ESSAY: ‘O Walled-Off Town of Bethlehem’

As the days count down to another Christmas, I can’t help but feel sad at the tragic irony that is the current situation in Israel and Palestine and the fact that we will soon be remembering the birth of the Prince of Peace in that very place. As I write, predictable clashes are breaking out between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers over US President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

One of the beautiful symbols of that hope is captured by the wonderful artist, Banksy, and his recently opened Walled Off Hotel, situated literally in the shadows of the separation wall that cuts off Israel and what is left of the land that Palestinians have had stolen from them since the 1948 founding of the modern state of Israel.

Read the essay in The Sight Magazine.