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Arab Muslim Palestinians' Persecution of Christians DHIMMITUDE, ISLAMIC APARTHEIDArab "Palestinian" Christians have been suffering and STILL suffer from Arab "Palestinian" Muslim majority.Just like the Arab Christian Lebanese in "Damour" (Yasir Arafat´s Planned Christian Genocide http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/article.php?voir%5B%5D=594&voir%5B%5D=3532 , Hobeika - Damour http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/hobeika_damour/hobeika_damour.html), where "Palestinian" Muslims massacred Christians senselessly, which brought the reprisal by Arab Christians upon Arab "Palestinian" Muslims in Sabra & shatila. The Islamization of Bethlehem that has started by Yasser Arafat has forced Christians out.The "Palestinian" Christians are forced to join the senseless criminal violence against Israeli victims, otherwise they are threatened. Some Arab "Palestinians" that might be Christian won't...

Tony Blair has found that it doesn’t take too much to wipe the smile off one’s face when trying to resolve the competing Arab and Jewish claims to the territory once called Palestine - known today as Israel, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.

On the eve of Christmas, an op-ed by Kenneth L. Woodward, the former religion editor and now contributing editor of Newsweek, appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Titled "The Plight of Bethlehem," it enumerated a number of ways in which the Jewish state imposes hardships on Christians in the Holy Land. According to Woodward, Israel restricts their movement and their access to holy sites; squeezes them economically in cities like Bethlehem; and confiscates their land for its security fence and for Jewish settlements. Woodward closes by reminding Israel that it would be a mistake to “lose” the good will of...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The relics venerated as the crib the baby Jesus used in a Bethlehem grotto are in an alarming state of degradation, some church officials said. The remains have become so fragile that officials at Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major, where the crib is located, decided to suspend this year's annual Christmas Eve tradition when the relics are carried from the crypt beneath the main altar in a procession around the basilica and displayed in front of the altar all Christmas Day. Two of the five wooden slats are showing signs of "troublesome deterioration," Msgr. Emilio...

Could the purchase of an ancient coin have led to an important clue about the Star of Bethlehem? The above illustration is a Roman coin from Antioch, Syria which shows the zodiacal sign, Aries the Ram. In trying to understand the meaning behind this coin, I found that Aries was the sign of the Jews. Realizing that this is where ancient stargazers would have watched for the Star of Bethlehem, I embarked on searching for the celestial event that signified the birth of the Messiah in Judea. Superposed on the photograph of the coin is what I found: Jupiter underwent...

Christmas, they say, is a time to be with your family. From my perspective, 'family' is, in one way, a wider community than most of us acknowledge. Personally, I view not only my parents, my brother and my relatives here in Sweden as 'my family'. 'My family' also includes all the hard working inhabitants of Gothenburg/Göteborg - the city where I live, it also includes the nation of Sweden, it includes Scandinavia, it encompasses Europe and at least to me, it is also the whole of the Western World. When I have visited other great Western nations, be it Italy,...

Ah, Christmas in Bethlehem. Manger Square is ablaze with colorful lights. The weather is usually a bit chilly. Aggressive merchants bombard passersby with “special sales” on all kinds of cedar wood statues and religious carvings. And like clockwork, the mainstream media descend upon this city every year to ignore rampant Muslim intimidation of Christians and instead blast Israel - often with completely inaccurate information - for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion. Take a widely circulated piece by McClatchy Newspapers writers Dion Nissenbaum and Cliff Churgin. The piece,...

A mere nine kilometers separates Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, from Jerusalem, where he was crucified, died and was buried. Pilgrims can easily visit both the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in half a day--as long as they are not Palestinian Christians. Israel's security wall, its restrictive exit permit system, roadblocks and military checkpoints now make it impossible for most Holy Land Christians to visit the shrines that, for all Christians, make the Holy Land holy. Like East Jerusalem, Bethlehem is part of the West Bank, not the State of Israel. Temporary exit visas...

