Bethlehem 2007 A.D.

The December issue of National Geographic, very fittingly, has a nice article about the current state of the city of Bethlehem. It was very interesting so click here to check it out.

For those of you now wanting to read the whole thing here are the points I found most interesting. You can say this is the Cliff Notes version of an NG article!

1. The church built above the location where Jesus was born is shared by three actual churches who fight over who has the actual right to be there and even who has the right to clean which area! The Churches are Roman Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox.
2. Today Bethlehem is only about one-third Cristian and this number is shrinking.
3. Bethlehem is one of the most contentious places on earth.
4. Along the city's borders are three Palestinian refugee camps that the residents have been living in since 1948.
   
5. Unemployment is estimated to be at 50% in the city.
6. To be allowed to leave the city to work you have to be married with kids. This is to ensure the laborers' will return.
7. Many Jews believe the Messiah will arrive in the back country of Bethlehem. Many Christians believe the Messiah will return back to the spot He was born. Palestinian Muslims also revere the land of Bethlehem as sacred since Jesus is one of their prophets.
   
8. There is a 24-foot high wall encircling Bethlehem on three sides. It's original purpose was to keep out terrorists but many now believe it is a tricky way of rewriting the borders. There is a 2 minute video about the wall which is very interesting - click here.
   
9. The people who are leaving the city are the educated, the rich, the politically moderate, young families. These are the people who best able to change the situation there.
10. Christmas is celebrated three times in the city: 1) The Greek Orthodox church on January 6th, 2) the Roman Catholic Church have their Christmas eve service - the one televised on TV on December 24th, and 3) the Armenians celebrate on January 18th.