December 6 , 2001

Nativity Church

Checkpoints, More Cancellations, Big Santa

It's been surprisingly quiet in Bethlehem. Yesterday another suicide bomber hit Jerusalem, and reports said he was from Bethlehem. No bystanders were killed in the incident but a number were slightly wounded. Evidently the blast detonated prematurely, before the bomber reached his intended hotel target. People here in Bethlehem expected the worst, but nothing major happened. People avoided the area around Arafat's huge compound for fear that it might be targeted. There was the usual activity between Gilo and Beit Jala, but I heard of no major strikes. (I watched dozens of red tracer bullets and machine gun fire fly back and forth between the area. The first shots I saw this time were from the Israeli side. I tried to take some photos, but they didn't turn out very well.)

Other areas of the West Bank have not fared so well. They are being hit hard. People are telling me that Israeli soldiers are in every town now except Bethlehem. I guess Bethlehem is a good place to be around Christmas. At some checkpoints Palestinians were asked to publicly strip to their underwear before approaching! How humiliating. And do you realize how cold it is here now? We're all wearing heavy coats. Our gas heaters in our homes are going strong. And some men trying to get to work are walking semi-nude through a checkpoint? What purpose does this serve? To make sure they're not strapped with explosives or to embarrass and shame them? There's got to be a better way. Many smaller villages in the West Bank have been totally cut off from other towns. I received a call from Wadi Faqim (outside Bethlehem) asking for milk for children, since the town was closed off and the roads were now blocked by large rocks. I called the Red Cross (and others) about the situation. They all told me that things like that were a common occurrence, and they didn't have nearly enough resources to deal with all the inaccessible villages in the West Bank.

The activities scheduled for today at the Bethlehem Peace Center were canceled. Tonight was to be The Academy of Music performing Islamic music for a Ramadan evening. I attended the two previous Ramadan musical performances, and they were great, so I was disappointed to miss this one. Tomorrow there is an invitation only reading by a Palestinian poet, and if it is held I believe I can get in. There was an invitation extended to the Rapprochement Center (PCR), so perhaps I can be their representative. I also heard that on Saturday there will be an abbreviated version of the Christmas Market that was canceled last weekend. That's great, since the profits from the sale of items will go toward helping the children of Bethlehem.

Also tomorrow there is an English Advent service at the Lutheran church, so I look forward to that.

I saw my first Santa in Bethlehem today. He would be hard to miss. I think he must be seven feet tall and about that wide too. He was lit up and standing outside one of the gift shops in the area. The shop had a nice display of Christmas gift items. I saw other shops opening their doors too. Many of the stores in the area have been closed, but they are re-opening in hopes of attracting Christmas visitors. I want them to do well, but I wonder how many tourists Bethlehem will see this year.

I had the opportunity to spend an hour with a seasoned reporter from Al-Quds (Jerusalem) newspaper this morning. He told me that there is only one thing that Palestinians would like from the US -- "Fairness". He asks for fair and equal treatment for both Palestinians and Israelis. I think a lot of Palestinians would agree with him.