Bethlehem, West Bank
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Bethlehem is a city in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
,
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, located about south of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and the capital of the
Bethlehem Governorate The Bethlehem Governorate () is one of 16 governorates of Palestine. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, its pop ...
. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to
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, especially during the
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period, when
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embark on a pilgrimage to the
Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...
, which is revered as the location of the
birth of Jesus The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
. A possible first mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, although that reading is uncertain. In the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
. In the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, the city is identified as the birthplace of
Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...
. Under the
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, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, but later rebuilt by
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by
Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...
involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, it was rebuilt by
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
. Later, during the rule of several
Caliphates A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...
, Bethlehem became part of
Jund Filastin Jund Filasṭīn (, "the military district of Palestine") was one of the military districts of the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Bilad al-Sham (Levant), organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s. Jund Filastin, which ...
in 637.
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
, who replaced the local Christian
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
clergy with
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ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the
Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...
. However, they were rebuilt by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in the 16th century when it came to control the region. After the dissolution of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
at the end of
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, Bethlehem was part of
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
until 1948, and later of the West Bank that was
annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
by
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
following the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. During the 1967
Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...
, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...
between Israel and the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control, but it remains under
Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...
. Movement around the city is limited due to the
Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...
. Historically, it was a city of
Arab Christians Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...
, who made up about 86% of the population in 1950, but this community has dwindled significantly to 10% as of 2022, and now has a majority of
Arab Muslims Arab Muslims () are the Arabs who adhere to Islam. They are the largest subdivision of the Arab people and the largest ethnic group among Muslims globally, followed by Bengalis and Punjabis. Likewise, they comprise the majority of the population ...
.


Etymology

The current name for Bethlehem in local languages is /Bēt laḥm/ in Arabic (), literally meaning "house of meat", and ' in Hebrew (), literally "house of bread" or "house of food." The city was called in and in . In Aramaic, the name of Bethlehem was simply the Hebrew name בית לחם, and was pronounced as Beit Lekhem. Evidence for this spelling can be inferred based on the fact that the spelling ܒܝܬܠܚܡ can be found in the Syriac Aramaic version of the bible in Matthew 2 as well as other parts of the book. The letters ܒܝܬܠܚܡ transliterate to ביתלחם. Amarna letter EA290 makes reference to a town bīt-ninurta which has been read as Bit-Lachmi by scholar W. F. Albright, following a proposal by Otto Schroeder in 1815 and making it a potential first historical reference to Bethlehem. This reading is, however, uncertain and has met with objections.


"House of the god Lahmu"

Canaanite and Israelite toponyms starting with ''beth'' are interpreted to mean "house of", with 'house' understood as 'temple' and the second part of the name indicating the deity the local temple was dedicated to. Accordingly, one longstanding suggestion in scholarship is that the name Bethlehem derives from the
Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...
or Canaanite fertility god Laḫmu and his consort sister
Lahamu Lahamu ( , d la-ḫa-mu) was a minor figure in some variants of Mesopotamian cosmology, the feminine counterpart of Lahmu. In some god lists she was one of the ancestors of Anu. In Enuma Elish she is the first-born daughter of Tiamat and A ...
, ''lahmo'' being the
Chaldean Chaldean (also Chaldaean or Chaldee) may refer to: Language * an old name for the Aramaic language, particularly Biblical Aramaic. See Chaldean Catholic Church#Terminology, Chaldean misnomer * Suret, a modern Aramaic language spoken by Chaldean C ...
word for "fertility". Biblical scholar
William F. Albright William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars ...
believed that this hypothesis, first put forth by Otto Schröder, was "certainly accurate". Albright noted that the pronunciation of the name had remained essentially the same for 3,500 years, even if the perceived meaning had shifted over time: "'Temple of the God Lakhmu' in Canaanite, 'House of Bread' in Hebrew and
Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
, 'House of Meat' in Arabic." While Schröder's theory is not widely accepted, it continues to find favour in academic literature over the later literal translations.


"House of war"

Another suggestion is an association with the root ''l-h-m'' "to fight", leading to the meaning of "house of war" or "house of fighting", but this is thought unlikely.


