Talk:Bethlehem
From Academic Kids
I moved this paragraph here:
- Prior to the 1948, several Jewish communities were established in the corridor that connects Jerusalem and Bethlehem, known as the Gush Etzion block. The block was overrun by Arab riots of 1929, and ruined completely by Jordanian (then Transjordanian) forces in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
To start with, what corridor? The Ezion bloc is south of Bethlehem, which is, in turn, south of Jerusalem. In 1929, there was one settlement there, so it was not a bloc (and there is no k in bloc either). Also, you don't "ruin" a settlement. You destroy it. You remove it. You evict the people and lay ruin to it. Whatever. Not ruin.
Finally, a general note. Yes, the Intifada is raging, and Bethlehem has been in the news recently. However, Bethlehem has been an important city historically long before Sharon, Arafat, or the Ezion Bloc. It was the birthplace of David and of Jesus. It has a remarkable church with Byzantine and Crusader components. As a matter of fact, to the Crusaders, this was the most important site in the country after Jerusalem. While I do not denigrate the importance of the Palestinian uprising, I think that this article should better reflect the city's history over the past 3,000 years, instead of concentrating on the past three years. Danny
By the same logic, I'm also moving the following paragraph here:
- After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has, as it claims, restored old Jewish communities, and built many new ones as settlements. Settlements are off limits to Palestinians and can only be occupied by Jewish citizens of Israel. Palestinians claim that they prevent the urban development of Bethlehem and severs it from some adjacent Palestinian communities. Palestinians refer to the settlements as colonies. See Israeli settlements for a complete discussion.
Without the previously-removed paragraph, which set the context for this one, it seemed totally inappropreate where it was.
uriber 15:36 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)
Zero0000, no one said that all the people inside the church were gunmen. where DID YOU get that idea? i have added some links for you that use the word "gunman" from a wide variety of sources, including the New York Time, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, etc.
I may be in the wrong here, but I have an itch about the image attachd to this article. the Wikipedia is trying to stay out of politics and be as neutral as possible, yet this image is showing a current political affair (though a very painful and enraging subject) with the "security wall" around the west bank, passing near and through Bethlehem. Now we are talking about a city with thousands of years of history, a major religious center, lots of churches and archeology... and the best picture to convey that is a 10 metere concrete wall? Could we consider to take this image to the seperate wikipedia entry it deserve (and it certainly does!), but this is not what this city deserves to have representing it. --SeeFood 19:24, 7 Mar 2005 (UTC)
