Beit Jala


Food and Fadwa takes place in Beit Jala, a traditionally Arab Christian town North-West of Bethlehem. There,many homes and farmland have been cut across by the barriers that separate Israel fromthe Palestinian Territories. The economy of Beit Jalawas built primarily around agriculture and tourism, both of which have been curtailed by the limitedmobility created by the security barrier. During the Second or Al-Aqsa Intifada, non-local Palestinian militants used Beit Jala as a base to launch attacks on Jerusalem,


specifically positioning themselves so that return firewould damage Christian homes and churches. The unemployment rate among Palestinians in the BethlehemGovernorate exceeds 50%. This has forcedmany local residents, like Youssif in Food and Fadwa, to seek employment elsewhere.


Palestinian Christians Rough figures of the population


estimate that Christiansmake up 4%of the population of Palestinians in the


West Bank, 1%of Palestinians in Gaza, and 10%of Palestinianswith Israeli citizenship.


The Faranesh family, like about 4%of the Palestinian population in theWest Bank, is Christian. Bethlehemand its surrounding towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour once had Christianmajorities, as did Nazareth and parts of Jerusalem. However, the continued violence of the region in combinationwith religious pressure, have ledmany to emigrate, leaving behind the land thatwas the birthplace of the Christian religion. Eldest children in Palestinian


homes, Christian orMuslim, are thought to be leaders of the home and rearedmore strictly. In many Palestinian homes, the eldest son takes a prominent role in the home. Newer dynamics are taking place in themodern Middle East and daughters are gaining prominence and greater voice in bothMuslimand Christian families, especially in Palestinian homes.


Due to high rates of


emigration, today, the largest community of


Palestinian Christians is in Chile, with other large


populations in Jordan and Australia.


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