Their visit (organized by a Menachem Begin friend) wasn’t intended to meet Palestinian Christians or to visit the holy site of Bethlehem as Christmas approaches. Instead, they came to express solidarity with Israel & its oppression of the Palestinians. How can one claim to be a follower of Christ while standing with those who kill, dispossess, & degrade an entire people?
Bethlehem prepares for a subdued Christmas as its tree lights up on December 6, marking the city’s first celebration in two years as Israel’s violence continues
Pope Francis speaks about Palestine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; deadly airstrikes in Gaza, raids in West Bank; another video released of stripped Palestinian hostages
The little town of Bethlehem is quiet this Christmas, as more and more deaths are reported in Gaza. An Israeli former hostage discusses her captivity.
The “little town of Bethlehem” that we sing about at this time of year is far different from what many of us imagine it to be.
Millions of travelers to Bethlehem believe the hasbara: Jews Good, Palestinians Bad; Jews victims, Palestinians perpetrators; because of the Holocaust, the world owes us, and must condone what we’re doing to Palestinians; those who criticize our racist policies are outright anti-Semites; we are God’s Chosen, therefore we can do no wrong.
Israel announces it will not allow Gaza’s Christians to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem to celebrate Christmas this year
The International Middle East Media Center reports on the ongoing acts of Israeli injustice and violence that most other media don’t bother with. Not a day goes by – including holidays – without abductions, settler brutality, shootings, and often even deaths.
For the 11th year, Gaza’s Christian minority celebrates Christmas under Israeli siege, unable to join family in West Bank. Travel requests are mostly denied or ignored from an occupying country that claims to promote freedom of religion and worship.
Why do many Hasidic Jews abstain from studying the Torah at Christmas? The mythology is that back in the day, Christians liked to persecute Jews during the holiday But according to an authority on the subject, the practice was originally based on a superstition that on Christmas, Jesus had to spend the day “wander[ing] in all pits of excrement or latrines throughout the world” – and studying Torah gave him respite from this torture.