Materials

O, little town of Bethlehem Cards

Suggested Donation: 6¢ per card (+ postage)
Minimum Order: 50 cards
Description: 4x6 inches, glossy cardstock
Availability: Out of Stock
Note: Because we feel this information is so important, we are making these cards available at cost. People who cannot afford even this extremely low cost are encouraged to email us with a proposal of how many cards they feel they can distribute and how much they can pay to help with the costs of designing, printing, and shipping the cards.

We have received so many inquiries about the “Bethlehem Cards” that show a picture of the wall on one side and tell about conditions in Bethlehem on the other, that we are making these available at six cents apiece for people to distribute in their communities. People tell us that they would like to give these out at shopping malls, to members of their congregations, at carol sing-alongs, etc.

We are hoping that many, many groups will disseminate these cards throughout the country, so that their neighbors will learn what is going on in Palestine.

Naturally, this is a diverse and inclusive effort. The original group that created this concept – the Ann Arbor Bethlehem Project – consists of people of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. By joining together for peace and justice for all members of the human family, we will create the kind of world all our children deserve.

[To order a 10-card packet of the original Christmas card version – folding note card format, with six different pictures, $6) – please contact ]

Text on Card:

The people of Bethlehem are asking for our help.

Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle Bethlehem, turning the 4,000-year-old city into a virtual prison for its 160,000 Palestinian citizens – both Christian and Muslim. Bethlehem, which lies in the West Bank, will soon have only three gates to the outside world, all controlled by the Israeli army.

Since 1967, Bethlehem, populated by Palestinians, has been under Israeli military control. In the last five years Israel has confiscated almost all the agricultural land in the city and surrounding areas, making it impossible for farmers to access their groves. The people are growing increasingly desperate.

Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, has been home to Palestinian Christians for 2000 years. It is the oldest Christian community in the world. Since 2000, nearly ten per cent of the Christian families have fled Israel’s confining walls.

“It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation,” says Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Though most Americans don’t know it, we are directly involved in this strangulation of Bethlehem, as our government gives over $10 million per day to Israel – far more than to any other nation on earth.

Meanwhile, the townspeople’s dreams of freedom are portrayed on the encircling wall – a testimony to the indomitability of the human spirit.

For more information:
www.OpenBethlehem.org / www.IfAmericansKnew.org