Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Toggle search form
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12 American Arabs
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd American Arabs
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022 Activism
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast Arab News
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols interviewed on live Arab American radio in Detroit with host Ray Hanania Friday Dec. 9, 2022
    Nichols discusses need to improve Arab-Black relations in Chicagoland American Arabs
  • Voting sticker issued to voters in Cook County elections in 2016. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Gov. Pritzker Announces Six Appointments to Boards and Commissions — no Arabs included American Arabs
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Pritzker again ignores needs of Arab businesses in latest appointments Activism
  • Arab American Democratic Club (AADC) official candidate endorsements for the November 8, 2022 General elections.
    Arab American Democratic Club issues endorsements for Nov. 8, 2022 Cook County Illinois elections Activism
  • Arab Democrats urge NO VOTE on Gov. J.B. Pritzker re-election bid Activism
  • Assyrian American GOP issues endorsements in Nov, 8, 2022 elections
    Assyrian American GOP group endorses candidates in Illinois Activism
  • Abdullah Hammoud, elected Mayor of Dearborn Nov. 2, 2021. Photo courtesy of Abdullah Hammoud Facebook Page
    AHRC’s 2022 Spirit of Humanity Gala a Great Success American Arabs
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts Arab World
  • Rep. Cyril Nichols to be feted by supporters at fundraiser Saturday Oct. 22 Activism
  • Stand up For Human Rights website, United Nations
    UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sadistic’ punitive measures against French-Palestinian rights defender Salah Hammouri Activism
Taybeh Golden Hotel in Taybeh, West Bank, Palestine

Taybeh announces OctoberFest details, Sept. 16 – 17

Posted on June 15, 2017September 24, 2018 By Maria Khoury No Comments on Taybeh announces OctoberFest details, Sept. 16 – 17
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Taybeh announces OctoberFest details, Sept. 16 – 17

Stop by for a free Taybeh Beer Tour and Free Taybeh Winery Tour whenever visiting Taybeh, West Bank, Palestine. It’s a unique location and features the amazing Palestinian art exhibit at the Taybeh Golden Hotel

By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.

Maria Khoury

Returning one more time to Taybeh, Palestine, the only all-Christian village that exists in Palestine, has been a challenge.

But the most amazing thing of all was the great blessing to light candles on my first day at the fourth century ruins of Saint George Byzantine Church built the same time St. Helen asked for the churches in Jerusalem and Bethlehem to be built. It’s simply the local treasure.

I have the great blessing to walk on the same land our Lord Jesus walked when He came into this area right before His crucifixion which happens to be one of the most ancient places in Palestine as Biblical Ephraim with less than two thousand residents.

“Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim…” (John 11:54).

Taybeh OctoberFest 2017 flyer
Taybeh OctoberFest 2017 flyer

Actually, as a Greek-American, I have been in my husband’s village since the early 90’s.  We returned to the Holy Land during promising times when Israel and Palestine wanted to make peace and leaders signed the Oslo Peace accords in front of the White House (1993).

Currently, this is a frozen peace, but as our new boutique wines from Taybeh made it to the United States, if you happen to be in Boston you can also purchase a Taybeh Beer, the First micro-brewed beer in the Middle East, and might notice the “sun” in the logo which is the symbol of hope and a promising future for Palestine according to my husband David Khoury.

I am simply hanging out by his side and nagging him not to do what he is doing; totally opposite that famous quote, “behind every great man there is a great woman.”  Good thing, this guy did not switch me over since he lives in a land where other faiths take on five wives.

I had the great blessing this past May to participate in the Hellenic College Alumni activities and see classmates who we wish will become friends of Taybeh especially now that the Khoury family built the Taybeh Golden Hotel with eighty rooms. (www.taybehgoldenhotel.com)

Thus, I reflected upon how in 1979, a Greek-American from Denver but born in Tripoli, Greece, meets the only non-Greek boy on campus in Boston because it was a total shock for my traditional old fashion parents who wished and hoped I meet a nice Greek guy.  And, the same goes for my husband; his family desired that he marry a nice girl from his village where his grandfather was the parish priest at St. George Greek Orthodox Church where the indigenous Palestinian Christians trace their roots to the Holy Apostles.

