Today I have three things for you from Bethlehem:

(1) Nativity Church (Birthplace of Jesus) Virtual Tour
(2) Alex Awad -- Lifting the Closure of Bethlehem
(3) Christmas celebrations cancelled in Bethlehem

Christmas Peace,
Bob

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A Virtual Tour of Nativity Church:
See it from the comfort of your computer room.

http://www.bobmay.info/dec102003nativitychurch.htm

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Alex Awad -- Lifting the Closure of Bethlehem

An Open Letter To Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

December 1, 2003

To: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
From: Rev. Alex Awad, Pastor East Jerusalem Baptist Church
RE: Lifting the closure of Bethlehem

Mr. Prime Minister,

I appeal to you to use your influence to lift the closure of
Bethlehem. It is apparent that the noose that the IDF has created
around the city is getting tighter every week. This siege-like
closure of the city is suffocating the Christian community of the
city rather than choking the militants and is generating untold
hardships to every Christian church and organization that serves in
the Bethlehem area. Over 60% of the Christians in the West Bank live
in the Bethlehem area. Consequently, the majority of Palestinian
Christians is harmed in one way or another as a result of the
barriers, walls, razor-wire fences, army camps and checkpoints that
completely circle the city.

I am the Dean of Students of a Christian college in Bethlehem and I
am the pastor of a Church in Jerusalem. My clerical duties in both
cities dictate that I travel daily between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. I
can never be sure on any given day whether the Israeli soldiers at
the checkpoint are going to let me go through the checkpoint or not.
On Wednesday, November 18, 2003, as I drove to the check point to
wait my turn, I noticed that the clergyman in the car ahead of me was
refused entry to Bethlehem in spite of his large shiny cross and
white beard. When my turn came the soldiers told me that the
checkpoint was closed and that if I entered Bethlehem I would not be
allowed to leave the city for five days. When I explained to the
soldier that I am a pastor and that I have important ministries in
Bethlehem, he responded with: "I am sure that the nuns that we
turned
back a few minutes ago had important ministries too". I do not
understand Mr. Prime Minister, how nuns and priests crossing from
Jerusalem to Bethlehem would pose a threat to the security of the
state of Israel. With the current policies of your government, over
95% of the Christian citizens of Bethlehem are not allowed to cross
the checkpoint from Bethlehem to Jerusalem which, as you well know,
is only six miles away. As for those who have permits or are
privileged to pass through, it may take them ten minutes to two hours
to cross. This overpowering closure is causing great social,
economic, educational, medical and religious nightmares to the
Christian citizens of Bethlehem, and it continues to cause no less
harm to the majority Muslim population of the city.

During the month of July 2003, a Christian organization in Holland
granted scholarships to a group of Palestinian Christian clergymen
from Jerusalem and from Bethlehem to travel to Turkey for a few days
of relaxation and spiritual enrichment. On the final day to fly from
Tel-Aviv to Turkey, we discovered that the Palestinian pastors from
the Bethlehem area were denied permits to travel from Bethlehem to
the Ben Gurion Airport. All of our efforts and petitions to persuade
the Israeli authorities in Kfar Etzion and Bet El to issue the needed
permits proved futile. Finally, we sent a message to the head of the
sponsoring organization in Holland to inform him of the lack of
progress. He in turn made contacts with a high official in the
Israeli government, who after a few phone calls persuaded the
authorities in Bet El to issue the pastors the needed permits. I
wonder Mr. Prime Minister, what is the point of having so much red
tape and enormous obstructions standing in the way of a group of
Christian clergymen needing to travel via the Ben Gurion Airport?

Another challenge that faces the Christians in the Bethlehem area,
Mr. Prime Minister, is traveling to holy sites in Israel. Last month
(November 2003), a colleague who is the pastor of a congregation in
Bethlehem, submitted an application to the Israeli authorities in
Kfar Etzion to get permits for him and his congregation to travel
from Bethlehem to Tiberius to conduct a service at a Christian site
near the Sea of Galilee. Without giving the pastor any explanation,
the authorities denied him the needed permits. The disheartened
pastor told me that this was the third time his applications were
rejected.

The Christian community in Bethlehem, Mr. Prime Minister, does not
seek preferential treatment from the Israeli Authorities. But we urge
you to remove the razor-wire fences, demolish the walls and loosen
the noose at the checkpoints so that Christians and non-Christians
can be free to go on with normal lives. IDF observation towers which
are erected at strategic positions around Greater Bethlehem are
giving the 130 thousand inhabitants the feeling that they are inmates
condemned to living in a tightly controlled jail.

As Christmas approaches, Mr. Prime Minister, and the eyes and hearts
of hundreds of millions of Christians from around the globe turn to
the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem for inspiration, let them see
that those who have the power to rule the people today, are kinder,
gentler and fairer than those who ruled when Christ, the Prince of
Peace was born.

Sincerely,

Reverend Alex Awad
Dean of Students, Bethlehem Bible College

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Christmas celebrations cancelled in Bethlehem

By Bassem Shehadi
The Jerusalem Times - Friday - December 5, 2003

Christmas in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, got off to a subdued
start this year with the municipality's decision to restrict
celebrations to religious rituals. Only a Christmas tree and few
ornaments will be erected at Manger Square, Mayor Hanna Nasser told
The Jerusalem Times.

The Israeli separation wall, newly built in the area, has fenced off
the northern entrance to Bethlehem for the first time in history
since the birth of Christ, preventing tourists and pilgrims from
flocking to Jesus' purported birthplace, Nasser added.

The 350-kilometer wall, which Israel is building around the West Bank
and cuts deep in the Palestinian areas, will annex 15 percent of the
West Bank and lead to severe humanitarian consequences for more than
680,000 Palestinians living in areas adjacent to it.

The Israeli closure leaves the city's economy on the verge of
collapse. The unemployment rate in the city climbed to 60%. The
number of workers, who used to attend their work places in Israel,
decreased from 2,000 before the Intifada to 900 after the
closure. "The situation is very difficult and nothing has changed on
the ground. The city is facing inhumane Israeli measures," Nasser
asserted.

Tourism and the olive wood industry, the main sources of the city's
economic life, have been broken down. Scores of tourist stores,
restaurants and hotels are closed, Nasser confirmed. "We're not
hoping that this year will be better than the past year; there are
still no tourists and the Israeli closure has turned the city into an
isolated ghetto." "All these are procedures and actions that destroy
all possibilities for peace and bringing about calmness."

Nasser ruled out the possibility for Israel to allow President
Arafat, who has been confined to his battered residence in Ramallah
for two years, to attend the Midnight Mass at the Nativity Church.