{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Pilgrims join annual Orthodox Christian Epiphany ceremony' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bee5d8eafeecae13f17a' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bee5d8eafeecae13f17a' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nPilgrims join annual Orthodox Christian Epiphany ceremony\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide of pilgrims walking towards baptism site, sign on barbed-wire fence reading: (English/Hebrew/Arabic) \"Danger mines!\" 2. Zoom out from pilgrims walking to fence with warning sign 3. Mid of Orthodox clergymen walking towards...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide of pilgrims walking towards baptism site, sign on barbed-wire fence reading: (English/Hebrew/Arabic) \"Danger mines!\" \u003cbr/\u003e2. Zoom out from pilgrims walking to fence with warning sign \u003cbr/\u003e3. Mid of Orthodox clergymen walking towards baptism site, pan \u003cbr/\u003e4. Pan from fence and warning sign to clergymen and pilgrims walking \u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide of monastery behind barbed-wire fence and sign reading: (English/Hebrew/Arabic) \"Danger mines!\" \u003cbr/\u003e6. Set-up shot of Dhyan Or, spokesman for NGO (non-governmental organisation) \"Roots of Peace\" (global anti-mining advocacy group) \u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dhyan Or, \"Roots of Peace\" NGO spokesman:\u003cbr/\u003e\"On the Israeli side there is bureaucracy, and slow movement on the side of the government and although they are picking up and are trying to get more Christian pilgrims to come over here, they are expecting a million people to come every year, they are not preparing the site to be safe and clear in terms of landmines. So apart from fencing and putting some cameras and signs, they have not cleared the mines.\" \u003cbr/\u003e8. Zoom out of clergymen releasing a dove in the air during mass baptism ceremony \u003cbr/\u003e9. Various of pilgrims baptising in Jordan river \u003cbr/\u003e10. Mid of people gathered on river's bank \u003cbr/\u003e11. Various of pilgrims bathing in the River Jordan \u003cbr/\u003e12. Mid of Christian pilgrims gathered at river bank \u003cbr/\u003e13. SOUNDBITE (English) Avner Goren, Archaeologist:\u003cbr/\u003e\"Since it was a border, the place is really littered by hundreds and hundreds of mines here and therefore the area is not open to the public and to the believers and pilgrims. Although there is a passage where they allow people to reach the water itself but only in one point. There are quite a lot of monasteries and other religion facilities here that are blocked. The desert which was a very fundamental part of the area here is not open for people anymore.\" \u003cbr/\u003e14. Zoom out from monastery to pilgrims walking nearby \u003cbr/\u003e15. Wide of monastery behind fences and warning sign \u003cbr/\u003eThe Orthodox Christian community in Israel and the Palestinian Territories held their annual Epiphany baptism ceremonies on Tuesday in the River Jordan where Christians believe Jesus was baptised.\u003cbr/\u003eBut at the pilgrimage site Qasr el Yahud, on the Israeli border with Jordan, signs warn visitors of landmines.\u003cbr/\u003eJust months before the official opening of one of Christianity's holiest sites to visitors, the area remains surrounded by thousands of landmines.\u003cbr/\u003eIsrael says the spot where John the Baptist is said to have baptised Jesus will be safe, but advocacy groups warn that crowds of tourists could be in danger.\u003cbr/\u003eOn Tuesday, some 15-thousand Christian pilgrims marched between two fenced-in mine fields to reach the Epiphany ceremony on the Jordan River led by the Greek Orthodox patriarch.\u003cbr/\u003eWorshippers from around the world dipped themselves in the muddy waters, facing fellow believers on the other side of the small river. \u003cbr/\u003eOrthodox clergymen dressed in dark frocks and robes chanted prayers as the patriarch blessed the waters, hurled branches and released white doves into the air.\u003cbr/\u003eThis site is Christianity's third holiest - after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, on the spot where Christian belief says Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where tradition holds Jesus was born - and marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.\u003cbr/\u003eSince Israel took control of the area in the 1967 Mideast war, pilgrims have had to coordinate their visits with the Israeli military, because of security concerns and especially leftover land mines.\u003cbr/\u003eThe ancient churches and monasteries on the Israeli side, some dating back to the 4th century, are surrounded by signs reading \"Danger! Mines!\"\u003cbr/\u003e\"Since it was a border, the place is really littered by hundreds and hundreds of mines, and therefore the area is not open to the public and to the believers and pilgrims,\" said Avner Goren, an archaeologist who works with Israel's Tourism Ministry.\u003cbr/\u003eThe ministry says about 60-thousand people visit the site each year, but with the upcoming official opening there are expectations that number will rise to the millions. \u003cbr/\u003eNo date for the opening has been set.\u003cbr/\u003eThe Israeli military says the baptism site and adjacent churches are located in a \"completely mine-free zone,\" and insists \"no danger is posed to tourists or worshippers.\"\u003cbr/\u003e\"The (military) regularly clears away minefields in the Jordan River Valley, and in the last year alone approximately 8,000 mines have been removed from the area,\" the military said in a statement.\u003cbr/\u003eDhyan Or, the Israel director of the global anti-mining advocacy group \"Roots of Peace,\" said \"on the Israeli side there is bureaucracy, and slow movement on the side of the government and although they are picking up and are trying to get more christian pilgrims to come over here, they are expecting a million people to come every year, they are not preparing the site to be safe and clear in terms of landmine so a part from fencing and putting some cameras and signs they have not cleared the mines.\" \u003cbr/\u003eIn contrast, Jordan cleared the minefields on its side of the border after signing a peace deal with Israel in 1994 and has developed a cultural heritage site there that has attracted millions of tourists. \u003cbr/\u003ePope John Paul II visited the Jordanian site in 2000. \u003cbr/\u003eIsrael signed a peace agreement with Jordan in 1994, but has yet to clear the fields on its side of the border of mines. \u003cbr/\u003eJordan signed the Ottawa Treaty in 1999 and has since cleared all the mine fields along its border with Israel. 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