Bethlehem University

Bethlehem University () is the first university founded in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the West Bank. Established under Israeli Occupation in 1973, the university traces its roots to 1893 when the De La Salle Christian Brothers opened schools in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Nazareth, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt and to 1964's Pope Paul VI's visit to the Holy Land in which he promised the Palestinian people a University (Bethlehem University) a centre for Ecumenical Studies (Tantur Ecumenical Institute) and a school for children with special educational needs (Effetá Paul VI School). The university consists mostly of Muslim students nowadays but maintains a number of Christian students that is by far greater than the average Christian presence in Palestinian society.