Christian tradition has it that Mary journeyed 75 miles from her home in Nazareth to give birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, the storied town near Jerusalem in what is today the occupied West Bank. But what if she actually traveled less than 5 miles to give birth to Jesus in what is now a tiny…
When Palestinian filmmaker Leila Sansour returned to Bethlehem to make a film about her home town, she had no idea she would end up running a campaign to put the ancient city on the world map as a model for diversity in the Middle East. Sansour left Bethlehem as a teenager in 1983, disdainful of…
A wall can mean many things. It can divide people who want to be united. It can ensure peace and safety by keeping danger at bay. It can enclose people so they are kept under control. The same wall can also stand for all these things to different people simultaneously. Consider that most iconic of…
(JTA) — Perhaps the most lasting image from Pope Francis’ trip to Israel and the West Bank will be the pontiff praying, eyes closed, with his head against a wall. It wasn’t the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest site and a necessary stop for visiting dignitaries. It was Israel’s security fence in the West…
(Reuters) — Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded words on Monday over the language spoken by Jesus two millennia ago. “Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew,” Netanyahu told Francis, at a public meeting in Jerusalem in which the Israeli leader cited a strong connection between Judaism and Christianity. “Aramaic,”…
(Reuters) — Pope Francis navigated the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and humbly bowed to kiss the hands of Holocaust survivors on Monday, the last day of a Mideast trip laden with bold personal gestures. “Never again, Lord. Never again!” he said in the dimly lit Hall of Remembrance in the Yad Vashem Museum which…
Pope Francis completes a tour of the Holy Land on Monday, paying homage to Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust and looking to affirm Christian rights at a disputed place of worship in Jerusalem. After visits to Jordan and the Palestinian Territories – including praying at the wall dividing Bethlehem from Jerusalem, Francis spends the…
Pope Francis has landed in Israel for a two-day visit. The pope arrived Sunday afternoon at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport via a helicopter ride from Bethlehem, where he spent the morning. Francis will depart Israel on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres greeted the pope upon arrival, accompanied by a band…
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