Directions to Orthodoxy - Dark days in Bethlehem as Christmas approaches

An Orthodox worshipper lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, December 7, 2006. (Ammar Awad/Reuters) This post has been viewed 1254 times.

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Dark days in Bethlehem as Christmas approaches
Posted on Wed Dec 13 2006

Bethlehem, Dec. 13, 2006 (CWNews.com) - The town where Jesus was born is “living one of its history’s darkest chapters,” according to Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem.

In an annual pre-Christmas address, Batarseh likened Bethlehem to “a big prison,” citing the Israeli security wall that rings the town and the tight restrictions on pilgrims visiting Palestinian territory.

A steady decline in tourism-- and particularly the sharp drop in the number of Christians traveling to Manger Square for the annual Christmas celebration-- have produced devastating effects on the local economy, the mayor reported. Unemployment in Bethlehem now stands at 65%, and ambitious young residents are leaving for better economic prospects elsewhere. The emigration trends are particularly strong among the town’s Christian families, who find themselves an increasingly small minority.

During last year’s Christmas celebration in Bethlehem, Archbishop Pietro Sambi-- then the apostolic nuncio in the Holy Land, now the nuncio in the US--- said that the 27-foot Israeli security wall outside Bethlehem “literally closes off horizons.” The Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem, using the same language that Mayor Batarseh used, said that the wall had made Bethlehem into a sort of prison.

Discussion: Dark days in Bethlehem as Christmas approaches

Chris Kavanaugh on Dec 13 2006 @ 10:34pm
[No Subject]

The chinese built a wall visible from space. Rome built Hadrian's wall in Scotland,the Soviet Empire one in Berlin. And finally, the once vibrant jewish communities of Europe were smothered in walled in Ghettos. Containers are one of humanities oldest inventions; from carrying water and live embers for life giving fire to controlling people. Israel should know better than to replicate ghettos. Israel should have a care they do not become prisoner's of their own walls.

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