BETHLEHEM, March 10, 2011 (WAFA) - The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) Wednesday launched their program “Know Thy Heritage” in Bethlehem.

The program aims to preserve the Arab Palestinian heritage through connecting youth with Palestinians ancestry living abroad with their homeland and their people living in Palestine, and motivating them to serve the Palestinian cause.

The program will be realized through inviting 40 Palestinian –American youth , currently living in the United States, to participate in a pilot project “ Visit and Live Palestine”  for a period of 3 weeks  which will be launched in summer 2011.

Antony Habash, program and development manager in HCEF said that the essence of the foundation is to restore the existence of Christian Palestinians in Palestine through its different programs.

Rateb Rabie, founder and president of HCEF attended this occasion. He thanked Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem for supporting the foundation by opening doors of cooperation between the HCEF and international foundations.

Rabie said that one of the program’s goals is to enhance the Christian presence in Palestine; Christian Palestinians like others seek freedom, dignity and justice which are part of the Christian teachings.

The program is funded with more than $300.000, added Rabie.

Patriarch said that the program presents to the participants the actual image of the Palestinian reality, showing the world the coexistence between Christians and Muslims.

R.S./F.R.