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For two November days, pilgrims were turned away from major Christian shrines throughout Palestine-Israel. Church doors were closed to protest Israel's decision to allow construction of a mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. For tourists it was only a temporary inconvenience, but for Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land it was a tragic sign of the weakening of their historically strong bond.

A climactic moment in The Wizard of Oz is when Toto pulls aside the green curtain, and exposes a man turning levers which he had been using to fool people into thinking he was a wizard. An angry Dorothy shouts, "You are a very bad man." To which the wizard replies, "No, my dear, I am a very good man; I am just a very bad wizard." Israelis and their leaders may be good people, and so far they have been pretty skillful wizards in dealing with Palestinians.