Israelis, Palestinians Prepare for Thousands of Pilgrims to Celebrate Christmas 2007 in Peace

See Below for a List of Experts

Photos: Christian Sites and Christmas Preparations in the Holy Cities 

• List of Christian holy sites in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories  
  
• Information on the Christian communities in Israel 
  
• Events in Bethlehem 

Israel and holy sites in the West Bank are experiencing a renewed surge of tourism this year, just in time for Christmas. Bethlehem, where the Church of Nativity is located and the place in which Christians believe Jesus was born, is particularly busy with Christmas preparations this year. The town’s mayor, Victor Batarseh, expects to welcome 65,000 tourists this Christmas, approximately four times the number that came in Christmas 2005. [1] 

At a press conference Tuesday (Dec. 18) in Jerusalem, the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism Shaul Tzemach, said that 500,000 Christian tourists made a pilgrimage to Israel in 2007 and 340,000 tourists traveled to Bethlehem. [2] Since its creation, Israel has provided freedom of religion for Christians, as well as for Muslims, Jews and other faiths, that have holy sites within. [3]

For the 2007 Christmas season, the Ministry of Tourism along with the Israeli Police and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have coordinated their efforts with the Palestinian Ministry for Tourism as well as Palestinian organizations in the private sector to ensure the safe passage of Christian pilgrims from Jerusalem into Bethlehem. [4] Israel Ministry of Tourism staff will be manning the Rachel crossing into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, twenty-four hours a day, as will staff from the IDF’s District Coordination Office (DCO) in the Palestinian Territories. The Ministry will also provide a bus shuttle every 30 minutes from the Mar Elias Monastery just south of Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. [5]

Israeli Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said that, "Tourism cooperation is in the joint economic interests of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The many pilgrims who are currently visiting create a bridge for cooperation, understanding and peace between the peoples. We will work together in order to assure full freedom of religion." [6]

Lt. Col. Kamil Wahabee of the IDF’s DCO Unit said a number of restrictions inside the West Bank have been eased for the holiday season. He also said that the government has lifted a general prohibition on Israeli civilians visiting the West Bank without a permit; a gesture intended to allow Israeli Arabs to visit family in the West Bank over the holiday season. [7]

Thousands of entry permits have also been granted to Palestinian Christians wishing to visit family in Israel over Christmas. Eight thousand permits have been granted to residents of Bethlehem alone, with four hundred permits granted to its Muslim residents. Hundreds more permits have been distributed in other cities for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, or “Sacrifice Feast,” which will be celebrated on Wednesday (Dec. 19). Five hundred permits were requested by Christians from Gaza to visit Israel, Bethlehem and the West Bank, all of which were granted. [8]  

Aharonovitch and Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jaraisy will host the traditional reception for leaders of Israel's Christian communities on Christmas Eve at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Local Jewish, Christian and Muslim mayors will also be in attendance. [9]

Former British Prime Minister and International Quartet envoy, Tony Blair, spent the night in Bethlehem on Tues., Dec. 11 to help revive tourism in the town and demonstrate that it is a secure travel destination. Said Blair,“I’m trying to illustrate that…It [Bethlehem] is a safe and good place to come and visit.” [10]

In addition to all of the Christmas preparations, the Jerusalem municipality will distribute Christmas trees on Dec. 20, as it does every year. [11]

This Christmas will also witness the largest event in Manger Square, Bethlehem since 1999. A choir comprised of three church groups from the U.S., together with Israeli and Palestinian musicians, will give performances in Amman, Jordan; Nazareth; and Jerusalem. The 160-voice choir will then give a climactic performance on Christmas Eve in Manger Square. One of the organizers of the tour, Rev. Sam Morris, senior pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Columbus, Mississippi said, “While the music is the traditional Christmas music of Handel and John Rutter, the presence of the singers, orchestra and soloists transcends the differences existing among peoples of the world, and unites us in friendship and hope in this deeply symbolic season.” [12]

Christian oppression in Palestinian territories 

Despite these positive developments, the situation for Christians under the Palestinian Authority remains poor. The Palestinian Christian community today is one-and-a-half percent of the West Bank and Gaza population, [13] but back in 1948 comprised a full 15 percent. [14]  

Bethlehem in particular has seen a dramatic decline in its Christian population. Of Bethlehem’s 30,000 residents, less than 20 percent are Christian. [15] In 1948 though, more than 85 percent of the town’s inhabitants were Christian. [16] 

Justus Reid Weiner, a renowned international human rights lawyer and expert on the Palestinian Christian minority, said in Dec. 2007 that the primary cause of the dwindling Christian community in the West Bank and Gaza is Muslim persecution. [17] The problem has worsened in Gaza since Hamas’s takeover in June 2007. Christian men in the Gaza Strip are growing beards to avoid trouble and some residents are even leaving Gaza and moving to Bethlehem to escape from the increased pressure on their community. According to Weiner, “In a society where Arab Christians have no voice and no protection it is no surprise that they are leaving. The systematic persecution of Christian Arabs living in Palestinian areas is being met with nearly total silence by the international community, human rights activists, the media and NGOs.” [18]

During the course of 2007, there has been a notable rise in anti-Christian attacks, especially in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took over the territory. On April 15, 2007, a Christian bookstore in Gaza City, run by the Holy Bible Society, was bombed along with two Internet cafes. Six months later, on Oct. 7, Rami Ayyad, the bookstore’s manager, was stabbed and shot to death. [19]  