Taybeh Golden Hotel in Taybeh, West Bank, Palestine
Taybeh Golden Hotel in Taybeh, West Bank, Palestine

Anyway, not only did I miss out on marrying a nice Greek boy but it’s too bad I missed President’s Trump visit to Jerusalem this year.  The fact that he spent 26 hours in Israel and only one hour in Palestine reflects the possibility of nothing changing on the ground for a while. It truly was a historic moment for the first president of the United States to visit the Holy-Life-Giving-Tomb of Christ at the Holy Sepulchre. I know he had a private tour by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III.

However, while I was in Boston, I never heard anything on the news about over 1500 Palestinian political prisoners on a hunger strike.  I know they were carrying out this non-violent action for forty days with silence on mass media.  Many friends during my past book tours promoting Christina Goes to the Holy Land, have always brought up the issue that we need a “Martin Luther King” in Palestine.  But when we have one named Marwan Barghouti sitting in a dirty Israeli jail who initiated the freedom and dignity strike, no one knows about him. I am thinking there were over 1500 “Martin Luther King” who tried to survive on salt and water on their hunger strike but it’s more popular to label Palestinians as the bad guys always. Many of these prisoners got critically sick while Israeli practice constitutes a flagrant violation of the provisions of the International Humanitarian Law. We hope and we wish for an end to Israeli military occupation.

My husband’s village does exist here however even before the time of Christ and it sits on the highest mountain region of Biblical Judea and Samaria near Mount Asur. On a clear day from the highest hill in Taybeh you can see the magnificent Dead Sea, the Jordan valley, the mountains of Samaria, the mountainous desert of Judea and also Jerusalem. It is really amazing and spiritually rewarding to stare down at the same valley where Jesus once walked.

The village has five places of worship including the original St. George Greek Orthodox Church in ruins (built in the 4th century), the new St. George Greek Orthodox Church (rebuild in l929-1932), the Melkite Church (build in 1964 but Melkite worship was founded in the village in 1869), the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to “The Last Retreat of Jesus” (inaugurated 1971), a small monastery build by a monk and the Nasr Priestly House which includes a beautiful chapel  reflecting fourteen generations of Fr. Constantine Nasr’s family serving the Church.

The Taybeh village has always been under the protection of our patron Saint George who is also the patron saint of Palestine. We have been blessed not to have seen the destruction and bombings that have happened in nearby Ramallah and Gaza. For two thousand years this tiny little village has had the blessing to maintain a Christian presence in the Holy Land and has survived many wars. I wish that President Trump had made more time to see this different face of Palestine where we try to make amazing Palestinian boutique wine and beer under very harsh conditions with no basic human rights.

Our non-violent action in Taybeh will continue with our unique way of inviting everyone out for a glass of Taybeh beer and promoting our historical and archaeological sites of ancient Ephraim under the umbrella of Taybeh Oktoberfest, September 16 & 17, 2017. Please come visit. Do not be afraid!

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Maria Khoury
Maria Khoury
Palestine Christian Writer, Blogger at St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Maria C. Khoury

Palestine Christian Writer, Blogger at St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Maria (Kouremenou) Khoury is the author of Orthodox Christian children's books including Christina Goes to the Holy Land, walking the footsteps of Christ. She is a graduate of Hellenic College (1982), Harvard University (1985) and Boston University (1992) with a doctor of education degree. Born in Tripoli, Greece, she was raised in Denver, Colorado. On Dec 31, 2009 she was included on the top 4 Human Rights Champions list by DC Human Rights Examiner including the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Hilary Clinton.

