Barricaded Outside Jerusalem’s Holy Fire Ceremony: The Troubling Treatment of Christian Tourists in Israel

Every Easter, tens of thousands of Christians from around the world travel to Jerusalem, Israel, a city where Jesus Christ once lived. Orthodox Christians in particular come to the Holy Land at this time because of the Holy Fire miracle. Unfortunately, in recent years, this event has become a scene of anti-Christian sentiment  as well as Christian persecution in Israel.

Twice I have been privileged to experience the Holy Fire. I first attended the Holy Fire 2023, shortly before the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War. In 2025, just before the end of that war, I again attended this ceremony.

Both times, I was amongst thousands of Christians from around Israel, the Palestinian Territories and the world who were physically prevented from going inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the ceremony. Security forces instead held us behind barricades for hours. Some Christians were physically assaulted by those security forces.

Here you will learn about the anti-Christian discrimination and Christian persecution in Jerusalem which I personally experienced and also witnessed happening to others during two Holy Fire ceremonies.

Religious persecution definition

The situation at the Holy Fire was at best an example of extreme anti-Christian sentiment and at worst persecution. However, I have not heard anyone else describing the treatment of Christians at the Holy Fire miracle as Christian persecution in the Middle East. So first, let’s quickly take a look at the definition of persecution.

The act or practice of persecuting especially those who differ in
origin, religion, or social outlook – Merriam Webster Dictionary

The systematic oppression of individuals or groups because of
their religious beliefs (or lack thereof). – Persecution 101

The definition of Christian persecution is:

Any hostility experienced as a result of identification
with Jesus Christ. – Global Christian Relief

Are Christians persecuted in Israel? The answer is yes. This applies primarily to Palestinian Christians. During the Holy Fire, it also applies to Christian pilgrims from around the world.

First, Christians are of a different religion than members of the Israeli government and security forces. Second, we want to gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday because of our religious beliefs. Third, by not being allowed inside the church, we were oppressed. Lastly, we were treated with hostility, aggression and violence by Israeli security forces. Therefore, the treatment of Christians near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for the Holy Fire miracle can be called Christian persecution.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jerusalem’s Old City

Now, it is important to say that, ordinarily, Christian pilgrims get along perfectly fine with Israelis including Israeli security forces. Christianity and Judaism share a close connection, with Christians and Jews worshipping the same God. Israeli Jews including soldiers and police are very welcoming and nice to tourists from around the world, including Christian pilgrims.

It is also important to point out that East Jerusalem’s Old City, where the Holy Fire miracle occurs, is one of the most tense spots on the face of the earth, even in the best of times. That is because this section of the city is ground zero for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The United Nations and other international organizations consider East Jerusalem to belong to the Palestinians. However, it is under Israeli control. In the Old City, the population is primarily Palestinians. They live and work in the midst of armed Israeli border police patrolling the streets.

Contributing to this tension is the fact that the Old City is home to three sites extremely important to the world’s three Abrahamic religions. These are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians; the Western Wall for Jews; and the Temple Mount, a hotly contested site claimed by both Jews and Muslims.

Because of this situation the Israeli police who work in the Old City are accustomed to tension, hostility, aggression and violence in the normal course of their work. However, this is ordinarily between the security forces and the Palestinians. It does not typically involve foreign tourists or Christian pilgrims, as we are not a part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Christian persecution in Israel and the Holy Fire miracle

The Holy Fire, also called the Holy Light, mysteriously appears each year on the Saturday before Orthodox Easter. It appears in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, inside the tomb where Jesus lay for three days after he was crucified and before he was resurrected. This is a deeply important event for many Orthodox Christians.

Since the 4th century A.D., Christians were free to be present inside the church for the ceremony of the Holy Light in Jerusalem. Then, following two years of decreased numbers attending the ceremony due to the pandemic, things changed.

In 2022, Israeli authorities implemented limitations on the number of people allowed inside the church when the holy fire appears. Starting that year and continuing until today, in order to be inside the church for the appearance of the fire you must first obtain an entry pass. This is ostensibly for safety reasons. However, except for a stampede which resulted in the deaths of approximately 400 people in 1834, there is no reported history of people being injured inside the church during the Holy Light miracle.

Related: Celebrating Christmas in Dahab, Egypt

Normally, approximately 10,000 Christians would gather in the church for the lighting of the fire. Then in 2022, authorities allowed only 1,000 worshippers inside the church. They also allowed another 500 to be present on the church’s roof.  In 2023, the first year I attended, authorities raised the number of worshippers allowed in the church to 2,200. Another 1,100 could be on the church’s roof and in the courtyard. They implemented limitations again in 2024 as well as in 2025, the year I returned.

This limitation of people allowed inside the church for the appearance of the fire causes a major problem. It means that the vast majority of thousands of Christians who travel to Jerusalem from around Israel, the West Bank and the world must wait on the streets behind police barricades until the ceremony concludes. The two years I was there, this situation caused tension and led to violence from Israeli security forces.

Christian persecution in Jerusalem at the 2023 Holy Fire

In 2023, the first time I attended the Holy Fire, I had no idea what I would encounter. Reports said that authorities had blocked entrances to the Old City that day. However, I was staying at a guesthouse inside the Old City and thus was able to move freely through its streets from the direction of Lion’s Gate toward the church.

