When it comes to the topic of Bethlehem, I am biased. I admit it. Not because I am a Palestinian or because my mother’s entire family and ancestors were born there and attended the hallowed and sacred Church of the Nativity which marks where Jesus was born.

Not because my relative is one of the always-enthusiastic Christian priests who welcome the visitors at the Church of the Nativity in the heart of this important Christian center. But, because I am a Christian. I know not every American knows I am Christian, because they tell me.

I had one naïve little old lady waddle up to me with one of my books in hand at a speech, and say in her soft but deceptively ignorant manner, “I can’t believe you abandoned your Christian faith to become an Arab.”

I looked at her and wanted to ask her how she could be so stupid living in one of the most “educated” countries in the world. But I figured, sometimes, you just have to shake your head and move on.

I can’t avoid the topic of Bethlehem because I spent my entire life adoring it. In my home with my parents. In church every Sunday. At Sunday School summer camp. At my confirmation. During one of my prior marriage ceremonies. And every day in my heart.

Bethlehem is the center of the universe for Christians, especially those in America. Bethlehem is the icon we cling to when we pray, worship and celebrate the Christmas season.

Images of Bethlehem hang on our walls. Pictures of Jesus in the Nativity, surrounded by Joseph and Mary, names that are the most popular in Arab Christian families who trace their ancestry to this tiny city in Palestine.

What I really don’t understand, is why American Christians, then, don’t seem to care that Bethlehem, and the Christians who remained there despite never-ending conflict, oppression and religious hatred, are suffering.

Why is it that I see Muslims and Jews always speaking out in support of their own, Muslims and Jews who are persecuted, oppressed and who suffer in other countries?

Yet, I don’t hear “Christian” voices in America speaking on the suffering of the Christians in Bethlehem. The Bethlehem Christians have struggled to survive over the past 2,000 years in the city where Jesus was born. When American Christians look toward their pictures of Bethlehem, can they not see the reality of a city of Christians who are being strangled under military siege, oppression, and suffering?

Are Christians afraid of the truth, especially when it mixes in with international politics? Israel’s military has Bethlehem surrounded. It has been under siege for the past six years. Israelis say the oppression of Christians is the fault of Muslims, playing on the Western-stereotypes.

The Israeli Army has captured 15 percent of the city’s property, surrounding Rachel’s Tomb. Rachel’s Tomb is a Biblical site that Jews claim belongs to them. But as Christians, it also belongs to us.

The Israelis have erected razor wire and stone barricades and military outposts to keep the Bethlehem Christians from using the main road that passes Rachel’s Tomb, a site holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews. The road leads to Jerusalem where Bethlehem’s economy is tied. Jerusalem has been closed to most Christian and Muslim Arabs since 1967.

Large areas of Christian and Palestinian owned lands have been confiscated around Bethlehem and the community watches as the Israeli military has expanded Jewish-only settlements in the hills and valleys all around their city including overlooking the sacred Shepherd’s Field.

The mayor of Bethlehem, who is a Christian and a relative of mine, Hanna (John) Batarseh, is quoted on the front page of the Palestine Times newspaper (www.Times.ps) describing the dire situation: “Bethlehem has been particularly hard hit by the Wall constructed by Israel. Residential areas are surrounded by Israeli settlements and a tall cement wall, barbed wire and guard towers. Israeli soldiers man the access roads requesting identity papers and searching the cars of Palestinians ... arrest raids are frequent in the city ... and poverty is rampant due to unemployment. Bethlehem was once connected in social and economic life to Jerusalem. Now the city is disconnected from the tourists and travelers who previously visited Bethlehem’s holy sites.”

This isn’t about being anti-Israel. It is about being pro-Jesus. Like most Christian Palestinians, I support a two-state peace compromise and oppose the violence by both sides. It’s not even about who is to blame for the conflict that rages back and forth between Palestinians and Israelis.

It is about the suffering of people. As Christians, we don’t assess blame on the victims of suffering. As Christians, we recognize that people, Christians and non-Christians, need help.

I don’t know how any Christian can sing any Christmas hymnals this week knowing their fellow Christians are suffering so much. But maybe, that’s why Christians prefer to not know.

(Ray Hanania was named the 2005/2006 Best Ethnic Columnist by the New America Media. He can be reached at www.hanania.com.)