In June, masked gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to storm the Rosary Sisters' School and the Latin Church in Gaza City. The gunmen destroyed copies of the Bible and crosses inside the church as well as computers and other equipment. Damages were estimated at more than $500,000. [20]

In Feb. 2007, two teenagers from the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank near Ramallah were beaten with clubs by members of a Muslim family with whom they had quarreled. [21]

On Sept. 25, an 80-year-old Christian woman was assaulted in Gaza City. Claire Farah Tarazi opened her door late at night to be confronted by a masked man who shouted at her “Where is the money, you infidel?” Tarazi was beaten on her head and hands and locked in her bedroom while her assailant searched for valuables in her home. [22]

A Christian TV station, broadcasting from Bethlehem, closed down in November. [23] Although the owner, Samir Qumsieh, insisted the closure was due to financial problems, Qumsieh has been the victim of death threats in the past and also survived an attack in Aug. 2006, when petrol bombs were thrown into his garden. He said at the time that the incident was “a serious and dangerous development that must be taken seriously.” [24]

Terrorism from Bethlehem

Terrorist activity in the Bethlehem district is still a serious problem, accounting for the IDF’s ongoing operations in the area. In 2007 alone, there have been numerous incidents involving terrorists in the Bethlehem region.

• On Oct. 11, the IDF detained Issa Muhammad Jawarish in Bethlehem, a high-ranking Hamas member active in the West Bank. [25]
  
• On Sept. 9, Israeli security forces detained a high-ranking operative of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group and his collaborator in the village of Al-Shawawra, east of Bethlehem. The two belonged to a terrorist squad active in the area. [26]
  
• On Aug. 8, an improvised explosive device was detonated against IDF forces operating in Beit Omar, a village near Bethlehem, and two Molotov cocktails were thrown at them. [27]
  
• On April 12, shots were fired at Israeli civilians in a car, close to the settlement of Tekoa, south of Bethlehem, by members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group. [28]
  
• On Jan. 4, Israeli security forces detained Tawfiq Abu Zaid in Bethlehem. During 2006, Abu Zaid had been involved in many shooting attacks directed against IDF forces and enlisted operatives to carry out shooting attacks and plant explosive devices for ambushes against IDF soldiers. He also manufactured weapons, specializing in explosive devices. [29]

For earlier examples of terrorism from Bethlehem, see http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=689705&ct=3312933

Freedom of Religion in Israel

As demonstrated by its Christmas preparations, religious freedom is a central aspect of Israeli society. Israel’s Declaration of Independence guarantees freedom of religion within the state and equality of citizens, whatever their religion. It declares, “The State of Israel ....will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.” [30]

The diversity of religions practiced in Israel today also testifies to the country’s open and tolerant attitude towards religions other than Judaism. According to the Israel Central bureau of Statistics, in 2006, 16.4 percent of the population was Muslim, 1.6 percent was Druze and 2 percent was Christian. [31]

The Baha’i

Another religion practiced in Israel is that of the Baha’i faith. The Jewish state has become one of the most important centers for the religion due to the location of the two holiest sites of the Baha’i religion in Israel: the Shrine of the Baha’i prophet, Bahuallah, in Acre and the more famous Shrine of the Bab on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The Bab is considered by the Baha’i faith to have been a messenger whose mission prepared humanity for the coming of Bahuallah. [32]

The Baha’i religion was founded in 19th-century Persia and emphasizes the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are around six million Baha’is worldwide. Baha’is revere the prophets of a number of religions as a series of God’s messengers who brought their contemporary messages to the world. [33]

The Baha’i faith’s relationship with the land of Israel was formed in 1868. At that time, Bahaullah, the founder of the Baha’i faith, was exiled with members of his family and a small number of followers from his native Persia to the Turkish penal colony of Acre in the Holy Land, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. [34]

In a recent interview with Agence France Presse, Bhojraj Parmar, a technician from India at the Baha'i headquarters, said “I love Israeli people for the fact that they are very united. Israel wouldn’t be a possibility if the Jewish people weren’t united. We’re grateful to Israelis. We wouldn’t be here without them." [35] 

The Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav, said “We are very proud that the holiest place for the Baha’is is situated in Haifa. The way they have done the whole area, the mountain, is outstanding. It is considered the eighth wonder of the world.” [36]

List of Experts and Israeli Officials

Tourism Ministry situation room for holiday season
Tel: 972-2-6456002; Cell: 972-50-6214127 and 972-50-6214070

Baha'i International Community - Office of Public Information
Tel.: 972-4-835-8358, Email: opivisit@bwc.org

Ron Ross, Bridges for Peace media
Tel.: 972-2-624-5004

Moshe Gans, Coordinator for Activities in the Territories
Cell: 972-50-234-053

Yossi Gottesman, Foreign Press Liaison, Jerusalem Municipality
Tel.: 972-2-629-7744, Email: dover@jerusalem.muni.il

Shira Kazeh, Israeli Ministry of Tourism Spokesperson
Tel.: 972-2-666-4203

Zidky Maman, Spokesman for the Civil Administration in the West Bank
Tel: 972-50-623-4081

Motti Levi, Special Advisor for Religious Affairs, Jerusalem Municipality
Tel.: 972-2-629-6666

David Parsons, Spokesman, International Christian Embassy
Tel.: 972-2-539-9700

Professor Justus Weiner
Tel: 972-2-561-9281, Email: justusdocs@yahoo.com

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