In Bethlehem, a welcome to send chills down the spine of any Jew visiting the jewel of Palestinian tourism amid Gaza war
- ‘Expect long lines,’ the tourism website reads, but I am one of just a handful of visitors to the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem seven months into Gaza war
- A pilgrimage site for three religions, Bethlehem is run-down and the visitors few. I’m a Westerner, and it’s hard to see when tourists like me will return
“What’s your religion? Jewish? You are Jewish, aren’t you? You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous for you.”
It’s May 2024, Gaza is being levelled and the welcome, if one can call it that, sends a chill down my spine as I walk through Bethlehem, 10km (6.2 miles) south of Jerusalem, in the Palestinian-administered area of the West Bank.
Revered as the biblical birthplace of Jesus, King David and other figures, Bethlehem has been an important pilgrimage site for Christians, Jews and Muslims for centuries.
Until October 7 last year – when Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza, sparking a bloody war – Bethlehem was also a tourist hotspot: the jewel in the crown of the US$1 billion Palestinian tourism industry.
“Whether you’re interested in the history, religion or culture of the city, it is definitely a fascinating place to visit,” reads information posted on the website of Tourist Israel, a travel company that runs tours in Israel and the West Bank. However, when I asked to join one of its Bethlehem tours, a spokesman for the company said those had been cancelled “due to the current situation”.
I had better luck at the tourist information centre in Tel Aviv’s old port city, Jaffa, where I met an Israeli who took tourists to Bethlehem before the war and who told me I could easily get a bus to Bethlehem from the Old City of Jerusalem.
