ah yeah.. It also sucks being Christian on the Gaza strip

[BA Deere]

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/12/gaza-christians-long-for-days-before-hamas-c...

[r3020]

snip-

At a Nigerian Catholic church where a terror attack killed 35 people on Christmas, women tried to clean the sanctuary ahead of Mass on Monday while one man wept uncontrollably amid the debris.

Outside St. Theresa Catholic Church, crowds gathered among the burned-out cars in the dirt parking lot, angry over the attack claimed by a radical Muslim sect and fearful that the group will target more churches.

Rev. Father Christopher Jataudarde told The Associated Press that Sunday's blast happened as church officials gave parishioners white powder as part of a tradition celebrating the birth of Christ.

Some already had left the church at the time of the bombing, causing the massive casualties. In the chaos after the bombing, Jataudarde said one mortally wounded man, cradling his shredded stomach, begged him for religious atonement.

"Father, pray for me, I will not survive," the man said, according to the priest.

At least 52 people were wounded in the attack, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency. Victims filled the cement floors of a nearby government hospital, some crying in pools of their own blood.

On Christmas, attacks by the radical Muslim sect left 39 dead across Africa's most populous nation. A bomb also exploded amid gunfire in the central Nigeria city of Jos and a suicide car bomber attacked the military in the nation's northeast.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20111226/D9RS4CC00.html

[johnaa]

    http://mondoweiss.net/2011/12/christmas-in-gaza.html

This year Israel has given permits to 500 Palestinian Christians in Gaza to visit the West Bank for Christmas. As permission is automatically denied to anyone over 35 or under 16,
the few who are granted permission often choose to say in Gaza,
rather than leave their family behind at Christmas

[johnaa]

A sweet vendor fries local traditional sweets amid Christmas decorations in the southern town of Khan Younis. (All Photos: Ruqaya Izzidien)

[johnaa]

x
A Christian scout group meets at Gaza’s Greek Orthodox Church and breaks out into an impromptu dabka dance.xx

[johnaa]

 
Youth in Santa Claus suits light candles on a Christmas tree fashioned from barbed wire and decorated with cards bearing major milestones in the Israeli occupation of Palestine in an effort to educate Christmastime tourists visiting Bethlehem's Manger Square.

From The Institute for Middle East Understanding:
As Christmas approaches, Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, are busy decorating the city and preparing the holiday festivities. Like Christians the world over, the city of Bethlehem, which suffers under Israeli military occupation, is in the hearts and minds of Palestinians everywhere at Christmas time.

    Bethlehem and its holy sites are part of a larger heritage shared by all Palestinians, Muslims, Christians, and non-believers alike. In January, 2011 Palestinians submitted an application to have the Church of the Nativity (built 1,700 years ago on what is considered to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ) designated a World Heritage site. With Palestine’s recent admission as a member to UNESCO, such a move has a higher chance of success, helping to preserve this historic church for Palestinians and Christians around the world, indeed for all of humanity.

    Economically, Bethlehem relies upon religious tourism for much of its income. However, Israel has largely monopolized the industry by arranging tours of religious sites and controlling the movement of tourists in and out of Bethlehem, denying many struggling Palestinian businesses much-needed access to foreign consumers.

     The wall (deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice) that Israel has built runs extremely close to the city center, obstructing the movement of people, trade, and commerce. As a result, the city center has actually shrunken in size. Bethlehem’s sister city, Jerusalem, which lies just a few miles away, is now inaccessible except for the few who can obtain travel permits from Israel.

    Israel’s nearly 45-year-old military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, makes a normal life virtually impossible for Palestinians living there, including those in Bethlehem. Nevertheless, it’s not all bad news. About 1 million Christian pilgrims still come to Bethlehem every year, making it one of the most visited religious sites in the region.

mmmm

[johnaa]

Decorating Bethlehem

[johnaa]

 n

    snip--The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales offered prayers today for people in Bethlehem at risk of losing their homes.

    During his Midnight Mass sermon, Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols spoke of 50 families in the West Bank who he said could lose their land to Israel.

   Addressing the congregation at Westminster Cathedral, Archbishop Nichols urged people to "see more clearly all those things which disfigure our world", adding: "We too live 'in a land of deep shadow'."

   He went on: "That shadow falls particularly heavily on the town of Bethlehem tonight.

"At this moment the people of the parish of Beit Jala prepare for their legal battle to protect their land and homes from further expropriation by Israel.

"Over 50 families face losing their land and their homes as action is taken to complete the separation/security wall across the territory of the district of Bethlehem.

"We pray for them tonight."

nn

[r3020]

I pray for them as well. The fence would not be necessary were it not for the islamic extremist suicide bombers killing innocent Israeli citizens. Once the Jews are all dead the Christians will be next.