History


Canaanite period

The earliest reference to Bethlehem appears in the Amarna correspondence (). In one of his six letters to Pharaoh,
Abdi-Heba Abdi-Ḫeba (Abdi-Kheba, Abdi-Ḫepat, or Abdi-Ḫebat) was a local chieftain of History of Jerusalem, Jerusalem during the Amarna period (mid-1330s BC). Ancient Egypt, Egyptian documents have him deny he was a mayor (''ḫazānu'') and assert he ...
, the Egyptian-appointed governor of Jerusalem, appeals for aid in retaking ''Bit-Laḫmi'' in the wake of disturbances by Apiru mercenaries:"''Oxford Archeological Guides: The Holy Land''",
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (born 10 April 1935, Cork City, Ireland – died 11 November 2013, Jerusalem) was an Irish Dominican priest, a leading authority on St. Paul, and a Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, a posi ...
, pp. 198–199, Oxford University Press, 1998,
"Now even a town near Jerusalem, Bit-Lahmi by name, a village which once belonged to the king, has fallen to the enemy... Let the king hear the words of your servant Abdi-Heba, and send archers to restore the imperial lands of the king!" It is thought that the similarity of this name to its modern forms indicates that it was originally a settlement of Canaanites who shared a Semitic cultural and linguistic heritage with the later arrivals."''International Dictionary of Historic Places: Vol 4, Middle East and Africa''", Trudy Ring, K.A Berney, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda, Noelle Watson, Paul Schellinger, p. 133, Taylor & Francis, 1996, . '' Laḫmu'' was the Akkadian god of fertility, worshipped by the
Canaanites {{Cat main, Canaan See also: * :Ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Levant Hebrew Bible nations Ancient Lebanon 0050 Ancient Syria Wikipedia categories named after regions 0050 0050 Phoenicia Amarna Age civilizations ...
as ''Leḥem''. Some time in the third millennium BCE, Canaanites erected a temple on the hill now known as the Hill of the Nativity, probably dedicated to Laḫmu. The temple, and subsequently the town that formed around it, was then known as ''Beit Lahama'', "House (Temple) of Lahmu". By
1200 BC The 1200s BC is a decade which lasted from 1209 BC to 1200 BC. Events and trends * 1207 BC **Pharaoh Merneptah claims a victory over the Ysrir, identified by some historians as the Israelites. ** October 30 – Earliest known dateable solar ...
, the area of Bethlehem, as well as much of the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, was conquered by the
Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
, which led the region to be known to the Greeks as "''Philistia''", later corrupted to "
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
". A burial ground discovered in spring 2013, and surveyed in 2015 by a joint Italian–Palestinian team found that the necropolis covered 3 hectares (more than 7 acres) and originally contained more than 100 tombs in use between roughly 2200 BCE and 650 BCE. The archaeologists were able to identify at least 30 tombs.


Israelite and Judean period

Archaeological confirmation of Bethlehem as a city in the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
was uncovered in 2012 at the archaeological dig at the
City of David The City of David (Hebrew: עיר דוד, ''Ir David'') is the historic heart of Jerusalem and widely regarded as the original location of the ancient city established by King David over 3,000 years ago. Situated just south of the Temple Mount, the ...
in the form of a '' bulla'' (seal impression in dried clay) in ancient Hebrew script that reads "From the town of Bethlehem to the King". According to the excavators, it was used to seal the string closing a shipment of grain, wine, or other goods sent as a tax payment in the 8th or 7th century BCE.
Biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse academic discipline, disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the Biblical canon#Jewish canons, canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Judais ...
believe Bethlehem, located in the "hill country" of
Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...
, may be the same as the Biblical
Ephrath Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah () is a biblically referenced former name of Bethlehem, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name. Biblical place A very old tradition holds that Ephrath refers to Bethlehem, as the first mention of Ephrath o ...
, which means "fertile", as there is a reference to it in the
Book of Micah The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The book has seven chapters. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is ''Mikayahu'' (), meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet f ...
as Bethlehem Ephrathah or Bethlehem Ephratah. The
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Judah, and the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
describes it as the "City of David". It is first mentioned in the Bible as the place where the matriarch
Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...
died and was buried "by the wayside" ().
Rachel's Tomb Rachel's Tomb ( ''Qǝbūrat Rāḥēl''; Modern ''Qever Raḥel;'' ''Qabr Rāḥīl'') is a site revered as the burial place of the Biblical matriarch Rachel. The site is also referred to as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque (). The tomb is held in ...
, the traditional grave site, stands at the entrance to Bethlehem. According to the
Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...
, the valley to the east is where
Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...
of
Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...
gleaned the fields and returned to town with
Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...
. In the Books of Samuel, Bethlehem is mentioned as the home of Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse, father of King
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
of Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Israel, and the site of David's Anointing, anointment by the prophet Samuel. It was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his warriors brought him water when he was hiding in the cave of Adullam. Writing in the 4th century, the Itinerarium Burdigalense, Pilgrim of Bordeaux reported that the sepulchers of David, Ezekiel, Asaph (biblical figure), Asaph, Job (biblical figure), Job, Jesse (biblical figure), Jesse, and Solomon were located near Bethlehem.


