Status: 12/24/2021 3:24 a.m.
Usually the coaches back up in Bethlehem at Christmas. Nobody was allowed to come last year. This year is different. Nevertheless, it will be a comparatively lonely Christmas at the birthplace of Jesus.
The bells of the Church of the Nativity are ringing. There is little going on in the forecourt of the church complex, where coaches once jammed, and there is almost no one in the world-famous church itself. Before the pandemic, visitors waited here for three hours to go down the few steps to the birth grotto, to the place where, according to tradition, Jesus was born.
In a narrow alley next to the church, there is one souvenir shop after the next. Most of them are closed. Nabil Giacan’s traditional olive carving shop is open. This Christmas business is a little better than last year when no visitors were allowed to come, says Nabil.
No customers for souvenir dealers
Still, business is bad. The fact that Israel has banned entry for foreigners out of fear of the Omikron variant hits the souvenir dealers in Bethlehem hard. We have nothing of the few Arab Christians from Israel who are coming now, complains Nabil.
These are good customers for hotels and restaurants but not for the souvenir shops. You come from here. You do not buy these items. Tomorrow there was a group from Italy and another on December 30th. Both canceled. Two groups. This is a huge problem for us. Thank god we have mail order business. But that is not enough. The expenses are high. Life is expensive. I have six workers.
Nabil has a few customers right now, including two young Germans who are currently studying in Haifa in northern Israel and are in Bethlehem for a few days. Maria Belting actually comes from Munich.
I grew up very religious and it is nice for me because I am very reminded of my childhood. I had a lot of tradition around Christmas. I’ve just bought something for my grandma too. It’s hard not to be home for Christmas and that’s why it’s all the more beautiful to be here now.
First hope, then omicron
The young woman bought a crib and figurines made of olive wood. During the few days in the city, she felt how hard the consequences of the pandemic had hit Bethlehem.
Everyone we talk to says they are very sad that there are no tourists. You miss the tourists. Whenever we walk down the street, they call out to you: “It’s good to have you here.” It’s a shame that it’s so difficult right now.
The people of Bethlehem are used to setbacks. The Middle East conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has often affected the tourism business. But the escalation rounds are usually short-lived and then the groups of pilgrims come back.
But the pandemic has been going on for more than a year and a half, says Georges Kukeyan, the manager of the Ambassador City Hotel on the edge of Bethlehem’s old town. Since the pandemic began, the hotel – like most others in the city – has been closed most of the time. Now Georges Kukeyan was hoping for at least some Christmas business. Then came Omicron.
We expected some business. That was before the airport closed. We still had two groups there from November 28th to December 5th. More had been announced, but canceled because of the closure of the borders. For these three days we now have local demand. Christians from Israel. We’re almost full. We cling to that. Before the pandemic, we were 45 employees here. Now there are eight of us.
“We need you”
After the holidays and the turn of the year, the Ambassador City Hotel will close again and Georges Kukeyan will be hoping for better times – just like the souvenir dealer Nabil Giacaman.
We hope the whole world can visit Bethlehem again very soon. We need you. Without you, without people from all over the world, Christmas in Bethlehem is not beautiful.
In the shadow of Omikron – Bethlehem without pilgrims
Tim Assmann, ARD Tel Aviv, December 24th, 2021 5:55 am