Bait Sahur

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Coordinates: 31 ° 42 '  N , 35 ° 13'  E

Map: Palestinian Territories
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Bait Sahur
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State of Palestine

Bait Sahur ( Arabic بيت ساحور, DMG Bait Sāḥūr , also Beit Sahour ) is a Palestinian city, east of Bethlehem in the West Bank . The population of 15,400 is 80 percent Christian and 20 percent Muslim.

history

Intifada

Bait Sahur is a starting point for various political activities. The city played an important role in the first and second intifadas , when Bait Sahur residents used nonviolent actions as a sign of protest .

During these two intifadas , the Bait Sahur-based Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between Peoples (PCR) under George Rishmawi called for nonviolent actions under the leadership of the International Solidarity Movement . As a sign of reconciliation, the PCR invited during the first intifada in the campaign "Break Bread, Not Bones" (in German: Break bread, not bone ) Israelis to a Sabbath at Palestinian families.

Part of the nonviolent resistance was a tax boycott during the first Intifada in 1989 under the motto " No taxation without representation ". Israel's Defense Minister, Yitzhak Rabin , who was responsible for suppressing the Intifada, replied, "We will teach them there is a price for refusing the laws of Israel." (We will teach them that they have to pay a price for not complying with Israeli laws) Israeli military authorities imposed a 42-day curfew on the city, blocked food deliveries, cut phone lines and arrested 40 city residents. In addition, the army broke into private homes and stole / requisitioned funds. The military administration of Israel prevented the Consuls General of Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden from attempting to enter Beit Sahour and assess the impact of Israeli policies.

According to Israeli legislation, the military administration of Israel had the right to invent its own fantasy taxes. During the Intifada, taxes were levied as collective penalties for “broken window panes”, “rocket fire” (from rocket hits caused by Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the Second Gulf War) and “stone damage” (caused by violent protests). In this way, Palestinians had to pay taxes for damage for which they were not responsible.

The UN Security Council worked to pass a resolution calling on Israel to repay the confiscated funds. The US vetoed this resolution to prevent it from being passed.

Younger story

The Alternative Information Center is also partly located in the Bait Sahur.

The city council of Beit Sahour, Elias Rishmawi is co-founder of the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), a non-governmental organization serving the trips to Israel and Palestine. The olive harvest illustrates the effects of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian population.

economy

Bait Sahur's economy is largely based on tourism and related industries such as olive wood carving . Agriculture and employment also play a role in Israel. The city benefited to a greater extent from the “Bethlehem 2000” project, which included the renovation of tourist attractions, hotels and associated shops before the turn of the millennium .

The social and economic sectors were badly affected by the events of the Second Intifada in September 2000 .

religion

Franciscan chapel on the "shepherds' fields"

According to tradition, the city is located in the area where, according to the New Testament, the shepherds camped to whom the birth of Jesus Christ was first announced. The proximity to Bethlehem and the still ideal pasture landscape with caves make this localization seem plausible from the perspective of the believers. In the “shepherds' fields” in the municipality there are therefore various memorials that commemorate the proclamation of the Christmas message to the shepherds (Lk 2: 1-20). These shepherds and the addition "shepherd's field" ( Arabic حقل الرعاة) also appear in the city arms of Bait Sahur.

Pastoral fields of the Franciscans (The es-Siar)

There are several cisterns and grottoes on the site in the manner of a stable in the time of Jesus. A chapel in the form of a tent was built over a grotto between 1953 and 1954 . It is maintained by the Custody of the Holy Land of the Franciscans and attracts tourists, especially on Christmas Eve .

Shepherds' fields with an Orthodox monastery (Der er-Ra'wat)

There is an underground Orthodox church on the site dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God . There, the alleged graves of three shepherds, to whom the Christmas message is said to have been announced, are also shown. A new monastery church was built next to this grotto.

Marienbrunnen (Bir as-Sydah)

In the city center there is a cistern that was dug by Isaac , the son of Abraham , and from which Mary is said to have drunk when she fled to Egypt. A chapel was also built above it.

Twin cities

Bait Sahur has 20 twin cities, mainly in Italy and France:

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Commons : Beit Sahour  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Projected Mid-Year Population for Bethlehem Governorate by Locality 2004–2006 ( Memento from June 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. a b Local Government in the West Bank and Gaza ( Memento of June 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (says parenthetically that the property tax “rate and base” were “unchanged since 1963”)
    Baxendale, Sidney J. “Taxation of Income in Israel and the West Bank: A Comparative Study ”Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Spring, 1989), pp. 134-141 "it retained the Jordanian tax law"
  3. Gradstein, Linda “Palestinians Claim Tax is Unjust, Many Don't Pay” [Ft. Lauderdale] Sun-Sentinel October 8, 1989, p. 12A
  4. Sosebee, Stephen J. “The Passing of Yitzhak Rabin, Whose 'Iron Fist' Fueled the Intifada” The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. October 31, 1990. Vol. IX # 5, page 9
  5. ^ Grace, Anne “The Tax Resistance at Bayt Sahur” Journal of Palestine Studies 1990
    New York Times Lewis, Anthony “It Can Happen There” October 29, 1989, pp. E23
    Curtius, Mary “Palestinian Villagers are Defiant After Israeli Troops End Tax Siege ” Boston Globe Nov. 2, 1989, p. 2
    Williams, Daniel“ Israeli troops withdraw after failing to stop tax revolt ” Austin American Statesman. November 1, 1989, p. A6
    “Israel abandons attempt to crush town's tax revolt” The Ottawa Citizen November 1, 1989, p. A10
    “Food to West Bank Town Blocked” The Washington Post October 28, 1989, p. A18
    “Israelis stop bishops from helping besieged town ” The Ottawa Citizen October 28, 1989, p. A10
    Sela, Michal“ Elias Rashmawi's' Tea Party ”” Jerusalem Post September 29, 1989, p. 9
    Williams, Daniel “Anti-Israel Boycott: Tax Man Cometh, but an Arab Town Resists ” Los Angeles Times Oct. 9, 1989, p. 10
  6. “Envoys turned back on road to Beit Sahour” The [Toronto] Globe and Mail October 7, 1989, p. A9
    “Israeli Troops Bar Western Envoys” Los Angeles Times October 6, 1989, p. 1
  7. ^ “A Matter of Justice: Tax Resistance in Beit Sahour” Nonviolent Sanctions Albert Einstein Institution, Spring / Summer 1992
  8. “US vetoes UN resolution that Israel return property seized in tax revolt” The [Montreal] Gazette. November 8, 1989, p. A14
  9. Christmas Eve on the Hirtenfeld , in: FAZ Magazin from December 2013, pages 80 to 83
  10. ^ Olive Picking Program 2008 ( memento July 24, 2011 on the Internet Archive ) at Joint Advocacy Initiative
  11. ^ Beit Sahour Municipality ( Memento of September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  12. List of twin cities ( memento of the original from June 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.beitsahourmunicipality.com