Full day in Bethlehem - the birthplace of Jesus

Breakfast consisted of boiled eggs, thin slices of toast, red and green peppers, small cakes, yogurt with different toppings. We set out on the bus at 7:30 and met our local guide, Bassem, for the first time. Bassem lives in Bethlehem, so I surmised he was a Palestinian Christian. In ancient times, Bethlehem was called "the least of Judah." The name, "Bethlehem," means "house of bread" in Hebrew. At the time of Jesus' birth, it was a small village on top a mountain, and the population was only about one thousand; now it tops 60,000. The city has more Christians here than other areas in the West Bank. Bassem (he said to call him "Sam") said that ten years ago the area was 75% Christian, now it's 32% The Holy Land itself is home to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Christians are caught in the middle between the Jews and the Muslims and many have left the area. Christians also have less children than the Muslims, so the number of Christians in the Holy Land is decreasing. In 1948, Christians numbered close to 18% of the total population in the West Bank and Gaza, now they are less than 2%. The Christians are a double minority. One Catholic priest has said, "We are rejected by the Israeli Jewish people and the government because we are Arabs, and we are rejected by the Palestinian Muslim people because we are Christian." A major discovery I made on this trip is that somehow, we need to stop the exodus of Christians from the Holy Land, where Christianity began. This is one reason why I'm writing this blog. Not every Christian realizes this.