The Long Road to Bethlehem

The Intracoastal Waterway (Mya Guarnieri)

The Long Road to Bethlehem: Part six

Mya and Muhammad have found a place where they are allowed to live together. But leaving Palestine behind isn’t just a matter of geography, and new surroundings can be eerily — and dangerously — reminiscent of old ones. The final chapter.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat April 22, 2016

A street vendor sells coffee to Palestinian laborers waiting to cross from Bethlehem through an Israeli checkpoint into Jerusalem. (Photo by Activestills.org)

The Long Road to Bethlehem: Part four

Having fallen uncontrollably into a forbidden and impossible love, Mya knows that she has no choice but to leave Palestine. But as the drums of war begin beating, a reunion and trial run in New York raises more questions than it answers.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat December 19, 2015

Which is the ‘right’ side of the Green Line these days?

With a baby on the way, journalist Mya Guarnieri heads back to Israel for six weeks at a time when neither the sidewalk cafes of Tel Aviv nor her adopted hometown of Bethlehem feel safe. Everyone feels like a target: Jews and Palestinians alike, on both sides of the Green Line.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 12, 2015

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Israeli soldiers check cars at a checkpoint in the West Bank, May 27, 2015. (Activestills.org)

The Long Road to Bethlehem: Part Three

In parts one and two, Jewish journalist Mya Guarnieri struggles to find her place in two conflicted societies. In her struggle with forbidden love, desperation is fueled by the innumerable — societal and military — obstacles that seem to lurk beyond every bend. Thankfully, hope often appears when you need it most.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat July 27, 2015

A view of olive trees and a stone home near Bethlehem. (Photo: Mariait/Shutterstock.com)

The Long Road to Bethlehem: Part two

In part one, Jewish journalist Mya Guarnieri concludes she can no longer live in Israel, that love cannot survive being separated by an eight-meter concrete wall. But navigating Palestinian society as a Jew and living with the haunting tribulations of the occupation isn’t any easier.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat April 26, 2015

Palestinians walk along the separation wall in the West Bank. (Activestills.org)

The long road to Bethlehem

After taking a job at a Palestinian university in the West Bank, Jewish journalist Mya Guarnieri feels that the center of her life is increasingly on the 'other side' of the Green Line. Israeli soldiers give her a hard time for being a Jew in 'enemy territory' and it becomes more and more difficult to live in Israeli society.

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat March 28, 2015