How Palestinian Christians marked Easter against the backdrop of war

[0:00] Today, holy sites in Jerusalem are open once again after being largely closed for 40 days during the war with Iran. [0:08] Last night, we reported on Israeli families who marked Passover under threat by Iran and Hezbollah. [0:14] Tonight, producer Carl Bostic and our Nick Schifrin visit Palestinian Christians who weren't able to access their holiest sites during their holiest days. [0:23] In Jerusalem's Old City during Holy Week, the streets should have been packed with pilgrims. [0:30] But stone passageways worn smooth through centuries by the faithful echoed with the silence of absence. [0:37] And on Good Friday, the path that marks Jesus' final steps via De La Rosa, the way of the cross, stood mostly empty, a casualty of war. [0:45] What a sad day today for Jerusalem. [0:48] The Israeli authority forbid us to have the way of the cross and to pray in the station of cross. [0:55] Jesus put his hand while he was carrying the cross. [0:58] Raffi Gattas is an official at the Catholic St. James Church, but also works as a tour guide. [1:06] The Iran War threatened him and this ancient city's holiest shrines. [1:11] Shrapnel from an Iranian missile landed right next to the old city walls. [1:15] Other pieces next to the Church of the Holy Seppulcher, the site of Christ's resurrection, [1:20] and outside the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site. [1:25] And so Israeli police restricted who could access the old city and capped the number of people who could come to worship. [1:33] Two thousand years ago, Jesus, on this same day, was carrying his cross, walking here through these streets of the old city of Jerusalem, the holy city, [1:44] carrying the cross and walking alone. [1:46] And today, we are doing the same. [1:49] A few of the faithful were allowed, carrying crosses, whispering prayers. [1:57] At the stations of the cross, they stop where Jesus stopped to walk in his footsteps. [2:03] We can touch the same place where Jesus touched. [2:06] We can feel the spirit of Jesus that he is here. [2:10] In this place, his blood were mixed with the stones of this city. [2:15] It's the same Jerusalem that Jesus Christ gave us his salvation. [2:20] It's the same Jerusalem that Jesus was crucified here. [2:25] And today, our heart is broken. [2:27] And we are feeling sad and emotions because it's our right to pray in this place. [2:37] And so, with large groups prohibited from the old city, Palestinian Christians improvised. [2:42] In East Jerusalem, Palestinians recreated the Stations of the Cross, where Jesus took his final steps. [2:55] This is Beit Hanina, part of Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967. [3:01] Many of the residents here are known as Jerusalemites. [3:06] There are multiple identities born from their being from this city, Christian and Palestinian. [3:12] Across Israel and the West Bank, there are about 220,000 Palestinian Christians bound on this day by one ritual. [3:29] Among the youngest faithful, six-year-old Alexander, the son of Sami Helu. [3:34] If they close the old city for us, it doesn't matter. [3:39] I mean, it hurts. [3:40] But it will not stop me from living my faith and practicing my faith. [3:46] I will practice it. [3:47] Anyhow, regardless, I will always have my Via Dolorosa. [3:52] Nobody can take it from me. [3:55] And so, on this day, when the Bible teaches that Jesus was crucified, Helu marked a 2,000-year-old tradition in this Catholic church. [4:03] St. James the Apostle, led in part by Rafi Gattas. [4:10] But these Christians accuse Israel of seeing only one side of their identity and restricting their freedom as Palestinians, leading many Palestinian Christians to leave. [4:20] Jenny Helu Rad is Sami's sister. [4:23] We are constantly pushed out. [4:26] And when you're a minority, I think this gives you always this feeling of threat, of uncertainties, of fear, let me say. [4:36] Christian Palestinians, we have persevered throughout many political changes throughout history. [4:44] 2,000 years. [4:45] We have carried our crosses. [4:48] We have shed our blood happily. [4:50] However, in these days, you know, you are being treated as Palestinians, so it doesn't matter. [4:59] And yet, during these holy days, their main message echoes Pope Leo's call for peace, including in Iran. [5:09] Only through a return to negotiation can an end to the war be achieved. [5:14] War has never came out with any good outcome. [5:17] Iranian, Gazan, Jewish, everybody has parents and children or families that love them. [5:24] So, people just die for nothing. [5:27] Everybody loses. [5:28] Everybody loses. [5:29] Nobody wins out of the war. [5:31] Holy days during war can be a test of faith. [5:34] And so they struggle to preserve their traditions, to keep and nurture that faith. [5:39] For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Nick Schiffer. [5:52] Support journalism you trust. [5:54] Support PBS News. [5:56] Donate now, or even better, start a monthly contribution today.