Christmas in Bethlewall

Posted on 12/24/2005 by Meryl Yourish

I don’t really want to go into a large fisking now, but y’know, the AP hits just keep on coming.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) – Thousands of tourists and pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations Saturday, bringing a long-missing sense of holiday cheer to Jesus’ historic birthplace.

The festivities capped the most peaceful year since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000. But Israel’s imposing separation barrier at the entrance to town dampened the Christmas spirit and provided a stark reminder of the unresolved conflict.

The gray concrete wall, which Israel erected to keep attackers out of its cities, divides Bethlehem and blocks access to neighboring Jerusalem. The 25-foot-high slabs drew as much attention Saturday as the Church of the Nativity and the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born.

About 30,000 people were expected to visit Bethlehem over Christmas – 10,000 more than last year – but still very different from the 1990s, when 150,000 people would visit during the holiday. By early evening, 7,000 tourists had arrived, Israeli officials said, despite stinging cold winds and pouring rain. Hundreds more arrived for midnight Mass, though a final crowd estimate was not immediately available.

I swear, if they could get away with it, the AP would have something in the story about the Jews killing Jesus 2,000 years ago.

Anyway, those of you who are not being terrorized by Israeli walls built to keep out those nebulous, unnamed attackers, try to have a Merry Christmas, okay?

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6 Responses to Christmas in Bethlewall

  1. fooltomery says:
    12/25/2005 at 7:53 am

    A reporter who writes:

    But Israel’s imposing separation barrier at the entrance to town dampened the Christmas spirit and provided a stark reminder of the unresolved conflict.

    is the same sort of reporter who might write:

    Prison populations have soared to record highs over the last few years despite evidence that criminal activity was decreasing during the same time period.

    When news coverage becomes just another cudgel in the hands of people of ill-will, there’s nothing to be done but to keep calling them on it.

    Don’t stop, Meryl.

    Happy Winter Holiday (Google’s name for the Christmas/Hanukkah season)!

  2. Cynic says:
    12/25/2005 at 11:00 am

    Just bringing this point of view to your attention if you have not read it yet:
    Palestinians against Fatah

    The elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, which was created with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, have already been pushed off several times, and are currently scheduled for next month. Current polls suggest Hamas will win significant represe

    ntation – perhaps as much as 40 percent.

    This should come as no surprise. The current parliament, as well as the Palestinian government, is ruled by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party. It is hard to imagine an authority that has been more of a failure than this.

    Seems that the Quartet backed the wrong horse and maybe Sharon’s strategy on getting out of Gaza was more mindful of the reality.

  3. Cynic says:
    12/25/2005 at 11:17 am

    Military sources: Abbas at political low point

    Sources in the Israeli military establishment say that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is at an all-time political low since taking over from Yasser Arafat in November 2004. Some Israeli intelligence officials believe he is considering resigning.

    Just like Wolfensohn’s take on Israel’s security situation after he and Rice forced the Gaza border “accord” so Abbas’ take on Israel’s security by his rocketeers:

    Abbas even said that the Qassam rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel are “Israel’s problem” and that he does not intend to interfere. “Let the Israelis deal with it,” he said.

  4. LynnB says:
    12/25/2005 at 12:58 pm

    Unfortunately, AP isn’t alone.

    But Ms. Deeb sort of shows her hand when she describes the terror war Arafat (and Barghouti) launched against Israel in the wake of Camp David as “the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000.”

    Why has tourism to Bethlehem plummeted? Why are Christians leaving Bethlehem in droves? Maybe because of this. And this.

    At the end of her AP propaganda piece, Deeb quotes Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah:

    “Nobody needs checkpoints in the Holy Land. This is the Holy Land and it should be treated as a holy area,” Sabbah said.

    You mean, like these guys did? Nobody needs checkpoints in the Holy Land as long as they’re ok with Jewish kids getting blown up in Netanya and Jerusalem. Maybe someone should point out to Mr. Sabbah that if the child whose birth he’s celebrating today had been born last night, those checkpoints would be protecting him and his family from terrorist bombs.

  5. Cynic says:
    12/25/2005 at 4:32 pm

    If you want to know more about Michel Sabbah read this:
    Jerusalem Patriarch praises Abbas, criticizes Israel

    He said that Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has come out against violence, convincing extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad to abstain from violence. When asked about the recent suicide bombing that killed five Israelis in early December in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, the patriarch said the continuation of Israeli violence provoked once again Palestinian violence. “The solution is very simple. The Palestinian Authority said no to violence… but Israel continues with its own violence… so Palestinians react.

    There in a Nutshell!

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