Classical period

The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke represent Jesus as having been born in Bethlehem, known in Aramaic by the Hebrew name (). However, modern scholars regard the two accounts as contradictory; the Gospel of Mark, the earliest gospel, mentions nothing about Jesus having been born in Bethlehem, saying only that he came from Nazareth. Current scholars are divided on the actual birthplace of Jesus: some believe he was actually born in Nazareth, while others still hold that he was born in Bethlehem. Nonetheless, the tradition that Jesus was born in Bethlehem was prominent in the early church. Around 155, the apologist Justin Martyr recommended that those who doubted Jesus was really born in Bethlehem could go there and visit the very cave where he was supposed to have been born. The same cave is also referenced by the apocryphal Gospel of James and the fourth-century church historian Eusebius. After the Bar Kokhba revolt () was crushed, the Roman emperor
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
converted the Christian site above the Grotto into a shrine dedicated to the Greek god Adonis, to honour his favourite, the Greek youth Antinous.Giuseppe Ricciotti, ''Vita di Gesù Cristo,'' Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana (1948) p. 276 n. Around 395 CE, Jerome wrote in a letter: "Bethlehem... belonging now to us... was overshadowed by a grove of Dumuzid, Tammuz, that is to say, Adonis, and in the cave where once the infant Christ cried, the lover of Venus (mythology), Venus was lamented." Many scholars have taken this letter as evidence that the cave of the nativity over which the
Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...
was later built had at one point been a shrine to the ancient Near Eastern fertility god Tammuz. Eusebius, however, mentions nothing about the cave having been associated with Tammuz and there are no other Patristic sources that suggest Tammuz had a shrine in Bethlehem. Peter Welten has argued that the cave was never dedicated to Tammuz and that Jerome misinterpreted Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual over Tammuz's death. Joan E. Taylor has countered this contention by arguing that Jerome, as an educated man, could not have been so naïve as to mistake Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual for Tammuz. In 326–328, the empress Helena (empress), Helena, widowed queen consort, consort of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and mother of the ruling emperor,
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
, made a pilgrimage to Syria-Palaestina, in the course of which she visited the ruins of Bethlehem. The
Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...
was built at her initiative over the cave where Jesus was purported to have been born. During the Samaritan Revolts, Samaritan revolt of 529, Bethlehem was sacked and its walls and the Church of the Nativity destroyed; they were rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor
Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
. In 614, the Sasanian Empire, Persian Sassanid Empire, supported by Jewish revolt against Heraclius, Jewish rebels, invaded Palaestina Prima, Palestina Prima and captured Bethlehem. A story recounted in later sources holds that they refrained from destroying the church on seeing the magi depicted in Persian art, Persian clothing in a mosaic.


Middle Ages

In 637, shortly after Siege of Jerusalem (637), Jerusalem was captured by the Rashidun army, Muslim armies, Umar, 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb, the second caliph, promised that the Church of the Nativity would be preserved for Christian use. A Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem), mosque dedicated to Umar was built upon the place in the city where he prayed, next to the church. Bethlehem then passed through the control of the Islamic caliphates of the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyads in the 8th century, then the Abbasids in the 9th century. A Persian geographer recorded in the mid-9th century that a well preserved and much venerated church existed in the town. In 985, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi visited Bethlehem, and referred to its church as the "Basilica of Constantine, the equal of which does not exist anywhere in the country-round." In 1009, during the reign of the sixth Fatimid Caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Nativity was ordered to be demolished, but was spared by local Muslims, because they had been permitted to worship in the structure's southern transept. In 1099, Bethlehem was captured by the First Crusade, Crusaders, who fortified it and built a new monastery and cloister on the north side of the Church of the Nativity. The
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
clergy were removed from their Episcopal see, sees and replaced with Catholic Church, Latin clerics. Up until that point the official Christian presence in the region was Greek Orthodox. On Christmas Day 1100, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, first king of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, was crowned in Bethlehem, and that year a Latin episcopate was also established in the town. In 1187, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt and Syria who led the Ayyubid dynasty, Muslim Ayyubids, captured Bethlehem from the Crusaders. The Latin clerics were forced to leave, allowing the Greek Orthodox clergy to return. Saladin agreed to the return of two Latin priests and two deacons in 1192. However, Bethlehem suffered from the loss of the pilgrim trade, as there was a sharp decrease of European pilgrims. William IV, Count of Nevers had promised the Christian bishops of Bethlehem that if Bethlehem should fall under Muslim control, he would welcome them in the small town of Clamecy, Nièvre, Clamecy in present-day Burgundy, France. As a result, the Bishop of Bethlehem duly took up residence in the hospital of Panthenor, Clamecy, in 1223. Clamecy remained the continuous 'Titular see, in partibus infidelium' seat of the Bishopric of Bethlehem for almost 600 years, until the French Revolution in 1789. Bethlehem, along with Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Sidon, was briefly ceded to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem by a treaty between Holy Roman Empire, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II and Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil in 1229, in return for a ten-year truce between the Ayyubids and the Crusaders. The treaty expired in 1239, and Bethlehem was recaptured by the Muslims in 1244. In 1250, with the coming to power of the Mamluks under Baibars, Rukn al-Din Baibars, tolerance of Christianity declined. Members of the clergy left the city, and in 1263 the town walls were demolished. The Latin clergy returned to Bethlehem the following century, establishing themselves in the monastery adjoining the Basilica of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox were given control of the basilica and shared control of the Milk Grotto with the Latins and the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenians.


