Online donation system by ClickandPledge

Palestinian Cartoon

Palestian Prisoners in Israeli Jails

user preferences

  • Language - en

Bethlehem Mayor: “Peace In Bethlehem Leads To Peace Everywhere”

author Thursday December 03, 2009 20:37author by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report post

Bethlehem Mayor, Victor Batarsa, stated in an interview with the Globe newspaper, based in Joplin Missouri in the United States, that peace starts in Bethlehem, the city of Nativity and coexistence.


Bethlehem during Christmas - file wikimedia

Bethlehem and Joplin are sister cities. Visiting Joplin, Batarsa spoke during an event at the Central Christian Center, and was presented by the Joplin Area Ministerial Alliance.

Batarsa said that said that 40% of the 32.000 residents of Bethlehem are Christians, and 60% are Muslims.

He added that Bethlehem resembles co-existence between religions.
“It is a role model for existence between Muslims and Christians”, he said, “I would say Judaism too”, the Joplin Globe reported.

Batarsa also stated that the Wall around Bethlehem increased the level of unemployment in Bethlehem city to 29% as the city’s main income depends on Christian pilgrims and tourism.

Batarsa is accompanied by Bishara Awad, the head of Bethlehem Bible College. Awad said that the college now has 170 students, and that it has another branch in Nazareth.

category bethlehem | holy sites | news report author email saed at imemc dot org
This page can be viewed in
English
The International Middle East Media Center is running an URGENT online fundraising campaign.

Click here to donate online via Click & Pledge.
You can divide your yearly donation into monthly installments, deducted from your bank account.
Your HELP is essential to keep the IMEMC
A FREE and INDEPENDENT MEDIA SOURCE
Follow imemcnews on Twitter

The tweets listed in the feed below represent the point of view of their authors only, and not the official stand of IMEMC.

toolbar powered by Conduit
© 2001-2012 IMEMC News. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by IMEMC News. Disclaimer | Privacy