Senza vino per la Messa, qualificato come “rischio per la sicurezza”. Il Cremisan non riesce ad arrivare al porto di Haifa.

“Christians in the Holy Land and in the UK will be without altar wine from Bethlehem this Christmas because Israeli soldiers are refusing to allow lorries carrying the wine to enter Israel. The wine is made by a Roman Catholic religious order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, at the Cremisan winery in Beit Jala, a suburb of Bethlehem in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank.

The Salesians have been producing wines for the past 125 years as a means of supporting their pastoral and educational work among the poor of Bethlehem. But for the last five weeks Israeli soldiers at the Hebron checkpoint have refused to let the wine pass. This means that not only Christian churches, but also pilgrim houses, hotels and restaurants in Jerusalem, Nazareth and other parts of Israel are being deprived of Cremisan wine this Christmas.

Because the wine is shipped from the Israeli port of Haifa, the sudden embargo has also made it impossible for the wine to be exported to Europe. The soldiers have told Cremisan that the wine constitutes “a security risk.” The wine’s UK importer, 5th Gospel Retreats, has informed the Archbishops of Westminster and Canterbury as well as the Apostolic Nuncio to the UK.

A major reason for UK churches choosing Cremisan wine is that its proceeds support Palestinian Christians. Some 30 families depend on the winery, as do hundreds of Palestinians both Christian and Muslim who are assisted through the Salesians’ many projects in Bethlehem”.

Per ulteriori informazioni, si può consultare il sito di 5th Gospel Retreats.