Rector Markus Bugnyar tells how he saved the pilgrim’s hospice from the corona pandemic and how delicate the situation of Christians between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem is.
If two fight, a third is needed. For some observers of the Middle East conflict, these are the Christians of the Holy Land. It would mainly involve a conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims in which Christians are not directly involved.
Christians are more easily listened to by Israelis, with whom they are closer because of their ‘Western’ mentality, and as Palestinians, they are ethnically linked to their Muslim neighbors, who see them as part of their own people. I see it differently. Christians do not have the role of mediator in the drama. On the contrary: you are among all the seats.
What appears superficially an advantage turns out to be a disadvantage. For many Israelis, Christian Palestinians are not primarily Christians and ‘naturally related’, but Palestinians and therefore always a potential security risk. For quite a few Muslim-Palestinians, Christians are not primarily fellow citizens, but Christians and a ‘gateway’ to Western (secular) values and behaviors that are rejected for traditional and religious reasons.
No state aid for church pension
As a church pension, we are not a normal hotel business here. Most of these institutions were established before 1948, i.e. before the establishment of Israel in Ottoman or British times. Their old legal systems give rise to special rights that bitterly overtook us during the pandemic. Our houses have only a provisional legal personality that has yet to be defined. The main obstacle on this path is the tax exemption for church institutions, which many of us have enjoyed immensely over the past few decades, but which can also cause problems.
In concrete terms, this meant that during the pandemic we were not eligible for government support that benefited regular hotel operations. Even state subsidies from home remained closed, after all, we are in another country; such grants were not planned.
We had to save ourselves or die. Our small but very nice group of friends in Austria and Germany jumped in the gap for us. Week after week I wrote emails and – the longer, the more – got on my own nerves. Every week a new motive, a new incentive to relieve our friends at home of their money. It is not easy, it requires creativity and perseverance; some called it chutzpah and rude, and I knew exactly what they meant.
Would you like to donate to a hotel? Shouldn’t a hotel be able to sustain itself and just go under when it can’t anymore? I certainly don’t donate to a hotel. But I donate privately to my pilgrim hospice.
A house with tradition
Our house not only has history, it also has tradition. Our house is not in a “normal” city, it is in the Holy City. Our house is not only in the center of the old town, it breathes the aura of the beginning: from here you go to those places where Jesus worked. From here, a new thought conquered the world. That of humanity.
It makes me unspeakably grateful how many friends let us speak to them. By some aspect that touches their hearts. From the pool of our addresses, it was exactly 776 friends who saved us by 940,000 euros through two years of Corona. For running costs, for those workers who couldn’t get state aid. This also distinguishes us from a hotel that simply puts people on the street in times of crisis. We are not. We take responsibility for the people entrusted to us and kneel down.
940,000 euros from 776 friends of the house. That is an average of 1211.34 euros per person. Everyone according to his possibilities. For a house that sits between all the stools and yet never gives up.
Not an easy task on the Via Dolorosa!
When I assumed my position here as Rector of the Pilgrim’s Hospice, I paid a courtesy visit to the then Catholic Archbishop. I complained to him about my suffering, which didn’t work. He smiled and said, “My dear, your address is Via Dolorosa. And there you expect an easy task?” In the shadow of the cross we often feel the depths of human life and human baseness, but in the shadow of the cross we also find the strength to rise again and continue on our way.
PS: If you would like to help me today to make a concrete contribution so that we will continue to meet Christians in Jerusalem in the future, please make a donation with the keyword “Christian Presence”. Thank you very much!
Austrian Hospice – Social Fund
Bankhaus Schelhammer and Schattera
IBAN: AT43 1919 0003 0015 0125
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
