The Wall

Sandy and David at the Presbyterian Church

The Wall

As we neared Bethlehem our excitement was severely tempered by the site of an ugly 17 foot wall with razor-wire on top. A menacing guard tower with guns protruding made the wall extremely intimidating. No we were not passing by a prison; we were entering the Palestinian West-bank city of Bethlehem. The Israeli government erected the wall around the entire city in response to acts of violence committed against Israeli people by Palestinians. Bethlehem has become a prison for the people who live here. Can you imagine the police arresting your entire extended family for the crime of one your cousins? It seems to me to be a gross over-reaction by the Israelis destined to make a bad situation worse. It appears to be a terrible miscarriage of justice to punish an entire city for the crimes of a few. 40% of the Palestinians in Bethlehem are Christians, yet they are punished for the violent acts of a few radical Muslims. I wonder what Jesus thinks of the prison wall around his city of his birth? Actually, I think I know.

Worshipping with the locals
We were tired from the day’s travels and site-seeing, but the first thing we did upon entering Bethlehem was attend a Wednesday evening worship service at the small Presbyterian Church.