JD: David I know that we’re coming up to Christmas and there’s going to be just hundreds and thousands of Pilgrims from all across the world coming to the little town of Bethlehem. Talk just briefly about their high alert security wise their and tell us about your favorite Christmas memory.
DD: Well Jimmy the alert is extra high this year because of course we’ve had in the recent weeks and really all year and there was some more incidents this week. So security is full on alert. And you know they don’t let anybody drive into Bethlehem you have to take a bus in and everybody is screened very very carefully at the Israeli-Palestinian border if you will. There really is a border checkpoint there south of Jerusalem.
I went in there every Christmas
reporting for CBS. My most memorable event in Bethlehem was when Yasser
Arafat's Hummer nearly ran me over. I was standing near the curb negotiating
with the taxi driver when they came speeding around the corner and the taxi
driver grabbed me and pulled me out of the way and saved my life.
I also remember Jimmy we would go
to Shepard’s Field every year a group of friends and we would sing carols and
look at the lights of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. First uprising was raging this
was in 1990 and we decided to go out to Shepard’s Field anyways. And we made
our way there; that’s not possible by the way today there’s too much security.
We made our way there and there we were singing Christmas carols looking over
Jerusalem and we sang Little Town of Bethlehem and as we did some fighting
broke out in Bethlehem. We could hear the shooting and the action. We were sad
to see the violence going on. But hoping for that Prince of Peace. He’s coming
back. He will come back. He’ll end all the wars and violence and this year we appreciate
that fact because we really do look like we’re heading towards war. But the
Prince of Peace is heading back and will rule and reign in Jerusalem.
JD: David Dolan with thoughts of Bethlehem the city of the birth
of Christ as well as the border of conflict.
We report this information because it is setting the stage
for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
David Dolan realizes the significance of Bethlehem and the
birth of Christ but also as a journalist is aware that Bethlehem is also the
border of conflict; a 4,000 year old conflict between the Jews and the
Palestinians. The conflict started in Genesis 25 with the birth of twin boys
Esau and Jacob. Jacob the family of the Jewish people today and Esau the
descendants of the Palestinians. The ancient Jewish prophet Malachi wrote of
the conflict in the last days and how Esau’s descendants would return, rebuild
and reek habit. These prophecies are being fulfilled today as was the case of
Bethlehem being the birthplace of Christ. God’s plans foretold will be
fulfilled.
