Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 14, 1999
Friendly rivalry between Jordan, Israel over site of Jesus' baptism
Bethlehem (AP) — Israel's new tourism minister knew better than to get involved in the friendly rivalry over the site of Jesus' baptism.
“I wasn't there 2000 years ago,'' the minister, Amnon Shahak, said Monday when asked what he thought of Jordan's efforts to promote Bethany on the eastern bank of the Jordan River as the place where John the Baptist anointed Jesus.
Israel has been trying to attract pilgrims to Qasir Al Yahud on the other side of the river, in an area of the West Bank that remains under Israeli military control.
Shahak said archaeologists and the church should decide where the baptism took place.
“No matter what is decided, it is a good place to visit,'' he said of Bethany, located 60 kilometers west of Amman.
The government has invited Christian delegations to visit Bethany, in an effort to win its share of Millennium tourism. The Vatican has added Bethany to a list of sites that Christian pilgrims could visit to celebrate the new Millennium.
Shahak made his comments while touring the West Bank town of Bethlehem, with his Palestinian counterpart, Mitri Abu Aita, to coordinate Millennium preparations.
The two visited Manger Square, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity which was built over the site where tradition says Jesus was born. The square has undergone major renovations. On Monday, it was covered with dust from the construction and the repaving of roads nearby.
There have been some tensions between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority over Millennium preparations, with the Palestinians accusing Israel of trying to steer tourists away from the Palestinian areas.
The two ministers talked about proposals to make it easier for visitors to pass through the Israeli military checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Every day, roads near the checkpoint are clogged with motorists and pedestrians, most of them Palestinians on their way to and from work in Jerusalem.
“The checkpoint was established because of problems,'' Shahak said. “Problems hurt tourism. We have to make it easier to cross not only for tourists but for Palestinians and Israelis as well.''