On June 12, 2009, 1000 people came from all around Bethlehem and the area to the Intercontinental Hotel in Bethlehem to celebrate the graduation of Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) marking 30 years since it was established in 1979. Faculty, Students, parents and many of their friends had a great occasion and were reminded of what has been achieved so far and need to look to the future.

Another interesting development of this college is the launching of the M.A program in ministry this coming year. This very exciting program is designed locally in order to meet the needs in Palestine and Israel

Special For "Come and See", July 1, 2009

Naim Ateek, a Palestinian Anglican priest and an Arab citizen of Israel, is the founder, president and director of Sabeel, an ecumenical theological center in Jerusalem dedicated to working for the liberation of Palestinians. In this book he presents a vision for nonviolent Christian engagement in what is perhaps the most central conflict bottlenecking the cause of peace in the Middle East.

Reviewed by R. Dean Hudgens, Englewood Review of books, May 15, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI said last night that bone fragments found inside the tomb of St Paul in Rome had been carbon dated for the first time, "confirming the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul".

He said that archaeologists had inserted a probe into the white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls which has been revered for centuries as the tomb of St Paul.

Richard Owen in Rome, Times Online, June 29, 2009

A Jew for Jesus who demanded kashrut supervision from the Chief Rabbinate won a Supreme Court decision on Monday likely to spark another confrontation between the nation's highest legal arbiter and the Orthodox rabbinical establishment.

In its verdict, based on a precedent that found belly-dancing to be unrelated to kosher food, the court ruled that an Ashdod baker's belief that Jesus was the messiah did not make her baked goods unkosher.

The ancient tradition of carving olive wood brings hope and fulfillment to a 24-year-old paraplegic man from the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem who recently received international recognition for outstanding achievements.

The second place award presented by the Palestine International Award for Excellence and Creativity in the special needs category recognizes Mu’in Al-Atrash’s tenacity to learn and perfect wood carving skills, overcome personal challenges and reach out to others living with disabilities.

Al-Atrash attributes his success to the support he received from the staff and volunteers of the East Jerusalem YMCA rehabilitation program in Beit Sahour, a program supported by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). With the right support, people with disabilities can meet the challenges that they have to face, he said.

Gladys Terichow, Mennonite Central Committe Web site, June 30, 2009

National Christian leaders meeting at The Carter Center on May 14-15 sent the following letter to President Barack Obama following two days of discussions on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Citing a growing sense of despair in the Holy Land, the letter conveys to the President support for his efforts to push for a two-state solution and calls for an immediate opening of the Gaza borders.

Carter Center Web site, May 18, 2009

The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, meeting in Edinburgh this week, today (23 May 2009) decided to continue selling and profiting from goods from illegally occupied territories at its hotel centre in Tiberias in northern Israel - to the disappointment and dismay of many within the Church.

The Kirk operates three centres in Israel: two churches with hotels and a multi-cultural school.

www.ekklesia.co.uk, May 23, 2009

A Norwegian family of actors has been denied entry to Israel, because the Interior Ministry believes they may try to settle here.

The family members play the main roles in the musical "The Covenant," which tells the story of the People of Israel. They were planning to perform around Israel this summer.

By Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz, June 30, 2009

How should bible-believing Christians align themselves in the Jewish-Palestinian conflict? There are biblical reasons for treating both sides with compassionate public justice in the same way that disputes should be settled between nations generally. In other words, the Bible does not teach us to be partial today to Israel or to the Palestinians because either has a special divine status. Israel has a unique place in God's plans, but this status does not warrant a claim, at the present time, to divine prerogatives.

Israel was chosen by God from all the peoples of the world to be the focus of special blessing in the history of redemption which climaxed in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. "The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6).

By John Piper, 2002, WorldMagazine