Tag Archive for Christmas

| December 25, 2012
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Video: Watch Christmas Mass in Bethlehem

 

Manger Square packed as thousands celebrate a merry Christmas in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus is believed to have been born.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends Christmas Eve mass at the Church of the Nativity.

By News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Thousands of Christians from across the world packed Manger Square in Bethlehem on Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient Judean town where it is believed he was born.

Oh, come all ye faithful. Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. – Photo: AP

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, led the Christmas Eve mass at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, thought by millions of Christians to be located at the exact spot of Jesus’ birth.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| December 24, 2012
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Video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Christmas Greeting 2012

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu says Christian community in Israel flourishing, unlike in neighboring Islamic countries where Christians are endangered.

Unlike other countries in the Middle East, where Christian communities are shrinking and many of them are in danger, in Israel there is a strong and growing Christian community that participates fully in the life of the country, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday in a taped Christmas greeting.
Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher [file]

Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – Photo: Ammar Awad / Reuters

“Israel is proud of its record of religious tolerance and pluralism, and Israel will continue to protect freedom of religion for all,” Netanyahu said.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| December 21, 2012
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Christmas Exploited for Israel Bashing: ‘O Boycott All ye Faithful’

PA-based Christian orgs are getting into ‘the holiday spirit’, with libelous attacks on Israel, including the ‘Jews killed Jesus’.

By Maayana Miskin

 

A new report from NGO Monitor reveals that several Christian organizations that support the Palestinian Authority are using Christmas to attack Israel. Holiday propaganda ranged from half-truths aimed at portraying Israel as oppressive to “crude anti-Semitism” based on historic Christian accusations of Jews being prophet-killers, the group said.

The report, titled, “O Boycott All ye Faithful,” criticized groups including Christian Aid, Sabeel, Kairos Palestine, and Israel Palestine Mission Network, Presbyterian Church (USA).

The latter group has published a daily advent devotional headed by a picture in which Mary and Joseph, parents of Jesus, are trapped behind a wall styled on Israel’s security barrier between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| December 19, 2012
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Israel issues travel visas to Gazans for Christmas in West Bank

 

500 Christian Palestinians & 75,000 tourists to visit Bethlehem for Christmas

IDF to decrease military activity in area during holidays

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

The IDF is set to issue permits to some 500 Palestinian Christians residing in Gaza allowing them to travel to the West Bank, specifically Bethlehem, for Christmas. Additionally, at least 20,000 entrance visas will likely be issued to Christian pilgrims who are expected to visit Bethlehem from abroad for the holiday.

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem - Photo: Michael Omer-Man

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem – Photo: Michael Omer-Man

The IDF traditionally decreases its activities in the Bethlehem area around the holiday in order to facilitate Christmas celebrations among the Christian community. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
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