JIMMY CARTER THE CRIMINAL   Jimmy Carter - infamous worst ex US president that is largely at fault for the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran (by putting extra pressure on the Shah), ultimately resulting in 1) Islamic Republic of Iran's oppression of millions of Persians, and 2) the planet in peril at the hands of that nation's mullahs' nukes.   Jimmy Carter has his hands blooded in every single violent action being perpetrated by that Islamic republic on a daily basis since 1979, including the crimes against humanity like the massacres in the 1980's, the terrible persecution on minorities such as:...

(Summarized from E. L. Martin, "The Star that Astonished the World," ASK Publications, Box 25000, Portland Or. 1991) (1) The date of the birth of Christ hinges on just one thing, the statement of Josephus (Antiquities 17.6-8) that Herod died shortly after an eclipse of the moon. Astronomers supply the dates for such eclipses around those years: None in 7 or 6 BC. In 5 BC, March 23, 29 days to Passover. Also in 5 BC. Sept. 15,7 months to Passover. In 4 B.C. March 13, 29 days to Passover. 3 and 2 B.C. no eclipses. In 1 BC. January...

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - The sale of Nativity scenes with a wall running through the middle to symbolize Israel's security barrier borders on anti-Semitism, Jewish groups are saying. The Amos Trust, a British Christian charity that works with needy communities around the world, is selling the traditional Nativity sets with a political twist, noting that the wise men won't reach the stable because of the wall. The Amos Trust says its Nativity sets are made by Palestinian carpenters from olive wood from Bethlehem. Israel started building its security barrier -- a series of walls and fences -- in response to an...

Only Christian TV Station in Bethlehem Folds Cites Debt, Threats and "Troubles" With Government BETHLEHEM, West Bank, OCT. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Bethlehem's only Christian television station, The Nativity, has just one week left to broadcast. "It is with great regret that we are informing you of our decision to close The Nativity -- "Al-Mahed" -- television station," said its director and owner, "in spite of its inestimable service to the Church and to the existence of the Christian community in the Holy Land." Samir Qumsieh, a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, founded The Nativity in 1996. The broadcasts of...

"After her tour of the church, she met with civic leaders and local security chiefs, who told her about the daily difficulties of life under Israeli occupation. Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem, is lined on two sides by Israel's West Bank separation barrier, along some stretches a towering wall of cement blocks. Town residents need difficult-to-obtain permits to cross through a wall terminal into Jerusalem, and long lines often form during rush hour."

BETHLEHEM Mayor Victor Batarseh yesterday attacked Israel and angered members of Australia's Jewish community within hours of arriving in Sydney - just as Australian immigration officials in the Middle East warned would occur if he was granted a visa. Dr Batarseh told The Australian Israel's construction of a security wall was about grabbing Palestinian land, not stopping suicide bombers. "If you want peace, you build bridges of love and understanding between people, you don't build walls of hatred," he said. Dr Batarseh is the leader of a five-person delegation from Bethlehem that arrived in Australia on Saturday to sign a...

A 50-year-old principal was found naked in his school office while watching gay pornography on Tuesday, according to sources. Sex toys were found nearby, the sources added. Police said John Acerra was a longtime teacher and principal in the Bethlehem Area School District, but was also allegedly selling crystal meth out of his school office. Acerra, of Allentown, was the principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, and was arrested minutes after he arranged to sell the notoriously addictive drug to a police informant, according to investigators. Police arrived and found meth and drug paraphernalia on his desk, according to...

The principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem sold crystal methamphetamine to police informants three times this month, once in his school office, police say. John Acerra, 50, of 832 Chestnut St., Allentown, was arrested Tuesday in his office, where police found meth on his desk, according to arrest papers filed by Bethlehem police. One police informant told officers that Acerra used and sold crystal meth for at least five months before his arrest, the papers say.Acerra faces felony charges of possession with intent to deliver meth and delivery of the drug and related charges. He is in Lehigh County...

