-Caveat Lector- By DINA KRAFT JERUSALEM (May 2, 1999 12:08 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Nine centuries after Christian Europe sought to redeem the Holy Land, a group of Western Christians is asking forgiveness for the slaughter and destruction left in the Crusaders' wake. Bearing printed apologies in Arabic, Hebrew and English, participants in the "Reconciliation March" said Sunday they planned to hand the neatly bound plastic folders to Jews, Muslims, and Eastern Christians whose forefathers were killed during the invasion. About 50 members of the interdenominational project from the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand are meeting Israelis and Palestinians in cities throughout the region. "Exactly 900 years ago, Christians visited this land with a sword and a spirit of vengeance in a manner contrary to teachings and character of Jesus," said Mike Niebur, the group's Israel coordinator. Group members, who pay their own expenses, have visited Jewish communities along the Rhine Valley and towns in Lebanon and Turkey in their search for forgiveness. Crusaders marching through the Rhine Valley slaughtered Jews who refused to convert to Christianity and left a similar wake of destruction in Eastern Orthodox and Muslim centers along the way. The Crusaders were urged forward by Roman Catholic leaders longing for the jewel of Jerusalem - and seeking to consolidate recent political gains in Europe. Organizers at the press conference displayed T-shirts depicting the march of the original crusaders as a jagged red line cutting through the heart of Europe and the Middle East. The group's trip will culminate on July 15 when up to 1,500 participants travel by foot from a Crusader fortress in northern Israel to Jerusalem to apologize to religious leaders on the 900th anniversary of the fall of the city to the Crusaders. Niebur said that the imprint of distrust and violence perpetuated by the memory of the Crusades can be traced through the Spanish Inquisition and even the Holocaust. "We hope we will start to end that legacy and start on a new track," said Niebur, a native of San Francisco. Members of the group said they see a direct link between the Crusades and the relationship between the East and West today. Niebur cited apocalyptic Christian groups who have unsettled Jews and Arabs in the region, and said such apocalyptic outlooks mirror those of the Crusaders. "We have a similar situation developing today with the turn of the millennium," he said. "We want to say that that was not really what Jesus' message was about." In January, Israel expelled a group of U.S. millennialists authorities believed were planning violent acts in Jerusalem to hasten the Second Coming. Niebur said the reception has been positive. He recalled a phone call to a Jewish community in the Rhine Valley. An organizer told the community leaders that the marchers were running a little late. "The Jewish community responded, 'We've waited 900 years, we can wait one more hour,'" he said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
