Bethlehem Being Purged of Christianity

The title of this article reads “O Muslim Town of Bethlehem”

It goes on to explain that the town of our Lord’s birth is fast becoming a Muslim town, and the Christians are leaving in droves due to persecution, terrorism, and intimidation by the Muslims.

Some highlights of the article, for those of you who don’t have the inclination to read it all:

About the Church of the Nativity:

“It is one of the most sacred sites in Christendom, but there are no tourists … to see it”

From Joseph Canawati, a Christian hotel owner:

"There is no hope for the future of the Christian community."

“We don't think things are going to get better. For us, it is finished.”

Of the Christian population in Bethlehem:

The town's Christian population has dwindled from more than 85 per cent in 1948 to 12 per cent of its 60,000 inhabitants in 2006.

Of the growing Muslim presence:

The sense of a creeping Islamic fundamentalism is all around in Bethlehem.

A mosque on one side of Manger Square stands directly opposite the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, while in the evening the muezzin's call to prayer clashes with the peal of church bells.

About Christian tourism:

Bethlehem's hotel owners estimate that tourist numbers have dropped sharply, from 91,276 each month for the millennium celebrations in 2000 to little more than 1,500 a month now.

About Israel’s Security Wall:

Bethlehem found itself behind Israel's security wall, a 400-mile-long concrete barrier which separates Jewish and Palestinian areas and is designed to stop suicide bombers - in 2004, half the Israeli fatalities caused by such attacks were committed by extremists from Bethlehem.

Last year, tourists trying to get to the town were forced to queue for hours as their papers were checked, while Bethlehem inhabitants going the other way must now apply for an infrequently granted permit to visit Jerusalem, barely ten minutes away by car.

“It is like living in a prison,” says Shadt Abu-Ayash, a 29-year-old Roman Catholic shopkeeper.

Continue to pray for Israel. Pray that Christ returns soon.

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2

"And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." Matthew 2:6

"Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" John 7:42