(BETHLEHEM, West Bank) — The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold to people visiting the traditional site of Jesus' birth since 1927, the Nativity Store in Manger Square under the shadow of the war in Gaza. , there are almost no visitors, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how long they can hang on.
For the second year in a row, Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations will be dark and muted, in honor of the ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no scout marching bands, twinkling public lights and very few public decorations or displays.
“Last year before Christmas, we had high hopes, but now we are close to Christmas and we have nothing,” said Rony Tabash, the third generation owner of the Nativity Store.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for almost 15 months, and it is not over yet. Repeated cease-fire efforts have stalled.
Since the start of the war, tourism to Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank has declined. And after Israel barred entry to many of the 150,000 Palestinians in the West Bank who had jobs in Israel, the Palestinian economy shrank by 25% last year.
The annual Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem – shared between the Armenian, Catholic and Orthodox denominations – are often a big blessing for the city, where tourism accounts for 70% of the annual income. But the roads are empty this season.
Tabash said that he continues to open the store every day, but usually the whole week will end without selling. Tabash works with more than 25 local families who create religious items hand-carved from olive wood. But since there are no buyers, work has dried up for these families.
Many rooms in the inn
The number of tourists to the city has dropped from a pre-COVID high of about two million visitors a year in 2019 to less than 100,000 visitors in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism.
According to the Christmas story, Mary was forced to give birth to Jesus in a manger because there was no room in the inn. Today, almost all of Bethlehem's 5,500 hotel rooms are empty.
The city's hotel occupancy rate has dropped from about 80% at the beginning of 2023 to about 3% today, said Elias Al Arja, head of the Bethlehem Hoteliers Association. At his hotel, the Bethlehem Hotel, he said he laid off more than 120 workers and kept only five workers.
The city has more than 100 shops and 450 workshops related to Palestinian handicrafts, Qumsiyeh said. But with one week to go before Christmas, when the city is supposed to be full of tourists, Manger Square was empty except for a few locals selling coffee and tea. Only two of the eight stores are open for business.
Qumsiyeh is concerned that when the war ends and tourism finally returns, many families who have passed down traditional skills for generations will no longer be able to make things that reflect Palestinian heritage and culture.
Many left the region altogether. “We have seen a very high level of immigration since the beginning of the violence, especially for those working in the tourism sector,” said Qumsiyeh.
A joyless Christmas
About 500 families left Bethlehem last year, said Mayor Anton Salman. And that's just the families who moved abroad with valid residency visas. Many others have moved abroad on temporary tourist visas and are working illegally, and it is unclear whether they will return, Salman said.
About half of the people in the Bethlehem area, including nearby villages, work in tourism or jobs in Israel.
The unemployment rate in Bethlehem is estimated at 50%, said Salman. Unemployment across the West Bank is around 30%, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Economy.
Canceling Christmas celebrations is one way to draw attention to the plight of Bethlehem and the rest of Palestine, Salman said. “This year we want to show the world that the Palestinian people are still suffering and not as happy as everyone else in the world,” said Salman.
It is another contribution to the decline of the population of the Holy Land during the decade due to migration and a low birth rate.
Christians are a minority of people. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the US State Department.
Finding light at night
Father Issa Thaljieh, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Church of the Nativity, said many families are struggling financially, leaving them unable to pay rent or school fees, not to mention buying Christmas gifts or celebrating the holiday in other ways. The church's social services have tried to help, but the needs are great, he said.
Thaljieh said his Christmas message this year focused on encouraging the Palestinian people in Bethlehem to stay despite the challenges.
“A church without Christians is not a church,” he said, as workers hand-polished ornate bronze candles in the cave, an empty church a week before the holiday.
“The light that was born here when Jesus Christ was born here is a light that surpasses darkness, so we must wait, be patient, pray a lot, and we must stay with our roots because they are our roots. from Bethlehem,” he said.
Some families are finding ways to bring back bundles of joy.
Bethlehem resident Nihal Bandak, 39, gave his three children requests to get a Christmas tree this year, after not having one last year. Decorating the tree is a favorite part of Christmas for her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Stephanie.
Mathew Bandak, 11, is very happy that his family has brought back their traditions, but also sad.
“I was happy because we get to decorate and celebrate, but the people of Gaza have nothing to celebrate,” he said.
Rony Tabash, the third generation owner of Nativity Store, said that he will continue to open this store, because it is part of his family's history.
“We don't feel Christmas, but in the end, Christmas is in our hearts,” he said, adding that the whole city is praying for an end to fighting and peace. “We have great faith that every time, when we see Christmas, he will give us light at night.”
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