Like many cities in Israel and Palestine, Bethlehem is biblically important to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For Christians, Bethlehem is recognized in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as the birthplace of Jesus and is one of the religion’s holiest sites around the world. Located just 6.2 miles from Jerusalem, Bethlehem is part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The town is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Under such conditions, the population of Christians is diminishing due to the ongoing hardships they face.
“Palestinian director Leila Sansour has made a fierce, poignant film about her family and her hometown of Bethlehem, now in Palestinian territory.
This film shows how Sansour comes to Bethlehem with a bold, imaginative plan in mind: her Open Bethlehem campaign. It’s an attempt to marshal a rainbow coalition of prominent international Christians, Muslims and Jews to persuade Israel’s government to open up Jesus’ birthplace in the simple interests of commerce and ecumenical tourism, and let people visit the city freely and for as long as they wish, ” writes Peter McGrath, film reviewer for The Guardian.
Open Bethlehem is also the name of the documentary about Sansour’s journey. What she hoped would be a one-year project to capture Bethlehem’s plight on film by highlighting the growth of the Occupation Wall, turned into an eight-year project.
The Comox United Outreach and Social Justice Committee and Mid-Islanders for Peace and Justice in the Middle East (MIJPME) host a showing of this powerful, evocative documentary at Comox United Church, 250 Beach St, Comox, on Tuesday, February 28th at 7 pm. The public in invited; discussion and refreshments follow the film. Admission is by donation.