Ottoman era

From 1517, during the years of Ottoman Empire, Ottoman control, custody of the Basilica was bitterly disputed between the Catholic and Greek Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox churches. By the end of the 16th century, Bethlehem had become one of the largest villages in the District of Jerusalem, and was subdivided into seven quarters. The Basbus family served as the heads of Bethlehem among other leaders during this period. The Ottoman tax record and census from 1596 indicates that Bethlehem had a population of 1,435, making it the 13th largest village in Palestine at the time. Its total revenue amounted to 30,000 Akçe, akce.Petersen, 2005, p. 141. Bethlehem paid taxes on wheat, barley and grapes. The Muslims and Christians were organized into separate communities, each having its own leader. Five leaders represented the village in the mid-16th century, three of whom were Muslims. Ottoman tax records suggest that the Christian population was slightly more prosperous or grew more grain than grapes (the former being a more valuable commodity). From 1831 to 1841, Palestine was under the rule of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Egypt. During this period, the town suffered Galilee earthquake of 1837, an earthquake as well as the destruction of the Muslim quarter in 1834 by Egyptian troops, apparently as a reprisal for the murder of a favored loyalist of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, Ibrahim Pasha, during the Peasants' revolt in Palestine. In 1841, Bethlehem came under Ottoman rule once again and remained so until the end of World War I. Under the Ottomans, Bethlehem's inhabitants faced unemployment, Conscription, compulsory military service, and heavy taxes, resulting in mass emigration, particularly to South America. An American missionary in the 1850s reported a population of under 4,000, nearly all of whom belonged to the Greek Church. He also noted that a lack of water limited the town's growth. Albert Socin, Socin found from an official Ottoman village list from about 1870 that Bethlehem had a population of 179 Muslims in 59 houses, 979 "Latins" in 256 houses, 824 "Greeks" in 213 houses, and 41 Armenians in 11 houses, a total of 539 houses. The population count only included men. Martin Hartmann, Hartmann found that Bethlehem had 520 houses.


Modern era

Bethlehem was part of
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
from 1920 to 1948. In the United Nations General Assembly's United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 resolution to partition Palestine, Bethlehem was included in the Corpus separatum (Jerusalem), international enclave of Jerusalem to be administered by the United Nations.
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
captured the city during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. Many refugees from areas captured by Israeli forces in 1947–48 fled to the Bethlehem area, primarily settling in what became the official refugee camps of 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) and Aida Camp, 'Aida in the north and Dheisheh in the south. The influx of refugees significantly transformed Bethlehem's Christian majority into a Muslim one. Jordan retained control of the city until the Six-Day War in 1967, when Bethlehem was captured by Israel, along with the rest of the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. Following the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the city. During the early months of First Intifada, on 5 May 1989, Milad Anton Shahin, aged 12, was shot dead by Israeli army, Israeli soldiers. Replying to a Member of Knesset in August 1990 Defence Minister Yitzak Rabin stated that a group of reservists in an observation post had come under attack by stone throwers. The commander of the post, a senior non-commissioned officer, fired two plastic bullets in deviation of operational rules. No evidence was found that this caused the boy's death. The officer was found guilty of illegal use of a weapon and sentenced to 5 months imprisonment, two of them actually in prison doing public service. He was also demoted. On December 21, 1995, Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem, and three days later the city came under the administration and military control of the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
in accordance with the Oslo II Accord, Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. During the Second Intifada, Second Palestinian Intifada in 2000–2005, Bethlehem's infrastructure and tourism industry were damaged. In 2002, it was a primary combat zone in Operation Defensive Shield, a major military counteroffensive by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, besieged the Church of the Nativity, where dozens of Palestinian militants had sought refuge. The siege lasted 39 days. Several militants were killed. It ended with an agreement to exile 13 of the militants to foreign countries. Today, the city is surrounded by two bypass roads for Israeli settlement, Israeli settlers, leaving the inhabitants squeezed between thirty-seven Jewish enclaves, where a quarter of all West Bank settlers, roughly 170,000, live; the gap between the two roads is closed by the 8-metre high
Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...
, which cuts Bethlehem off from its sister city Jerusalem. Christian families that have lived in Bethlehem for hundreds of years are being forced to leave as land in Bethlehem is seized, and homes bulldozed, for construction of thousands of new Israeli homes. Land seizures for Israeli settlements have also prevented construction of a new hospital for the inhabitants of Bethlehem, as well as the barrier separating dozens of Palestinian families from their farmland and Christian communities from their places of worship. Christians have reportedly suffered persecution under the Palestinian Authority, leading to emigration.


Geography

Bethlehem is located at an elevation of about Metres above sea level, above sea level, higher than nearby
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. Bethlehem is situated on the Judaean Mountains, Judean Mountains. The city is located northeast of Gaza City and the Mediterranean Sea, west of Amman,
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
, southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel and south of Jerusalem. Nearby cities and towns include Beit Safafa and Jerusalem to the north, Beit Jala to the northwest, Husan to the west, Al-Khader, al-Khadr and Artas, Bethlehem, Artas to the southwest, and Beit Sahour to the east. Beit Jala and the latter form an Urban agglomeration, agglomeration with Bethlehem. The Aida Camp, Aida and 'Azza, Azza refugee camps are located within the city limits. In the center of Bethlehem is its old city. The old city consists of eight quarters, laid out in a mosaic style, forming the area around the Manger Square. The quarters include the Christian an-Najajreh, al-Farahiyeh, al-Anatreh, al-Tarajmeh, al-Qawawsa and Hreizat quarters and al-Fawaghreh—the only Muslim quarter.Bethlehem's Quarters
Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation
Most of the Christian quarters are named after the Arab Ghassanids, Ghassanid clans that settled there. Al-Qawawsa Quarter was formed by Arab Christians, Arab Christian emigrants from the nearby town of Tuqu' in the 18th century.Tqoa' area
Zeiter, Leila. Centre for Preservation of Culture and History.
There is also a Assyrian people, Syriac quarter outside of the old city, whose inhabitants originate from Midyat and Ömerli, Mardin, Ma'asarte in Turkey. The total population of the old city is about 5,000.


