Israeli authorities are making special efforts to assure Christian citizens and visitors of a merry Christmas this year. The Post Office has designed a special holiday postmark for letters mailed from Bethlehem on Dec. 24. The Israeli Police Band will perform throughout the day in Bethlehem’s Manger Square where four choirs from the United States will sing Christmas carols. Families in the occupied territories on relief will receive an extra Christmas bonus and a gift of foodstuffs. The Jewish National Fund began distributing over 1000 Christmas trees to Christian residents of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv today. The trees are cypresses from JNF forests. The traditional fir tree is rare in Israel. Special arrangements were announced here today to televise and film the Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity. The closed circuit TV set-up is for the benefit of the thousands of worshippers who will be unable to enter the packed shrine.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
