Bethlehem Side Trip

A quick trip into Bethlehem this morning. I didn't realize how close it was to Jerusalem. Like Jericho, it's also situated in the West Bank, which is part of Palestine. Most people wanted to spend extra time later today in Jerusalem so we kind of blitzed through, would've been nice to spend a bit more time here.

One of the most memorable parts of the day was walking along the wall that divides Palestine and Israel. Here in Bethlehem, the wall is covered with graffiti art, including work by Banksy, showing the people's feelings towards the wall and the history between Jews and Arabs. There are also story plaques about the treatment of Palestinians, but the one that really stuck with me was actually from an elderly Jewish lady who shared a story about getting on a bus that had no seats left. The only person to offer her a seat was a Palestinian, the rest were Jewish.

We then visited a refugee camp. It's not at all what you would picture. There are no tents, but rather lots of buildings packed together in a small area. It's funded by several countries around the world, administered by the UN. A number of services are free, but of course it's not home. Palestinians earn much lower wages than Israelis, and we learn a bit more from stories directly from a Palestinian man. He oversees a community center where children can hang out, and women do weaving to earn extra money.

Stop #3 and our final stop in Bethlehem was the Church of the Nativity to see the 16 pointed star of David and the spot where Jesus' manger is believed to be. We were lucky the line was only 30 minutes. It's a tight space, but still beautiful, especially with the mosiacs and art.Read more