Bethlehem faces another quiet Christmas

Dec 2nd, 2024

Deserted - Manger Square by Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.

Source: Sabah, FHL

Rev Dr Munther Isaac, a pastor at Bethlehem's Lutheran Church has said that for a second year running, there is no Christmas cheer in Bethlehem, with tourists shunning the city and many residents seeking a way out as the Gaza war grinds on. Bethlehem's Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity, is largely deserted and souvenir shops are shuttered.

Once again, there are no plans to put up the traditional light-festooned Christmas tree in the Square. "During these difficult times that our Palestinian cities are going through, especially in the Gaza Strip, it is difficult to show any signs of joy and happiness. "

Adding to the gloom, many local Christian families are also looking to escape, demoralized by both the tourist slump that has ravaged their economy and the constant threat of violence hovering over the territory northeast of Gaza. "The emigration out of Bethlehem is increasing daily and monthly, and ... this has a negative impact on the city," Fr Issa Thaljieh, an Orthodox priest who ministers at the Nativity Church said.

Christian communities have been in decline across the Middle East for generations, and the West Bank is no exception. In the last year of British rule over the region in 1947, some 85% of Bethlehem's population were Christian. As of a 2017 census, the overall population of Bethlehem was 215,514, with only 23,000 Christians among them. That puts the percentage of Christians in Bethlehem in 2017 at around 10%. The rate of departure has been gathering steam in recent months in the cradle of Christianity, with the economic lifeblood of the city no longer flowing and the Israeli occupation preventing freedom of movement around the territory.

"People have started looking for better opportunities for their children, for better education, for a better future," Rev Isaac told Reuters. Difficult at the best of times, travel between Occupied West Bank cities such as Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, Hebron has become increasingly fraught as more and more illegal settlers arrive, supported by the Israeli army.

Rev Isaac said local Muslim families have also been emigrating, squeezed by both financial problems and broader worries about the future. "There is the fear that this war might extend to areas in the West Bank, especially after the arming of the settlers and the announcement of the possible annexation of the West Bank."

In Isaac's church, the Nativity scene has a figure of the baby Jesus lying in a pile of rubble. "We feel that this war will never end," he said.

See also Friends of the Holy Land which supports projects in the West Bank and Gaza: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/