Haters are claiming that Israel has unfairly closed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre indefinitely “for the first time in history of Christianity”:
While there is no modern precedent of Israel (or any authority today) closing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre indefinitely, it has been closed temporarily before. For instance, during the Covid lockdown, the church was closed for weeks. And in 2018, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Catholic church leaders shut the doors in protest for three days against Israeli municipal tax measures.
The reason it has been closed indefinitely is because of the war with Iran. But note the skepticism in the tweet, given “Jewish Israelis are allowed to celebrate in mass gatherings.” Naturally, the Nasser Mashni’s of the world are using this as yet another opportunity to cry out “apartheid.”
Except the allegation is false.
All gatherings of over 50 people – whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish – are prohibited due to the rockets from Iran and their proxies.
This of course applies to the Jerusalem holy sites, whether the Western Wall, al-Aqsa Mosque, or Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
And just as well.
Officers and police bomb disposal teams in Jerusalem safely neutralized and removed an Iranian missile warhead that landed just a few hundred meters from the Old City’s holy sites. This incident reiterates the importance of Home Front Command directives, including temporarily… pic.twitter.com/8UZPKPIoTg
— Israel Police (@israelpolice) March 1, 2026
During the latest Iranian missile barrage on Jerusalem, Israeli police said interception debris and missile fragments fell at several sites in the Old City, including the Temple Mount plaza, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre compound, and the area near the Jewish Quarter, as well… pic.twitter.com/SogNkZHmY0
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 16, 2026
The real Israel they won’t share with you:
— Israel Police (@israelpolice) March 13, 2026
Israel Police protecting a Muslim family outside the Old City of Jerusalem, as missile sirens sound and the Iranian regime continues to fire missiles towards civilian populations. Make no mistake – the regime is targeting and… pic.twitter.com/WqIEGXbd4T
By the way, Israel has facilitated alternative arrangements for all religious faithful.
The United States and Israel launched joint military operations against Iran on February 28, to which Iran responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East, with air-raid sirens sounding across Israel as residents took shelter.
As a result of the closure, the Jerusalem Patriarchate celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy on March 1 in an alternative venue. Vespers were held not in the Holy Sepulchre, as is customary, but in the Patriarchal and Monastic Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen. His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III presided, concelebrating with the Holy Sepulchre fathers and hierarchs present.
The Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning was likewise celebrated in the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen. The service was attended by nuns, a small number of Jerusalemite faithful, and pilgrims.
Whether it’s a synagogue in Tel Aviv, a mosque in Haifa, or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the rules are dictated by the trajectory of Iranian rockets, not religious bias.
If your takeaway from a missile war is that Israel is persecuting Christians and Muslims rather than protecting human life – you’re not misinformed. You’re willfully dishonest.
