I Saw it in Palestine

"No Way to the Inn - Bethlehem Behind the Wall" Campaign

Advent 2007

If the Christmas story were to happen today, Mary and Joseph would have a hard time getting to Bethlehem....

Shepherds and Magi walled out of Bethlehem - my mother's wonderful creation.

Join in this effort to uplift the crisis facing Bethlehem and remember the Palestinians cut-off from traditional lands.

Since 2002, Israeli authorities have been building a separation barrier that snakes through the occupied Palestinian territories, in effect annexing valuable Palestinian land and water resources. To clear the way, Palestinians living near the security barrier often face the threat of home demolitions. According to Israeli human rights monitoring organization B'tselem, the separation barrier affects nearly half a million Palestinian residents, and currently the barrier separates almost twelve percent of the land on the Palestinian side of the 1967 Green Line from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. When completed, the barrier will be 780 km long.

Action Ideas

During the seasons of Advent and Christmas, consider these ideas:

Build a Wall around your nativity or crèche: Be creative! Build a wall encircling the crèche set, with no one or nothing else in view. Perhaps leave Mary and Joseph outside the wall (they certainly would have difficulty entering Bethlehem from Nazareth today!)

The three kings outside Bethlehem on a UN OCHA road closure map.
The solid red line indicates the completed separation barrier,
and the red-and-white line shows the separation barrier
currently under construction. The solid green line represents
the 1949 Armistice/Green Line.

Contact the local media regarding your family, small group, or church decision to erect a wall surrounding your Nativity set. Use this opportunity to explain to the media (and the broader public) about the separation barrier the Israeli government is building throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. Note: If you decide to extend the campaign through to Epiphany, call the media on 1 January, which is often a slow news day.

Take pictures of your wall. If you make your own Christmas cards, consider using a photo of your nativity/crèche set surrounded by the wall. In the card, explain why you are doing so

E-mail pictures of your wall to cptheb@palnet.com. The CPT Palestine teams will compile and use the pictures for broader distribution.

More ideas available at www.cpt.org