Climate

Bethlehem has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: ''Csa''), with hot and dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Winter temperatures (mid-December to mid-March) can be cool and rainy. January is the coldest month, with temperatures ranging from 1 to 13 degree Celsius (33–55 °F). From May through September, the weather is warm and sunny. August is the hottest month, with a high of 30 degrees Celsius (86 °F). Bethlehem receives an average of of rainfall annually, 70% between November and January. Bethlehem's average annual relative humidity is 60% and reaches its highest rates between January and February. Humidity levels are at their lowest in May. Night dew may occur in up to 180 days per year. The city is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea breeze that occurs around mid-day. However, Bethlehem is affected also by annual waves of hot, dry, sandy and dust ''Khamaseen'' winds from the Arabian Desert, during April, May and mid-June.


Demographics


Population

According to Defter, Ottoman tax records, Christians made up roughly 60% of the population in the early 16th century, while the Christian and Muslim populations became equal by the middle of that century. However, there were no Muslim inhabitants counted by the end of the century, with a recorded population of 287 adult male taxpayers. Christians, like all non-Muslims throughout the Ottoman Empire, were required to pay the jizya tax.Singer, 1994, p
80
In 1867, an American visitor describes the town as having a population of 3,000 to 4,000, of whom about 100 were Protestantism, Protestant, 300 were Muslim and "the remainder belonging to the Latin and Greek Churches with a few Armenians."Ellen Clare Miller, 'Eastern Sketches – notes of scenery, schools and tent life in Syria and Palestine'. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Company. 1871. p. 148. Another report from the same year puts the Christian population at 3,000, with an additional 50 Muslims. An 1885 source put the population at approximately 6,000 of "principally Christians, Latins and Greeks" with no Jewish inhabitants.' The 1922 census of Palestine, census of 1922 lists Bethlehem as having 6,658 residents (5,838 Christians, 818 Muslims, and two Jews), increasing in 1931 census of Palestine, 1931 to 6,804 (5,588 Christians, 1,219 Muslims, five with no religion, and two Jews) with 506 in nearby suburbs (251 Muslims, 216 Christians, and 39 Jews). The 1938 village statistics list the population as 7,520 with 499 in nearby suburbs (including 42 Jews). The Village Statistics, 1945, 1945 village statistics list Bethlehem's population as 8,820 (6,430 Christians, 2,370 Muslims, and 20 "other"). In 1948, the religious makeup of the city was 85% Christian, mostly of the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations, and 13% Muslim. In the 1967 census taken by Israel authorities, the town of Bethlehem proper numbered 14,439 inhabitants, its 7,790 Muslim inhabitants represented 53.9% of the population, while the Christians of various denominations numbered 6,231 or 46.1%. In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 21,670, including a total of 6,570 Palestinian refugees, refugees, accounting for 30.3% of the city's population. In 1997, the age distribution of Bethlehem's inhabitants was 27.4% under the age of 10, 20% from 10 to 19, 17.3% from 20 to 29, 17.7% from 30 to 44, 12.1% from 45 to 64 and 5.3% above the age of 65. There were 11,079 males and 10,594 females. In the 2007 PCBS census, Bethlehem had a population of 25,266, of which 12,753 were males and 12,513 were females. There were 6,709 housing units, of which 5,211 were households. The average household consisted of 4.8 family members. By 2017, the population was 28,591.


