NEWS SIDEBAR: Holy Land Tourism Persists Despite Violence

c. 2000 Religion News Service BEIT JALLAH, West Bank _ The Christian ministers, ranging from evangelicals to Catholic priests, stepped gingerly out of the Israeli tour buses and over the dirt that had been piled up on this back road tucked amid olive terraces. On the other side of the barricade, two Palestinian tour buses […]

c. 2000 Religion News Service

BEIT JALLAH, West Bank _ The Christian ministers, ranging from evangelicals to Catholic priests, stepped gingerly out of the Israeli tour buses and over the dirt that had been piled up on this back road tucked amid olive terraces.

On the other side of the barricade, two Palestinian tour buses waited, their drivers eager to greet the delegation of clergy making their way into Bethlehem in advance of the Christmas season.


Until just this week, the main entry into the city of the Nativity had been closed by Israeli military orders. But Israeli and Palestinian tour operators, desperate for a little business, had quickly worked out a way to circumvent the closure.

This particular group of ministers was eager to see what the arrangements were. Most were tour group leaders who regularly visit the Holy Land and wanted to see for themselves just how badly the recent Israeli-Palestinian violence had disrupted access to the major pilgrimage routes.

What they found is that most holy sites in Israel are still accessible _ and largely safe _ for tourists, even if you have to take a roundabout way to reach them.

Most of the ministers came away impressed at how easily major tourism sites in Israeli-controlled Jerusalem and Nazareth could still be reached. And while chronic Israeli-Palestinian clashes on Bethlehem’s periphery have made entry to the town of the Jesus’ birth more difficult, pilgrims from places as far-flung as Poland and Africa could still be found roaming through Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, in the historic core of the city.

In general, the pattern of violence near Holy Land tourism sites has assumed a relatively predictable pattern, which tour operators and foreigners living here have quickly learned to avoid, noted the Rev. Lyndell Browning, a 36-year resident, addressing the visiting clergy.

In Jerusalem’s Old City, for instance, Fridays are considered a bad day for sightseeing, because Muslim noontime prayers have been a focus for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police. On the other hand, if Bethlehem’s main entrance happens to be closed, due to the chronic violence around the contested religious shrine of Rachel’s Tomb, then tour operators use a “back door” to the city via the Christian suburb of Beit Jallah. Beit Jallah is usually peaceful by day _ even though it has been the scene of violent Israeli-Palestinian exchanges in the late afternoon and evening. And so goes the litany.

“Tourists aren’t targeted, and the tour guides know very well how to avoid the hot spots, when they might develop,” said Browning, who heads a Church of the Nazarene congregation here.


Such comments won’t sound very reassuring to many American tourists, who don’t like to feel that their security is threatened in any way whatsoever, said the Rev. Russell Williams.

“I’m pretty adventuresome. But the idea of roadblocks and having to change buses will scare most Americans. It’s not going to make my people feel much more comfortable,” said Williams, pastor of Arlington Baptist Temple in Arlington, Texas.

However, other members of the group felt reassured by the relatively peaceful scenes that they could observe in Jerusalem and Bethlehem during a five-day visit to the area _ scenes that contrasted sharply with the evening news reports of violence occurring in neighboring West Bank and Gaza communities.

“Visiting the Church of the Nativity was more relaxing this time,” added the Reverend Fre-Well Malone, noting that he wasn’t crushed in the usual press of crowds. Malone, who heads an evangelical church in Waycross, Ga., said he’d be returning soon with a group of church members. “And no, we’re not afraid. We preach faith, and in particular, if people come here they believe that God will protect them.”

KRE END FLETCHER

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