This Christmas, Bethlehem's Palestinian community are learning to hope again

For centuries, Bethlehem's December has been predictable: the city fills with pilgrims, and its narrow alleys are overrun with tourists. But in December 2023, as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza kicked off, the famous manager appeared amid rubble.

The symbolic nativity figures, placed deliberately in ruins and broadcast to the world, delivered a stark message: "If Christ were born today, He would be born under the rubble of Gaza", said Rev. Dr Isaac Munther of Christmas Lutheran Church two years ago. It was also a message about economic collapse and the fragile threads holding together a tourism-dependent economy at its breaking point.

Zainab, 27, a tourist from Jordan, stood in the Church of the Nativity, her face lit with excitement. "Every stone in this church carries a story," she told The New Arab, "and every corner pulses with the voices of believers across generations."

She paused. "But this year, something is missing," Zainab said.

"The crowds I expected are far less than what I've been told. Honestly, I expected even less, and they told me it's unsafe. But I'm happy to be here anyway. The most important thing is that the celebrations are back, and we can come here again," she added.

Numbers telling the story

Bethlehem's recovery from COVID-19 seemed genuine. By the end of September 2023, the city had welcomed 1.5 million tourists. A year before the pandemic in 2020, the figure had reached approximately 3 million.

Then Israel's war on Gaza came in October 2023, and everything stopped.

Daily economic losses in Bethlehem are estimated at $2 million, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

About one-third flows directly from the loss of the souvenirs sector, the olive wood craftspeople whose livelihoods depend on tourists who never came as expected.

Khader Eid, an olive wood craftsman in his late fifties, made a desperate decision. He had operated his workshop in Old Jerusalem since the 1980s, gradually expanding production to include nativity scenes, crosses, and laser designs. During regular times, his workshop produced $30,000 per month. Now, it makes $5,000.

The statistics bureau said that 30,000 tourists came to Bethlehem this week for Christmas celebrations and the lighting of the tree, but the numbers are still far from the peak in 2019.

Eid reduced working hours to three days a week. He couldn't bring himself to fire any of his 17 employees, who depend entirely on wages to feed their families. Other craftsmen closed their workshops entirely, converting them into grocery stores or vegetable stalls, erasing decades of accumulated skill and cultural heritage.

When the economy breaks...

The Palestinian economy, which had grown at 3.2 per cent in 2023, saw projections revised to negative 5.5 per cent. The World Bank estimates additional contraction in 2024 between -6.5 and -9.6 per cent.

Per capita GDP in Palestine stood at approximately $3,360, while in Gaza, it had collapsed to $1,084, the lowest income level on record. Approximately 500,000 Palestinians have become unemployed since the genocide began. The Palestinian economy lost more than 200,000 jobs in Gaza, with an additional 150,000 jobs lost in the West Bank.

The national poverty rate reached 32.8 per cent as of 2023, with 11.7 per cent in the West Bank and 63.7 per cent in Gaza.

Tourism represents approximately 35 per cent of purchasing power in Bethlehem's economy. Much comes from Israeli Palestinians, those from within the 1948 borders, who cannot cross Israeli military checkpoints, now repeatedly closed. This market vanished overnight.

"The number of tourists this year is, till now, far less than in the years before the war. The tourists this week are less 15% than the numbers two years before during the same period," Tarek al Khawaja, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities ministry, told The New Arab.

Reclaiming the holiday

Lucy Thalji, 47, has coordinated celebrations for Bethlehem Municipality for 13 years. Despite suffocating circumstances, she felt something shift.

"These celebrations are an opportunity to renew hope, especially after the absence of festive atmospheres". This year's slogan became "Shine, Palestine".

Father Francesco Lelbo, the Custos of the Holy Land, reframed the message during the lighting of the Christmas tree ceremony. "Bethlehem is the centre of the Christmas message. We call on the world to join us in our message for peace".

In the Church of the Nativity, Father Issa Thalji, 42, stood contemplating dim lights. "We are trying to rekindle the candles in the darkness of broken hearts," he told TNA.

Israel's war was not merely territorial. "It touches the soul. It suffocates the light that radiates from the hearts". Yet he spoke with conviction: "But we are here, praying and bringing hearts closer to God".

Father Issa was planning community events to confront the effects of Israel's genocidal war. "Hope is the daily bread. We must hold on to spirituality that restores our refuge, where healing from cruelty happens," he remarked.

Christmas in the Church of the Nativity was no mere celebration. It was a spiritual awakening that would restore the soul to the community and bring hope from pain.

Rebuilding from nothing

After two years of silence, local communities decided to relaunch celebrations. Children roamed the streets in their scouting uniforms as residents from across the occupied West Bank and Palestinian cities arrived by bus to join the celebrations.

Father Hanna Salem, 38, from the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Beit Jala, described returning to holidays under challenging conditions. "This year, we decided to return to celebrating the holidays, despite all the suffering we've endured."

Christmas remained, he said, "in its spiritual and religious sense." The genocide in Gaza, and the martyred, displaced, and suffering, made them realise the importance of reviving these moments.

"This year, we agreed to light the Christmas tree in a unified way," Father Hanna explained. "Instead of each municipality celebrating separately, we came together to light one tree in Bethlehem, as a symbol of our unity. We want to deliver a powerful message reflecting our solidarity as Palestinians, whether Muslim or Christian, and show the world that we live together as one nation."

About 90 per cent of Bethlehem's population depends on tourism. "We as priests and shepherds help people daily," he said, "and receive requests for assistance in education, health, and basic necessities."

As December's final days approached, tourism movement was expected to increase as Christians from around the world made the pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity.

Samer, 23, a young citizen in Nativity Square, crystallised it: "It is a symbol of hope for all humanity".

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.