Christian population

After the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, the local Christians were Arabization, Arabized even though large numbers were ethnically Arabs of the Ghassanid clans. Musallam, Adnan. Bethlehem University. Bethlehem's two largest Arab Christian clans trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids, including al-Farahiyyah and an-Najajreh. The former have descended from the Ghassanids who migrated from Yemen and from the Wadi Musa area in present-day
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and an-Najajreh descend from Najran. Another Bethlehem clan, al-Anatreh, also trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids. The percentage of Christians in the town has been in a steady decline since the mid-twentieth century. In 1947, Christians made up 85% of the population, but by 1998, the figure had declined to 40%. In 2005, the mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh, explained that "due to the stress, either physical or psychological, and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating, either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians, because they already are a minority." The Palestinian Authority is officially committed to equality for Christians, although there have been incidents of violence against them by the Preventive Security Force, Preventive Security Service and militant factions. In 2006, a John Zogby, Zogby poll that interviewed more than 1,000 Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem found that 79% of the respondents cited the
Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...
as source of difficulties leading the emigration of their community. In the same year, the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue conducted a poll among the city's Christians according to which 90% said they had had Muslim friends, 73.3% agreed that the PNA treated Christian heritage in the city with respect and 78% attributed the exodus of Christians to the Israeli blockade. The only mosque in the Old City is the Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem), Mosque of Omar, located in the Manger Square. By 2016, the Christian population of Bethlehem had declined to only 16%. The Christian population's proportion of Bethlehem fell from 87% in the 1950s to 12% in 2016. A study by Pew Research Center concluded that the decline in the Arab Christian population of the area was partially a result of a lower birth rate among Christians than among Muslims, but also partially due to the fact that Christians were more likely to emigrate from the region than any other religious group. The seizure of Christian land by Muslim mafias and the bias of the Palestinian Judicial system have been cited as reasons leading to emigration. Amon Ramnon, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, stated that the reason why more Christians were emigrating than Muslims is because it is easier for Arab Christians to integrate into western communities than for Arab Muslims, since many of them attend church-affiliated schools, where they are taught European languages. A higher percentage of Christians in the region are urban-dwellers, which also makes it easier for them to emigrate and assimilate into western populations. A statistics, statistical analysis of the Christian exodus cited lack of economic and educational opportunity, especially due to the Christians' middle class, middle-class status and higher education. Since the Second Intifada, 10% of the Christian population have left the city. However, it is likely that there are many other factors, most of which are shared with the Palestinian population as a whole.


Economy

Shopping is a major attraction, especially during the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
season. The city's main streets and old markets are lined with shops selling Palestinian handicrafts, Middle Eastern spices, jewelry and oriental sweets such as baklava, baklawa. Olive wood carvings are the item most purchased by tourists visiting Bethlehem. Religious handicrafts include ornaments handmade from Nacre, mother-of-pearl, as well as olive wood statues, boxes, and crosses. Other industries include stone and marble-cutting, textiles, furniture and furnishings. Bethlehem factories also produce paints, plastics, synthetic rubber, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and food products, mainly pasta and confectionery. Cremisan Valley, Cremisan Wine, founded in 1885, is a winery run by monks in the Monastery of Cremisan. The grapes are grown mainly in the al-Khader district. In 2007, the monastery's wine production was around 700,000 liters per year. In 2008, Bethlehem hosted the largest Palestine Investment Conference, economic conference to date in the Palestinian territories. It was initiated by Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Prime Minister and former Finance Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Finance Minister Salam Fayyad to convince more than a thousand businessmen, bankers and government officials from throughout the Middle East to invest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A total of 1.4 billion US dollars was secured for business investments in the Palestinian territories. Tourism is Bethlehem's main industry. Unlike other Palestinian localities prior to 2000, the majority of the employed residents did not have jobs in Israel. More than 20% of the working population is employed in the industry. Tourism accounts for approximately 65% of the city's economy and 11% of the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
. The city has more than two million visitors every year. Tourism in Bethlehem ground to a halt for over a decade after the Second Intifada, but gradually began to pick back up in the early 2010s. Schneider Electric operates a facility in the Multidisciplinary Industrial Park of Bethlehem, which was developed by the Palestinian government and France. The
Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christianity, Christians of various denominations as the Nativity of Jesus, ...
is one of Bethlehem's major tourist attractions and a magnet for Christian pilgrims. It stands in the center of the city — a part of the Manger Square — over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, where Jesus is believed to have been born. Nearby is the Milk Grotto where the Holy Family took refuge on their Flight to Egypt and next door is the cave where Jerome, St. Jerome spent thirty years creating the Vulgate, the dominant Latin version of the Bible until the Reformation. There are over thirty hotels in Bethlehem. Jacir Palace, built in 1910 near the church, is one of Bethlehem's most successful hotels and its oldest. It was closed down in 2000 due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but reopened in 2005 as the Jacir Palace InterContinental at Bethlehem. The hotel is managed by world renowned international brand — the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) and is second IHG hotel in the country after Seven Arches Hotel, IHG in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
.


Religious significance and commemoration


Birthplace of Jesus

In the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, the Gospel of Luke says that Jesus' parents traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. The Gospel of Matthew mentions Bethlehem as the place of birth, and adds that King Herod was told that a 'King of the Jews' had been born in the town, prompting Herod to order the killing of all the boys who were two years old or under in the town and surrounding area. Saint Joseph, Joseph, warned of Herod's impending action by an angel of the Lord, decided to flee to Egypt with his family and then later settled in Nazareth after Herod's death. Early Christian traditions describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem: in one account, a verse in the
Book of Micah The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The book has seven chapters. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is ''Mikayahu'' (), meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet f ...
is interpreted as a prophecy that the Messiah would be born there. The second century Christian apologetics, Christian apologist Justin Martyr stated in his ''Dialogue with Trypho'' (written c. 155–161) that the Holy Family had taken refuge in a cave outside of the town and then placed Jesus in a manger. Origen of Alexandria, writing around the year 247, referred to a cave in the town of Bethlehem which local people believed was the birthplace of Jesus. This cave was possibly one which had previously been a site of the cult of Tammuz (deity), Tammuz. The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John do not include a nativity narrative, but refer to him only as being from Nazareth. In a 2005 article in ''Archaeology (magazine), Archaeology'' magazine, archaeologist Aviram Oshri points to an absence of evidence for the settlement of Bethlehem near Jerusalem at the time when Jesus was born, and postulates that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Galilee. However, other archaeologists argue that there is evidence that Bethlehem of Judea was inhabited at that time. In a 2011 article in ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' magazine,
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (born 10 April 1935, Cork City, Ireland – died 11 November 2013, Jerusalem) was an Irish Dominican priest, a leading authority on St. Paul, and a Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, a posi ...
argues for the traditional position that Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem.


