The man who was a longtime mayor of Bethlehem died at the age of 80. Elias Freij, a Greek Orthodox Christian, was mayor of the West Bank town from 1972 until last May. A moderate, Freij was a member of the Palestinian negotiating team at the 1991 Madrid peace conference.
Keep Jewish Stories in Focus.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.