IMEU : Customs & Traditions

Christians in the Holy Land: Bagpipes in Bethlehem (National Public Radio )

Sat, 17 May 2014 09:35:24 PST

In the first of this two-part documentary, John Laurenson travels to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, to explore why this once overwhelmingly Christian place is losing Christians in droves. It seems like the place where it all began looks more like a place where it’s al coming to an end. The Christians now represent less than 15% of the population. John explores the reasons for the exodus.

Palestinian Fashion Week kicks off in Ramallah (JC Finley, United Press International)

Mon, 05 May 2014 13:32:17 PST

The second annual Palestinian Fashion Week kicked off Thursday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The three-day event, which is organized by Palestinian lifestyle magazine Layalina and Modelicious Agency, was started in 2013. Tamer Halabi, Modelicious general manager, explained "Every country has a fashion week and we thought we can have a fashion week of our own, instead of smaller fashion shows here or there."

The Generous Wilderness of Yacoub al-Khayyat (Riad Bahhur, This Week in Palestine)

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:01:11 PST

"I noticed that the darkest part of the night is the moment just before the light begins to appear," says Yacoub al-Khayyat, standing in the middle of a meadow with a bouquet of wild plants, including spectacular thorns, delicate white and yellow flowers, fragrant laurel leaves, a cluster of small red berries called 'ulleiq, and a sprig with tiny reddish "nuts" called botm, which are slightly larger than peppercorns.

Father Ibrahim Shomali: Catholic Priest (IMEU)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:09:58 PST

After a long battle against the building of the separation wall in the Cremisan valley in Beit Jala, Israeli Special Appeals Committee ruled in favor of building the wall on April 24. This decision will deprive people from Beit Jala from their right to practice their religious, agricultural, and cultural traditions by severing them from the lands that have been in their families for generations. Father Ibrahim Shomali is the Catholic parish priest who has been leading an open-air mass in the valley in hopes to save the valley.

PHOTOS: Palestinian Christians protest Israeli permit regime during Palm Sunday procession (Activestills, +972 Magazine)

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:41:04 PST

Whether during Ramadan or Easter, every year, Palestinians with West Bank IDs face challenges entering Jerusalem for religious worship. Despite claims by Israeli authorities of granting more permits and relaxing restrictions, each year thousands of worshipers are denied entry. This Easter season, early reports indicate that Palestinian Christian communities from the northern West Bank had to cancel their Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem due to a lack of permits. Parishes from the Bethlehem and Ramallah areas received between 30% and 40% of the permits they requested.

Gaza's Orthodox Church Celebrates 1,606 Years (Asmaa al-Ghoul, Al-Monitor)

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:47:17 PST

In the only Orthodox Church in Gaza, surrounded by saints' icons hanging on the walls, young and old churchgoers - along with Greek Orthodox Bishop Alexios and worshippers - sing hymns, hold candles and burn incense, filling the place with an aromatic smell and bringing more holiness upon this sacred dwelling. They pray in celebration of the 1,606th anniversary of the church's founding, which was built in the year 407 AD.

Girl from Gaza takes first prize in international math competition (UNRWA)

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 02:44:39 PST

Gaza's children affirmed their place at the forefront of creativity and innovation last week, as a 14-year-old girl from Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, took first place in an international math competition featuring the best young brains from all around the world.

20 Photos of Snow in Palestine (Yousef Munayyer, Permission to Narrate)

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:29:47 PST

As you may have gathered, it doesn't snow often in Palestine, so when it does, its kind of a big deal. Social media has been filled with images of snow in Palestine and Palestinians enjoying the rare event. Below we've compiled a variety of images that not only depict iconic scenes in pristine snow cover, but also bring forward Palestinian expressions through snow sculpture.

Museum displays Palestinian heritage in Tulkarm (Murad Shishani, BBC)

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:14:32 PST

Spanning 14 acres over the al-Mentar hill in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarm is an unusual museum featuring a collection of artefacts relating to the Palestinian state. The exhibits have been painstakingly collected by the curator Bassam Badran who hopes that one day his museum will be declared a Unesco world heritage site.

Abbas celebrates Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem (Ma'an News Agency)

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 01:16:21 PST

Mahmoud Abbas attended midnight mass in Bethlehem's Nativity Church on Sunday evening to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas. The mass was led by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. The majority of Palestinian Christians belong to the Orthodox church, with significant communities from other Christian denominations.