Maria is the author of Witness in the Holy Land (distributed by www.HolyCrossBookstore.com), a publication reflecting personal experiences living under military occupation with her husband the former Mayor of Taybeh, David Canaan Khoury and three children Elena, Canaan, and Constantine. Her articles have been published world-wide in numerous newspapers and magazines and have been translated to various languages bringing awareness of the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Maria Khoury has been the Taybeh Oktoberfest organizer since 2005.She divides her time between her homes in Boston and Taybeh, travels throughout the world promoting the Christina Books and making presentations about the dwindling Christian community in Palestine.She encourages people to stay at the new Taybeh Golden Hotel and experience rural life in Palestine.
Maria Khoury
Latest posts by Maria Khoury (see all)
  • Update from Palestine in wake of Coronavirus Pandemic - March 25, 2020
  • Taybeh Oktoberfest is Happening Right Now! - September 9, 2018
  • Taybeh OktoberFest to rock the West Bank this weekend - September 5, 2018

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Events, Features, Maria Khoury, Middle East, News, Opinion Tags:Christian Palestinians, OctoberFest 2017, Palestine, Taybeh, Taybeh Beer, Taybeh Golden Hotel

Post navigation

Previous Post: Israeli oppression overshadows Gaza observance of Ramadan
Next Post: Palestinians failing in telling their story

Related Posts

  • Galal El Behairy Egyptian songwriter
    UN Human Rights group urges Egypt to release songwriter El Behairy Arab World
  • Ghassan Rubeiz
    Demonizing Palestinian NGOs unjustly: a regressive step for Israel Bloggers
  • Palestinian Refugees from 1948 and 1967 have never received justice in Israel or in the American court system. Photo courtesy of the United Nations
    UN to list businesses operating illegally in Occupied Palestinian lands Arab World
  • France racism, “Arabi Fora, Arabs Go Home” Abdennour Toumi
  • Behind the scenes: Middle East poetry Arab World
  • Egypt slides from Democracy into oppression Arab World Politics

More Related Articles

Ilhan Omar and The Progressives Arab World
Targeted Paris stadium symbolizes pitfalls of war against the Islamic State Arab World
Stand up For Human Rights website, United Nations UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sadistic’ punitive measures against French-Palestinian rights defender Salah Hammouri Activism
Actor Sean Penn. Photo by Sachyn Mital, courtesy of Wikipedia. Actor Sean Penn to keynote ADC Anaheim Convention Oct. 13 Activism
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (first from left), U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (second from left), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (third from left), and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George C. Mitchell (fourth from left) chat after their meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on September 14, 2010. Department photo/ Public Domain (Photo credit: Wikipedia) BDS means different things to different people American Arabs
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo courtesy of WIkipedia Democracy reinforced under Turkey’s Erdogan Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Tiktok.com/@RayHanania
    Israeli-push behind effort to ban Tiktok in the United States
    January 19, 2023
  • Ghassan Rubeiz
    To what extent is Hezbollah responsible for the current crisis in Lebanon?
    January 17, 2023
  • Image from Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's "A Compendium of Chronicles. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
    Why allow religious extremists to re-define Islam in the West?
    January 10, 2023
  • CAIR Executive Director and co-founder Nihad Awad
    This Thanksgiving, let’s use our Blessings for good
    November 23, 2022
  • NEWS
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12
    January 18, 2023
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd
    January 12, 2023
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action
    January 11, 2023
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022
    January 4, 2023
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12
    January 18, 2023
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd
    January 12, 2023
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action
    January 11, 2023
  • Stand up For Human Rights website, United Nations
    UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sadistic’ punitive measures against French-Palestinian rights defender Salah Hammouri
    October 19, 2022

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast
    December 15, 2022
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • Comedian Ramy Youssef courtesy of his Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ramysfaceboo/
    “Ramy” cable series melds Arab world reality with every day American life
    October 22, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2023 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme