Unrest Threatens Bethlehem Festivities

Christmas festivities in Bethlehem, the annual highlight in this hilltop town where Jesus was born, are in danger of being sharply curtailed this year because of Arab-Israeli violence.

Mayor Elias Freij said Sunday that he is under mounting pressure to cancel all non-religious functions surrounding the holiday to protest a wave of violence in Israel’s occupied territories.

Official Christmas functions are scheduled to begin Thursday morning in this town four miles south of Jerusalem. They include an annual reception attended by Israeli officials that symbolizes Jewish-Arab coexistence.

Freij said the violence had already seriously affected tourism. During a typical Christmas season, about 50,000 tourists come to Bethlehem.