Bait Jala
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Bait Jala بيت جالا בית ג'אלה |
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 Bait Jala |
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| Administration : |
 Palestinian Territories
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| Area: | West Bank | ||
| Governorate : | Bethlehem Governorate | ||
| Coordinates : | 31 ° 43 ' N , 35 ° 11' E | ||
| Height : | 758 m | ||
| Area : | 13.0 km² | ||
| Residents : | 14,043 (2014) | ||
| Population density : | 1,080 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Time zone : | UTC + 2 | ||
| Mayor : | Nael Salman | ||
| Website : | |||
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Bait Jala ( Arabic بيت جالا, DMG Bait Ǧālā , High Arabic Bait Dschālā , Palestinian-Arabic Bēt Dschālā , also transcribed as Beit Jala ) is a Palestinian city with almost 12,000 Christian residents. It is located on a slope at an average of 758 m, ten kilometers south of Jerusalem and two kilometers from Bethlehem , on the western side of the Hebron Road . In Central and South America there are said to be more than 70,000 mainly Christian people whose families come from Bait Jala.
Attractions
Bait Jala townscape is characterized by two mosques and six churches . The most important church is the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas , the oldest also Orthodox church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
education
As in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other places of importance for Christians in the “ Holy Land ”, schools of several Christian denominations are located in Bait Jala , including one founded in 1854 by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and one founded in 1870 by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1936 the seminary of the Latin Patriarchate was moved from Jerusalem to Bait Jala. The Bait Jala Lutheran congregation has close contacts with German congregations. The Evangelical Lutheran School Talitha Kumi , which opened in 1950, is run by the Berliner Missionswerk in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land . 55% of Bait Jala's children attend private schools and 45% public schools.
health
Diakonie and Caritas are involved in Lifegate Rehabilitation , a rehabilitation center for handicapped children and adolescents with around 25 employees . Other health facilities in town include an Arab Society for the Rehabilitation clinic and a state hospital with 113 beds.
economy
The most important source of income is the agriculture . 1400 hectares of land are cultivated, mainly with olives and wine . Cremisan Cellars , in the Salesian Monastery of Cremisan, is the largest winery in the area. The regional unemployment rate is officially around 25%.
Intifada
Bait Jala became the focus of international interest during the second Intifada , when Palestinian militants repeatedly fired from Bait Jala at civilian targets in the nearby Jewish settlement of Gilo in East Jerusalem from autumn 2000 . Israel responded with air strikes and the construction of a concrete wall around Gilo. In August 2010 the wall was dismantled by the Israeli army.
Barrier
According to the plans of the Israeli government, the barrier wall that separates the Palestinian territories from Israel should separate the women's and men's monasteries of Bait Jala from each other and the monks from the Christian community. Likewise, more than 50 families are cut off from their land.
Town twinning
Bait Dschala has had town twinning with Bergisch Gladbach and Jena in Germany since 2011 .
See also
Web links
- Beit Jala official website, English
- Talitha Kumi
- Lifegate rehabilitation
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2007 PCBS census . Retrieved November 18, 2009
- ^ Educational Institutions official website, Beit Jala . Accessed: November 18, 2009 (English)
- ^ Health official website, Beit Jala . Accessed: November 18, 2009 (English)
- ↑ Demographic Statistics official website, Beit Jala . Accessed: November 18, 2009 (English)
- ↑ John Kifner: Emotion at Rites for 4 Arabs Spills Again Into Violence . The New York Times, October 29, 2000 (English). Retrieved November 23, 2009
- ↑ Gil Yaron: The Wall is Gone, Spiegel Online, August 30, 2010, accessed August 31, 2010
- ^ Harriet Sherwood: William Hague intervenes over West Bank barrier. In: The Guardian. October 4, 2012, accessed March 11, 2013 .
- ↑ Partnership agreement with Beit Jala was signed - municipal contribution to reconciliation and peace in the Middle East