Israeli Government Makes Christmas Merry for Pilgrims, Citizens

Israeli Government Works to Make Christmas Merry for Tens of Thousands of Pilgrims and Citizens

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Jerusalem, Israel - As more than 18,000 Christians arrive in Israel this week for Christmas to make the pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the Israeli government is helping to facilitate their celebrations, ranging from easing travel to the Church of the Nativity to giving out free Christmas trees.

"This is a wonderful time for people to come to Israel on religious pilgrimages and to travel to sites that are holy to them," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "Thanks to Israel's security fence, terrorism at the heart of Israel has virtually been eliminated. In fact, this season, it's hard to get a hotel room or a tour guide because once again Israel is a safe place for spiritual journeys for people of all faiths."

Israel's Ministry of Tourism will operate complimentary shuttles running every half hour from Mar Elias Monastery in southern Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Dec. 24 and Christmas Day.

[1] To help ease pilgrims' travels, Israeli security has arranged to check the travelers' passports even before they disembark from the shuttles. The measures were implemented this year to prevent traffic jams at the Rachel border crossing between Jerusalem and Bethlehem as an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 pilgrims are expected to travel between the two cities on Christmas Day.

As in years past, the Municipality of Jerusalem and the Jewish National Fund will give out free Christmas trees on Thurs., Dec. 21 at Jaffa Gate Square in Jerusalem from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. [2]

Travelers will also receive holiday greetings and a gift courtesy of Israel's Tourism Ministry. [3] Additionally, Israelis will be allowed to drive in and out of Bethlehem with their private cars to attend holiday festivities in the West Bank.

Said Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog, "The ministry is doing everything it can to assist believers to obtain the greatest possible access to Christian sites in general and to Bethlehem in particular. Beyond our desire to make things easier for tourists, we are aware of the importance of tourism for Bethlehem and the Palestinian economy and are working in complete cooperation with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the police to show maximum consideration for tourists during the holiday." [4]

Pilgrims' travel between Jerusalem and Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem is to be coordinated by the Israeli Police, the IDF and the IDF liaison to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) in Bethlehem. During the Christmas holiday, additional personnel will be in place at the Rachel crossing to assist the large number of travelers.

Mizrahi said the checkpoints are an unfortunate but necessary measure to help keep the pilgrims secure. "Despite the fact that the security fence is working, there are still constant terror threats," she said. "The checkpoints are an unavoidable necessity in the territories to facilitate safe transit without jeopardizing the security of Israeli citizens and travelers who have been victims of terrorist attacks that suicide bombers have carried out during holidays in the past."

Since 2000, more than 1,000 people in Israel have been murdered in Palestinian terrorist attacks. [5] That does not include those who have been permanently maimed or injured. The security fence, which began construction in 2002, has prevented an innumerable number of attacks [6] and saved the lives of countless innocent civilians.

Due to ongoing violence in the Palestinian territories resulting from fighting between Hamas and Fatah, Israel implemented additional measures during December to ensure that Christians can get from Jerusalem to Bethlehem peacefully.

Herzog announced on Dec. 19 that Defense Minister Amir Peretz endorsed travel for 500 Palestinian Christians from Gaza to the West Bank. According to Herzog, who said his ministry is working in conjunction with the Palestinian Tourism Ministry, "We view pilgrimage as a bridge to peace." Additionally, Herzog stated that he has approved permits for Palestinian guides from Bethlehem to conduct tours in Israel. [7]

Overall, the Christmas season has been much brighter than in recent years. This is illustrated by local Jerusalem novelty stores that this year are selling an assortment of Christmas cards alongside Chanukah cards, Santa hats and Christmas tree ornaments. In Jerusalem's upscale Emek Refaim neighborhood, storefronts are decorated with blue and red lights in celebration of Christmas and Chanukah. Throughout Tel Aviv, home to many of Israel's foreign workers, shops sell Christmas cards and decorations, and others display Christmas trees. [8]

Because of Israel's emphasis on religious freedom and democracy, people of all faiths residing in or visiting Israel have the right to practice their religion without discrimination and the freedom to worship in their holy places and celebrate their holidays. Under Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence:

"The State of Israel ... will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the Prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture." [9]

In addition, The Protection of Holy Places Law of 1967 ensures that worshipers in Israel shall not be restricted from entering their holy sites, and places of worship are to be protected from desecration. [10]

Statistics indicate that last Christmas, [11] nearly 146,000 Christians lived in Israel, comprising 2.1 percent of Israel's population. Most Christians in Israel - 119,000 - are ethnically Arab, while the remaining 27,000 immigrated to Israel from other countries under the Law of Return. They live in a variety of areas of Israel, including about 60 percent in northern cities, 20 percent in the town of Nazareth, 12 percent in Haifa, 10 percent in Jerusalem and six percent in Shefaram, an Arab-Druze city east of the bay of Haifa.

