Bethlehem launches own passport

from ekklesia

Leila Sansour, chief executive of the Open Bethlehem campaign:

Bethlehem is [at] risk of losing its unique place as the anchor of the Christian community in Palestine. Almost half of Palestinian Christians live in our city. If Christianity cannot survive in the birthplace of Christ, the community loses its centre and has little chance of surviving in the rest of Palestine. If Christianity disappears in the Holy Land with its 2000 years uninterrupted tradition, it has little chance of surviving in the rest of the Middle East: in Iraq, in Syria, Egypt, Israel or Turkey. The consequences would be grave, feeding the ground for sectarian conflicts across the world for centuries to come.

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