Reverend Munter Isaac in this year's nativity scene, depicting a baby in a pile of rubble, symbolizing the bombing of the Gaza Strip. Credit : Kike Kierszenbaum
Christmas is officially canceled in Bethlehem this year, and the birthplace of Jesus resembles a ghost town as the fight between Israel and Hamas rages.
Manger Square, usually crowded with tourists and ablaze with festive events lights and decorations, it was virtually empty when The Telegraph visited.
At the center is a nativity scene depicting the baby Jesus wrapped in a white shroud, surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, a chilling echo of thousands children killed in the Gaza Strip.
Nearby, a group of students silently unfurled a giant Palestinian flag.
On Sunday, one of the city's many scout groups, which usually march through Bethlehem celebrating Christmas with drums and trumpets, walked silently along the cobblestone streets, holding signs in Arabic and English. , some of them say: “Gaza is in the heart” and “Let the war end now.”
Located in the volatile West Bank, Bethlehem is no stranger to war and instability. But no one here can remember the last time both church leaders and local officials agreed to cancel Christmas altogether.
The Rev. Dr. Munter Isaac, pastor of Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, said it was the most difficult Christmas yet season for him. experienced, admitting he no longer felt able to preach a message of hope.
“We have lost all hope for peace,” said Rev. Isaac, who hails from the nearby town of Beir Sahour, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world .
A woman prays in the empty Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Photo: Kike Kiersenbaum
“I cannot preach and promise my people empty words that everything will get better,” he said. The Telegraph adds that he fears the destruction in Gaza, where more than 20,000 people have now been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, could one day spread to the West Bank.
Reverend Isaac and his parishioners wanted to convey the pain and anger of local Christians at the plight of the Gaza Strip.
Their own nativity scene depicts Jesus as a baby, wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh, lying in a formed manger. from the rubble.
The message, according to Reverend Isaac, is that “he is with those children who suffered from the bombing and who, hopefully, were rescued alive from the rubble.”
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The story of the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem has a special resonance among Palestinians this year.
“The Christmas story became our story: a family who had to travel during the occupation because of the imperial census, designed for registration and control… very similar to the magnetic card system we have here,” Rev. Isaac said. , referring to the biometric ID cards that Palestinians wishing to work in Israel must obtain.
He said calls from his and other parishes to cancel celebrations reflect the mood of their parishioners, some of whom are not even putting up Christmas trees in their homes this year.
Closes eyes
At his Saturday Mass, the Rev. Isaac blamed the world for that he turns a blind eye to the “genocide of the captive population.”
“We Palestinians will recover… I feel sorry for those involved in this. Will you ever get over this?” he said.
Earlier this month, the pastor led a delegation of Bethlehem church leaders to Washington, with what he now calls «naive» hope that as Christmas approached, American politicians would heed their call for peace.
«We said, » All we ask for is a ceasefire,” the priest said.
Hannah Hanania, mayor of Bethlehem, said his city could face unrest as the economic situation worsens. Photo: Kike Kiersenbaum
American officials and politicians, he said, were very harsh, telling him that “this war must go on.”
However, since the trip, the US and Israel's allies have increased pressure on Israel to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
Thanks to US abstention, the UN Security Council was able to pass a proposal to do more to help the besieged enclave last week, but the organization did not support the call for a ceasefire.
That stance has many Palestinians in the West Bank, which this year has seen the worst unrest since the end of the Second Intifada, worried about their own future.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out several raids in Bethlehem after the Oct. 7 attacks, which brought the city into fury, and the cancellation of the Christmas holiday has dealt a serious blow to the city's economy.
Collapse of tourism
With many major airlines canceling flights to Israel, few foreigners are coming.
Tourism accounts for about 70 percent of Bethlehem's revenue, almost all of which occur during the Christmas season, said Hannah Hanania, mayor of Bethlehem. Telegraph.
Earlier this month, Mr. Hanania was forced to cancel the traditional Christmas tree lighting ceremony and other celebrations in the main square in front of his office.
«I've never seen anything like this in my life,» he said. Mr. Hanania, who was a teenager during the Second Intifada, gestured at closed hotels and empty restaurants. “The tourism sector has completely collapsed.”
Father Issa Talie, Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity: «This is the first time we've seen a church this empty in December» Photo: Kike Kirzenbaum
Local officials say more than 70 hotels in Bethlehem have been forced to close, leaving thousands out of work , and the blockade imposed by Israeli authorities on the West Bank since October 7 has also prevented tens of thousands of Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel.
Mr. Hanania acknowledged that his city and other parts of the West Bank could face unrest as the economic situation worsens.
Across the square from City Hall, there were none of the usual crowds at the Church of the Nativity. lined the ancient cobblestones and stood in queues to see the birthplace of Jesus.
Instead, a few desperate taxi drivers were looking for anyone who even remotely resembled a tourist.
“We see the church for the first time in December is so empty,” said Father Issa Talie, a Greek Orthodox priest at the Church of the Nativity.
Inside the basilica there is a recently restored medieval mosaic. glinted in the sunlight.
“This church used to be full of people,” he said.
This year, instead of managing crowds of tourists, he spent most of his time was helping parishioners left jobless by the West Bank lockdown, he told the Telegraph.
Like many in Bethlehem, the plight of Gaza's Christians weighed heavily on Father Issa.
Gaza's Christians, who numbered just over 1,100 before the war, traveled to Bethlehem every year for Christmas, having received special permits from Israel that provided a rare opportunity to leave the strip.
A lonely woman lights a candle in the empty Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Photo: Kike Kirzenbaum
Issa's father spoke about the Easter visit of a young family from Gaza who came to Bethlehem with their daughter Alia, born in February.
In October, Alia was killed in an Israeli airstrike. She was six months old.
«It's not easy to hold someone in your arms, think they have a good life ahead of them, and then find out they're already dead,» Issa's father told the Telegraph newspaper. , looking at photos on his phone of him holding a child in a pink snowsuit.
Like other churches in the city, the Church of the Nativity has canceled all Christmas celebrations.
Bethlehem's Greek Orthodox community, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, now numbers about 3,500 people, Father Issa said, adding that it was twice that size when he was ordained 11 years ago.
No mood to celebrate
Mona , a Bethlehem resident who attended the church with a friend, told the Telegraph she supports the idea of canceling Christmas celebrations, saying locals are not in the mood to celebrate.
“This is the birthplace of Jesus: it should be the light of the world. I'm upset by what's happening around us,” said Mona, who declined to give her middle name.
But no matter how difficult the circumstances, Father Issa tries to maintain his faith.
He refuses to give up hope, drawing inspiration from a cave beneath the church where a silver 14-pointed star embedded in a polished marble slab marks the supposed birthplace of Jesus.
“This light shines upon us. One day this light will come to us. If I don’t base my thoughts on peace and love, they will never come to us,” he said.
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