(BETHLEHEM, West Bank) — The Nativity Store, operating in Manger Square since 1927, usually sells handcrafted olive wood items to tourists visiting Jesus’ birthplace. However, Bethlehem’s second Christmas overshadowed by the Gaza war sees a near absence of tourists, jeopardizing the store and other businesses.
Bethlehem’s Christmas festivities this year will be subdued, reflecting the ongoing Gaza conflict. Manger Square will lack its usual large Christmas tree, marching bands, bright lights, and festive decorations.
Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of the Nativity Store, expresses despair, stating, “Last year, we had more hope before Christmas, but now, again near Christmas, we have nothing.”
Israel’s conflict with Hamas has raged for almost 15 months without resolution, despite repeated ceasefire attempts.
Tourism in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank has plummeted since the war began. Following Israel’s restriction on entry for most of the 150,000 West Bank Palestinians with permits, the Palestinian economy contracted by 25% this past year.
The Christmas celebrations – shared by Armenian, Catholic, and Orthodox denominations – usually provide a significant economic boost to Bethlehem, where tourism comprises 70% of annual income. This year, however, the streets are deserted.
Tabash reports opening his store daily, but often goes a week without a single sale. He employs over 25 local families who craft religious items from olive wood, but the lack of customers has halted their work.
Lots of room at the inn
Visitor numbers have plummeted from approximately 2 million annually pre-COVID (2019) to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, according to Jiries Qumsiyeh, spokesperson for the Palestinian tourism ministry.
Mirroring the biblical story of Mary giving birth in a stable due to lack of lodging, nearly all of Bethlehem’s 5,500 hotel rooms are vacant.
Hotel occupancy has drastically fallen from around 80% in early 2023 to approximately 3% currently, reports Elias Al Arja, head of the Bethlehem Hoteliers Association. His hotel, the Bethlehem Hotel, has reduced staff from over 120 to just five.
Bethlehem boasts over 100 shops and 450 workshops specializing in traditional Palestinian handicrafts, Qumsiyeh notes. Yet, a week before Christmas, Manger Square remains largely empty, with only two of its eight main stores open.
Qumsiyeh fears that, even when tourism recovers, many families with generations of traditional skills might be gone, leading to a loss of Palestinian heritage.
Significant emigration is occurring, particularly among tourism sector workers, adds Qumsiyeh.
A Christmas without joy
Approximately 500 families have left Bethlehem in the past year, according to Mayor Anton Salman; this only includes those with official residency visas. Many others have departed on temporary visas, working illegally, with uncertain return prospects.
About half of the Bethlehem area population, including nearby villages, works in tourism or in Israel.
Bethlehem’s unemployment rate is roughly 50%, says Salman, while the West Bank’s unemployment rate is even higher, according to the Palestinian Economy Ministry.
Salman explains that canceling Christmas festivities highlights the plight of Bethlehem and the Palestinian territories. He states, “This year we want to show the world that the Palestinian people are still suffering and they haven’t the joy that everybody else in the world is having.”
This adds to the Holy Land’s declining population over the past decade due to emigration and low birth rates.
Christians constitute a small percentage of the population: about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and 1,300 in Gaza, as per the U.S. State Department.
Finding the light in the night
Father Issa Thaljieh, parish priest of the Greek Orthodox Church at the Church of the Nativity, reports many families struggling financially, unable to afford rent, school fees, or Christmas celebrations. The church’s social services are assisting, but the need is immense.
Thaljieh’s Christmas message this year encourages Palestinians in Bethlehem to persevere despite hardship.
“A church without Christians is not a church,” he observes, as workers polish brass candelabras in the largely empty church a week before Christmas.
He adds, “The light that was born when Jesus Christ was born here is the light that moves beyond darkness, so we have to wait, we have to be patient, we have to pray a lot, and we have to stay with our roots because our roots are in Bethlehem.”
Some families are preserving elements of festive joy.
Bethlehem resident Nihal Bandak, 39, heeded her children’s request for a Christmas tree this year, after foregoing one last year. Decorating it is a favorite Christmas activity for her 8-year-old daughter, Stephanie.
Mathew Bandak, 11, is both happy about the family tradition and troubled by the situation in Gaza, stating, “I was happy because we get to decorate and celebrate, but people are in Gaza who don’t have anything to celebrate.”
Rony Tabash, the Nativity Store owner, will maintain his store’s operation, upholding his family’s legacy.
“We are not feeling Christmas, but in the end, Christmas is in our hearts,” he says, expressing hope for a ceasefire and peace. “We have a big faith that always, when we see Christmas, it will give us the light in the night.”
