Bethlehem

===Christian population===
{{See also|Palestinian Christians}}
[[File:Bethlehem4.jpg|thumb|upright|Four Bethlehemi Christian women, 1911|left|266x266px]]

After the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]] in the 630s, the local Christians were [[Arabization|Arabized]] even though large numbers were ethnically Arabs of the Ghassanid clans.<ref name="beth">[http://www.bethlehem-holyland.net/Adnan/bethlehem/beth-hlccni.htm Bethlehem, The Holy Land's Collective Cultural National Identity: A Palestinian Arab Historical Perspective] Musallam, Adnan. [[Bethlehem University]]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019141809/http://www.bethlehem-holyland.net/Adnan/bethlehem/beth-hlccni.htm |date=October 19, 2013 }}</ref> Bethlehem's two largest Arab Christian clans trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids, including al-Farahiyyah and an-Najajreh.<ref name="beth"/> The former have descended from the Ghassanids who migrated from [[Yemen]] and from the [[Wadi Musa]] area in present-day [[Jordan]] and an-Najajreh descend from [[Najran]].<ref name="beth"/> Another Bethlehem clan, al-Anatreh, also trace their ancestry to the Ghassanids.<ref name="beth"/>

The percentage of Christians in the town has been in a steady decline since the mid-twentieth century.<ref name="AP"/><ref name="Malek2017"/><ref name="Lidman2016"/><ref name="O'Connor2013">{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=Anne-Marie |title=Little Palestinian town of Bethlehem wants its tourists, Christian residents to come back |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/little-palestinian-town-of-bethlehem-wants-its-tourists-christian-residents-to-come-back/2013/12/21/dac0d310-65b3-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=The Washington Post |publisher=The Washington Post Company LLC |date=December 21, 2013 |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002141912/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/little-palestinian-town-of-bethlehem-wants-its-tourists-christian-residents-to-come-back/2013/12/21/dac0d310-65b3-11e3-997b-9213b17dac97_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1947, Christians made up 85% of the population, but by 1998, the figure had declined to 40%.<ref name="AP"/><ref name="Malek2017">{{cite news |last1=Malek |first1=Cate |title=Bethlehem is Struggling to Protect the Church of the Nativity |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bethlehem-easter-church-nativity-jesus-israel-palestinians-war-christians-584908 |work=Newsweek |publisher=[[The Newsweek Daily Beast Company]] |date=April 4, 2017 |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=February 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229181951/https://www.newsweek.com/bethlehem-easter-church-nativity-jesus-israel-palestinians-war-christians-584908 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, the [[mayor of Bethlehem]], [[Victor Batarseh]], explained that "due to the stress, either physical or psychological, and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating, either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians, because they already are a minority."<ref name="VOA">{{cite news|title=Christians Disappearing in the Birthplace of Jesus|author=Jim Teeple|publisher=Voice of America|date=December 24, 2005|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-12/2005-12-24-voa17.cfm?CFID=43253380&CFTOKEN=44091067|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080505012318/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-12/2005-12-24-voa17.cfm?CFID=43253380&CFTOKEN=44091067|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 5, 2008|access-date=July 22, 2009}}</ref> The Palestinian Authority is officially committed to equality for Christians, although there have been incidents of violence against them by the [[Preventive Security Force|Preventive Security Service]] and militant factions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp490.htm|publisher=[[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]|title=The Beleaguered Christians of the Palestinian-Controlled Areas: Official PA Domination of Christians|first=David|last=Raab|date=January 5, 2003|access-date=July 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818233943/http://jcpa.org/jl/vp490.htm|archive-date=August 18, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shragai|first1=Nadav|title=Why are Christians leaving Bethlehem?|journal=Yisrael HaYom|date=December 26, 2012|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6865|access-date=October 15, 2016|archive-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121204432/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6865|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, a [[John Zogby|Zogby]] poll that interviewed more than 1,000 Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem found that 79% of the respondents cited the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] as source of difficulties leading the emigration of their community.<ref name="AJ1">{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/5/14/bethlehem-strained-under-occupation|title=Bethlehem strained under occupation|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=11 December 2023|date=14 May 2008|quote=A Zogby International poll in 2006 interviewing 1,000 Palestinians from Bethlehem showed that 79 per cent of respondents believed the difficulties of living under occupation are the reason for Christians leaving Palestine.}}</ref> In the same year, the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue conducted a poll among the city's Christians according to which 90% said they had had Muslim friends, 73.3% agreed that the PNA treated Christian heritage in the city with respect and 78% attributed the exodus of Christians to the Israeli blockade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Americans not sure where Bethlehem is, survey shows|publisher=[[Christian Church|Ekklesia]]|date=December 20, 2006|access-date=May 7, 2007|url=http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_061220bethlehem.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015857/http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_061220bethlehem.shtml|archive-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> The only mosque in the Old City is the [[Mosque of Omar (Bethlehem)|Mosque of Omar]], located in the Manger Square.<ref name="ATT"/> By 2016, the Christian population of Bethlehem had declined to only 16%.<ref name="Lidman2016"/> The Christian population's proportion of Bethlehem fell from 87% in the 1950s to 12% in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last=LIDMAN |first=MELANIE |date=24 December 2016 |title=Christians worry 'Silent Night' may soon refer to their community in Bethlehem |work=[[Times of Israel]] |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/christians-worry-silent-night-may-soon-refer-to-their-community-in-bethlehem/}}</ref>

