Bethlehem (02)
Bethlehem: City of Great Joy and Capital of Arab Culture, by the historian Dr. Qustandi Shomali, organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Bethlehem Peace Center.
Events
December 2020
All Cities
Book Launch
Children's Activities
Bethlehem (02)
Christmas Cookies Workshop is a children’s activity organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Participation is by registration only. Please call 02 276 6677. Bethlehem Peace Center.
Bethlehem (02)
Christmas activity for children with special needs, organized by the Bethlehem Youth Council as part of their program to integrate people with special needs into society and as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Participation is private. Mary Doty Children’s Park.
Bethlehem (02)
Christmas event for children with Santa Claus and the clowns. Organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Participation is only by registration. Please call 059 291 1535. Mary Doty Children’s Park.
Concerts
Bethlehem (02)
Sound from Palestine is an online fundraising concert organized by House of Hope Palestine, featuring Manar Wahhab, singer and songwriter, and William Vosgueritchian, classical musician, oud master. All donations will benefit the young students of House of Hope Vision School. Broadcast via https://www.facebook.com/houseofhopepalestine/.
Bethlehem (02)
Carols and Lullabies is a Christmas dialogue between two choirs performed by the Amwaj Choir (Bethlehem, Hebron) and Talitha Kumi Choir (Bethlehem), conducted by Mathilde Vittu and Wolfgang Weible, with pianist Ramzi Shomali. Organized by Amwaj Choir and Talitha Kumi Choir. Bethlehem Convention Palace – Lobby and Conference room.
Exhibitions
Bethlehem (02)
Opening of Night Shots from Bethlehem Sky, an exhibition by the photographer Jimmy Michael, organized as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Bethlehem Peace Center.
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
The Curators’ Tour, Printed in Jerusalem: Mustamloun, is organized by The Palestinian Museum and presented by Baha Jubeh to explore the relation between Jerusalemites and the political, educational, commercial, cultural, and touristic publications printed in their city (in Arabic). An English tour is available upon prior request. The Palestinian Museum. To participate, please register at activities@palmuseum.org.
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
Virtual Tour, Printed in Jerusalem: Mustamloun, is organized by The Palestinian Museum to highlight newspapers’ blank gaps that marked the Israeli military censors in the 1960s and 1970s to suppress any material of which they disapproved, and which left readers with a space to imagine and wonder about the censored item and about novel ways with which to maneuver around censorship. Presented by Baha Jubeh, Abdel-Rahman Shabane, and assistant curator Sandy Rishmawi (in Arabic with English subtitles). English Palestinian Museum social media platforms.
Films
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
Five Minutes from Home is a documentary film streaming and discussion presented by film director Nahed Awwad and moderator Samah Bsoul to explore the Jerusalem Airport, occupied by the Israeli army in 1967 (in Arabic with English subtitles). Organized by The Palestinian Museum. To participate, please register at activities@palmuseum.org.
Religius Event
Bethlehem (02)
11:00 Scout parades celebrate Christmas prior to the entrance into Bethlehem of His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Star Street to Manger Square.
13:00 Reception of His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Manger Square.
18:00–22:00 Christmas Eve with choirs and Christmas carols to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Live broadcast via Bethlehem Municipality social media channels.
23:45 The Midnight Christmas Vigil, presided by His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, followed by a procession to the Grotto of the Nativity. Saint Catherine Church.
Bethlehem (02)
Christmas mass presided by His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Saint Catherine Church.
10:30 Christmas Mass. Christmas Lutheran Church.
Special Events
Bethlehem (02)
11:00 Press conference to announce the Christmas message of Bethlehem, organized by Bethlehem Municipality. Bethlehem Peace Center.
12:00 Tête-à-Têtes is a lockdown radio conversation with Radio Alhara about new internet radio in a time of restricted movement, organized by the Sled Island Music and Arts Festival and Byta, with Elias Anastas from Bethlehem and Saeed Abu Jaber from Amman. Radio Alhara. Please register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_x8_hGcxzRYObytUx0PMcuw.
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
Rosette Interactive Day presenting an Arabic Calligraphy Workshop for locals and internationals, giving them the opportunity to practice writing Arabic letters in the most common fonts; Naskh and Roqa’a. The Arts and Handicrafts workshop “Rosette.” Ramallah Al-Tahta, close to Kamandjati.
