In June 1967 no one expected military action in Jerusalem – Jordan had not been preparing for war and Israel, facing the armies of Egypt and Syria, had no desire open a third front. Thus King Hussein was given a guarantee that Israel would not attack if Jordan remained neutral. However, the king could not withstand the pressure from the Arab community (or perhaps he believed the Egyptian propaganda that the Israeli army had been destroyed on the first day).
On June 5, the first day of the six-day war, the Jordanian army began shooting at outposts on Israeli territory. And the results were catastrophic: by June 7, the Israeli army had driven Jordanian forces beyond the Jordan river, seizing Judea and Samaria, including East Jerusalem, which had been under Jordanian control since 1949.
The small number of Russians (mainly monks and priests) who were living in Jerusalem at the time unexpectedly found themselves in the midst of an armed conflict. Maria Robinson, head of the Gethsemane convent, recalled: “We were literally surrounded by troops, and there wasn’t any sort of modern weapon that the sides failed to use against each other.”
The nearby Mount of Olives Monastery also came under fire, and a stray piece of shrapnel killed portress Mother Evlalia. Her body was found lying at her post clutching her prayer beads. All of the windows in both monasteries were shattered from the shelling and several buildings were seriously damaged.
Following the end of the fighting, it took some time for things to return to normal. There was no water or electricity, and there was a curfew in the Arab districts of the city. Some of the Russians, for example, Father Feodosia of Bethany, were suspected of harboring sympathies for the Jordanians, which created problems with new authorities. Furthermore, the arrival of the Israeli army instilled a panic among the Arab community, including the Orthodox residents. According to one of the nuns, the only automobile of the Gethsemane Monastery was stolen by someone who evacuated his family to Jordan.
Nonetheless, many of the Russians in Jerusalem welcomed the changes. To begin with, the new authorities were quite respectful of the Russian sacred sites. Maria wrote, “The Israelis are very kind, in particular with respect to the monasteries. Another nun wrote that “the victors are behaving quite modestly, respectfully and provide help for various problems.” Most importantly, the Russian residents of Jerusalem were very much in favor of Israel’s policy of unifying the Holy city.
According to the UN resolution, two states were to be created on the territory of Palestine, Jewish and Arab, with Jerusalem given a special international status and belonging to neither. But it seems that no one gave thought to how this scheme would actually work. During the war of 1948-1949, Israel captured the western parts of the city (declaring it the country’s capital) while Jordan controlled the eastern parts, including the old city.
An ugly concrete barrier topped with barbed wire was erected along the demarcation line, dividing the city in half. The division was accompanied by resettlement – Arabs left the parts of the city occupied by Israel while the Jewish population moved out of the districts held by Jordan. The relatively small Russian population was split in two: the Mount of Olives monasteries and Alexander Nevsky Courtyard near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the Jordanian side; the Holy Trinity Cathedral (the largest Orthodox church in the city) and the convent in Ein-Karem on the Israeli side.
The effect of the wall on life in Jerusalem can be seen in an anecdotal incident involving a Catholic nun who lived in a parrock with a window facing the dividing line. One day when she peered out the window, the nun accidentally dropped her false teeth, which fell outside the monastery wall into neutral territory. Special approval from a UN commission and numerous diplomatic letters were required to resolve the situation, and eventually three Israeli soldiers were allowed onto the neutral territory to recover the item and return it to the owner.
For Russians, the situation was further complicated by the fact that many of them only had Nansen passports (refugee documents), which did not allow them to cross the Israeli-Jordanian border. And thus, until 1967, Jerusalem was split in two. Having acquired Judea and Samaria, the Israeli government was at a loss as what to do with these lands (and by all appearances remains at a loss to this day). Only in Jerusalem did they act decisively. Almost immediately following the end of the war, the dividing wall was dismantled and the Arab municipality of East Jerusalem destroyed. The former Jordanian districts were hooked up to an Israeli water supply line and the holy City once again was united.
Russians in Jerusalem did not hide their joy over this event. As Mother Maria wrote: “Now we have a united city, and much joy that we are free and all dividing walls have been destroyed.” Another nun wrote: “Suddenly the map of Palestine has been turned around, and previously closed holy sites are now accessible.” And the hand of God was seen is this, as one nun wrote: “Such is the will of God – Jerusalem has its own fate and it is in the hands of God Almighty.”
These views were shared by Episcope Mefodia Kulman, who organized Russian pilgrimages to the Holy Lands. In 1968 the journal which he edited for pilgrims included a special insert, which read: “In 1967 the wall which divided the holy city of Jerusalem into two parts came down. Having stood for 20 years as a symbol of the truce following the cruel war of 1948, the wall that divided not only of the City but of the entire country has by the will of God disappeared in just several days… and it has become possible for all Christians to visit the Holy Land, and walk about it as did Christ, Mother Mary and the Apostles. And as our Russian pilgrims have walked from end to end.”