A number of Christian families have finally decided to break their silence and talk openly about what they describe as Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in this city. The move comes as a result of increased attacks on Christians by Muslims over the past few months. The families said they wrote letters to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Vatican, Church leaders and European governments complaining about the attacks, but their appeals have fallen on deaf ears. According to the families, many Christians have long been afraid to complain in public about the campaign of "intimidation" for fear of...

91% of palestinian are Arab MUSLIM, the rest are Christians, suffering under their brothers... living in fear and forced to act violenlty against Israel. I love it when Islamists talk as if they care about Arab-Christians, anyway here is about the "Christian" bubble in racist "palestine". Arab "Palestinian" Muslims' Persecution of Christians   Arab "Palestinian" Christians have been suffering and STILL suffer from Arab "Palestinian" Muslim majority.Just like the Arab Christian Lebanese in "Damour" (Yasir Arafat´s Planned Christian Genocide http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/article.php?voir%5B%5D=594&voir%5B%5D=3532, Hobeika - Damour http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/hobeika_damour/hobeika_damour.html ), where "Palestinian" Muslims massacred Christians senselessly, which brought the reprisal by Arab Christians upon Arab "Palestinian"...

O, Muslim town of Bethlehem (muslim persecution of Bethlehem's Christians) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=423126&in_page_id=1770 O, Muslim town of Bethlehem... By ELIZABETH DAY Last updated at 21:26pm on 16th December 2006 Lights of hope: Candles in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem HeadlinesIN FOCUS: Saddam Hussein's trial and execution Jailed fraudster lands chaplain in trouble for 'smuggling' luxuries into prison New Year washout as storms batter UK 'Blair's decade of freebies total £775,000' Schoolgirl tells of lightning strike ordeal Brown 'will be a humbler Premier' Para survives Taliban bullet only to be struck down by superbug on ward in Britain A couple of...

Terrorists returning to Bethlehem and other signs of progress in the stalled peace process By Caroline B. Glick Why Christians — as well as Jews — should be furious at Olmert You have to wonder what thoughts passed through the minds of Bethlehem's Christians as Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah commander Mahmoud Abbas appeared at the Church of the Nativity for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. On April 2, 2002, as IDF forces swept into Bethlehem to root out the terrorists who had taken control of the city, between 150 and 180 Fatah terrorists under Yasser Arafat's command shot their...

See photos from Bethlehem today at http://flickr.com/photos/jerusalemdiaries/ From: Judy Lash Balint, Jerusalem Every Christmas I make the 12-minute drive from my Jerusalem home to Bethlehem for a reality check on the beleaguered little town five miles away. This year, contrary to the customary gloomy reports from the international media, things were bustling in Bethlehem. Bright blue cloudless skies and comfortable temperatures help make things more pleasant than in previous years when a cold, grey drizzle dampened spirits. Driving up to the Rachel's Passage checkpoint in my car with Israeli plates, a quick check of my press credentials is all that's...

Israel: Free Transport, IPRAYNEWS Live Bethlehem Christmas Internet Video By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem ---- December 23 .....Israel has announced that it will provide free transportation to Bethlehem as IPRAYNEWS provides free, live Internet Web cam of Christmas Mass in Bethlehem. Israel's Ministry of Tourism in a warm, kind act for Christians, will provide free transportation for the thousands of tourists and pilgrims expected to travel to Bethlehem for the traditional Christmas celebrations on December 24th and 25th. Bus shuttles will run every half hour between Jerusalem and Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity from noon on the 24th...

The Star of Bethlehem Meeting chaired by Richard Phillips Rod Jenkins Bristol Astronomical Society 7 January 2005 This talk was originally scheduled for 3 December 2004 - just before the speaker’s paper was published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association vol. 114 No. 6. A full account with references appears in that publication on pp. 336-341. According to Giotto, the Star of Bethlehem is shown in his painting The Adoration of the Magi as a comet - presumably Halley’s as it appeared during his lifetime. For this reason the space probe sent to study Halley’s comet in 1986...

