Occupied Jerusalem

- The Jerusalemite journalist Sherine Abu Aqila was not only martyred at one of the entrances to the Jenin camp, the symbol of Palestinian resistance, but her body was carried on her shoulders in 4 Palestinian cities, and her solemn funeral in her hometown of Jerusalem is still the focus of conversation for Palestinians everywhere.

With her martyrdom, Abu Aqila gained a great national stature in addition to her affiliation with the Melkite Roman Catholic Church, which is the same church that was led and renewed by Archbishop Hilarion Capucci, nicknamed the “Guardian of Jerusalem,” a Syrian cleric who devoted his life in defense of the Palestinian cause until the occupation authorities arrested him and sentenced him to prison. Actual 12 years.

This bishop lived, refusing any cooperation with Israel until his arrest on August 18, 1974, on charges of smuggling weapons to the resistance. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, of which he spent 3 and more years before being released after negotiations with the Pope that lasted for months. He was released from Ramle prison In 1977, on the condition that he be exiled and prevented from entering Palestine until his death.

And about the similarity of the march of Capucci and the martyr journalist, he spoke to Al Jazeera Net, the head of the Melkite Roman Catholic monastery in Ramallah, Father Abdullah July, as well as about his relationship with Sherine.

Father Abdullah July: The concept of the homeland is rooted in our church (Al-Jazeera)

patriotism school

July says, "I met the late bishop after his release, and we developed a relationship between the professor and his student and the father with his son... I learned a lot from him, especially during the first intifada when he was a member of the Intifada Support Committee."

He adds that "the concept of the homeland is rooted in our Arab church, and this has been translated into the biography of several clergymen who belong to it, and Sherine Abu Aqila belongs to this school as well."

In the mid-nineties, July met Shireen for the first time, who was working at the time at the Voice of Palestine radio, and later they met frequently in the field and outside the country.

But the great surprise that July received was that he did not know that Shireen belonged to the Christian religion until after her martyrdom, and said, "I never asked her: What is your religion? She never told me that she was a Christian... I didn't know that she was until moments after her martyrdom when a priest mourned her and wrote that she was the daughter of Our church is the Melkite Roman Catholic Church.. Neither this question nor the answer has ever mattered to me or her.”


Her funeral brought back the glories of the church

Bishop July continued his description of Shireen, saying that she is a Palestinian and Arab resistance figure who devoted herself to serving the Palestinian cause through the press, and God wanted her to be martyred on the land of Jenin, the distinguished city, so that her name would be more closely connected with the cause.

He says, "Shirin has always been close to the people, and so was the late Archbishop Capucci, who was also similar to her in the path of the resistance, despite the different details. He smuggled weapons to the resistance, and Shirin was a guerrilla in her defense of Palestine until she was martyred."

Regarding the important principles enshrined in Shirin's martyrdom, Abdullah Julio said, "This woman proved by her elevation that Christians are an authentic part of the Arab and Islamic nation, and I felt while walking at her funeral that she had restored to our church its past glories in the time of the late Kabuchi."

Not only that, but Father July felt that Jerusalem was liberated from occupation during Shireen's funeral, and that with her departure she achieved for the people a scene they always dreamed of;

It is to raise the Palestinian flag and walk it in the streets of the holy capital.

He said, "I am certain that this flag will not be lowered again and will remain raised in the highest mosques and churches in Jerusalem. What happened in the past few days is not a passing scene, but we have crossed a new stage in the path of liberation."

Despite his great sadness, which was evident during his talk about the late Capuchi and Sherine, he sees her departure near achieving the desired hopes of the people, and he said, "God wanted Sherine to be martyred, and although we are currently living very dark nights, I see through her a glimmer of light, and we will cut through the scenes of martyrdom and funerals. The majestic distances ahead, and we will witness liberation soon."

From Sherine's farewell inside the Roman Catholic Church in Jerusalem (Al-Jazeera)

In the land of Jerusalem

In a historical overview of the founding of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Jerusalem, the researcher in the history of Jerusalem, Robin Abu Shamsia, explains that it was recognized as a church separate from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in 1842, and a request was submitted to build it on land purchased near Bab Hebron (one of the gates of the Old City).

Construction began in 1844 and lasted for 4 years, and after decades there was a tendency to expand it, and that was during the British Mandate between 1927 and 1931, and at that time it was built of 3 floors;

The first is a church measuring 38 meters in length and 14 meters in width, from which Shireen Abu Akle was built.

The building followed the eastern method, which consists of a series of porticos, in the middle of which is a marine system that resembles the shape of a ship. The mosaic panels were replaced with drawings representing angels and stories mentioned in the Bible.

Abu Shamsiya points out that this church was restored twice: the first during the British Mandate era and the second during the era of the late Archbishop Hilarion known as George Capucci, after he collected donations from Arab Christians in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.