Bethlehem, “Jesus in the Rubble”

 This article comes from the Washington Post and is being reported from “Bethlehem, West Bank”.  2000 years ago a Jewish God-man was born in Bethlehem, Israel to Jewish parents, both of whom were descendants of Jewish King David.  And yet the world refuses to see that Israel has ANY claim to the West Bank, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.  And the world attacks Israel and sides with its enemies at every given chance.  The claim that “if Jesus was born today he would be born in the rubble”, (because of those dang Jews bombing the crap out of innocent people) is patently false.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem because prophecy said he would be born there.  He was born to Jews, not Arabs, because God ordained it.  He was the Son of Promise that came from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The illegitimate son of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael, went on to become the Arab people who have been jealous of the Jews since that day.  Islam was added to the fire of Jew hatred  about 700 years after Jesus ascended and has been a destructive force on earth ever since.

Continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and remember that both the majority of Jews and Muslims have rejected Jesus and are on the wide road that Jesus spoke of.  Pray for the harvest of both.

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BETHLEHEM, West Bank — At Christmastime, the world comes to Bethlehem. The rooftop of the city hall is packed with camera crews from around the globe to capture a towering tree in Manger Square as the bells toll for midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built upon the grotto where, by tradition, Jesus was born.

This year there will be no tree. No parades, bands or music. No lights. No markets, no feasts, no carols. No Santas handing out candy to the children.

And no pilgrims. No tourists.

Christian leaders here are careful to condemn the surprise Hamas attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, when the militants killed 1,200 people and took about 240 more hostage, triggering current hostilities. But they appear most focused on the war since. The Israel Defense Forces, fighting to eradicate Hamas, have killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Friday. With water, food and shelter all short, international aid groups warn a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding.

The Holy Land is home mostly to Jews and Muslims. But 2 percent of the Palestinian population of the West Bank is Christian, with many of them proudly tracing their roots back a millennium or more. There also exists a tiny remnant of Christians — maybe a thousand people, no more — in Gaza.

In his annual Christmas message, Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Hananiaspoke this year of mourning — and condemned Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.”

So did the head of the chamber of commerce. “I am sad and upset at the moral failure of the West” to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza, Samir Hazboun said.

Christian clergy here use similar language, blaming the failure to protect the innocent on world leaders including President Biden.

The Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, stood beside the small Nativity scene in his chapel. The baby Jesus sat amid flickering candles atop a pile of busted cement and dirty stone.

“This is what Christmas looks like in Palestine,” Issac said. “This is the true message.”

At first, he said, the idea of placing the birth of Jesus in a war zone “was shocking — it was hard for even our own people. But it left a strong impression because the image is very real, it confronts you with the reality — then and now — in a very powerful way.”

“If Jesus were born today,” he said, “he would be born in Gaza amid the rubble.”

“Who can sing ‘Joy to the World’ today?”

Photos of the scene have gone viral. A similar installation is to be placed in Manger Square before Christmas Eve.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/23/christmas-celebrations-bethlehem-canceled-israel-gaza/