Christmas celebrations

Christmas rites are held in Bethlehem on three different dates: December 25 is the traditional date by the Roman Catholic and Protestantism, Protestant denominations, but Greek, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Coptic and Syriac Orthodox Church, Syrian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6 and Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Orthodox Christians on January 19. Most Christmas processions pass through Manger Square, the plaza outside the Church of the Nativity, Basilica of the Nativity. Roman Catholic services take place in Church of Saint Catherine, Bethlehem, St. Catherine's Church and Protestants often hold services at Shepherds' Fields.


Other religious festivals

Bethlehem celebrates festivals related to saints and prophets associated with Palestinian folklore. One such festival is the annual Saint George's Day, Feast of Saint George (Khidr, al-Khadr) on May 5–6. During the celebrations, Greek Orthodox Christians from the city march in procession to the nearby town of al-Khader to baptize newborns in the waters around the St. George's Monastery, Al-Khader, Monastery of St. George and sacrifice a sheep in ritual. The Feast of St. Elijah is commemorated by a procession to Mar Elias, a Greek Orthodox monastery north of Bethlehem.


Culture


Embroidery

The women embroiderers of Bethlehem were known for their bridalwear. Bethlehem embroidery was renowned for its "strong overall effect of colors and metallic brilliance." Less formal dresses were made of indigo fabric with a sleeveless coat (''bisht'') from locally woven wool worn over top. Dresses for special occasions were made of striped silk with winged sleeves with a short ''taqsireh'' jacket known as the Bethlehem jacket. The taqsireh was made of velvet or broadcloth, usually with heavy embroidery. Bethlehem work was unique in its use of couched gold or silver cord, or silk cord onto the silk, wool, felt or velvet used for the garment, to create stylized floral patterns with free or rounded lines. This technique was used for "royal" wedding dresses (''thob malak''), taqsirehs and the ''shatwehs'' worn by married women. It has been traced by some to Byzantium, and by others to the formal costumes of the Ottoman Empire's elite. As a Christian village, local women were also exposed to the detailing on church vestments with their heavy embroidery and silver brocade. File:Bethlehem Dress (Palestinian Thobe).jpg, Bethlehem traditional dress File:Chest panel from Bethlehem dress (Palestinian Thobe).jpg, Chest panel from Bethlehem dress File:Embroidery from Bethlehem Dress (Palestinian Thobe).jpg, Embroidery detail File:Bethlehem Jacket (taqsireh).jpg, ''Taqsireh'' jacket embroidered with Palestinian patterns File:Le musée des traditions populaires (Amman, Jordanie) (24116263437).jpg, ''Shatweh'', a headdresses worn by married women


Mother-of-pearl carving

The art of mother-of-pearl carving is said to have been a Bethlehem tradition since the 15th century when it was introduced by Franciscan friars from Italy. A constant stream of pilgrims generated a demand for these items, which also provided jobs for women. The industry was noted by Richard Pococke, who visited Bethlehem in 1727.


Cultural centers and museums

Bethlehem is home to the Palestinian Heritage Center, established in 1991. The center aims to preserve and promote Palestinian embroidery, Palestinian art, art and folklore. The International Center of Bethlehem is another cultural center that concentrates primarily on the culture of Bethlehem. It provides language and guide training, woman's studies and Handicraft, arts and crafts displays, and training. The Bethlehem branch of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music has about 500 students. Its primary goals are to teach children music, train teachers for other schools, sponsor music research, and the study of Palestinian folklore music. Bethlehem has several museums: The Crib of the Nativity Theatre and Museum offers visitors 31 three-dimensional models depicting the significant stages of the life of Jesus. Its theater presents a 20-minute animated show. The Badd Giacaman Museum, located in the Old City of Bethlehem, dates back to the 18th century and is primarily dedicated to the history and process of olive oil production. Baituna al-Talhami Museum, established in 1972, contains displays of Bethlehem culture. The International Museum of Nativity was built by UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to exhibit "high artistic quality in an evocative atmosphere". The Palestine Museum of Natural History is the first of its kind and is based on Bethlehem University campus.


