A legacy from the heart of Bethlehem

December: As part of the Bethlehem 2000 festivities, Demis Roussos, the famous Greek singer, held a concert on Manger Square. The concert was attended by over 4000 people of Roussos' fans. A similar event which was supposed to be held on December 7, 2000 at the Jericho Municipal Stadium, was eventually held in the old cinema in Jericho.

2000:

June 2000

June: As part of the Bethlehem 2000 festivities, George Dalaras, the famous Greek singer, held a concert on Manger Square. The concert was attended by over 2000 people of Dalaras' fans.

2006:

February 2006

February/March: In their recent regional tour to Egypt and Jordan, Al Hara Theatre Group from Beit Jala held 25 performances of the play Hanin Al Bahr in Egypt (Cairo, Alexandria, Mina, and Al Si'id) and 22 performances in Jordan (Amman, the Palestinian refugee camps, and other localities). It has to be noted that the play Hanin Al Bahr received the Best Theatrical Performance Award during the Child Festival in Romania in 2005.

February 23: Nathalie Handal, poet, writer and playwright, was hosted by the International Center of Bethlehem (ICB) for an evening of poetry reading of her own work (See picture below)

February 26: St. Joseph School in Bethlehem held a "Super Star" singing contest with the participation of 16 of its students under the supervision of their teacher, Mr. Husam Sa'ad, and the accompaniment of the band Lamar. The contest took place at the Catholic Action Club in Bethlehem.

March 2006

March: The first exhibition of the Palestinian Modern Art Museum was held in New York City. Organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, the exhibition will display the works of Palestinian artists from Palestine and elsewhere in the world. In addition to artist Mustafa Hallaj and Suleiman Mansour, Bethlehem artist Emily Jasir will portray a documentary entitled "Through Surda" depicting the hardships that Palestinians have to go through while crossing Israeli checkpoints to attend to their daily needs.

March 6: The Annual Book Exhibition, held at Terra Sancta Boy's High School in Bethlehem, was inaugurated by the Latin Parish Priest, Amjad Sabara, and the Head of the Bethlehem Directorate of Education, Mr. Abdallah Shakarneh.

March 9: The Beit Jala Municipal Council and The Mayor of Beit Jala Eng. Raji Zeidan welcomed a delegation from the American Consulate in Jerusalem who visited the Beit Jala Public Library and donated some books to the library which was established in rented building in the city paid by donations from the Pontifical Mission.

March 10: The Jenin group "Dabkeh for Folkloric Arts" performed at Bethlehem University in its attempt to revive and spread the Palestinian heritage and to reinforce the originality of the Palestinians' heritage.

March 16: Under the auspices of H.E. the Palestinian Minster of Culture, Mr. Yehya Yakhlef, the Bethlehem Peace Center inaugurated the second annual Bethlehem Cultural Week and Book Exhibition. With the cooperation of the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, the event is organized by the Bethlehem Peace Center, the Arab Womens' Union Club, the Cardinal House, and the Friends of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Committee. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Bethlehem Mayor Mr. Victor Batarseh, H.E. the Minster of Tourism, Mr. Ziad Al Bandak, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Mr. Isa Qaraqe', and Director of the Ministry of Culture Office in Bethlehem Mr. Mohammad Al Diri. The Exhibition will run until March 26, 2006.

March 17: As part of its Bethlehem Cultural Week activities, the Bethlehem Peace Center hosted the Palestinian novelist Leila Al Atrash, from Beit Sahour and resident of Amman, Jordan.

May 2006

May 2: Dr. Michel Shibli Sansour, Principal of the College des Fréres (De La Salle) in Bethlehem held a reception in honor of having received from the French Government the decoration "Palmes Academiques" (Academic Palms) through the French Consul General in Jerusalem, Mr. Alain Remy.

May 11: Al-Dheisheh Boys' School held its annual end-of-school-year open day activities.

May 11: A memorandum of understanding on the protection and preservation of Palestinian heritage in Bethlehem was signed between the Center for Cultural Heritage (CCHP), represented by the CCHP Director, Dr. Khouloud D'ebes, and the three local municipalities (Bethlehem: represented by Mayor Dr. Victor Batarseh, Beit Jala: represented by Mayor Raji Zeidan, Beit Sahour: represented by Mayor in-Charge Engineer Mazen al-Shomali). Present at the signing ceremony were Governor of Bethlehem, Salah al-Ta'mari, UNESCO Representative in Ramallah, Giovani Fontana, and representative of the Italain Cooperation Office in Jerusalem, Usama Hamdan.

May 11: Talitha Qumi School in Beit Jala held its third annual spring festival.

May 16: Bethlehem Governor, Salah at-Ta'mari, inaugurated the photo exhibition entitled "The Lost Homeland" by the Miami-born artist Allan Jino. The exhibition depicts pictures of 1948 refugees and recent pictures of the places they refuged from. The exhibition, which ran until May 30, took place at the Bethlehem Peace Center.

May 26: Bethlehem University inaugurated the first annual Palestinian Literature Conference entitled "Palestinian Literature in al-Muthalath and in Galilea". The conference was attended by the university's deputy Director, Father Daniel Kaisy, mayors of the municipalities, as well as the literary figure Hanna Abu Hanna. The conference ran for two days until May 27, 2006.

June 2006

June 1: The International Center of Bethlehem (Dar Annadwa Adduwaliyyah) inaugurated the art exhibition "End of School Year for Arts Students". The exhibition represents the art work of the center's students. The exhibition ran until June 12, 2006.

June 2: The Alliance Francaise of Bethlehem and the Bethlehem Peace Center hosted the researcher in Arab arts Ms. Salwa al-Miqdadi during which she lectured on the "Palestinian Arts in Morocco". The lecture was attended by the Bethlehem Mayor, Dr. Victor Batarseh, the Cultural Attache of the French Consulate in Jerusalem, Director of the Alliance Francaise in Bethlehem, Mrs. Pauline Dabdoub Anastas, the Director of the Bethlehem Peace Center, Mr. Michel Nasser, and members of the Alliance Francaise in Bethlehem.