Bethlehem | The American Task Force on Palestine

Growing up in Bethlehem with the Dead Sea Scrolls story
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 7, 2010 - 1:00am

The latest news about Jordan’s demands that Canada seize the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were on display in Toronto, brings back many childhood memories for me. For perspective this is what has happened. Jordan has requested Canada to take custody of the scrolls, citing the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to which both Jordan and Canada are signatories. On display at the exhibition were artefacts taken from the Palestine Museum (also called the Rockefeller Museum) in East Jerusalem.

CHOIR FEELING FLAT OVER BOYCOTT ROW
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Tim Franks - December 23, 2009 - 1:00am

It should be a time of unalloyed joy for Tim Brown. The director of one of Britain's most well-regarded choirs is beginning a six-concert tour of Israel this week. The choir of Clare College, Cambridge, will be singing Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Israel Camerata Orchestra. But the singers have not, as a choir, been able to perform in East Jerusalem or Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, after a Palestinian protest against the choir's tour of Israel. The choir has been caught in the passionate arguments over whether Israel should be boycotted.

Abbas at Fatah congress: Jerusalem promised to us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - August 4, 2009 - 12:00am

Former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia on Tuesday morning launched the historic Fatah congress in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, which is slated to elect the future leadership of the Palestinian movement. "In the name of the shahidim (martyrs) and in the name of Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state, we hereby declare the opening of the sixth congress of our movement, the Fatah movement," Qureia said, standing next to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Pope Criticizes Israel On Palestinian Policy
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Howard Schneider - May 14, 2009 - 12:00am

Pope Benedict XVI criticized Israel's construction of a security barrier through the West Bank and urged a loosening of restrictions on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a day of speeches and symbolic appearances that amounted to a running critique of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. From a morning address alongside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a late-afternoon visit to a refugee camp, the pontiff used a full day in the occupied West Bank to highlight some of the main issues on the Palestinian agenda.

Churches to deliver Christmas notes to Bethlehem
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
November 18, 2008 - 8:00pm

The World Council of Churches will help deliver Christmas messages and prayers of peace to the biblical birthplace of Jesus. Christianity's largest ecumenical movement says messages e-mailed before the Jan. 7 Christmas celebrated by Orthodox Christians will be printed and handed out at schools and places of worship in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The Writing On Bethlehem's Wall: British Artist Seeks To Lure Tourists
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 21, 2007 - 3:21pm

Bethlehem, West Bank A dove dressed in a bulletproof vest raises its wings in surrender. A girl in pigtails and pink frilly dress frisks an Israeli soldier. The nose on a Pinocchio with a star-spangled tie has grown into a missile.

Letter To An Israeli In Christmas Time
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arabic Media Internet Network
by Dr. Bernard Sabella - December 20, 2007 - 4:59pm

This is the time of feasts and holidays. We are on our second day of Eid El Adha, the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice; Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights, was celebrated few days ago. Christmas is around the corner. As we celebrate our separate holidays, it is clear that we have not yet found the middle ground that would enable all of us to genuinely share the celebrations of each other. There are many theories, academic arguments and practical reasons of why we have not yet arrived at the middle ground.