Bethlehem's Christian Mayor

[Diplomat]

(Bethlehem, West Bank)

Vera Baboun, a Christian and Bethlehem's first female mayor, is determined to turn Bethlehem into one of the greatest cities in the world.

According to an AP report, for the last several years the Islamic Hamas militant group had a strong presence in the city's leadership which resulted in a cessation of international aid. That is no longer the case since voters elected Baboun in October.

Baboun has her work cut out for her. With its high unemployment rate and exodus of Christians from the city, leaving it with a Muslim majority, it will be no easy task.

Still, with the Bethlehem in worthy hands, perhaps by next Christmas the town will be the safe destination it once was for the parents of the Messiah.

Full story @ http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20121222_13_A1 8_CUTLIN531118

An interesting development seeing Bethlehem has been under Palestinian control since 1995 and the majority of its population are Muslims.

[Wahalla]

(Bethlehem, West Bank)

Vera Baboun, a Christian and Bethlehem's first female mayor, is determined to turn Bethlehem into one of the greatest cities in the world.

According to an AP report, for the last several years the Islamic Hamas militant group had a strong presence in the city's leadership which resulted in a cessation of international aid. That is no longer the case since voters elected Baboun in October.

Baboun has her work cut out for her. With its high unemployment rate and exodus of Christians from the city, leaving it with a Muslim majority, it will be no easy task.

Still, with the Bethlehem in worthy hands, perhaps by next Christmas the town will be the safe destination it once was for the parents of the Messiah.

Full story @ http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=13&articleid=20121222_13_A1 8_CUTLIN531118

An interesting development seeing Bethlehem has been under Palestinian control since 1995 and the majority of its population are Muslims.

Y the comment "with the Bethlehem in worthy hands" ????

Were islamic rule not worthy...given Jesus is one of their principal prophets and I beleive one of the tenents of the Koran is to look after holy sites.. (I dont beleive there is such a command in Christianity....)

Interesting when you compare this with the fact that keeper of the key of the Holy Spepulcar has been a Muslim for a long time given the rivalry that the monks of various christian cults have resorted to violence...

[Peasie]

An interesting development seeing Bethlehem has been under Palestinian control since 1995 and the majority of its population are Muslims.

This is a common misconception.

The broader Bethlehem area has a population of 61, 000, half of whom are Muslims and half are Christians; Bethlehem having 22,000 inhabitants, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour have respectively 13,000 and 12,000 inhabitants.
Source: http://www.bethlehem-city.org

[Diplomat]

Peasie: Directly from the linked article:

"The local economy is battered, with the highest unemployment in the West Bank, and local Christians continue to leave Bethlehem, which years ago moved from a Christian majority to a Muslim one. But Baboun is trying to raise hope, pointing to the Palestinians' recent boost of status at the United Nations."

And if we are talking about the Bethlehem district, from the linked sited you provided:

Christians constitute(28%) of the district total population and (72%) are Moslems, (92%) of the working force in the Bethlehem district are permanent residents, while (2%) live elsewhere in the West Bank, (2%) in Jordan, (2%) in other Arab countries and 2% outside the Middle East region. Bethlehem Governorate population makes up (7.3%) of the West Bank population."