hint that the charged atmosphere could jeopardize the pope’s planned visit in March.

The tensions have been simmering for more than a year, since Jeraise ordered the old school on the disputed property demolished. A tiny Muslim shrine in one corner was left intact. But a week later, a group of Muslims erected a protest tent and occupied the site around the clock, saying that it is owned by an Islamic trust. Hundreds now arrive each week for prayers on Friday, the Muslim holy day.

The city, in turn, insists that the land is owned by the Israeli government, and the case is in court.

This week, a committee of Israeli government ministers offered a Solomonic compromise, recommending that the property be split between Islamic interests and the city. The Muslims could build a small mosque on their portion and the city a smaller-than-proposed plaza on its section, the government said. The plan includes a promise from the government to allocate land elsewhere in Nazareth for a large mosque.

No one was thrilled, although Jeraise’s spokesman said the city “would not object” to the proposal. Abu Ahmed said his group is not happy and will try to change the recommendation. And Vatican representatives said they could not comment until they received formal notification from the Israeli government.

“The aim was to defuse the tension in the city and bring back Nazareth’s peaceful atmosphere,” said Moti Zaken, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s advisor on Arab affairs. But if the parties turn down the offer, he said, the only alternative will be to wait for the court to act.

Likud Denies It Is Exploiting Conflict

Zaken rejected the suspicion, voiced privately by many here, that Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party is intervening in the dispute in hopes of garnering Arab votes in the May 17 elections.

“Overall, the government has been very careful in dealing with this,” he said. “And this is the best offer we can make to both sides.”

Across from the disputed site, Salah abu Ras appeared to agree, chatting as he took a break from serving his customers at the Bishop sweet shop, one of many in town.

“If the Muslims take all the land here, we wound our Christian brothers, a deep wound that would last for many years,” said Abu Ras, 36, a Muslim. “And if the Christians take it all for a courtyard, it would be too deep a wound for the Muslims. So we have to divide it. That’s it.”