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Bethlehem
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Bethlehem (Tiberian Hebrew: Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm , lit "House of Meat"; Greek: Βηθλεέμ; Hebrew: בית לחם‎, Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread") is a city in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries. It is inhabited by one of the oldest Christian communities but now has a Muslim majority, its Christian minority's emigration having accelerated in recent years due to political and economic factors and the negative consequences of the Israeli-imposed travel restrictions in the West Bank.
The city has significant value for Christians as it is considered the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospels. The traditional site of Rachel's tomb, which is an important holy site in Judaism, lies at the city's outskirts. Bethlehem is also home to one of largest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East. It lies about 10 km (6 mi) south of Jerusalem, standing at an elevation of about 765 m (2,510 ft) above the sea, thus 30 m (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. The Bethlehem agglomeration includes the small towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, the latter also having Biblical significance.
The Church of the Nativity, built by Constantine the Great in 330, stands in the centre of Bethlehem over a grotto or cave called the Holy Crypt, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus was born. This is perhaps the oldest existing Christian church in the world. Close to it is another grotto, where Jerome the Latin father spent thirty years of his life in translating the Scriptures into Latin.
Bethlehem is home to Bethlehem University, a Roman Catholic institution which was founded under the direction of the Vatican and the De La Salle Christian Brothers.