From the Times of Israel:
“As war mars festivities,
Christians in Israel, West Bank cling to Christmas spirit”
(Issa Kassissieh dressed up as
Santa Claus welcoming visitors inside 'Jerusalem's Santa House' in the
Christian Quarter of the Old City, December 14, 2023.)
Over the past few years, a
tradition developed in Jerusalem in December — a Christmas market was held
along the street that departs from the New Gate, one of the entry points to the
Old City’s Christian Quarter. While the market was limited in size in comparison
to those around the world, it had become a cherished tradition for locals and
tourists alike. This year, however, Christmas festivities have been suppressed
as a result of the war in Gaza between Israel and the terror group Hamas. The
heads of major churches announced in November that holiday celebrations would
be suspended throughout the Holy Land in solidarity with those suffering from
the conflict. The Old City of Jerusalem has fallen quiet since October 7, as
the influx of tourists has all but halted, and many shop and restaurant owners
have shuttered their businesses. During a recent visit, none of the owners who
chose to keep their stores open along New Gate Street were willing to comment
on the decision to cancel the market, a major boon for the area, saying only
that they preferred to “stay away from politics.” But local residents seemed to
agree with the measure. “Forgoing festivities is the minimum we can do, while
people are facing genocide in Gaza,” said a local Palestinian girl.
However, some do not agree with
the total obliteration of the Christmas atmosphere. One of those is Issa
Kassissieh, a Jerusalem Christian who 15 years ago transformed the ground floor
of his 700-year-old home into Santa’s house. For three hours each day
throughout December, he is decked out in a red suit and a white beard and
welcomes visitors of all faiths into his home, belting out “ho, ho, hos.”
Santa’s grotto is complete with a Christmas tree, a workshop, a kitchen and a
little shop with souvenirs, cookies and mulled wine.
(Issa Kassissieh stands outside
Santa’s House, created out of his family’s 700-year-old home, December 21,
2017.)
In an interview with The Times of
Israel, Kassissieh said that most people in the Old City live off tourism, and
many will be affected by the cancellation of Christmas festivities, but he
decided that as Santa he would keep welcoming visitors — Palestinians and
Israelis alike — in the privacy of his home, to preserve and convey the
Christmas spirit. “This year in particular, I want to send a special message of
hope, love and peace from the heart of Jerusalem to the world. Three years ago,
we were in the midst of COVID, and we couldn’t hug. And now it’s difficult
because of the war,” he said. “Usually, people would queue up for hours to
enter Santa’s house. Now we have much fewer visitors. However, people are still
coming from all around Israel and the area. Two days ago, a family came from
Bethlehem, and told me, ‘Thank God Santa’s house is open, so that at least
children can feel something is happening in this season,’” Kassissieh
continued. “We are sad for all the people that are dying. But on the other
hand, we need to relieve people from stress, and send out a message of peace.
In my house, I welcome Jewish, Muslim and Christian visitors. Everybody loves
Santa. For me, Jerusalem is the heart of the world. If we can create peace
here, we will have peace everywhere.”
(A street in the Christian
quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, usually lined with restaurants and shops,
sits empty amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the halt to
international tourism to the city, December 14, 2023.)
War erupted between Israel and
Hamas with the October 7 onslaught in southern Israel, when 3,000 Hamas-led
terrorists burst through the border from Gaza and killed 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and took some 240 hostages. In response, Israel vowed to eliminate
Hamas, and launched a wide-scale offensive in Gaza aimed at destroying the
terror group’s military and governance capabilities. Over 18,000 Gazans have
been killed so far in the fighting, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health
ministry — a figure that cannot be verified and includes terrorists as well as
civilians killed by errant Palestinian rocket fire. Israel says it has killed
7,000 Hamas operatives.
Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, also called off Christmas festivities, which typically include a Christmas tree towering over Manger Square, a nativity scene, market stalls all around the plaza, and elaborate light decorations throughout the city center, in a celebration that draws thousands of visitors from around the world. “The economy is crashing,” Mayor Hana Haniyeh told The Associated Press on Friday. “But if we compare it with what’s happening to our people and Gaza, it’s nothing.” City leaders have fretted about the impact the closures have on the small Palestinian economy in the West Bank, already struggling with a dramatic fall in tourism since the start of the war. The Palestinian tourism sector has incurred losses of $2.5 million a day, projected to amount to $200 million by the end of the year, the Palestinian tourism minister said Wednesday. The main highlight of the Christmas season in Bethlehem, the traditional midnight mass on December 24, will still be held at the Nativity Church by the Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem.