All is quiet in Bethlehem. On Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity stands in the pale gloom of dusk, its doors open to passing pilgrims. But inside, the nave is empty of visitors and the collection boxes depleted of coins. In the candlelit grotto downstairs, a silver star marks the spot where Jesus is supposed to have been born. It is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, but there are no tourists queuing to see it. Just 500 yards down the road, Joseph Canawati is not looking forward to Christmas. The expansive lobby of his 77-room Hotel...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Abu Khalil is a man with alcohol on his mind. He hardly drinks the stuff himself, but for the past 40 years he and his father have sold it for a living, and the life of an alcohol salesman in Bethlehem these days is poor enough to drive a man to drink. With less than two weeks before Christmas, this should be the busiest time of the year for Khalil, a member of Bethlehem's once vibrant but now steadily shrinking Christian community. But a sharp drop in living standards in the occupied West Bank since...

What happened to the 50 tons of gold, silver and sacred treasures looted from Herod's Temple following the Roman legionnaires' sack of Jerusalem on Tisha b'Av in the year 70 CE? The Arch of Titus in Rome, erected shortly after the death of Titus who reigned as emperor from 79 to 81, clearly depicts Roman soldiers bearing on their shoulders the golden candelabrum, silver trumpets and bejewelled Table of the Divine Presence which the Roman emperor Vespasian and his son Titus carted back to Rome as trophies of war. Between 75 CE and the early 5th century, the treasure...

Good Arab Christian VS Islamized Arab "Christians" You hear so much about Arab Christians in the middle east, the tiny minority in the midle east, what's the real truth about them are they all really just "Arab Christians"? What about those Arab "Christians" that hate America? Well, you have to differenciate between heroic beautiful Arab Christians like Joseph Farah ( http://wnd.com ), Brigitte Gabriel ( http://americancongress4truth.org ), Nonie Darwish ( http://arabsforisrael.com ), Walid Shoebat ( http:(//shoebat.com ), and the Zogby Arab american "activists" or lobbyists on the other side, worse are the Christian Arabs that have always been anti American...

I've just returned from a trip to Israel (yesterday morning). I'm OK, nothing bad happened. I'm back in one piece. Well, maybe except my heart, that I've left there :-) The MSM are really doing a "good" job about the situation out there. Actually - if not the media reports - I wouldn't even realize that I was in a country being engaged in war (beacuse the view of soldiers or military vehicles are nothing exceptional in that country). The other fact is, that my group skipped the part of trip to Galilea (Nazarteth, Tiberias and Galilean Lake) - due...

How [radical] Islam makes one into a fascist, whether you are Arab, black, etc. The broader view of the deep & wide reality of Islamofascism What do the Arab Muslim massacre in NYC WTC, The Pakistani Muslim bombing in London, the Arab Muslim bombing in Madrid, an Indonesian attack on Australians in Bali, an Arab Muslim racist attack on an ordinary Jew in Paris, Arabs' onslaught in the genocide campaign in Sudan, WW2's Bosnian Muslims attacking Christian Serbs, Jordanian Arab murderer: Zarqawi that seperated (Nazi style) between Shiite & Sunni kids on a bus, Arab slave masters in Mauritania, a...

IDF troops operating in the Bethlehem area Sunday afternoon killed a senior wanted terror suspect, Jaber Ahras, who among other attacks was responsible for one that left two IDF soldiers dead in 2003. Ahras headed a terror cell planning to fire rockets at a Jerusalem neighborhood. Five cell members were detained by security authorities in February. In the past, Ahras acted on behalf of the Fatah's military wing, but recently he was cooperating with the Popular Resistance Committees. Palestinian sources said Ahras headed the Resistance Committee's entire West Bank rocket infrastructure. A spokesman on behalf of the Salah al-Din Brigades,...

