(RNS) — A year ago, the Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem in the occupied ... by the area’s biblical names, Judea and Samaria.

"The Pope’s inauguration of a nativity scene that showed baby Jesus cradled in a Palestinian keffiyeh is an affront to Jesus, the Bible, and the 80% of Christians who have fled Bethlehem since ...

who all lived or traveled through Judea and Samaria. The area also contains significant biblical sites, including Beit El, Hebron, Shiloh, Beit She’an, Bethlehem, Shechem, and Jericho.

They told him Bethlehem had been predicted in prophecy ... The Romans allowed him to rule for them as Judea’s king instead of a Roman governor. For many people, Herod was not an acceptable ...