Christmas in Bethlehem: the cross banished from souvenirs

[docmauser1]

This Christmas in Bethlehem, the cross has been banned from souvenirs for tourists and pilgrims in the Holy Land. Some textile workshops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell T-shirts depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross. Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams. ...PALESTINE - ISRAEL Christmas in Bethlehem: the cross banished from souvenirs - Asia News

 

[Trajan]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

 

[Samir]

No such thing as christmas in middle east. only unbeliever worship of devil and believer worship of Allah only.

 

[Intense]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

Still off of the Asia News Story.

According to AsiaNews, textile shops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell tee-shirts “depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross.” The cross has also been removed from tee-shirts of local football teams “because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories.”
Interviewed by AsiaNews, Samir Qumsieh, journalist and director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, said: “I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products – he says – because the removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified. “
Like every year, thousands including authorities, faithful and tourists from all over the world crowd, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for midnight mass on the night of 24 December. It will be celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and will be attended by the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority.
Qumsieh says that the population is living these days with joy, but the situation for Christians is still dramatic. According to the journalist, the dialogue of recent years between Muslims, Christians and Jews has not changed the situation.
“In the Holy Land – said Qumsieh – the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism you can not plan anything.

JESUS WHO? CHRISTIAN CROSS BANNED FROM BETHLEHEM SOUVENIR SHOPS

 

[Intense]

No such thing as christmas in middle east. only unbeliever worship of devil and believer worship of Allah only.

It is called Totalitarianism.

 

[uscitizen]

Bethlehem must be full of those darned atheist liberals and their war on Christmas.

 

[Marc39]

Bethlehem must be full of those darned atheist liberals and their war on Christmas.

Bethlehem is full of those fascist Muslims who persecute and murder the kafir, like the few remaining Christians in Bethlehem.

 

[Trajan]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

Still off of the Asia News Story.

According to AsiaNews, textile shops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell tee-shirts “depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross.” The cross has also been removed from tee-shirts of local football teams “because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories.”
Interviewed by AsiaNews, Samir Qumsieh, journalist and director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, said: “I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products – he says – because the removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified. “
Like every year, thousands including authorities, faithful and tourists from all over the world crowd, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for midnight mass on the night of 24 December. It will be celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and will be attended by the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority.
Qumsieh says that the population is living these days with joy, but the situation for Christians is still dramatic. According to the journalist, the dialogue of recent years between Muslims, Christians and Jews has not changed the situation.
“In the Holy Land – said Qumsieh – the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism you can not plan anything.

JESUS WHO? CHRISTIAN CROSS BANNED FROM BETHLEHEM SOUVENIR SHOPS

yea I read that, but it doesn't say how and why, what I mean is was their legal action? Intimidation? did they take the crosses off in some misguided effort to be accommodating etc...?

 

[Marc39]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;



not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

Still off of the Asia News Story.

According to AsiaNews, textile shops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell tee-shirts “depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross.” The cross has also been removed from tee-shirts of local football teams “because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories.”
Interviewed by AsiaNews, Samir Qumsieh, journalist and director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, said: “I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products – he says – because the removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified. “
Like every year, thousands including authorities, faithful and tourists from all over the world crowd, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for midnight mass on the night of 24 December. It will be celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and will be attended by the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority.
Qumsieh says that the population is living these days with joy, but the situation for Christians is still dramatic. According to the journalist, the dialogue of recent years between Muslims, Christians and Jews has not changed the situation.
“In the Holy Land – said Qumsieh – the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism you can not plan anything.

JESUS WHO? CHRISTIAN CROSS BANNED FROM BETHLEHEM SOUVENIR SHOPS

yea I read that, but it doesn't say how and why, what I mean is was their legal action? Intimidation? did they take the crosses off in some misguided effort to be accommodating etc...?

This might shed some light on the matter...

"The murder of a young Baptist bookseller has Gaza's small Christian community on edge"
'I know how to make you a Muslim' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

 

[Trajan]

Still off of the Asia News Story.

According to AsiaNews, textile shops in Jerusalem and Hebron have begun to print and sell tee-shirts “depicting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem without the cross.” The cross has also been removed from tee-shirts of local football teams “because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories.”
Interviewed by AsiaNews, Samir Qumsieh, journalist and director of the Catholic television station Al-Mahed Nativity TV in Bethlehem, said: “I want to launch a campaign to urge people not to buy these products – he says – because the removal of the cross is an intimidation against Christians, it is like saying that Jesus was never crucified. “
Like every year, thousands including authorities, faithful and tourists from all over the world crowd, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for midnight mass on the night of 24 December. It will be celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and will be attended by the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority.
Qumsieh says that the population is living these days with joy, but the situation for Christians is still dramatic. According to the journalist, the dialogue of recent years between Muslims, Christians and Jews has not changed the situation.
“In the Holy Land – said Qumsieh – the emigration of Christians is growing, even if the authorities refuse to give precise numbers. Every day there are people who flee to other countries. As Christians, we live in a constant feeling of fear and uncertainty, and if you live in constant tension and pessimism you can not plan anything.

