Bethlehem
Palestinian Christians make an Easter call for relief from war’s tightening grasp
By Mitri Raheb — March 29, 2024
(RNS) — An appeal to the world's Christians to pressure political leaders to find a way to peace.
Pope says ‘our hearts are in Bethlehem’ as he presides over the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s
By Associated Press — January 1, 2024
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Francis, draped in white robes, led the Mass standing at the foot of one of St. Peter’s grand columns.
In Bethlehem, quiet Christmas celebrations draw parallels to war’s victims
By Fiona André — December 22, 2023
(RNS) — In the West Bank and Gaza, Christians are searching for ways to celebrate a subdued Christmas, with festivities canceled for the first time since the First Intifada in 1988.
Christmas celebrations canceled, Christians in the Holy Land still find hope in the season
By Daoud Kuttab — December 18, 2023
AMMAN, Jordan (RNS) — 'Do not let death rejoice in its victory over us,' said one writer.
Bethlehem pastors arrive in DC, urge lawmakers to embrace cease-fire, peace plan
By Jack Jenkins — November 27, 2023
(RNS) — 'All we want for Christmas is a constant and comprehensive cease-fire and an end to this war,' said the Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of Bethlehem’s Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church.
Bethlehem rebounds from pandemic, lifting Christmas spirits
By Maya Alleruzzo, Jalal Bwaitel, and Hannah Schoenbaum — December 27, 2022
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Tourism is the economic lifeblood of this town in the occupied West Bank, where for the past two years the pandemic kept international visitors away.
Bethlehem welcomes Christmas tourists after pandemic lull
By Sam McNeil — December 16, 2022
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — On a recent day, dozens of groups from virtually every continent posed for selfies in front of the Church of the Nativity, built on the grotto where Christians believe Jesus was born.
For Biden, Palestinian struggle has an Irish Catholic cast
By Daoud Kuttab — July 25, 2022
(RNS) — The comparison to the Irish reflects a new and important value to Palestinians who aspire to live in a free and independent state of their own.
Five Christmas sermon blunders that get Judaism (and Jesus) wrong
By Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler — December 24, 2021
(RNS) — Christmas brings out some of the worst ignorance of Jesus’ Judaism.
Exceptions for ‘Jewish tourism’ rankle US Christians blocked from Israel at Christmas
By Yonat Shimron and Michele Chabin — December 21, 2021
(RNS) — Birthright Israel delegations and similar Jewish travel programs were exempted from a travel ban that has canceled Christian trips to Israel at Christmas.
Christmas in Bethlehem: Gilded treasures, but few tourists
By Ilan Ben Zion — November 19, 2021
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Ahead of Christmas, a towering wooden screen — once blackened with soot from millions of worshippers’ candles — is being restored to its gilded glory in the Church of the Nativity, built at the site where many believe Jesus was born. But few visitors are expected to see it during […]
Armenian Christian community caught between Israelis and Palestinians
By Daoud Kuttab — December 31, 2020
(RNS) — The controversy has taken on added significance because of a recent rise in anti-Christian sentiment among Palestinians.
Palestinians in Bethlehem look beyond religious tourism
By Mohammad Daraghmeh and Joseph Krauss — December 9, 2019
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — For decades, people in Bethlehem have watched as tour groups spend a few hours at the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and then return to Israel.
Biblical city of Bethlehem boasts largest Christmas in years
By Isabel Debre — December 24, 2018
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Palestinians are preparing to host pilgrims from around the world in celebrating Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
In Christ’s birthplace, olive wood artisans carry on a Holy Land tradition
By Lauren Markoe — December 19, 2017
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (RNS) — Artisans in and around Bethlehem specialize in carving wood from a tree that makes several appearances in the Bible. They consider the work — a millennium-old tradition — holy. But clashes between Israelis and Palestinians threaten this year's Christmastime sales.
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