Catholic priests in the church marking the spot where Jesus was believed to have been born said that during the five-week siege, Palestinians tore up some Bibles for toilet paper and removed many valuable sacramental objects, according to a May 15, 2002, report by the Washington Times.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP) - The shrinking Christian population of Bethlehem is struggling to conceal its fears for the future after the victory for Islamists of Hamas in the Palestinian general election. The blue skies of a perfect Sunday morning in the birthplace of Jesus Christ failed to lift the gloom among the congregation attending mass at the Church of the Nativity in the centre of the West Bank's "little town" which now has many representatives from the radical Islamist group in parliament as Christians. Franciscan father Amjad Sabbara was putting on a brave face as he greeted the congregation...

In what many consider to be one of the most notorious holy site desecrations in recent history, nearly 100 Palestinian terrorists in April, 2002, holed up inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. One of Christianity's most sacred sites, the church is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. Israel surrounded the Church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tzanim and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks. Over 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church...

Dec. 28, 2005 - " ... during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'" - Matthew 2:1-2 They are requisite figures in every nativity scene: Three elegantly dressed exotic men, camels in tow, weighed down with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are always a few steps removed, seeming to defer to the farm animals surrounding the young mother and her newborn. Accuracy is not a hallmark...

ROMA, December 29, 2005 – Thirty thousand pilgrims from all over the world came to Bethlehem for Christmas, one third more than the previous year. The leader of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, a Muslim, attended the midnight Mass at the basilica of the Nativity. And in his homily, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, an Arab, hailed him as a man of peace, reserving his protest for “the wall raised up before us, forcing us to live as if in a prison, our lands confiscated, our young men carried away at night and thrown into the Israeli...

Store owner in West Bank city says 'We are harassed, but you wouldn't know the truth. No one says anything publicly about the Muslims' With Christmas services here drawing far fewer tourists than in the 1990s and the town's Christian population now at an all-time low, many world leaders and hundreds of major media outlets this week blamed Israel for Bethlehem's decline – often citing false information – while a simple talk with the town's residents reveals a drastically different picture. They say Muslim persecution has been keeping Christians away. "All this talk about Israel driving Christians out and causing...

World leaders, media blame Israel for fleeing Christians BETHLEHEM - With Christmas services here drawing far fewer tourists than in the 1990s and the town's Christian population now at an all-time low, many world leaders and hundreds of major media outlets this week blamed Israel for Bethlehem's decline - often citing false information - while a simple talk with the town's residents reveals a drastically different picture. They say Muslim persecution has been keeping Christians away. "All this talk about Israel driving Christians out and causing pain is nonsense," a Bethlehem Christian community leader told WND. "You want to know what is at...

CALLS for peace resonated in Bethlehem overnight as a lull in violence spurred the biggest influx of Christmas pilgrims for years to the town where Christians believe Jesus was born. Both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in messages they were committed to peacemaking in 2006. In Rome, Pope Benedict offered a special prayer for peace in the Holy Land. In Bethlehem, an intermittent battleground in the five-year-old Palestinian uprising, Vatican envoy Michel Sabbah said there was a real opportunity to grasp, with both Israelis and Palestinians due to hold elections early next year. "A...

British TV channel broadcast this week claims Jesus' parents' historical trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem would have been rendered impossible today, due to IDF restrictions. Israel Foreign Ministry outraged Had Jesus' parents Joseph and Mary tried to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem nowadays, they would find it to be a near impossible task due to the IDF roadblocks and the West Bank security fence, a BBC reporter claimed in a televised broadcast this week. The news story, by BBC correspondent in Israel Matthew Price, has brought the already shaky relations between the U.K. television channel and Israel to a new...

Thousands Mark Christmas Eve in Bethlehem By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago Thousands of tourists and pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations Saturday, bringing a long-missing sense of holiday cheer to Jesus' historic birthplace. The festivities capped the most peaceful year since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000. But Israel's imposing separation barrier at the entrance to town dampened the Christmas spirit and provided a stark reminder of the unresolved conflict. The gray concrete wall, which Israel erected to keep attackers out of its cities, divides Bethlehem and blocks access to neighboring...

