By Stephen Ouma Bwire in Amman. Ramallah and Bethlehem.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Executive Committee was part of special guests invited to aattend the Palestine Journalists Syndicate May 20 to June 4, 2023.
Guest were taken on special tours which included visiting the occupied territories, Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem. But our visits showed us more capture territories than we had envisaged. Israeli security forces have been on a slow but constant movement towards the pr3sent day Ramallah.
The IFJ delegation discovered continuos road blocks and security check ups in most uphills and slopes connecting in strategic road networks. The “aggressors”, as they are referred to by Palestines, are heavily armed as they move from one hill to the other. Some of us went through three countries ( Jordan, Palestine and Israel), and each had its own immigration formalities and visa fees charged. There were restrictions by Israeli authorities not to allow any Jordan registered vehicles to enter their territory and motorists and travels intending to move had to change vehicles and drivers thrice. We found tension highest on Israel occupied territories as the forces seemed to be expected attacks anytime. Or team found total peace in Ramallah centre city with occassional road blocks on roads connecting Jerusalem and Hebron to Ramallah city. The situation looked less tense in Hebron and Bethlehem, historic sites but the worst was to come when we found ourselves between Palestinian homeguards and Israeli trroops in Jenin Palestinian camp in the West Bank. Palestine American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed doing her job, reporting in the West bank. After interviewing her relatives and making few speeches, at the memorial site where she was assasinated, Palestinian homeguards almost fired in our direction as we toured the camp. But that was not the only threat wqe as signals were made that Israel, scared of unfamiliar faces in the vicinity, could fire missles in our direction. We found sectarianism high based on religion but more promoted by Israel. The future of this conflict lies on peaceful co-eistence if both sides accepted it. For Jews, Bethlehem (Bet Lechem) is the burial place of the matriarch Rachel and the birthplace of King David. Additionally, Samuel anointed David as king of Israel in Bethlehem (I Sam. 16:1-13) and David’s ancestors – Ruth and Boaz – were married in Bethlehem.
For Christians, Bethlehem is recognized in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as the birthplace of Jesus and is one of the religions holies sites around the world. The town is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, though many Christians have fled the city out of fear of persecution by the Palestinian Arabs.
Bethlehem was first settled by Canaanite tribes who name the city Beit Lahama. They built a temple to the god Lahama on the present mount of the Nativity. Around 1200 BCE, the Philistines had a garrison stationed in Bethlehem because of its strategic location. Following the Israelites rule, the Greeks occupied the region unitl the arrival of the Romans in 160 BCE.
The city, located just 5 miles south of Jerusalem, was turned over to the Palestinian Authority as a result of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement. Bethlehem has a population of roughly 30,000 people, a number which has been in steep decline over the past decade as the majority of Christians in the city have emigrated out of the Palestinian territory.
In Hebrew, the town is Bet Lehem (“House of Bread”) and in Arabic it is called Bet Lahm (“House of Meat”).
For hundreds of years, Christian pilgrims have made the roughly 2½ hour walk from Jerusalem to Manger Square. Today, the trip typically begins at the train station in Abu Tor and proceeds along the Hebron Road.
Manger Square is the focus of activity of Christmas celebrations not once, but three times a year. In addition to the traditional Western celebration which begins on December 24, the Greek Orthodox mark their Christmas on January 6 and the Armenian observance is on January 19.
The Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity was built in the 4th century by the mother of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine. Helena also was the person responsible for the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The present building, the oldest church in Israel/Palestine was reconstructed in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian (527-565) and further repaired by the Crusaders. In 1250, the Ayyubid Dynasty was replaced by the Circassian Mamlukes, ruled by the fanatical Sultan Beibars. In 1263, Beibars ordered the destruction of the fortifying walls and towers of Bethlehem, but the church was spared. During the Turkish occupation in 1517, the Franciscans and the Greeks fought over control of the Sancutaries.
Following the War of Independence in 1948, Bethlehem fell under the control of the Jordanians. Then after the 1967 Six Day War, the Israelis took control over Bethlehem.
Today, there are many churches present in Bethlehem. The Greek Orthodox have 15 churches and institutions; the Roman Catholics have 25; there are 8 Protestant churches; the Syriac Orthodox have one church and the Greek Orthodox have two churches; and the Ethiopians and the Copts each have one. There are also several Mosques, including the Mosque of ‘Umar, across the street from the Church of the Nativity. This mosque was erected in 1849.
The church has a colorful history. When the Persians invaded in 614, they left the church intact, legend has it, because they were moved by a painting inside of the Nativity story depicting the Wise Men of the East in Persian clothes. King Edward IV of England donated wood from English oak trees for the ceiling. He also contributed lead to cover the roof, but that was taken by the Turks, who melted it down to use as ammunition in their war against the Venetians.
The entrance to the church is a low doorway that has its own legends. One story is that the door was installed by the Muslims during their rule to remind Christians that they were guests in the country and must bow to their hosts. An alternative explanation is that the height of the door was designed to prevent unbelievers from entering the church on horseback. Yet another version holds that it was to protect the Christians from their hostile neighbors.
The church is divided into five naves by four rows of Corinthian pillars with pictures of the apostles on them. The names are written in Greek and Latin and many visitors have carved their own signatures over the centuries. The floor of the nave has a hole that allows you to see what remains of the Byzantine mosaics that covered the original church floor.
The Altar of the Nativity sits below a silver and gold chandelier. Stairways on either side of the main altar lead to a grotto. A fourteen-point silver star embedded in white marble indicates the birthplace of Christ. An inscription reads, Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est (“Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary”). Fifteen lamps burn around the spot. Nearby is the Chapel of the Manger, where Mary placed the baby Jesus. Like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, various Christian denominations share control over different parts of the church. The grotto is under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church.
The traditional midnight mass celebrated on Christmas Eve is held in St. Catherine’s, the Roman Catholic church next door to the Church of the Nativity. This is also the site of several chapels with their own historic and religious significance. The Chapel of St. Jerome is where the Bishop of Bethlehem translated the Old Testament into Latin. The Chapel of the Innocents is devoted to the deaths of the babies killed by Herod. The Chapel of St. Joseph is where an angel appeared to Joseph and commanded him to flee to Egypt■
