BETHLEHEM:
The bells of Bethlehem rang on Christmas morning under a gray sky in streets whose closed pastel or green shutters resembled an Advent calendar that no one had opened to open.
Shopkeepers and hotel owners in the Palestinian city reported much less sales than in the years before the coronavirus shutdown halted the arrival of wealthy foreign tourists, destroying the economy of Jesus’ traditional birthplace.
In Manger Square, hundreds of Christians — mostly those living, working or studying in Israel and the occupied West Bank — gathered by the tree and crib to sing carols and brighten the scene outside the Church of the Nativity.
But Joseph Giacaman, whose family has been selling souvenirs in the square for a century, said the business was down about 2% from the pre-pandemic years. “We were closed until three weeks ago. I may have sold two or three olive wood cribs. In normal years, we would sell three or four a day all year round,” he said.
The back streets were virtually empty.
Star Street had been renovated in recent years to draw in crowds, but here and elsewhere, the Omicron variant crushed those hopes in November when Israel began closing its borders.
‘OPEN HEARTS TO HOPE’
Earlier in December, Bethlehem mayor Anton Salman had tried to boost morale by walking the cobbled street at night and shaking hands with those selling mulled wine and olive carvings. But the market opening couldn’t continue its momentum without foreign coach parties to sell to.
On the other side of town, Bethlehem’s largest hotel, the Jacir Palace, was locked and padlocked.
And at the nearby Nativity Hotel, receptionist Victor Zeidan said he worked a 12-hour shift for a lower wage to get a rare day’s work checking in Palestinian Christian and Filipino caregivers who briefly ramped up the occupancy rate.
“I didn’t even celebrate this year, I haven’t had much work before, so now I’m taking the chance,” he said.
Jerise Qumsieh, of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told Reuters that this year was better than last year because there were at least some domestic visitors compared to 2020’s stricter restrictions, but foreign tourism was “zero”.
Nevertheless, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, urged a reduced nighttime mass congregation in the early hours of Saturday to seek hope.
“At this time of health and long-term political distress, many different voices are heard in families: some undermine trust, take away hope, extinguish love; others are more encouraging,” he said.
“We must seek and find the voice that leads us to Jesus and to salvation, that opens hearts to hope.”
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