According to archaeologists and Bible Scholars, the ancient bathhouse unearthed beneath a Nazareth souvenir shop owned by Elias Shama dates back to Crusader times and is not, as the shop owner believes, a Roman bath which may have been used by Jesus

By Steve Weizman, Associated Press, Dec 18, 2002

Haaretz, Israel's Elite Paper, writes about Christmas in Bethlehem in its editorial: "Since 1967, the proper conduct of Christmas services in Bethlehem has been proof that Israel jealously protects the rights of religious minorities, and Israel was praised for its ability to make a distinction between the holy places and its security needs.

Apparently, that concept is fading, along with Israel's good name in the world.

Haaretz Editorial, Dec 23, 2002

President Mubarak of Egypt has declared Christmas Day a National Holiday for the first time.

Coptic Christians represent ten percent of the population of Egypt. They celebrate Christmas on January 7 and from 2003, this date will be an official public holiday.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide Web site, December 19 2002

According to International Christian Concern, the Rev. Fernando Alconga, a Filipino pastor of the Redeemer and King Filipino Church of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of Dubai on November 12, 2002.

By Michael Ireland, ASSIST News Service

When Pope John Paul II appointed Michel Sabbah as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem in 1988, it was the first time the Holy Land?s indigenous Roman Catholics were led by a fellow Palestinian. Previously, Rome had always sent an Italian to fill the sensitive post. An Interview with the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah on the eve of Christmas.

By Alessandra Borghese, NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL, Dec 23, 2002

While the Christian World is preparing to celebrate Christmas, the suffering Church in Bethlehem is praying that the curfew will be removed.

Rev. Simon Oberst, the rector of Bath Abbey recently wrote a letter to his friends at Bethlehem Bible College:

"I cannot sing this carol without thinking of the plight of my brothers and sisters in Bethlehem at this present time."

Special For Come and See, Dec 11, 2002

Salaam Jaro was born in Iraq. Prior to the Gulf war, he completed the mandatory two years of service in the Iraqi army before taking a job in a weapons manufacturing plant in Baghdad.
Jaro's work place soon became a target for American missiles. Although bombs struck the plant several times, miraculously he was not on duty during any of the attacks.
When the war over, he saw the time was right to flee his native Iraq to a safer place. He is now pastor of the Arabic Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada.

By Harold Camphell, Baptist Press, Dec 5, 2002

To encourage the faithful to stay in the Holy Land, the Franciscan Custody has launched a program to build 70 homes for Christian families.

Since the outbreak of the intifada two years ago, about 1,000 Christians, the majority young people, have left the nearby Bethlehem area in search of a better future.

JERUSALEM, NOV. 28, 2002, Zenit.org

Bishop George Kuweiter of the Greek Catholic Church likened the missionaries to terrorists, saying they operate in "cells" under the guise of Christianity.

"Even we wonder who is behind them, who brought them and in whose name they operate," he told the Associated Press.

Ted Olsen, Christianity Today Web Log, Nov 26, 2002