On my way I encountered dozens of border police who were not allowing people to pass and instead held us in the streets. As the morning progressed, those police maneuvered thousands of us around by opening certain streets while barricading others. This chaotic and tense situation resulted in the police violently pushing and assaulting both Palestinian Christians as well as Christians from other parts of the world. While I did see many instances of this, I did not witness any Christians pushing or assaulting police officers. This all inspired me to write about and post videos of what happened during the Holy Fire 2023.

Christian persecution in Jerusalem at the 2025 Holy Fire

The Holy Fire 2025 was a little different for me personally. That year, from outside the Old City I attempted to walk to the church. When I neared the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City, I discovered that police had barricaded it. Several border police stood by the barricades.

Immediately upon arriving at the barricades, I witnessed a woman walk up and speak to a female police officer. After a few moments, the female police officer grabbed the woman by her arm and violently flung her away from the area.

I then approached a different female police officer at the same barricaded area to inquire if I could go into the Old City. She said no, calmly and politely, and directed me to a sitting area nearby. Near this sitting area was a sign describing it as the entrance to the Holy Fire ceremony, which it was not.

This was instead a designated spot for Christians to watch the ceremony on a large-screen television rather than in the church. This viewing area had sun coverings to keep people comfortable. Underneath were hundreds of folding chairs facing a large screen.

For about a half an hour I sat in this viewing area, observing the situation. I watched as police repeatedly denied entry to Christians who approached the barricade, directing them to the designated viewing area. Meanwhile, many other people who were clearly Jewish, as made evident by their clothing and head coverings, approached the same barriers several times. The police allowed the Jewish people to go through the gate into the Old City while denying entrance to the Christians. After watching this scene unfold time and time again, I decided to see if I could enter the Old City through another gate.

I walked in the direction of New Gate. There, like at Jaffa Gate, I encountered hundreds of Christians whom security forces were preventing from going to the church.

On the wall of New Gate was another misleading sign. This one directed people to Jaffa Gate, calling it the entrance to the Holy Fire ceremony. This, of course, was absolutely untrue.

I then headed to the next entrance, Damascus Gate. Surprisingly, I found this entrance to be completely open, with no barricades or border police. I strolled right through.

Once inside Damascus Gate, I saw a sight I have never seen before or since in nearly 20 years of spending time in the Old City. A minimum of three border police perpetually stand behind a barricade between Damascus Gate and Lion’s Gate for various security purposes. Today, however, the barricades stood empty. This was certainly because those police had stationed themselves further inside the Old City, at or near the church.

Then I headed towards the church, walking through the same streets blocked by barricades and filled with violence two years earlier. Along the way I stopped at a shop to buy Jerusalem candles. These are bundles of 33 candles which every Christian brings to the Holy Light ceremony. Each candle represents a year of the life of Jesus.

Once I got fairly close to the church I came upon security forces, barricades and hundreds of Christians. This is apparently because the security forces had stationed themselves and the barricades deeper inside the Old City this year.

The border police already had moved people onto specific streets to wait for hours while the ceremony took place inside the church just steps away. Others who had approached from a different direction were waiting behind barricades in other parts of the Old City. Now, the barricades did not completely surround us. Polices had barricaded only the streets leading to the church. People were free to leave the barricaded area at any time, as long as we walked away from the church.

The scene was calm, except when police would occasionally move a barricade aside to let a local person pass through. Some people waiting in the street thought police were removing the barricades for everyone and would try to get through. This caused the situation to heat up and resulted in security forces yelling at people to get back. However, if any violence occurred it happened before I arrived.

Related: Experiencing Shabbat in Israel

The Jerusalem Holy Fire appears inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre each Holy Saturday at approximately 1:00 p.m. After it appears, Christians inside the church hold their Jerusalem candles to the fire. People waiting in the church’s courtyard are then able to light their candles from candles lit inside the church. Some of those people then light the candles of other people who are standing nearby behind police barricades. Some of those Christians then walk through the streets of the Old City, carrying their candles filled with the Holy Fire. They then light the candles of other Christians waiting in the streets. Christians in the streets who miss the fire as it passes by can light their candles from those of another Christian standing in the street with them.

At 3:00 p.m., two hours after my second Jerusalem Holy Fire ceremony in the street, police finally removed the barricades. Now thousands of Christians began slowly making our way through the crowded streets to the church. Once inside, bells were ringing throughout the church. Thousands of Christians from around the world had been holding hundreds of thousands of candles filled with the Holy Fire. By the time I reached the church, though, it was not full of lighted candles as in my previous experience. This was because we all had to wait in the streets for so long. My candles, however, were still lit.

Christian persecution in Israel needs to end

I am very grateful that I have been able to experience the Jerusalem Holy Fire ceremony two times. However, it was not good that thousands of Christians who had traveled across the world for this religious ceremony could not experience it in the church.

For the past 1,700 years Christians have gathered inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Holy Fire. The recent policy of preventing Christians from attending a religious ceremony in the Holy Land of Israel inside a church which stands on the spot where it is believed Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected is a blatant form of anti-Christian discrimination as well as Christian persecution. Israeli authorities should cease this form of persecution and resume giving Christians the freedom to worship inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during the Holy Fire miracle.

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