Thousands flock to Bethlehem to revive Christmas spirit after 2 years of war in Gaza

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Thousands of people flocked to Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Christmas Eve as crowds of families and music and decorations heralded a much-needed boost of Christmas spirit after two years of war-tinged somber celebrations.

The giant Christmas tree that was absent during the Israel-Hamas war returned on Wednesday, overlooking a parade of hundreds of smartly dressed scouts playing well-known Christmas songs on bagpipes.

The city where Christians believe Jesus was born cancelled Christmas celebrations for the past two years during the war in Gaza, holding muted celebrations few decorations or lights or festive events.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic leader in the Holy Land, kicked off Christmas celebrations during the traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, calling for “a Christmas full of light.”

“After two years of darkness, we need light,” Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said as he crossed the separation wall that divides Jerusalem from Bethlehem.

Arriving in Manger Square, Pizzaballa said he came bearing greetings from Gaza’s tiny Christian community, where he held a pre-Christmas Mass on Sunday. But among the devastation, he also saw a desire for life and to rebuild.

“We, all together, we decide to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world,” he told thousands of people, Christian and Muslim, who gathered in the square.

Despite Wednesday’s holiday cheer, the impact of the war in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is acute, especially in Bethlehem, where around 80% of the Muslim-majority city’s residents depend upon tourism-related businesses, according to the local government.

The vast majority of people celebrating Wednesday were local residents, with only a handful of foreigners mixed among the crowd.

But some residents said they are starting to see some small signs of change as domestic tourism slowly returns and hopefully will herald the return of international visitors the city depends on.

Loss of tourism devastates Bethlehem

“Today is a day of joy, a day of hope, the beginning of the return of normal life here,” said Bethlehem resident Georgette Jackaman, a tour guide who has not worked in more than two years. “People are desperate, but after two years, everyone wants to celebrate.”

She and her husband, Michael Jackaman, another guide who is out of work, are from established Christian Bethlehem families that stretch back generations. This is the first real Christmas celebration for their two children, aged 2 1/2 and 10 months.

During the war, the Jackamans pivoted to create a website selling Palestinian handicrafts to try to support others who also have lost their livelihoods.

Christmas and religious pilgrims always have been a prime economic engine for Bethlehem. During the Gaza war, the unemployment rate in the city jumped from 14% to 65%, Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month.

“People are still afraid to come visit,” said Georgette Jackaman. “But if people come here, we can breathe a bit of the world, even if we are living with restrictions.”

“I came because I wanted to better understand what people in Palestine are going through, and you can sense people have been through a very hard time,” said Mona Riewer, a physiotherapist from France.

Although friends and family abroad cautioned her against coming due to the volatile situation, Riewer said being in Bethlehem to mark Christmas helped her appreciate the meaning of the holiday.

“Christmas is like hope in very dark situations, a very vulnerable child experiencing harshness,” she said.

Despite the ceasefire that began in October, tensions remain high across much of the West Bank.

Israel’s military continues to carry out frequent raids in what it says is a crackdown on militants. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have reached their highest level since the United Nations humanitarian office started collecting data in 2006. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited autonomy in parts of the territory, including Bethlehem. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend the midnight Mass on Wednesday night for the first time in two years, the mayor said.

As poverty and unemployment have soared during the war, about 4,000 people have left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said.

It’s part of a worrying trend for Christians, who are leaving the region in droves.

Christians account for less than 2% of the West Bank’s roughly 3 million residents, a presence that has been shrinking. Across the Middle East, the Christian population has steadily declined as people have fled conflict and attacks.

But on Wednesday, many were thrilled to once again mark Christmas in the birthplace of Christianity.

The beginning of a return to normal life

Fadi Zoughbi, who previously worked overseeing logistics for tour groups, said his children were ecstatic to see the more than two dozen scouts marching bands streaming through the streets of Bethlehem.

They represent cities and towns across the West Bank, with Palestinian flags and tartan draped on their bagpipes, drummers spinning mallets adorned with pompoms. For the past two years, the scouts marched silently through the streets as a protest against the ongoing war.

Irene Kirmiz, who grew up in Bethlehem and now lives in Ramallah, said the scout parade is among her favorite Christmas traditions. Her 15-year-old daughter plays the tenor drum with the Ramallah scouts, the same instrument she played as a teen scout.

But her family in Ramallah had to wake up at 5 a.m. Wednesday to arrive in time for the parade and waited upwards of three hours at the Israeli checkpoints along the way. The drive previously took 40 minutes without the checkpoints that have increasingly made travel difficult for Palestinians, she said.

“It’s very emotional seeing people trying to bounce back, trying to celebrate peace and love,” Kirmiz said. “I remember the Bethlehem of my childhood, it really depends on tourism, and so many Christians have left, the streets are empty and families are suffering. But today we see a light of happiness, and we are hoping for a better peace for everyone.”

The Israeli Ministry of Tourism estimates 130,000 tourists will visit Israel by the end of December, including 40,000 Christians. In 2019, a banner year for tourism before the pandemic, the tourism ministry said 150,000 Christian tourists visited during the week of Christmas alone.

The war and lack of tourism has had far-reaching impacts in Bethlehem, exacerbated by Israel cancelling work permits for Palestinians from the West Bank during the war and thrusting the area deeper into poverty.

During the previous two years, the heads of churches in Jerusalem urged congregations to forgo “any unnecessarily festive activities.” They encouraged priests and the faithful to focus on Christmas’ spiritual meaning and called for “fervent prayers for a just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.”

Bethlehem’s Manger Square did not erect the towering Christmas tree and instead featured a nativity scene of baby Jesus surrounded by rubble and barbed wire in homage to the situation in Gaza.