"While You Were Sleeping" by Casting Crowns Oh little town of Bethlehem Looks like another silent night Above your deep and dreamless sleep A giant star lights up the sky And while you're lying in the dark There shines an everlasting lightFor the King has left His throne And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonight Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping For God became a man And stepped into your world today Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history As a city with no room for its King While you were sleeping While you...

Joy Born at Bethlehem A Sermon (No. 1026) Delivered on Lord's-Day Morning, December 24th, 1871, by C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."—Luke 2:10-12. WE HAVE NO superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly...

Media around the world are painting a grim picture of Bethlehem a few days before Christmas - and blaming it on Israel. HonestReporting.com cites sample articles from the New Statesman and the Baltimore Sun. According to the Sun, "A towering wall of gray concrete slabs, 30 feet high, cuts across what was once the main road into this town from Jerusalem. Just inside the barrier, past a new Israeli security terminal, a once-bustling neighborhood has become a ghost town. Shops are shuttered or empty, and the streets are deserted." Buried several paragraphs later is the fact that tourism to Bethlehem...

Gunmen seized the rooftop of Bethlehem's city hall near Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity late Tuesday morning, and pointed their weapons at Palestinian police below, witnesses said. Taameri said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas spoke to the gunmen by phone. Some of the armed men were members of the security forces and others belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot. The Al Aqsa gunmen demanded to be put on the government payroll, Taameri said.

ReutersUpdated: 7:28 a.m. ET Dec. 20, 2005 BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Palestinian gunmen briefly seized Bethlehem city hall, overlooking the Church of the Nativity, on Tuesday in a jarring interruption to Christmas preparations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.The incident, five days before Christmas, was another sign of growing lawlessness in Palestinian territories and the turmoil within Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction ahead of a January parliamentary election.About 20 gunmen from Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades fanned out on rooftops and in the offices of city hall, firing several shots in the air and forcing workers out. They demanded money...

AP News Alert BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Gunmen take over Bethlehem city hall overlooking Manger Square and Church of the Nativity.

Israel will ease access to Bethlehem during the upcoming Christmas celebrations in a "calculated risk" intended to let Christian pilgrims worship the holiday freely in the West Bank town, security officials said Monday. IDF Lt. Col. Aviv Feigel said pilgrims will not need permission from the army to enter the town, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. The military will try to speed the process by not checking every tourist bus, but conducting spot checks of random buses instead, he said. Arab Israelis and Christian Palestinians will be allowed to drive into Bethlehem, and Palestinian Christians will be allowed into Israel...

Bethlehem mayor calls on pilgrims to visit to help bring down security barrier By Israel Insider staff and partners December 15, 2005 The mayor of Jesus' traditional home town on Wednesday asked pilgrims to visit in large numbers during Christmas and help pressure Israel to dismantle the security barrier that rings the city and cuts it off from Jerusalem. Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem, said twice as many visitors are expected this year, compared to last, but they will find the city "walled off." An 8-meter (25-foot) wall divides the north edge of the town, part of the security...

At Christmas time, I usually reflect on the elements of the Christmas story that I have heard all of my many years. I often search for some unusual approach to better understand a story that my mind and spirit cannot fully comprehend. I stand amazed and in great awe at what happened over two thousand years ago. What became of those shepherds who saw and heard the angelic multitude and knelt at the manger where the baby Messiah lay? Were their lives changed? What did they tell their grandchildren? The innkeeper? He surely witnessed the events in his stable. Did...

On Christmas Eve, December 24, thousands of Christians will gather at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to mark the occasion. Though the town gains prominence anew each Christmas season, the place of Bethlehem in Jewish history is often little remembered. The Church of the Nativity itself was built in the early Byzantine period (fourth century CE) by Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, and commemorates the birth of Jesus. But in Jewish history, the town itself has significance. When the Patriarch Jacob, his wives and family, returned to the Land of Israel after serving Laben, a tragedy occurred...