Resources > 2003 "Christmas in Bethlehem" Program sponsored by CJME

THIS IS THE SEASON in which we celebrate the birth of Christ in the small town of Bethlehem. We sing carols and give gifts because of it, yet how many of us are aware of what is going on today in that little town of Bethlehem we sing about?

How many of us know that today Christians in Bethlehem live under siege, face collective punishment that confines them to their homes for days at a time, and, with other Palestinians, lead lives of increasing poverty, hardship and hopelessness. United Nations and World Bank statistics indicate that half the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip now live on less than $2 a day.

Who are the Christian Palestinians? They are often called "The forgotten faithful" because many Christians, especially Christians in the United States, do not even know that there is an indigenous Arab Christian population in the Holy Land.

These Christian Palestinians in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth and other places are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians. They are not immigrants. They are not converts from Judaism or Islam. They are the descendants of those who first believed in Jesus Christ. They are the living church in the land where Jesus was born, died and was resurrected, and they are in peril.

In 1948 when the state of Israel was declared, the Christian population of the Holy Land was 18 percent. Today it is less than 2 percent, and that number is rapidly shrinking. Because the punishments and privations imposed by the Israeli military occupation have escalated during the last three years, Christian Palestinians are emigrating in great numbers from the land that their families have occupied for centuries.

Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States seldom report what Palestinians suffer on a daily basis under Israeli military occupation: the confiscations of their homes and land, the closures of schools, curfews that keep the population confined to their homes 24 hours a day for days at a time, limited employment opportunities, the inability to travel even for religious purposes.

Many, if not most, of these measures violate international law. A new wall Israel is building threatens to make the situation even worse. The new wall will divide Bethlehem. In a statement on the separation wall issued Aug. 26, the Heads of the Jerusalem Churches specifically mentioned the proposed wall in Bethlehem and said "The consequences will be devastating to the Christian Community."

Please pray for the Christians in the Holy Land. Write your representatives in Congress and tell them you are concerned about the breach of international law occurring there and the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Life in Bethlehem - Testimonial by Mitri Raheb

It is the time of Advent. Christmas is fast approaching. In Bethlehem, in Palestine, it is quiet, very quiet. The streets of Bethlehem are deserted, very unusual for such a season. A strange silence overshadows the area. It is a silence crying loud towards heaven. The silence is disrupted every now and then with the sounds of two Israeli military tanks roaming the streets and announcing curfew: “Mamnou’ attajawul..” “Moving is forbidden…leaving home is forbidden…” In other words, “You are prisoners. Stay where you are or otherwise you are violating the holy military rules…you will be put in prison.” For more than three weeks, a 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Bethlehem. No one is allowed to leave his/her home. Children are prevented from going to school, workers cannot go to work, and even pregnant women are often denied access to hospitals to deliver. Unborn children are considered to be a threat to the “security of the state of Israel.”

The children of Bethlehem want to play. But playing is dangerous. Many Palestinians killed by the Israel troops during this second intifada are children. Occupation is not only taking their lives but their childhood and souls. They are forced to play what they are experiencing on a daily basis: War. They are imitating the Israeli soldiers. They see what Israeli tanks are doing and the power they have. They feel how weak they are, how weak their parents are and they want to be as powerful as their oppressors. Many families are worried about their children’s aspirations. They are afraid that their children will grow up to believe that the fire of might is stronger than the light of right, that there is no justice in this world, that the world community applauds the oppressor, and that the tanks are the decision makers in the end. The parents in Bethlehem are worried about the souls of their children. They still want them to hold on to the notion of justice, to the vision of reconciliation and to the path of non-violence. Although everything around them speaks an altogether different language, they still cling strongly to the good news of Christmas that God became child in Christ so that all children of the world might have life, and life abundantly.

— Mitri Raheb, senior pastor, The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church and general director of The International Center of Bethlehem. This is a passage taken from Rev. Raheb’s forthcoming book, Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope at Times of Fear to be published in March 2004 by Augsburg Fortress

The “Separation Wall” in Bethlehem by Brother Jack Curran

A faculty member from Bethlehem University recently invited me and another newly arrived Brother to accompany him on a brief tour of some of the sights of Bethlehem one Sunday morning. At the end of our tour, we went back to the house of this faculty member's parents. One of the interesting things about their home is that right outside their front yard stands the famous "apartheid wall” or “separation or security fence" — whatever you call it. A segment of this long, sinful line is already constructed and stands at the edge of their front yard.  They once owned some olive trees, for revenue and livelihood, across the street from their yard, but now these trees are no longer, as the wall and the adjoining roads on both sides of it have removed their trees.

— Brother Jack Curran, FSC, vice-president for development at Bethlehem University

"Tanks ruled the streets..." by Bob May

Life under occupation is not an easy life for anyone living in Bethlehem. The Israeli Army controls all of our movement. If we want to visit Jerusalem, the Army has to OK it. If we want to visit another community in the West Bank, the Army has to approve. Most of the time approval is not given for Palestinians. Last year the entire city of Bethlehem spent about half the year under 24-hour a day curfew. That meant that no one could leave his or her home--night or day. Nothing was open. No schools and no workplaces - for a total of almost six months! Tanks ruled the streets and helicopters and jet planes ruled the air. Some churches dared to open their doors to Christians on Sunday. I was sitting in Christmas Lutheran Church one Sunday morning when Israeli soldiers surrounded it and announced through loudspeakers that anyone inside would be punished. Our service continued through the shouts of soldiers outside. We were lucky that day because the soldiers left without entering the church.

My places of work have not been so lucky. Several of them - all peace, church, and Christian-related - have been raided by the Israeli Army. Computers were taken, records stolen, and offices trashed. I have learned so much from my Palestinian friends who suffer daily from this oppression, yet remain optimistic and have faith for the hope of a brighter future. I am inspired by the resilience of the community and blessed to be able to serve God in this place.

-- Bob May works and lives in the West Bank, Palestine

What You Can Do This Christmas Season…
 

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