Christians under Palestinian Authority Rule

The Palestinian Christian population has been on the decline for years in Palestinian areas. Currently, Palestinian Christians from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem comprise less than two percent of the total Palestinian population. Christians living under the Palestinian Authority have fled in recent years due to economic deterioration and the Al-Aqsa (second) Intifada. However, Islamic violence aimed at the dwindling Palestinian Christian population in the last few months has led to a further population decline.[12]

Since the Hamas-led government took control of the territories earlier this year, Islamic violence against Christians and tension between the two religious groups have increased.

In early May, shortly after the Hamas-led P.A. government was formed, a fatwa (Islamic edict) was issued against the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in the West Bank town of Qalqilya. Hamas won a number of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections in the town. After taking power, Islamic clerics demanded the YMCA be shuttered because of the dwindling Christian population in Qalqilya. [13]

When the YMCA remained open, unknown gunmen set fire to the building in September. According to police reports, it wasn't the first time gunmen had attacked the YMCA. In previous months, gunmen set fire to the outside of the building. Additionally, Islamic officials accused the organization of conducting missionary work. [14]

In mid-September, after Pope Benedict XVI's public remarks about Islam, Palestinian Islamic militants waged the most violent attacks against Christian holy sites in the P.A. territories in recent years.

Attacks against Christian holy sites in the West Bank and Gaza included: [15]

September 15, 2006 : Grenade thrown at oldest church in Gaza; in Nablus, Molotov cocktails launched at four churches of different denominations.

September 16, 2006 : Firebombs were hurled at five different churches throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

September 17, 2006 : In Tulkarm, a 170-year-old church was burned to the ground; in Tubas, the church there was partially burned by firebombs.

Also in September, the IDF arrested a Palestinian terror suspect taking refuge in Bethlehem. The man was accused of killing three Israelis, an IDF soldier in Oct. 2000 near Bethlehem and wounding a border policeman. [16]

"Most of the Christians here are either in the process of leaving, planning to leave or thinking of leaving," said Sami Awad, executive director of the Holy Land Trust. "Insecurity is deep and getting worse." [17]

According to Bethlehem Mayor Victor Barkish, before 1948 Christians comprised 90 percent of the town's population, a number that has now dropped to 35 percent. "...That is not just because of the larger birth rate among Muslim families. It is because some families have decided that finding a new life elsewhere is the answer to tougher living conditions." [18]

This Christmas, Hamas officials promised to donate $50,000 to Bethlehem to provide decorations and other festivities. [19] However, as of Dec. 20, Bethlehem's mayor had not received any money from the Hamas-led government.

A local engineer in Bethlehem, Bernard Bassil, was quoted saying that, "With the problems from the economy where Palestinians don't get any money from the government, there are no jobs to go round. And we know that, if a job becomes available, it will go to a Muslim, not a Christian." [20]

Christmas Past

On Christmas Day last year, Palestinians affiliated with Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades stormed Bethlehem's town hall. The town hall sits adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.

Although no one was hurt, the incident continued for about an hour until the gunmen agreed to leave the building after firing their weapons from the church rooftop. The incident highlighted the supremacy of armed terrorist groups that continue to act with impunity in Palestinian-controlled areas.The actions in recent years of these militia groups, some of them avowedly radical-Islamic in character, have contributed to a flight of Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem. [21]

Critics of Israeli policy have attempted to place blame for Christian emigration on the implementation of security measures such at the anti-terrorism security fence, checkpoints and roadblocks. But those were put into place only in the past few years in response to repeated terror attacks from Bethlehem [see below], and cannot account for the dramatic drop in the Christian population from 1990 to 2001.

Christian Flight from Bethlehem

In 1990, Christians comprised nearly 60 percent of the total Palestinian population in the Bethlehem region. Palestinian Christians began to leave in large numbers after 1995, when the Palestinian Authority gained control of the city because of discrimination. Then-P.A. Chairman Yasser Arafat altered the municipal borders of Bethlehem in order to incorporate 30,000 Muslims from nearby refugee camps that included Dehaisheh, El-Ayda and El-Azeh as well as members of the Ta'amarah Bedouin tribe. [22] Arafat also encouraged Muslims from Hebron to relocate to Bethlehem to change the religious status quo and alter the Christian character of the city

As a result many Christians fled the town and moved abroad, including some who had lived there for hundreds of years. From Oct. 2000 to Nov. 2001, almost 3,000 Christians emigrated from the West Bank. [23] About 150,000 Palestinians are now residents of the greater Bethlehem municipality which includes Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jallah and other small villages. Of the 150,000, just 25,000 are Christians - less than 20 percent of the total population.

The Church of the Nativity Siege

On April 2, 2002, armed Palestinian terrorists took over Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity to evade arrest by Israeli forces. They used the church as a military post and took seven clergymen hostage, safe in the knowledge that the Israeli army would never desecrate the church by pursuing them inside. Thirteen militants, affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Fatah Tanzim, were holed up inside for 39 days. By the end of the standoff, the militants had desecrated and littered the church with garbage.