(Visitors walk in Manger Square
on Christmas Eve outside the Church of the Nativity, revered as the site of
Jesus Christ’s birth, in the biblical city of Bethlehem in the West Bank on
December 24, 2021.)
Father Ibrahim Faltas, vicar of
the Custody of the Holy Land, told The Times of Israel that Bethlehem’s
Christian community – constituting about one-third of the city’s inhabitants, a
sharp decline from being 85 percent of the population in 1950 – is “very, very
sad,” because “Bethlehem without tourists and without pilgrims is a dead city.
The city streets that used to be bustling with people are now empty.” “I have
organized Christmas festivities since 1992 and I have never seen anything like
this. It’s worse than under the Second Intifada,” the clergyman continued,
referring to the major Palestinian uprising against Israel that took place
between 2000 and 2005. In 2002, a 38-day standoff developed between the IDF and
Palestinian terrorists inside the Nativity Church, in which eight were killed. “Bethlehem
today has been turned into an open-air prison — nobody comes in and nobody goes
out,” Father Faltas said, referencing access limitations imposed by Israel on
the city and other Palestinian towns in the West Bank since October 7.
Daniel Aqleh, a tour guide from
Bethlehem and an active member of the local Evangelical community, said that in
the weeks leading up to Christmas, the city’s streets would normally be
thronged by tourists, and animated by concerts, band marches and other public
events. Commenting on the damage to the city’s economy from the war, Aqleh said
that the fallout for the tourism industry has been felt for months. “October
and November are peak tourist season here. Over the summer, the influx of
tourists was weak, so we had been really looking forward to the autumn months.
But after October 7, tourism came to a complete halt.” The family owns a hostel
and a small chapel, which has been hosting regular Advent services for the
local Evangelical community, and provided a place for the congregation to get
together and pray in anticipation of the upcoming holiday. Aqleh said his father
wouldn’t let him put up a Christmas tree, because of the war in Gaza.
(A prayer service inside the
Aqleh family’s ‘Prayer and Healing Church’ in Bethlehem, May 31, 2022.)
In line with the other two sites
of Christian pilgrimage, the northern Israeli city of Nazareth also canceled
most of the annual festivities. “The atmosphere is not conducive to
celebrations,” said Hanan Sabbah, director of the city’s Cultural and Tourism
Association. Traditional events in the city around this time include a market,
a decorated tree on Mary’s Well Square, and a procession on Christmas Eve, and
tend to attract large numbers of international as well as Jewish Israeli
tourists. “Christmas is a holiday of lights, decorations and joy – many have
said that it is not appropriate to celebrate in the aftermath of October 7 in
Israel, and given what is happening in Gaza today,” Sabbah said. “We are still
mourning.” The city’s annual festival of liturgical music has taken place as
scheduled, albeit shorter than usual, and other concerts are slated to take
place inside churches in the days leading up to Christmas. “The audience has
been mostly made up of local Arabs and not of Jews this year,” Sabbah said.
(A woman exits a souvenir shop
selling Christmas mementos and accessories in the center of Israel’s northern
city of Nazareth on December 18, 2021.)
“While the municipality of
Nazareth has not put up new Christmas decorations, some are still up from
previous years. Many local people have been searching for a sliver of hope in
the lights, a feeling that life goes on – so they have put up ornaments inside
their homes, on their balconies, in their shops,” he said. “While we have not
had large groups of Israeli visitors, as we usually do around Christmas, I have
received numerous phone calls from the south [of Israel],” Sabbah added.
“People want to come to Nazareth to spend a night or two here, take their
children to see something different, and get away from the atmosphere of war.” “We
thought there would be no Christmas this year, but it turned out that many
Jewish Israelis want to see the lights,” he said. “Something that will bring
them a little optimism.”
^ It is sad to see that Christians
can’t go to Bethlehem for Christmas this year. I visited in October 2017 and it
was really nice to go to the actual places of the Bible. I can’t imagine how
amazing it would be to go around Christmas. Hopefully, the War will end with an
Israeli Victory soon and peace can return – along with the Tourists and
Pilgrims. ^
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