Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle Bethlehem, turning the 4,000-year-old city into a virtual prison ....

Bethlehem Cards - Back by Popular Demand!

Once again, we feel obligated and excited to spread awareness about Palestine during a season dedicated to "peace on earth and joy to the world"

In the past, people have distributed our Bethlehem Cards at shopping malls and Carol sings, to Nutcracker crowds and church attendees, in Christmas cards and on windshields, at cafes and farmers' markets....

Order 50, hundreds, or thousands and help tell Americans about Bethlehem and Palestine! You can place your order online:http://www.ifamericansknew.org/about_us/bethlehem06.html or by email – instructions below. (We ask a donation to cover the printing costs – $3 per 50 cards, minimum order, plus postage.)

Front of the card:

Text on Back of this year's card:

The people of Bethlehem are asking for our help.

Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle Bethlehem, turning the 4,000-year-old city into a virtual prison for its Palestinian Christian and Muslim citizens. Bethlehem has only three gates to the outside world, all tightly controlled by Israeli occupation forces.

Israel has confiscated almost all the agricultural land in the area for illegal settlements, making it impossible for many Palestinian farmers to continue tending their land. Outside the town, the fields where shepherds once watched their flocks are being filled by Israeli housing blocs and roads barred to the descendants of those shepherds.

“It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation,” says South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Bethlehem’s residents increasingly are fleeing Israel’s confining walls, and soon the city, home to the oldest Christian community in the world, will have little left of its Christian history but the cold stones of empty churches.

Though most Americans don’t know it, we are directly involved in Israel’s strangulation of Bethlehem. Fortune Magazine and other analysts consistently rank the Israel lobby as one of the most effective special interests in Washington; Americans give Israel about $7 million per day. In its just over 60 years of existence, Israel has received more US tax money than any other nation.

As we seek peace and joy for the world, it is time to reconsider an expenditure that perpetuates injustice, tragic violence, and conflict. Please help.

For more information: IfAmericansKnew.org

Text on Back of last year's card:

The people of Bethlehem are asking for our help.

Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle Bethlehem, turning the 4,000-year-old city into a virtual prison for its Palestinian Christian and Muslim citizens. Bethlehem has only three gates to the outside world, all tightly controlled by the Israeli army.

Outside the town, the fields where shepherds once watched their flocks are being filled by housing blocs and roads that are barred to the descendants of those shepherds. In the last six years Israel has confiscated almost all the agricultural land in the city and surrounding areas, making it impossible for farmers to access their groves. The people are growing increasingly desperate.

"It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation,” says South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Bethlehem's residents increasingly are fleeing Israel's confining walls, and soon the city, home to the oldest Christian community in the world, will have little left of its Christian history but the cold stones of empty churches.

Though most Americans don't know it, we are directly involved in Israel's strangulation of Bethlehem and the Palestinian Territories. Our government gives about $7 million per day to Israel. In its 60 years of existence, Israel has received more US tax money than any other nation on earth.

The loss of Bethlehem to the world would be devastating. Please help its citizens live in freedom once again.

For more information: IfAmericansKnew.org

While supplies last you can order whichever version of the card you prefer. After that we will just send what we have in stock.

Place your order now!

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/about_us/bethlehem06.html

(Or email your order to orders@ifamericansknew.org – tell us your mailing address and the quantity you wish to receive. You can then mail a check, money order or donate online. 6312 SW Capitol Hwy, #163, Portland, OR 97227 • (202) 631-4060 • http://www.ifamericansknew.org/donate )

Thank you and Happy Holidays!