Terror Attacks from Bethlehem

In recent years, Bethlehem has become a launching point for terrorists seeking to attack Israel. For example:

On April 1, 2004, the IDF raided the Dehaisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem to arrest a number of terrorists, including Palestinian Security personnel who were planning to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians. Twelve terrorists, most of them from Fatah Tanzim, had hidden in a psychiatric hospital, which is a violation of international law.

On Feb. 22, 2004, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades dispatched Muhammed Za'ul from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. He detonated a bomb strapped to his body on Egged bus No. 14A in Jerusalem, killing eight and wounding more than 60; 11 of them were high school students.

On March 29, 2003, Iat Alacharas, 23, from Dehaisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem killed two civilians and injured 22 when she detonated her explosives belt at a supermarket in Jerusalem's Kiryat Yovel neighborhood. Fatah Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack.

On March 12, 2004, Andaliv Takataka, a member of Fatah Tanzim, blew herself up at the entrance of Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market near an Egged bus. She killed four Israeli civilians, two foreign workers from China and injured more than 60. She entered Jerusalem through Abu Dis, an East Jerusalem neighborhood.

The Oct. 16, 2005 terrorist attack that killed two cousins, Matat Rosenfeld Adler and Kineret Mandel, as well as 14-year-old Oz Ben Meir was perpetrated by men who fled to the Bethlehem village of El-Aroub.

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Footnotes

[1] Rosenblum, Irit, "18,000 Xmas pilgrims expected to cross from J'lem to Bethlehem," Haaretz , Dec. 19, 2006, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/802991.html
[2] "Free Christmas Trees," The Municipality of Jerusalem, Dec. 17, 2006, http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2
[3] Rosenblum, Irit, "18,000 Xmas pilgrims expected to cross from J'lem to Bethlehem," Haaretz , Dec. 19, 2006, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/802991.html
[4] Rosenblum, Irit, "18,000 Xmas pilgrims expected to cross from J'lem to Bethlehem," Haaretz, Dec. 19, 2006, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/802991.html
[5] "Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000," Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 20, 2006, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm
[6] "Saving Lives: Israel's anti-terrorist fence - Answers to Questions," Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 20, 2006, http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfaarchive/2000_2009/2003/11/saving%20lives-%20israel-s%20anti-terrorist%20fence%20-%20answ
[7] Rosenblum, Irit, "18,000 Xmas pilgrims expected to cross from J'lem to Bethlehem," Haaretz , Dec. 19, 2006, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/802991.html
[8] Chabin, Michele, "Jesus' star rises in Jerusalem," National Catholic Register , Dec. 19, 2006, http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/1632
[9] "The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 14, 1948, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Declaration%20of%20Establishment%20of%20State%20of%20Israel
[10] "Protection of Holy Place Law-1967," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 27, 1967, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1960_1969/Protection%20of%20Holy%20Places%20Law-%201967-
[11] "Press Release: Christmas 2005-Christians in Israel," Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel, [281/2005] Dec. 25,2005, http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2005n/11_05_281e.pdf
[12] Murphy, Brian, "Christian population falls in Holy Land," Christian Post via Associated Press , Nov. 12, 2006, http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060711/22861.htm
[13] "Senior Muslim clerics in Qalqiliya criticized for fatwa calling to close local YMCA," Middle East Media Research Institute, Special Dispatch No. 1155, May 4, 2006, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=palestinian&ID=SP115506
[14] Bannoura, Ghassan, "Unknown gunmen attack YMCA office in Qalqilia," International Middle East Media Center, Sept. 9, 2006, http://www.imemc.org/content/view/21364/143/
[15] Ecumenical News International, "Palestinian Churches targeted in protests against Pope's remarks," United Church of Christ News , Sept. 18, 2006, http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=665&Itemid=54
[16] Weiss, Efrat, "Terror suspect arrested in Bethlehem killed 3 Israelis," Ynet News , Dec. 10, 2006, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338263,00.html
[17] Murphy, Brian, "Christian population falls in Holy Land," Christian Post via Associated Press , Nov. 12, 2006, http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060711/22861.htm
[18] Butcher, Tim, "Why Bethlehem's Christians are still voting with their feet," The Telegraph , Dec. 20, 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/12/20/do2004.xml
[19] Associated Press, "Hamas gov't to dress up Bethlehem for Christmas," The Jerusalem Post , Dec. 10, 2006, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881861881&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[20] Butcher, Tim, "Why Bethlehem's Christians are still voting with their feet," The Telegraph , Dec. 20, 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/12/20/do2004.xml
[21] Weiner, Justus R., "Human rights of Christians in Palestinian Society," Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2005, http://www.jcpa.org/christian-persecution.htm
[22] Raab, David, "The beleaguered Christians of the Palestinian-controlled areas," The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, No. 490, Jan. 2003, http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp490.htm
[23] Stahl, Julie, "Bethlehem Christians worry about Islamic takeover in Jesus' birthplace," Cybercast News Service (CNSNews.com), May 19, 2005, http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200505%5CCUL20050519b.html

The Israel Project

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