Comments (0)Gaza Christians to Visit Bethlehem
December 20, 2009Jerusalem
JTA Wire Service
Christian Palestinians living in Gaza will be permitted to enter Israel and visit Bethlehem for Christmas.
Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov made the announcement Wednesday, saying that Israel’s gesture is in contrast to the “inhuman cruelty” of Hamas in not allowing Red Cross officials to visit captive soldier Gilad Shalit, who is being held in Gaza.
“I hope that in the spirit of Christmas, the central holiday for Christians worldwide, that Hamas will take steps to free Shalit,” Misezhnikov said.
Misezhnikov says he is expecting about 70,000 tourists to visit Bethlehem next week in the days before Christmas.
Meanwhile, Christian leaders met Monday with the commander of the Israeli army’s Civil Administration Bethlehem Coordination and Liaison Office to receive assurances that Christian pilgrims would have no trouble accessing Bethlehem during the Christmas season.
Christmas is marked on Dec. 25 by Western Christians and Jan. 7 by Orthodox sects.
Some 65,000 Christians are expected to visit Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. Once in Bethlehem, the pilgrims will be under the protection of the Palestinian Authority.
Soldiers have been briefed on the importance of treating the Christian pilgrims with respect, according to Lt.-Col. Eyad Sirhan, the Druse commander in charge of helping the pilgrims, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Salita Makes First Visit to Israel
Orthodox Jewish boxer Dimitriy Salita made his first visit to Israel just days after losing a bout for the world light-welterweight title.
Salita arrived Wednesday with his wife, Alona, from England, where the championship fight took place Saturday. He is scheduled to visit the Western Wall and meet Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky—and told the Jerusalem Post he would eat all the kosher food he could find.
His six-day trip is sponsored by the aliyah group Nefesh B’Nefesh, but the boxer told the newspaper that he has no immediate plans to move to Israel.
Amir Khan, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, retained his World Boxing Association crown by stopping Salita 1:16 into the first round.
Bomb-Toting Palestinians Arrested at Checkpoint
Two Palestinians carrying a homemade bomb and a stun grenade were arrested at a West Bank checkpoint.
The men were arrested Sunday evening near Nablus and transferred for questioning, according to a statement issued by the Israel Defense Forces.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian teen was found Monday to be carrying a gun and three pocket knives at a checkpoint near northern Jerusalem.
Also Monday, Palestinians throwing rocks damaged an Israeli bus traveling in the Etzion bloc.
Poll: More Israelis Than Not Like Obama
Forty-one percent of Israelis have favorable feelings toward President Obama, with 37 percent expressing an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. president, according to a New America Foundation poll.
The poll of 1,000 Israelis also found that 42 percent of Israelis believe Obama “supports Israel,” with 55 percent feeling that statement does not describe Obama.
The finding that 41 percent of Israelis have a favorable opinion of the president contrasts with a Jerusalem Post poll over the summer, often cited in the media, which found that just 4 percent of Israelis believed Obama’s policies are “pro-Israel.”
Jim Gerstein of Gerstein/Agne Strategic Communications, which conducted the survey, said the earlier poll has been mischaracterized as Obama’s approval rating in Israel, and noted that if one adds the 35 percent in the Post poll who answered “neutral” to the 4 percent who replied that Obama was “pro-Israel,” one gets a result consistent with the 41 percent in the New America poll.
The poll was taken from Nov. 8-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent. Gerstein/Agne also has conducted polls for the left-wing pro-Israel group J Street; Gerstein is a member of its advisory council. Sixteen percent of the group surveyed was Israeli Arabs.
Obama’s favorable rating was higher than those garnered by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (30 percent) and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (38 percent), but lower than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 51 percent and two previous U.S. presidents, Bill Clinton (59 percent) and George W. Bush (48 percent).
The poll also found that Israelis value their alliance with the United States, with 65 percent saying they believe that the U.S. is the “only powerful country that Israel will ever be able to count on to support us in international institutions.” Thirty-one percent did not agree with that view.
In addition, Netanyahu would receive strong backing for any peace agreement he might sign. Sixty-nine percent approve of his handling of security and 59 percent say they would support “any agreement he reaches with our enemies.” That includes 75 percent of Likud Party voters, 67 percent of Kadima voters and 51 percent of Yisrael Beiteinu voters.
Gerstein noted, however, a lack of urgency among Israelis for a peace agreement, with 50 percent saying Israel “cannot afford to continue the current situation” and 46 percent saying that it can “continue the current situation as long as necessary and should not rush into a peace agreement.”
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.