A study by [[Pew Research Center]] concluded that the decline in the Arab Christian population of the area was partially a result of a lower [[birth rate]] among Christians than among Muslims,<ref name="Lidman2016">{{cite news |last1=Lidman |first1=Melanie |title=Christians Worry 'Silent Night' May Soon Refer to their own Community in Bethlehem |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/christians-worry-silent-night-may-soon-refer-to-their-community-in-bethlehem/ |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=December 24, 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423104455/https://www.timesofisrael.com/christians-worry-silent-night-may-soon-refer-to-their-community-in-bethlehem/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Connor">{{cite web |last1=Connor |first1=Phillip |last2=Hackett |first2=Conrad |date=May 19, 2014 |title=Middle East's Christian population in flux as Pope Francis visits Holy Land |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/19/middle-easts-christian-population-in-flux-as-pope-francis-visits-holy-land/ |website=pewresearch.org |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202011348/http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/19/middle-easts-christian-population-in-flux-as-pope-francis-visits-holy-land/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but also partially due to the fact that Christians were more likely to emigrate from the region than any other religious group.<ref name="Lidman2016"/><ref name="Connor"/> The seizure of Christian land by Muslim mafias and the bias of the Palestinian Judicial system have been cited as reasons leading to emigration.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-12-21 |title=Is Christianity dying in Bethlehem? |url=https://www.jpost.com/local-israel/in-jerusalem/is-christianity-dying-in-bethlehem |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en-US}}</ref>  Amon Ramnon, a researcher at the [[Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research]], stated that the reason why more Christians were emigrating than Muslims is because it is easier for Arab Christians to integrate into western communities than for Arab Muslims, since many of them attend church-affiliated schools, where they are taught European languages.<ref name="Lidman2016"/> A higher percentage of Christians in the region are urban-dwellers, which also makes it easier for them to emigrate and assimilate into western populations.<ref name="Lidman2016"/> A [[statistics|statistical analysis]] of the Christian exodus cited lack of economic and educational opportunity, especially due to the Christians' [[middle class|middle-class]] status and [[higher education]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Palestinian Christianity – A Study in Religion and Politics|journal=International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church|date=July 2005|first=Leonard|last=Marsh|volume=57|issue=7|pages=147–66|doi=10.1080/14742250500220228|s2cid=143729196}}</ref> Since the [[Second Intifada]], 10% of the Christian population have left the city.<ref name="VOA"/> However, it is likely that there are many other factors, most of which are shared with the Palestinian population as a whole.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation |title=Report on Christian Emigration: Palestine |url=http://www.hcef.org/component/content/article/106-report-on-christian-emigration-palestine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720121812/http://www.hcef.org/component/content/article/106-report-on-christian-emigration-palestine |archive-date=July 20, 2014}}</ref>