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
Artist talk – a photographic journey into Palestine by Rula Halawani organized by A.M. Qattan Foundation. Reservations are required for physical distancing purposes: https://bit.ly/32NOH54. Broadcast via https://www.facebook.com/QattanFoundation/.
Bethlehem (02)
Thursday 3–Monday 7
Bethlehem Cultural Festival 2020 is a virtual celebration of Bethlehem’s rich and diverse cultural scene through music, film, cookery, dance, and discussion, offering a variety of over 30 online events to honor Bethlehem and its cultural actors. Organized in partnership with Alrowwad Arts & Cultural Society, Al-Harah Theater and Amwaj Choir. For registration and live streaming, visit https://www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com/.
Birzeit (02)
Armenian ceramic furniture design workshop organized by Yabous Cultural Centre in partnership with The Palestinian Museum to offer skills to design and build a living room from different materials for the purpose of teaching production design. The Palestinian Museum.
Bethlehem (02)
Bethlehem Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Organized by Bethlehem Municipality under the Patronage of H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine. Live broadcast via Bethlehem Municipality social media channels.
East Jerusalem (02)
Film analysis workshop organized by Yabous Cultural Centre to research the tools used by filmmakers and help the audience understand the film by reviewing levels of cinematic analysis based on image elements, events, conflict, and characters. Yabous Cultural Centre.
East Jerusalem (02)
Animation and Moving workshop organized by Yabous Cultural Centre to give an introduction to the world of animations through the formation of the character from playdough and moving it through a specialized application of graphics. Yabous Cultural Centre.
Bethlehem (02)
Opening of the 20th Annual Christmas Market, offering a variety of Christmas foods, products, and artworks, and featuring various Christmas and musical performances and several children activities. Organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Manger Square.
Bethlehem (02)
The second day of the 20th Annual Christmas Market offers a variety of Christmas foods, products, and artworks, and features various children’s activities, musical shows, and other events. Organized by Bethlehem Municipality as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Manger Square.
Symposia
Bethlehem (02)
Tuesday 1–Monday 7
Online International Symposium on Cultural Heritage in Palestine, held in the framework of the EU-funded project “My Heritage! My Identity!” and the French-Palestinian decentralized cooperation between Bethlehem and Grenoble, and organized by RIWAQ, aims to foster a collective reflection and exchange about the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage in Palestine. To participate, please register at https://form.jotform.me/203262845115450.
Ramallah & Al-Bireh (02)
Second Annual Conference, Unsettling Jerusalem: Academic Reflections and Societal Engagements, is an online conference organized by The Palestinian Museum to examine the centrality of Jerusalem in the Palestinian political, cultural, and social imaginaries. Presented by speakers Issam Nassar; Salim Abu Thaher; Nasab Adeeb Hussein, Daood Alghoul; Maha al-Samman; Ahmad Asaad; Areej Sabbagh-Khoury; Fayrouz Sharqawi; Hanadi Qawasmi; Ali Muwasi; Yasser Qous; Camilio Boano, and others (in Arabic with simultaneous English translation). To participate, please register at activities@palmuseum.org.
East Jerusalem (02)
Wednesday 16–Thursday 17
Fourth International Conference on Promising Electronic Technologies (ICPET 2020), organized by Al-Quds University in collaboration with Palestine Technical College. Al-Quds University, Abu Dis.
Gaza (08)
Wednesday 16–Thursday 17
Fourth International Conference on Promising Electronic Technologies (ICPET 2020), organized by Al-Quds University in collaboration with Palestine Technical College. Al-Quds University.
Theater
Bethlehem (02)
The Magical Bell is a Christmas play for children organized by Bethlehem Municipality in cooperation with Al-Harah Theater as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Live broadcast via Bethlehem Municipality social media channels.
Bethlehem (02)
Christmas and Family is a Christmas play for children organized by the Bethlehem Municipality in cooperation with Al-Harah Theater as part of Bethlehem Christmas Festivities 2020. Live broadcast via Bethlehem Municipality social media channels.
This month’s issue
COVID-19 Is Here to Stay. How Do We Cope?