The monks and nuns of the Cremisan monastery, on a pastoral ridge opposite Har Gilo, have been living peacefully, side by side, since the place was built in the 1960s. But a new segment of the separation fence Israel is building will not only bisect the Cremisan's verdant terraces, but could also separate the inhabitants of this Salesian order, leaving the nuns on the West Bank side of the barrier, and the monks on the Israeli side. That, at least, is the solution the Defense Ministry recently proposed to the members of the Catholic monastery.Why would the Israeli authorities want to have the monks on the Israeli side and isolate the nuns on the Palestinian side? Is that because the nuns pose a greater threat to the security of Israel? No, there is a much simpler explanation.
For the monks, who earn their livelihood producing and selling wine, mainly in Israel, that's good news. But for the nuns who operate a Catholic school for Palestinian children from nearby West Bank villages, it's bad news. The fence will prevent their pupils from reaching their school, or at the very least, make it difficult for them to do so.
"The monks make wine, and for them it's great. They're interested in producing wine and this enables them to send it to Israel, where their customers are located," said the Mother Superior, Sister Adriana, this week. "For us it's not good at all. If the fence passes here and they put us on the Israeli side, the children won't be able to reach us. There's only one road to the monastery. The fence will create a checkpoint here with soldiers."Sister Adriana insists, 'Walls do not make good neighbors.'"
Read the rest of Oz Rosenberg's article here
For some stunning photos of Cremisan see Ryan Rodrick Beiler
