Um… Jesus was born there, duh!
A new survey by Zoghby International of 15,000 US citizens and 1,000 respondents from Bethlehem, Americans have once again proven the quality of geography education in the States.
Most Americans placed Bethlehem in Israel, when it is actually under occupation in the West Bank, and cut off from Jerusalem by the Wall.
Bethlehem, a town that has probably the oldest Christian presence in the world, is at risk of losing its Christian heritage as members of the community increasingly leave due to hardships posed by occupation and the construction of the Apartheid Wall.
The two surveys show that American perceptions of the town are wildly at odds with the perceptions of those who live there.While the Christians of Bethlehem overwhelmingly (78%) blame the exodus of Christians from the town on Israel’s blockade, Americans are more likely (45.9%) to blame it on Islamic politics and are reluctant (7.4%) to blame Israel.
And while four out of ten Americans believe that the wall exists for Israel’s security, more than nine out of ten Bethlehemites believe it is part of a plan by Israel to confiscate Palestinian land.
The Zogby survey shows strong support for the town in the US, where 65.5% of the population want the UN to list it as a world heritage site. Americans are also strongly in favour (80.6%) of Bethlehem retaining a strong Christian presence.
Americans are also ambivalent about the Israeli wall, with 31.5% in favour of it, with another 31.6% opposed.
But more than two-thirds of Americans believe Bethlehem is unsafe to visit, while 80% of Bethlehemites consider their town safe for visitors.
While the US survey showed that Americans are sceptical about Muslims and Christians living contentedly alongside each other – only 17% thought they lived together in peaceful coexistence – the Palestinian survey showed they do: around 90% of Christians said they had Muslim friends, and vice-versa.
The Israeli government could well be shaken by the discovery that Americans’ tolerance of the wall would be strained by the discovery that it separates communities and families, cuts Bethlehem off from Jerusalem, and requires the seizure of privately-owned land.
US Christians, meanwhile, are likely to be shocked by the discovery that seven out of ten Christians in Bethlehem believe Israel treats the town’s Christian heritage with brutality or indifference.
The Bethlehem poll, which was carried out by the Palestinian Centre for research and Cultural Dialogue, shows on the other hand that more than two-thirds (73.3%) of Bethlehem’s Christians believe that the Palestinian Authority treats Christian heritage with respect. That result will surprise some who believe that the election of Hamas has strained Christian-Muslim relations in the town.
Leila Sansour, Open Bethlehem’s Chief Executive, says:
“Our US poll shows overwhelming support for Bethlehem’s Christian heritage, yet our survey of Bethlehem’s own citizens shows the city cannot retain this heritage and its Christian community while the wall remains.
“The choice is stark. Either the wall stays and Bethlehem ceases to be a Christian town. Or Bethlehem retains its Christian population – in which case the wall has to come down. The international community needs to wake up to what is happening and choose.”
For the full results of the survey, click here.
Come to think of it, hey May… there could be a whole other aspect of the marriage prospect issue in this. Actually there is, not just could be. When I meet Christian young people in the West Bank, it’s not unusual for them to be like ooo do you have a brother? Or, do you want to meet my brother? I’ve been told that for Christian Palestinian women in the West Bank, they by far end up marrying someone with an education level that is far less than theirs, because the educated guys all left. The leftovers had to drop out of school and work. The point is that finding a mate is kind of an obsessive topic for Christian young people as their choices become increasingly constricted with the outmigration.
