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Papal Visit Highlights
Middle East Problems
Much of the state of Israel's history in the 20th century is a chronicle of wars and other conflicts with her Arab neighbors. The recent visit of the pope highlighted some of these still-simmering animosities-and hints as to what may lie ahead in this troubled region.
by Melvin Rhodes
In March the world's attention again focused on the Middle East-and Israel in particular-as Pope John Paul II visited many Bible-related sites in a long-planned and highly publicized journey. Thought by some to be the most important visit the nation of Israel has ever accommodated, John Paul's pilgrimage, which he called his "personal spiritual journey," to the Holy Land turned out to be one of the most political of his 22-year pontificate.
It was inevitable. The area Christians call the Holy Land is the birthplace of three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in that order. The region-the crossroads of three continents-has played major roles in the history of the world.
Center of controversy
Jerusalem, at the center of it all, is one of the most fought-over pieces of real estate. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has fought five wars-the War of Independence in 1948, the Suez-Sinai War in 1956, the Six Day War in 1967, the October War in 1973 and the 1982 war to eradicate Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) strongholds in Lebanon. Iraq's Saddam Hussein also attacked Israel with missiles during the 1991 Gulf War, but Israel refrained from counterattacking so as not to possibly divide the Western and Arab nations allied against Iraq.
Jerusalem, whose name means "city of peace," has not seen much peace. The Bible tells us the city will be fought over at least one more time, "trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Revelation 11:2 adds that this will be for "42 months," a period of 31/2 years.
The city is long used to conflict and controversy. Already old when King David captured it and made it his capital 3,000 years ago, it has been dominated by many peoples and nations, including the three religions that sanctify the city as holy. Roman Catholics held it for more than a century during the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Protestant British took it from the Muslim Turks in 1917, then ruled it until it was divided 31 years later when the modern state of Israel was born. The Old City section of Jerusalem was to remain a part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan until the 1967 war.
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