Oh Little, Carved-Up Town of Bethlehem

The Apartheid Wall around Bethlehem

Those goats remind me of the goats outside my window when I was in the West Bank town of BirZeit about 10 years ago. A teenage boy was leading them around, letting them nibble. As I was sick and stuck in my room (yeah, somethings never change, no?), they were my entertainment for about 20 minutes or so. Along with the occassional F-15s flying overhead. Definitely felt rather dissonant, as does the picture above.

I'm so used to reading about the Wall being built and how it's cutting communities -- particularly Bethlehem -- apart that I forget a lot of people don't know what's happening. That farmers are being cut off from their fields. That the other day disabled, peaceful protesters were tear gassed and beaten. Apparently being in a wheelchair or on crutches does not excuse you from this baptism of fire for speaking out against the decimation of your community and homes.

Yes, the little town of Bethlehem does not lie quite as still as the Christmas carol memorializes. And there's certainly no sleeping over at the International Center of Bethlehem. Or over at Bethlehem Bloggers. Both sites can tell you all about what is happening to their town, which has been traditionally Christian. And yes, there ARE Christian Palestinians. Not that religion should matter when it comes to human rights.