Not-so-merry Christmas for some Bethlehem Christians

Fairouz Ijha, 76, spent several hours on Tuesday greeting tourists and inviting them to buy from her grocery store on Milk Grottos Street, a few meters away from Manger Square.

Some of the tourists walking along the narrow street seemed to remember the Christian business owner from previous visits. She and her family have been running the store for more than 45 years.

“Fairouz is a dear friend in Bethlehem,” said Andrew, who a tourist from the Czech Republic, as he hugged the woman outside her store. “Every year, when I come to Bethlehem, the first thing I do is go to see Fairouz and her wonderful family.”

Although Fairouz said she was happy to see that some tourists had not forgotten her, she and other Christians painted a gloomy picture of the situation in Bethlehem on the eve of Christmas.

“We don’t feel happy,” she said. “Business is very bad, and many people have no work. It’s been another hard day for me and my family. You see many tourists and visitors from Jerusalem and Nazareth, but they hardly buy anything.”

Asked about the large number of people who had filled Manger Square since the early morning, Fairouz replied: “Many of them are Muslims. We feel as if Christmas has become a holiday for Muslims.”

Fairouz and other Christians said that they missed the days when Manger Square was open only for Christians during Christmas celebrations.

“The situation in Bethlehem was much better when the Jordanians were here,” said souvenir merchant Elias Mansour. “Then, Muslims were banned from entering Manger Square so that there would be enough room for Christians and tourists. Today, you see more Muslims celebrating Christmas than Christians. In the past few years, you see more Muslims than Christians at Manger Square.”

Both Fairouz and Mansour said that the situation in Bethlehem was “even better” when Israel was in control of the city after the Six Day War. Some of their Christian and Muslims friends, however, disagreed, claiming that the situation under the PA was better than it was when Israel was in control.

“Frankly, we were much happier when the Jews were here,” Fairouz remarked. “The conditions of Christians have worsened since the arrival of the Palestinian Authority. We are suffering from discrimination, and several Christians have been targeted by Muslims in different ways.”

Fairouz said that for the past two years she has been in court fighting to regain family-owned land that was illegally seized by Muslims. “Each time I ask the judge for permission to speak, he tells me it’s not your turn yet,” Fairouz said. “If I were a Muslim, I would have been treated differently.”

Another Christian woman who identified herself only as Diana said that “discrimination against Christians was not new and has even increased.”

The PA police, said added, have “separate rules” for Muslims and Christians.

“If, for example, there’s a car accident involving a Christian and Muslim, the police always side with the Muslim,” Diana, a school teacher, complained.

One of her relatives from the nearby town of Bet Sahour had fallen victim to the alleged discrimination, she added, without providing details.

A senior PA security official in Bethlehem denied the allegations, emphasizing that Christians and Muslims are treated equally.

“Some Christian people use personal disputes [with Muslims] as an excuse to complain about discrimination,” the official argued. “In fact, we are very sensitive to the needs and feelings of our Christian brothers and sisters. No one is above the law.”

The official was speaking hours before PA President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Palestinian officials were expected to arrive in Bethlehem to attend Christmas Eve Mass. Dozens of PA police officers sealed off the main entrances to Manger Square since the early hours of Tuesday as part of the preparations for Abbas’s arrival.

PA policemen were also present at checkpoints set up at the entrances to Bethlehem and the nearby towns of Bet Sahour and Bet Jala.

“The security measures are good, but they should be limiting the number of non-Christians entering Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity during Christmas,” said Johnny Nassar, an Arab-Israeli Christian accountant from the Gaililee who arrived with his wife and two daughters to Bethlehem already on Monday night.

“We have nothing against Muslims, but we would like the authorities here to give priority to Christian visitors and pilgrims. We already have thousands of tourists from all around the world in the city and there isn’t enough room on Manger Square. I also heard that some Muslim men have been harassing Christian women, and that’s not good. I hope the Palestinian police prevent these thugs from entering the holy site.”

Some Christian shopkeepers said they saw no reason for joy over the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visited Bethlehem since the beginning of the year. Earlier this week, PA Minister of Tourism Rula Ma’ayah, revealed that the number of tourists who had visited “Palestine” during 2019 exceeded three million.

“Most of the tourists come to Bethlehem for a few hours only,” said Eman Hazbun, a 38-year-old Christian woman working at a souvenir shop near Manger Square. “The tourists spend most of their money in Israel. They come to Bethlehem only to visit the Church of Nativity. Most of them don’t buy anything.”

According to Hazbun, those who say that the economy in Bethlehem is “very good” are either lying or engaging in self-deception. “The economic situation in Bethlehem is not that good,” she explained. “We also hold Israel responsible for the crisis because of its security measures and restrictions. We would like to see Israel remove all the walls and checkpoints. There’s no reason for all these strict measures because the situation has been calm for the past several years.”

Hazbun and other Christians claimed that Israeli tourist companies often advise their clients not to do their shopping in Palestinian-owned businesses.

Fairouz, the grocery store owner, said that many of the tourists she met in the past few days are “foreign workers” in Israel.

“The foreigner workers, most of whom are Christians, anyway don’t have a lot of money,” she said. “But they are still welcome in Bethlehem. We want to see as many visitors as possible. We want to see everyone here happy. We want to see an end to discrimination against Christians. We hope that the Palestinian Authority will improve its treatment of Christians.”

Mahmoud Jaber, a Muslim street vendor from a village near Bethlehem, said he shared the concerns expressed by several Christians. On the other hand, he said he completely disagreed with those who talk about anti-Christian discrimination.

“Don’t believe them,” said Jaber, who earns a living by selling colorful necklaces and postcards to tourists on Milk Grotto Street. “There is no discrimination against or persecution of Christians. It’s all nonsense. We are one people. I fully understand the fears of Christians, who have become a minority in Bethlehem. But what can we do about that? We need to continue living together in peace and harmony. Christians need to respect Muslims, and Muslims need to respect Christians and make sure that they feel safe and comfortable, especially on the eve of Christmas.”