Free Republic

Christmas, they say, is a time to be with your family. From my perspective, 'family' is, in one way, a wider community than most of us acknowledge. Personally, I view not only my parents, my brother and my relatives here in Sweden as 'my family'. 'My family' also includes all the hard working inhabitants of Gothenburg/Göteborg - the city where I live, it also includes the nation of Sweden, it includes Scandinavia, it encompasses Europe and at least to me, it is also the whole of the Western World. When I have visited other great Western nations, be it Italy,...

Ah, Christmas in Bethlehem. Manger Square is ablaze with colorful lights. The weather is usually a bit chilly. Aggressive merchants bombard passersby with “special sales” on all kinds of cedar wood statues and religious carvings. And like clockwork, the mainstream media descend upon this city every year to ignore rampant Muslim intimidation of Christians and instead blast Israel - often with completely inaccurate information - for ruining Christmas and for the drastic decline of Christianity in one of the holiest cities for that religion. Take a widely circulated piece by McClatchy Newspapers writers Dion Nissenbaum and Cliff Churgin. The piece,...

A mere nine kilometers separates Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, from Jerusalem, where he was crucified, died and was buried. Pilgrims can easily visit both the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in half a day--as long as they are not Palestinian Christians. Israel's security wall, its restrictive exit permit system, roadblocks and military checkpoints now make it impossible for most Holy Land Christians to visit the shrines that, for all Christians, make the Holy Land holy. Like East Jerusalem, Bethlehem is part of the West Bank, not the State of Israel. Temporary exit visas...

JIMMY CARTER THE CRIMINAL   Jimmy Carter - infamous worst ex US president that is largely at fault for the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran (by putting extra pressure on the Shah), ultimately resulting in 1) Islamic Republic of Iran's oppression of millions of Persians, and 2) the planet in peril at the hands of that nation's mullahs' nukes.   Jimmy Carter has his hands blooded in every single violent action being perpetrated by that Islamic republic on a daily basis since 1979, including the crimes against humanity like the massacres in the 1980's, the terrible persecution on minorities such as:...

(Summarized from E. L. Martin, "The Star that Astonished the World," ASK Publications, Box 25000, Portland Or. 1991) (1) The date of the birth of Christ hinges on just one thing, the statement of Josephus (Antiquities 17.6-8) that Herod died shortly after an eclipse of the moon. Astronomers supply the dates for such eclipses around those years: None in 7 or 6 BC. In 5 BC, March 23, 29 days to Passover. Also in 5 BC. Sept. 15,7 months to Passover. In 4 B.C. March 13, 29 days to Passover. 3 and 2 B.C. no eclipses. In 1 BC. January...

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - The sale of Nativity scenes with a wall running through the middle to symbolize Israel's security barrier borders on anti-Semitism, Jewish groups are saying. The Amos Trust, a British Christian charity that works with needy communities around the world, is selling the traditional Nativity sets with a political twist, noting that the wise men won't reach the stable because of the wall. The Amos Trust says its Nativity sets are made by Palestinian carpenters from olive wood from Bethlehem. Israel started building its security barrier -- a series of walls and fences -- in response to an...

Only Christian TV Station in Bethlehem Folds Cites Debt, Threats and "Troubles" With Government BETHLEHEM, West Bank, OCT. 24, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Bethlehem's only Christian television station, The Nativity, has just one week left to broadcast. "It is with great regret that we are informing you of our decision to close The Nativity -- "Al-Mahed" -- television station," said its director and owner, "in spite of its inestimable service to the Church and to the existence of the Christian community in the Holy Land." Samir Qumsieh, a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, founded The Nativity in 1996. The broadcasts of...

"After her tour of the church, she met with civic leaders and local security chiefs, who told her about the daily difficulties of life under Israeli occupation. Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem, is lined on two sides by Israel's West Bank separation barrier, along some stretches a towering wall of cement blocks. Town residents need difficult-to-obtain permits to cross through a wall terminal into Jerusalem, and long lines often form during rush hour."

BETHLEHEM Mayor Victor Batarseh yesterday attacked Israel and angered members of Australia's Jewish community within hours of arriving in Sydney - just as Australian immigration officials in the Middle East warned would occur if he was granted a visa. Dr Batarseh told The Australian Israel's construction of a security wall was about grabbing Palestinian land, not stopping suicide bombers. "If you want peace, you build bridges of love and understanding between people, you don't build walls of hatred," he said. Dr Batarseh is the leader of a five-person delegation from Bethlehem that arrived in Australia on Saturday to sign a...

A 50-year-old principal was found naked in his school office while watching gay pornography on Tuesday, according to sources. Sex toys were found nearby, the sources added. Police said John Acerra was a longtime teacher and principal in the Bethlehem Area School District, but was also allegedly selling crystal meth out of his school office. Acerra, of Allentown, was the principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem, and was arrested minutes after he arranged to sell the notoriously addictive drug to a police informant, according to investigators. Police arrived and found meth and drug paraphernalia on his desk, according to...

