Thousands attend Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Jerusalem welcomed thousands of Christian Pilgrims attending Palm Sunday celebrations in the Old City this weekend, the Associated Press (AP) reports. The throngs of pilgrims arrived to commemorate the start of the Christian Holy Week, despite the recent new wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel.

While Sunday’s celebrations were joyful, it remains to be seen whether Israel will regain the numbers of tourists it had prior to the pandemic. According to AP, 400,000 visitors came to Israel last year, compared to 4.55 million in 2019.

Carrying palm fronds and olive branches, the pilgrims walked from the Mount of Olives to the Old City: they were celebrating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, an event that is described in the Gospel account of Mark 11:1-19. A week after his entry to Jerusalem, Jesus would be crucified.
The Palm Sunday procession also passed by the Garden of Gethsemane where, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew 26:36-56, Jesus was betrayed and arrested.

Describing to a Reuters reporter how it felt to be in Jerusalem, 20-year old Patricia Mercader from Spain said: “It’s very exciting and full of emotions. Standing where He stood and feeling what He felt, there are no words to explain it.”

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