Click for larger.As they are every year in December, my thoughts are drawn to Bethlehem -- from the Hebrew Bet Lechem, House of Bread, in Biblical times likely a village of bakers just a bit south of Jerusalem.
The difficulties the Israeli government and military (IDF) have put in the path of Pilgrims trying to reach Bethlehem on Christmas may not be the worst thing of hatred and hostility in the Middle East, but they are one of the most insulting, painful scabs in a region sacred to three of the world's most populous faiths.
I would say "Christian Pilgrims," but I dream so much of being in Manger Square one Christmas soon. About ten years ago I saw newsfilm of Christmas in Bethlehem, and there, with the hugest grin of happiness I have ever seen on a human's face, was the guitarist Carlos Santana. Ever since I've wanted to know if being in Bethlehem on Christmas might do to my smile what it did to his. I'm going to find out.
I don't know the Path to Peace/Salaam/Shalom in the Middle East. But the roadsigns that point to more and to worse hostility and violence and war are pretty easy to see. In the past seven years, particularly since the erection of The Thing -- what the government of Israel calls The Separation Barrier which snakes around, isolates and nearly suffocates Bethlehem -- trying to reach Bethlehem on Christmas has been nearly impossible, and nothing but a vile insult to all human beings who wish for Peace/Salaam/Shalom.
It's not just a Christian thing. You don't have to be Christian to feel Bethlehem represents something very special, very important, very beautiful on Christmas, and radiating beyond Bethlehem and beyond Christmas. You don't have to be Christian to feel disgust and anger at all that prevents Pilgrims from reaching Bethlehem on Christmas.
So much of our energies and attention are drawn toward Christmas in this season. Please devote a little of it to where, as the story tells us, Christmas began, and to the difficulties faced by the Palestinians who live and have such trouble making a living in Bethlehem today. Please devote a little energy to making it possible or making it easier for Pilgrims to come to Bethlehem. This is where Christianity began, and it would be a perfect place for Peace/Shalom/Salaam to begin today.
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The Associated Press
Wednesday 12 December 2007
Bethlehem Expects
Christmas Tourist Boom
by Rory Kress
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — There's a reason for Christmas cheer in Bethlehem this year — more tourists are on their way now than in any holiday season since Israeli-Palestinian fighting broke out seven years ago, the mayor said.
Relative calm between Israelis and Palestinians has apparently helped persuade Christians that it's safe to visit, after years of violence frightened many away.
Around 65,000 tourists are expected to visit the traditional site of Jesus' birth, Mayor Victor Batarseh said Tuesday at his traditional pre-Christmas news conference, basing expectations on the number of visitors who came to Bethlehem in November — about 64,000.
That's four times the number of visitors who came in Christmas 2005, when only 16,000 tourists trickled into the town.
"We are all set to move ahead," Batarseh said. He attributed the tourist surge to churches abroad urging their congregations to visit Bethlehem, and word-of-mouth by those who had
already visited the city.
But it's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least not yet. Christmas trees, tinsel and neon reindeer are markedly absent from the town and its expansive plaza facing the Church of the Nativity, because of problems between Bethlehem city hall and the Palestinian Authority.
It's hoped the problem is only temporary.
The authority has set aside a budget of $50,000 to deck out the town, and it's expected to be decorated by next week, Batarseh said.
The tourists are coming despite the Separation Barrier, which encloses Bethlehem on three sides with grim concrete walls, which has ravaged the town's economy, he said.
Israel says it built the barrier to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching Israeli population centers. Palestinians view the structure, which dips into parts of the West Bank, as a land grab.
"It is imprisoning us and making life almost impossible," the mayor said. But tourists are helping the town, he said, by breaking "the wall of the separation barrier — not physically, but psychologically."
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Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