JESUS WHO? CHRISTIAN CROSS BANNED FROM BETHLEHEM SOUVENIR SHOPS

yea I read that, but it doesn't say how and why, what I mean is was their legal action? Intimidation? did they take the crosses off in some misguided effort to be accommodating etc...?

This might shed some light on the matter...

"The murder of a young Baptist bookseller has Gaza's small Christian community on edge"
'I know how to make you a Muslim' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Thats from gaza, but point taken. I am sure some of this occurred in Bethlehem.
But I would really like to know who ordered the crosses off the teams gear.

 

[Marc39]

yea I read that, but it doesn't say how and why, what I mean is was their legal action? Intimidation? did they take the crosses off in some misguided effort to be accommodating etc...?

This might shed some light on the matter...

"The murder of a young Baptist bookseller has Gaza's small Christian community on edge"
'I know how to make you a Muslim' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Thats from gaza, but point taken. I am sure some of this occurred in Bethlehem.
But I would really like to know who ordered the crosses off the teams gear.

You want the bigger picture?

Khaled Abu Toameh: Muslim Genocide Of Christians In The Middle East

It is obvious by now that the Christians in the Middle East are an "endangered species." Christians in Arab countries are no longer being persecuted; they are now being slaughtered and driven out of their homes and lands. Those who for many years turned a blind eye to complaints about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East now owe the victims an apology. Now it is clear to all that these complaints were not "Jewish propaganda. The war of genocide against Christians in the Middle East can no longer be treated as an "internal affair" of Iraq or Egypt or the Palestinians. What the West needs to understand is that radical Islam has declared jihad not only against Jews, but also against Christians. In Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territories, Christians are being targeted almost on a daily basis by Muslim fundamentalists and secular dictators.

Dozens of Arab Christians in Iraq have been killed in recent months in what seems to be well-planned campaign to drive them out of the country. Many Christian families have already begun fleeing Iraq out of fear for their lives. Some have chosen to start new lives in Jordan, while many others are expressing hope that they could be resettled in North America or Europe. In Egypt, the plight of the Coptic Christian minority appears to be worsening. Just this week, the Egyptian security forces killed a Coptic Christian man and wounded scores of others who were protesting against the government's intention to demolish a Christian-owned structure. Hardly a day passes without reports of violence against members of the Coptic Christian community in various parts of Egypt. Most of the attacks are carried out by Muslim fundamentalists.

According to the Barnabas Fund, an advocacy and charitable organization based in the United Kingdom, "Fears for the safety of Egyptian Christians are growing after a series of false allegations, violent threats and mass demonstrations against Christians in Egypt." Muslim anger was ignited by unfounded accusations that Egyptian Christians were aligned with Israel and stockpiling weapons in preparation for war against Muslims. The Barnabas Fund noted that Egyptian authorities have been accused of complicity for political reasons in the escalating sectarian crisis. Palestinian Christians have also been feeling the heat, although they their conditions remain much better than those of their brothers and sisters in Iraq and Egypt.

Last week, the Western-funded Palestinian Authority in the West Bank arrested a Christian journalist who reported about differences between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Fatah operative Mohammed Dahlan. The journalist, George Qanawati, manager of Radio Bethlehem 2000, was freed five days later. In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the tiny Christian community is also living in fear following a spate of attacks by radical Islamic groups. The failure of the international community to pay enough attention to the dangers facing the Christians encouraged radical Muslims and corrupt dictatorships to step up their assaults on Christian individuals and institutions. When Muslim fanatics cannot kill Christian soldiers or civilians in the mountains of Afghanistan or on the streets of New York, they choose an easy prey: their Arab Christian neighbors.

The West, Islam and Sharia: Muslim Genocide of Christians Throughout Middle East

 

[jillian]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

I've been there and I can't imagine that's true. It makes no sense and sounds like typical anti-israel trash talking.

 

[Intense]

Bethlehem must be full of those darned atheist liberals and their war on Christmas.

Athiest Liberals would not fare well or live too long there. Bad call.

 

[Intense]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

I've been there and I can't imagine that's true. It makes no sense and sounds like typical anti-israel trash talking.

I don't see it as Anti Israel at all. It seems more a fundamentalist Muslim Threat Issue, on the surface anyway.

 

[Intense]

More than 500 members of the Gaza Strip's Christian community left the blockaded territory today to join Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem.

About 3,500 Christians live in Gaza among 1.5 million Muslims. Relations have traditionally been good, though there has been sporadic violence since the Islamist Hamas movement wrested control three years ago. Residents leaving Gaza today played down any differences with Hamas, saying they were in solidarity as Palestinians in the struggle against Israel.

"Of course I am very happy that I will see my relatives and join them for Christmas. It happens only once a year," said Hatem Al-Far. "The only problem is they [the Israelis] did not issue permits for all of my children."

