A construction crew digging near the Basilica of Announciation in Nazareth, discovered a cistern that crusaders might have built 1,000 years ago, archaeologists said Friday.

On Tuesday, bulldozers tore out the foundations of a mosque that was being built without authorization next to the basilica.

AP, July 14, 2003

Every day, until his last day in Nazareth, Abu Danny dressed his traditional Arab head cover, even though he became almost the last person in town who regularly wears this custom that vanished from the scenes.

An amazing story of a couple from Illinois that devoted their life for serving with Child Evangelism Fellowship between the Palestinian Arab Minority in Israel.

Special for Come and See, July 8, 2003

In an operation that began in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday in the town of Nazareth, the Interior Ministry sent large bulldozers to demolish the foundations of the unauthorized Shehab a-Din mosque, which Muslems sought to erect next to the town's Church of the Annunciation

Haaretz, July 1, 2003

The High Court of Justice on Thursday rejected a petition by former residents of the northern village of Ikrit to return to their home, which they were ordered to evacuate during the 1948 War of Independence so they can "return when the war ends"

Residents of this Christian Village have been promised more than once to return to their homes, but the promise was never fulfilled.

By Amiram Bareket and Moshe Reinfeld, Haaretz, June 26, 2003

Ancient limestone box linked to Jesus displays dubious carved inscription. A committee of archeologists and geologists commissioned by the Israeli Antiquities Authority is set to declare that the inscription on the James ossuary is fake.

By JAMES ADAMS, From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Nearly all of the approximately 100 Messianic congregations in Israel are adding members, and many are new believers, sources in Israel say. Israel had an estimated 7,000 Messianic Jews in 2000, up from 250 in 1967, according to Operation World. There are about 332,000 followers of Christ among the world's 15 million Jews.

Religion Journal, June 1, 2003

A Greek Catholic priest from Nazareth felt the need to lead a group of Arabs and Jews to Auschwitz to understand each other.

He says:"We can't understand our conflict without understanding the history of the Jewish people, the Holocaust, and how it lives today," he said. "We cannot make peace until we understand the pain."

The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 28, 2003

When worshippers of the Brethren Church in Nazareth arrived to the Bible Study meeting at Friday, they discovered four Molotov cocktails ("burning bottles") thrown at the exterior walls and roof of the building.

The Brethren Church meets in the upper floor of the building were Emmaus Bible School is located. This is related to the outrage between Muslims in Israel over a book that Emmuas Bible School had, which ridicules Islam's prophet Mohammad.
Earlier in the week, Emmaus Bible school issued an apology and clarification letter

Nazareth, Special for Come and See, May 12, 2003

Pope John Paul II has appointed Father Elias Michael Chacour as a consultant to the Holy See committee promoting dialogue between Christians and Jews, making him the first Palestinian to be appointed to the five-year post.

Chacour is the founder of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in the town of Ibillin in the Galilee, and three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize (1986, 1989 and 1994).

By ABIGAIL RADOSZKOWICZ, The Jerusalem Post, May 8, 2003

A book with the title "Who is the Greatest?" has caused the Islamic movement in Israel to publish large ads in the main Arab Israeli newspapers accusing Emmaus Bible school in Nazareth of being a part of a larger Zionist-American plot to combat Muslims all around the globe in inspiration of the American victory in Iraq.

These ads appeared in last Friday's newspapers and were accompanied by large reports and commentaries on the mentioned book , by Christian and Islamic figures alike.

Special for "Come and See", May 6, 2003