A Prayer for Peace in Bethlehem

Vera Baboun was 24 years old when she first realized that her hometown was truly different from other cities in the world.

Her childhood in Bethlehem had seemed normal, even idyllic. Born in 1963, Baboun attended a Christian school, sang in the church choir, and played tennis. Each December, she would watch the city’s Christmas-tree lighting. As a Girl Scout, she volunteered with the annual procession of the patriarchs, an Orthodox Christian tradition that occurs a few days before Christmas each year. She married young, in her early 20s.

But in 1987, tensions in Palestine exploded in what became known as the , an uprising against Israeli control over parts of the territories. That was when Baboun first experienced the meaning of occupation in a deeply personal way. Her husband was detained in 1990 as part of the political resistance. His health deteriorated, but he remained in detention until 1993. In 2000, Baboun told me, the Israeli army demolished his place of work, part of a punitive practice.