During the Hamas takeover vandals ransacked a Roman Catholic convent and an adjacent school, breaking crosses and smashing the face of a ceramic Jesus. In the following months, unidentified assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school, firebombed a Christian bookshop, and killed a Christian who worked at one. Hamas says it is committed to protecting the Christian minority, but no arrests have been made in any of the incidents. Christians comprise less than 2% of the West Bank and Gaza, compared with 15% in 1950. Like many other Christian communities across the Middle East, many have moved abroad to flee political tensions or in search of economic opportunity.

Gaza's Christians celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem | World news | The Guardian

 

[Intense]

Big crowds turned out for Christmas Eve celebrations in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Palestinian boy and girl scouts kicked off Christmas Eve celebrations with a festive march through Manger Square in Bethlehem. The square is decked out with Christmas trees, lights, stars and Palestinian flags.

Then there was a solemn procession through the cobblestone streets.

Priests and monks in white robes marched into the ancient Church of the Nativity, where tradition says Jesus Christ was born.

Thousands of local Palestinians looked on, along with pilgrims from around the world. Robert Chege, who came from Nairobi, Kenya, said Bethlehem on Christmas is an experience of faith. "It's just interesting thinking about where Christ actually originated from. Just feeling Him in my heart and knowing that He's such a big part of my life, I wanted to know more about his background, where he stepped on, where he was. So ya, it's pretty amazing," he said.

There is a boom in tourism this year thanks to a lull in West Bank violence, and that is good news for Palestinian shopkeeper Nadia Hazboun. "Of course it is good. It is very good. Bethlehem nice now, and look, a lot of people they like to open restaurants, shops, something like that. I think more active now Bethlehem, more active," he said.

VOA | Thousands Celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem | Middle East | English

 

[Marc39]

Big crowds turned out for Christmas Eve celebrations in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Palestinian boy and girl scouts kicked off Christmas Eve celebrations with a festive march through Manger Square in Bethlehem. The square is decked out with Christmas trees, lights, stars and Palestinian flags.

Then there was a solemn procession through the cobblestone streets.

Priests and monks in white robes marched into the ancient Church of the Nativity, where tradition says Jesus Christ was born.

Thousands of local Palestinians looked on, along with pilgrims from around the world. Robert Chege, who came from Nairobi, Kenya, said Bethlehem on Christmas is an experience of faith. "It's just interesting thinking about where Christ actually originated from. Just feeling Him in my heart and knowing that He's such a big part of my life, I wanted to know more about his background, where he stepped on, where he was. So ya, it's pretty amazing," he said.

There is a boom in tourism this year thanks to a lull in West Bank violence, and that is good news for Palestinian shopkeeper Nadia Hazboun. "Of course it is good. It is very good. Bethlehem nice now, and look, a lot of people they like to open restaurants, shops, something like that. I think more active now Bethlehem, more active," he said.

VOA | Thousands Celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem | Middle East | English

Thanks to Israeli security.

 

[Marc39]

More than 500 members of the Gaza Strip's Christian community left the blockaded territory today to join Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem.

About 3,500 Christians live in Gaza among 1.5 million Muslims. Relations have traditionally been good, though there has been sporadic violence since the Islamist Hamas movement wrested control three years ago. Residents leaving Gaza today played down any differences with Hamas, saying they were in solidarity as Palestinians in the struggle against Israel.

"Of course I am very happy that I will see my relatives and join them for Christmas. It happens only once a year," said Hatem Al-Far. "The only problem is they [the Israelis] did not issue permits for all of my children."

During the Hamas takeover vandals ransacked a Roman Catholic convent and an adjacent school, breaking crosses and smashing the face of a ceramic Jesus. In the following months, unidentified assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school, firebombed a Christian bookshop, and killed a Christian who worked at one. Hamas says it is committed to protecting the Christian minority, but no arrests have been made in any of the incidents. Christians comprise less than 2% of the West Bank and Gaza, compared with 15% in 1950. Like many other Christian communities across the Middle East, many have moved abroad to flee political tensions or in search of economic opportunity.

Gaza's Christians celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem | World news | The Guardian

Reverend Majed el Shafie, One Free World Intl...

Hamas was going to the graveyards of the Christians, digging up the dead body of the Christians, throwing them and burning them and saying 'you cannot bury your dead bodies here because its our land, it's a holy land.

Christian families are being forced to cooperate with Hamas or their children or their wives will get raped or will get persecuted.

The Christians in the Palestinian Authority areas [are] facing persecutions. Their homes, their churches they get attacked almost every day

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9BazI-_js[/ame]

 

[Sunni Man]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

The word "cross" is not used in the original Greek Bibles.

The word used in that Bible was "stake" or "tree" not cross

The symbolic use of the cross is a later invention in Christianity.

 

[Marc39]

this seems reprehensible BUT I have to ask for some proof of this;

Because of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in the Palestinian territories, the cross was also removed from t-shirts of football teams.

not that there are no crosses, but why and how they were removed.

The word "cross" is not used in the original Greek Bibles.

The word used in that Bible was "stake" or "tree" not cross

The symbolic use of the cross is a later invention in Christianity.

Islam is a later invention based on Judaism and Christianity, whicih Mahomet ripped off.