The principal of Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem sold crystal methamphetamine to police informants three times this month, once in his school office, police say. John Acerra, 50, of 832 Chestnut St., Allentown, was arrested Tuesday in his office, where police found meth on his desk, according to arrest papers filed by Bethlehem police. One police informant told officers that Acerra used and sold crystal meth for at least five months before his arrest, the papers say.Acerra faces felony charges of possession with intent to deliver meth and delivery of the drug and related charges. He is in Lehigh County...

A number of Christian families have finally decided to break their silence and talk openly about what they describe as Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in this city. The move comes as a result of increased attacks on Christians by Muslims over the past few months. The families said they wrote letters to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Vatican, Church leaders and European governments complaining about the attacks, but their appeals have fallen on deaf ears. According to the families, many Christians have long been afraid to complain in public about the campaign of "intimidation" for fear of...

91% of palestinian are Arab MUSLIM, the rest are Christians, suffering under their brothers... living in fear and forced to act violenlty against Israel. I love it when Islamists talk as if they care about Arab-Christians, anyway here is about the "Christian" bubble in racist "palestine". Arab "Palestinian" Muslims' Persecution of Christians   Arab "Palestinian" Christians have been suffering and STILL suffer from Arab "Palestinian" Muslim majority.Just like the Arab Christian Lebanese in "Damour" (Yasir Arafat´s Planned Christian Genocide http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/article.php?voir%5B%5D=594&voir%5B%5D=3532, Hobeika - Damour http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/hobeika_damour/hobeika_damour.html ), where "Palestinian" Muslims massacred Christians senselessly, which brought the reprisal by Arab Christians upon Arab "Palestinian"...

O, Muslim town of Bethlehem (muslim persecution of Bethlehem's Christians) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=423126&in_page_id=1770 O, Muslim town of Bethlehem... By ELIZABETH DAY Last updated at 21:26pm on 16th December 2006 Lights of hope: Candles in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem HeadlinesIN FOCUS: Saddam Hussein's trial and execution Jailed fraudster lands chaplain in trouble for 'smuggling' luxuries into prison New Year washout as storms batter UK 'Blair's decade of freebies total £775,000' Schoolgirl tells of lightning strike ordeal Brown 'will be a humbler Premier' Para survives Taliban bullet only to be struck down by superbug on ward in Britain A couple of...

Terrorists returning to Bethlehem and other signs of progress in the stalled peace process By Caroline B. Glick Why Christians — as well as Jews — should be furious at Olmert You have to wonder what thoughts passed through the minds of Bethlehem's Christians as Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah commander Mahmoud Abbas appeared at the Church of the Nativity for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. On April 2, 2002, as IDF forces swept into Bethlehem to root out the terrorists who had taken control of the city, between 150 and 180 Fatah terrorists under Yasser Arafat's command shot their...

See photos from Bethlehem today at http://flickr.com/photos/jerusalemdiaries/ From: Judy Lash Balint, Jerusalem Every Christmas I make the 12-minute drive from my Jerusalem home to Bethlehem for a reality check on the beleaguered little town five miles away. This year, contrary to the customary gloomy reports from the international media, things were bustling in Bethlehem. Bright blue cloudless skies and comfortable temperatures help make things more pleasant than in previous years when a cold, grey drizzle dampened spirits. Driving up to the Rachel's Passage checkpoint in my car with Israeli plates, a quick check of my press credentials is all that's...

Israel: Free Transport, IPRAYNEWS Live Bethlehem Christmas Internet Video By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Jerusalem ---- December 23 .....Israel has announced that it will provide free transportation to Bethlehem as IPRAYNEWS provides free, live Internet Web cam of Christmas Mass in Bethlehem. Israel's Ministry of Tourism in a warm, kind act for Christians, will provide free transportation for the thousands of tourists and pilgrims expected to travel to Bethlehem for the traditional Christmas celebrations on December 24th and 25th. Bus shuttles will run every half hour between Jerusalem and Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity from noon on the 24th...

The Star of Bethlehem Meeting chaired by Richard Phillips Rod Jenkins Bristol Astronomical Society 7 January 2005 This talk was originally scheduled for 3 December 2004 - just before the speaker’s paper was published in the Journal of the British Astronomical Association vol. 114 No. 6. A full account with references appears in that publication on pp. 336-341. According to Giotto, the Star of Bethlehem is shown in his painting The Adoration of the Magi as a comet - presumably Halley’s as it appeared during his lifetime. For this reason the space probe sent to study Halley’s comet in 1986...

All is quiet in Bethlehem. On Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity stands in the pale gloom of dusk, its doors open to passing pilgrims. But inside, the nave is empty of visitors and the collection boxes depleted of coins. In the candlelit grotto downstairs, a silver star marks the spot where Jesus is supposed to have been born. It is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, but there are no tourists queuing to see it. Just 500 yards down the road, Joseph Canawati is not looking forward to Christmas. The expansive lobby of his 77-room Hotel...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Abu Khalil is a man with alcohol on his mind. He hardly drinks the stuff himself, but for the past 40 years he and his father have sold it for a living, and the life of an alcohol salesman in Bethlehem these days is poor enough to drive a man to drink. With less than two weeks before Christmas, this should be the busiest time of the year for Khalil, a member of Bethlehem's once vibrant but now steadily shrinking Christian community. But a sharp drop in living standards in the occupied West Bank since...