Bethlehem Blues

Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus and at Christmas-time our thoughts instinctively turn to this small town in the Holy Land where the Christian message began. But 2,000 years after that momentous nativity how many Christians are still living there? Once a majority Christian town, Bethlehem has seen the percentage of Christians living there steadily dwindle and this is a pattern repeated across the rest of the Holy Land. The separation barrier between Israel and the Palestinian territories has hit Bethlehem particularly hard by effectively cutting off easy access to the nearby city of Jerusalem. Brother Neil Kieffe is Director of Instructional Technology at Bethlehem University, a Catholic institution of higher learning, open to students of all faith traditions.
He spoke to Susy Hodges about the current mood of Bethlehem’s inhabitants in this Christmas season and the daily difficulties they have to endure. Brother Neil says Bethelehem "is beginning to see a resurgence of tourism" .... but at the same time we're trapped behind the (separation) barrier" and this makes the town akin to "a small jail that the inhabitants can move around in and that's the limit of their ability to move freely..."

He says these severe restrictions on movement caused by the barrier mean that "many of our university's faculty "haven't been to Jerusalem for 3 or 4 years because of the hassle that's involved"... and so they're effectively "confined to Bethlehem."

When it comes to the concern over Christian families emigrating from the Holy Land, Father Neil believes there is reason for cautious hope.... "my impression is that emigration isn't as severe as it was a number of years ago."