Invisible Bethlehem

As Christians flock to the birthplace of Jesus, the plight of the city's Palestinian inhabitants goes unnoticed.

By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera

"On Christmas Eve, Christian pilgrims from all over the world flock to the birthplace of Jesus Christ, while millions more remember it in prayers and carols. But the Palestinian inhabitants of Bethlehem remain virtually invisible to most Christians, who treat the tiny city as an almost mythical place that somehow exists beyond the realm of the real world.

This apathy, particularly but not exclusively felt in the West, largely reflects a widespread and willful ignorance - for in choosing to think of Bethlehem as an imaginary town, one abandons any responsibility to question Western, and especially American, support for Israel or to show solidarity with an indigenous population living under occupation.

Where are the witnesses?

There are a growing number of Western activists who lead solidarity campaigns with the Palestinians or choose to be at the forefront of non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation - sometimes risking and even losing their lives in the process - but I am continually puzzled by how the throngs of tourists who visit Bethlehem do not become honest witnesses to the Israeli suffocation of a city that is so revered in Christian prayers the world over.....

A recent study by Human Rights Watch cited the village of Jub Il Dib, in the district of Bethlehem, as an example of the devastating effect of racial discrimination as resources are channelled to the Jewish settlements that surround the Arab communities.

Tourists may not visit Jub Il Dib and may be excused for not knowing about what is happening there, but as they pass through the gate in Israel's separation fence, they may get a glimpse of what life is like for the besieged residents of Bethlehem who must have a permit to cross that same wall into Jerusalem or neighbouring Palestinian towns.

Bethlehem is by no means unique in its suffering; Gaza is most certainly suffering the most stifling blockade inflicted upon the Palestinians. But as pilgrims enter Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, I hope that the religious sentiments that accompany their pilgrimage will open their eyes to the hardships experienced daily by the city's residents - and to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity."