Dear Editor: I was very pleased to read the article (Dec. 2), “Scouts Bring Peace Light to Diocese from Bethlehem,” except for one glaring phrase.

I was not familiar with the Peace Light, so learning about it was what I found so invaluable for all involved from Bethlehem to Vienna to New York.

But then I was shocked and horrified to read that “the Peace Light originates from a continuously burning flame at the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus in Israel.” In Israel? Israel didn’t even exist as a nation when Jesus was born, and Bethlehem is not in Israel to this day.

Bethlehem is in Palestine, the birthplace of Jesus. Palestine is occupied and oppressed by Israel, a nation with numerous violations of international law and UN resolutions because of its occupation and oppression. Bethlehem is in Zone A of the West Bank, which means it is not only not in Israel, but it has more autonomy than much of the Occupied Territories.

ROSEMARIE PACE

Middle Village