Local government

Bethlehem is the ''muhfaza'' (seat) or district capital of the
Bethlehem Governorate The Bethlehem Governorate () is one of 16 governorates of Palestine. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, its pop ...
. Bethlehem held its first municipal elections in 1876, after the ''mukhtars'' ("heads") of the quarters of Bethlehem's Old City (excluding the Syriac Quarter) made the decision to elect a local council of seven members to represent each clan in the town. A Basic law, Basic Law was established so that if the victor for mayor was a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, his deputy should be of the
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
community. Throughout, Bethlehem's rule by the British and Jordan, the Syriac Quarter was allowed to participate in the election, as were the Ta'amrah Bedouins and Palestinian refugees, hence ratifying the number of municipal members in the council to 11. In 1976, an amendment was passed to allow women to vote and become council members and later the voting age was increased from 21 to 25.Municipal Council Elections during the British and Jordanian Periods
Bethlehem Municipal Council.
There are several branches of political parties on the council, including Communism, Communist, Islamism, Islamist, and secular. The leftist factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) usually dominate the reserved seats. Hamas gained the majority of the open seats in the 2005 Palestinian local elections, 2004–2005, Palestinian municipal elections.


Mayors

In the October 2012 municipal elections, Fatah member Vera Baboun won, becoming the first female mayor of Bethlehem.


Education

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in 1997, approximately 84% of Bethlehem's population over the age of 10 was literate. Of the city's population, 10,414 were enrolled in schools (4,015 in primary education, primary school, 3,578 in secondary and 2,821 in high school). About 14.1% of high school students received diplomas. There were 135 schools in the
Bethlehem Governorate The Bethlehem Governorate () is one of 16 governorates of Palestine. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Its principal city and district capital is Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, its pop ...
in 2006; 100 run the Education Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Education Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority, seven by the UNRWA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and 28 were private. Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Christian co-educational institution of higher learning founded in 1973 in the Lasallian tradition, open to students of all faiths. Bethlehem University is the first university established in the West Bank, and can trace its roots to 1893 when the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, De La Salle Christian Brothers opened schools throughout Palestine and Egypt.


Transportation

Bethlehem has three bus stations owned by private companies which offer service to Jerusalem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Hebron, Nahalin, Battir, al-Khader, al-Ubeidiya and Beit Fajjar. There are two taxi stations that make trips to Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, Jerusalem, Tuqu' and Herodium. There are also two car rental departments: Murad and 'Orabi. Buses and taxis with West Bank licenses are not allowed to enter Israel, including Jerusalem, without a permit. The Israeli construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, West Bank barrier has affected Bethlehem politically, socially, and economically. The barrier is located along the northern side of the town's built-up area, within distance of houses in the Aida refugee camp on one side, and the Jerusalem municipality on the other. Most entrances and exits from the Bethlehem agglomeration to the rest of the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
are currently subjected to Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks. The level of access varies based on Israeli security directives. Travel for Bethlehem's Palestinian residents from the West Bank into
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
is regulated by a permit-system. Palestinians require a permit to enter the Jewish holy site of
Rachel's Tomb Rachel's Tomb ( ''Qǝbūrat Rāḥēl''; Modern ''Qever Raḥel;'' ''Qabr Rāḥīl'') is a site revered as the burial place of the Biblical matriarch Rachel. The site is also referred to as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque (). The tomb is held in ...
. Israeli citizens are barred from entering Bethlehem and the nearby biblical Solomon's Pools.


Twin towns – sister cities

Bethlehem is Sister city, twinned with: * Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. * Assisi, Italy * Athens, Greece * Barranquilla, Colombia * Brescia, Italy * Burlington, Vermont, Burlington, USA * Capri, Italy * Catanzaro, Italy * Chartres, France * Chivasso, Italy * Civitavecchia, Italy * Cologne, Germany * Concepción, Chile, Concepción, Chile * Cori, Lazio, Cori, Italy * Creil, France * Cusco, Peru * Częstochowa, Poland * Dakhla, Western Sahara, Dakhla, Western Sahara * Este, Veneto, Este, Italy * Faggiano, Italy * Florence, Italy * Gallipoli, Apulia, Gallipoli, Italy * Għajnsielem, Malta * Glasgow, Scotland * Greccio, Italy * Grenoble, France * Lourdes, France * Monterrey, Mexico * Montevarchi, Italy * Montpellier, France * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil * Pratovecchio Stia, Italy * Saint Petersburg, Russia * Sarpsborg, Norway * Steyr, Austria * Villa Alemana, Chile * Zaragoza, Spain


See also

* Bethlehem of Galilee * Bethlehem, Pennsylvania * Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire, Bethlehem, Wales * Star of Bethlehem


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Sawsan & Qustandi Shomali, Shomali, Q., Bethlehem 2000. A Guide to Bethlehem and it Surroundings. Waldbrol, Flamm Druck Wagener GMBH, 1997. * * * * *


External links


Bethlehem Municipality



Open Bethlehem civil society project

Photo: Christmas in Bethlehem, 2008

Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans

Bethlehem University

Bethlehem aerial photo
Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem {{Authority control Bethlehem, Palestinian Christian communities Cities in the West Bank Holy cities New Testament cities Torah cities Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea David Books of Samuel Nativity of Jesus in the New Testament Municipalities of Palestine Christian holy places