Betor adopt a student at the Bethlehem Bible College (BBC), where people pray that peace will one day return in Jesus birthplace and the region.
"This is not meant to be primarily financial," said British teacher and project manager Alistair Sanders, who just returned to the BBC after a "short break from the violence, terror and oppression."
Sanders, who has often witnessed gun battles in the streets of Bethlehem and nearby refugee camps, said that the adoption project is also "an opportunity to encourage and support (students) by becoming personally involved in their lives, even from overseas."
STUDENTS SUFFER
Earlier Palestinian Christians, including BBC students, cried out for help in several messages obtained by BosNewsLife. Some of them described how Israeli troops entered their homes and in some cases took away their fathers or even shot dead a dog.
Although those claims were sometimes difficult to verify, several Organizations including the International Red Cross have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation of Palestinians. But the Israeli Government says these army actions are needed to protect the country against Palestinian militants "who have killed many innocent Israeli civilians, including children and pregnant women."
ISRAELI SECURITY
"I left Bethlehem in the hope that things had returned to normal, but the town was in fact invaded by the Israelis twice during my absence in London…" said Sanders. "I arrived in Bethlehem during a break in the curfew, and was able to return to the College," but not without an "intense security interrogation."
And in a sign of times, Sanders described how Israeli security guards in the area asked him to remove his shoes so that they could be examined. In addition he was forced to remove the film from his camera after being forced to take two pictures, Sanders explained in an e-mail message obtained by BosNewsLife.
"I is interesting to talk to the security guards about why I am living and working in Bethlehem," Sanders noted. "One man started to talk to me about how God gave the land to the Jews. I told him it was all very well to talk about the right of the Jews to the land, but what about the duty of the Jews to their God?"
UNHOLY LAND
The teacher recalled how he asked the security guards "what is the first commandment?" He said "you tell me.." Sanders explained. "It was obvious he didn’t know. I could see that he wasn’t religious. The majority of Israelis are secular, from 65 to 80 percent according to different reports."
Sanders added that this research makes clear that most Jewish people are "not even religious" in Judaism. "It is a misnomer to talk of a ‘Holy Land’ when you have a godless and unholy people living there. These people need Jesus," Sanders said.
