Why not? Anything wrong with that? Do you have any better alternative? Your comment is not in place. I believe many Americans are wanting to do something to end the plight of the Palestinians. So, why not start with a little step? Does this bother you? Its true the Federal government should be taking action, which, thank God, the Obama administration is doing now, but everybody else can be involved in experessing their support for the Palestinians, one way or another. Doesn't bother me at all!

This is Maurice writing. I must disappoint you guys. I posted a comment at the City website to support the initiative as a Palestinian Christian, who loves his people and country. I am not a muslim; but does this really matter? I can talk on behalf of the Palestinians in a very fair and uncompromised manner; Bethlehem in particular is town of great significance to Christians and until recent decades, it has been traditionally a Christian town. Picking up on the religious background is not really very helpful, and I am assuming that no body else posted a comment on the city website as I did. I didn't expect to find it in this report. What I actually wanted to make clear through my comment is that the Israeli occupation is inhibiting the growth and the freedom of my people in Bethlehem and else where in Palestine. The relationship with the city of Sacramento, I hope, will open the door for Palestinians in Bethlehem to tell their side of the story to world, which usually does not get past the inhumane wall Israel has built around the town. Israel doesn't want the rest of world to know what is going on. This is why Israel's lobby unnecessarily made a fuss. I actually don't agree with the Jewish reprsentative that this relationship should not have any political significance. It does; and everybody involved, including the council members, know that. In my opinion, it will be impossible to find a "similar" town in Israel to have sister city relationship with Sacramento, because we will have to find for a walled-in city or town such as Bethlehem, which we won't find, unless we think of Akko or Old City of Jerusalem that have historical walls around them. It just doen't work. To believe Barry Broad's statement that politics should be kept out of this relationship is very misleading. The very notion that there is a need to establish a similar relationship with an Israeli city, already made the issue "political". Otherwise, the Israeli lobbyists shouldn't have objected about the Bethlehem relationship at all. So, I don't buy his misleading comments, and I don't think anybody else should. By the way many Muslim Palestinians were present at the council meeting. But again, religion is not the issue here, except in the context of preserving a historical holy site such as Bethlehem. I hope this clarifies any misunderstandings here.