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Christmas & Festive Season: Remembering Bethlehem
In an Israeli-Palestinian conflict where both sides are ever more entrenched, Bethlehem stands in the front line, just a few miles from the glitter and prosperity of Jerusalem but enclosed in a separate universe, writes The Economist.
6 Responses to “Christmas & Festive Season: Remembering Bethlehem”
Is there any movement to make Old City Jerusalem, Bethlehem and other historic religious sites international protectorates of the UN? To remove them from the control of one country or religion?
Sort of the way the Vatican is a separate entity in the middle of Rome.
In fact, could these sites become revenue producers to support the UN’s humanitarian efforts?
Paul,
The Israelis won’t allow that happen. Do you remember that the U.N. was supposed to control Jerusalem?
Why should the Israelis give Bethlehem or Jerusalem when they are slowly but surely going to have driven all of the Palestinians away?
Not give up the entire cities but the older religious landmarks.
This might be part of the overall negotiation to give palestinians their state while allowing safe and ready access to Muslims, Christians and Jews to their icons.
I thought the original UN proposal after WWII was for Jerusalem to be a UN enclave?
Yeah… it was supposed to be a UN enclave, but after one of the wars, both the Palestinians and the Israelis claimed it as their capital.
I only wish Israel would drive the “palestinians” away. Unfortunately Israel isn’t ruthless like its enemies.
islamic radicalism is the reason for the plight of the Christians in Bethlehem. I’m sick of the lies and propaganda which falsely blames Israel for the situation.
…The town’s Christian population has dwindled from more than 85 per cent in 1948 to 12 per cent of its 60,000 inhabitants in 2006.
There are reports of religious persecution, in the form of murders, beatings and land grabs.
…The sense of a creeping Islamic fundamentalism is all around in Bethlehem.
A mosque on one side of Manger Square stands directly opposite the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, while in the evening the muezzin’s call to prayer clashes with the peal of church bells.
Shops selling Santa Claus outfits and mother-of-pearl statuettes of the Virgin Mary have their shutters painted a sun-bleached green, the colour of Islam.
And in the Al-Jacir Palace, Bethlehem’s only luxury hotel, there is a baubled Christmas tree in reception and a card showing the direction of Mecca in the rooms.
George Rabie, a 22-year-old taxi driver from the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jala, is proud of his Christianity, even though it puts him in daily danger.
Two months ago, he was beaten up by a gang of Muslims who were visiting Bethlehem from nearby Hebron and who had spotted the crucifix hanging on his windscreen.
“Every day, I experience discrimination,” he says. ”
“It is a type of racism. We are a minority so we are an easier target. Many extremists from the villages are coming into Bethlehem.”
Jeriez Moussa Amaro, a 27-year-old aluminium craftsman from Beit Jala is another with first-hand experience of the appalling violence that Christians face.
Five years ago, his two sisters, Rada, 24, and Dunya, 18, were shot dead by Muslim gunmen in their own home.
Their crime was to be young, attractive Christian women who wore Western clothes and no veil. Rada had been sleeping with a Muslim man in the months before her death.
A terrorist organisation, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, issued a statement claiming responsibility, which said: “We wanted to clean the Palestinian house of prostitutes.”
Jeriez says: “A Christian man is weak compared to a Muslim man.
I can’t get links to work here.