wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Christian tourists overcome fear, return to Israel

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Note #8549 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04479
October 28, 2004

Christian tourists overcome fear, return to Israel

by Michele Chabin
Religion News Service

JERUSALEM - After a nearly four-year hiatus sparked by the Palestinian
"intifada," or uprising, Christian tourists are coming back to the Holy Land.

	Their presence can be felt on the streets of downtown Jerusalem,
where tour buses are again making an appearance; in large restaurants that
can accommodate tour groups; and in local hotels, virtually all of which were
forced to lay off staff after the September 2000 uprising. Many hotels,
particularly in Bethlehem in the West Bank and Nazareth in  northern Israel,
were forced to close their doors completely.

	With the return of tourism, a few have reopened.

	In response to the upsurge in Christian tour groups and individuals,
some of the long-shuttered shops in the colorful Arab shuk (market) in the
walled Old City of Jerusalem have reopened their gates. Shopkeepers there
estimate that 50 percent of their colleagues lost their businesses due to the
dearth of Christian and Jewish tourists, whose numbers have also risen
considerably in recent months.

	Though hardly up to the standards of the year 2000, when Israel
welcomed a record-breaking 2.6 million visitors, 1.5 million of them
Christians, the most recent statistics are cause for optimism. During the
first six months of this year 216,000 Christians arrived, compared with
290,000 for all of 2003.

	Assuming the security situation does not deteriorate markedly in the
coming months, Ministry of Tourism officials expect at least 500,000
Christian pilgrims to arrive by New Year's Eve. All told, ministry officials
believe 1.5 million visitors will come to Israel by the end of 2004.

	Israel's tourism minister, Gideon Ezra, who doubles as the minister
of internal security, credits the recent influx first and foremost to the
sharp drop in terror attacks during the past year.

	"Security in Israel is higher than it has been in recent years, and I
think that people who have wanted to come since 2000 but have been afraid to
do so are now feeling more comfortable," Ezra said in an interview. "Since
9/11 people realize that terror exists everywhere."

	At the same time that it has been fighting terror, the Israeli
government has courted Christians from various denominations through official
and unofficial channels.

	Israeli legislators and other emissaries regularly travel abroad to
meet with clergy and lay leaders. The tourism ministry sends delegations to
large Christian conferences and sponsors "familiarization" tours for
Christian tour operators.

	Much like Diaspora Jews, who since the start of the uprising have
made it a point of visiting Israel on "solidarity" missions, an increasing
number of Christians are planning Holy Land trips as a way of supporting
local Christians - or Jews.

	Catholics, whose pilgrimages plummeted 90 percent between January
2001and the start of this year, have begun heeding Pope John Paul II's call
to visit the Holy Land in part to give comfort - and business - to the area's
long-suffering Christians.

	A large percentage of local Christians derived their incomes from
pilgrimages and were particularly hard hit when they ceased. Hundreds of
Christian families have emigrated during the past four years due to both the
economic crises and security situation.

	Raji Khoury, the owner of Shepherd Tours in East Jerusalem and the
president of the Arab Tourist and Travel Association, said that he was forced
to lay off the majority of his employees at the end of 2000.

	Khoury, whose late father was the Lutheran minister of Bethlehem,
recalled how "before the intifada I averaged 30 groups a month. I wouldn't be
exaggerating if I told you that between January 2001 and today I've had only
15 groups. And these are small groups."

	The majority of Khoury's recent arrivals have been Italian and French
Catholics on organized church tours, "but there have also been some
Protestants from Germany, and evangelicals from America who are coming in
support of Israel," he said.

	As they have for the past quarter-century, thousands of evangelical
Christians flew to Israel in September to take part in the annual Feast of
the Tabernacle. They also participated in the first-ever Pray for the Peace
of Jerusalem Day. The weeklong conference, which contributed at least $10
million to the Israeli economy in the form of hotel nights, meals and gift
purchases, was organized by the International Christian Embassy, a pro-Israel
evangelical ministry headquartered in Jerusalem.

	At the feast's rousing opening-night ceremony, Embassy executive
director Malcolm Hedding elicited wild applause and cries of praise when he
declared: "Now is the time to come to Israel and stand by her, not just when
things are going fine. It's the difficult times when our sincere love and
concern stand out most."

	Continuing the theme, Rami Levy, Israel's tourism ambassador to North
and South America, told the pilgrims: "You're doing a wonderful job by being
here. If each and every one of you could bring one person (to Israel),
imagine how much of a change it would make to the Israeli economy."

	Palestinians, even more than Israelis, need an influx of pilgrims to
rebuild their teetering economy, which has been crippled by years of violence
and repeated Israeli military closures in Bethlehem and other sites of
Christian interest.

	Bajis Ismail, director general of the Palestinian Ministry of
Tourism, admitted that Palestinians whose livelihoods depend on pilgrimages
have not yet seen the improvement the Israelis speak of.

	"The problem is that most of those who visit Bethlehem, for example,
don't stay here," Ismail noted. "They stay over in Jerusalem. Most of our
hotels are closed and most restaurants are not functioning fully. The
souvenir shops don't have much business."

	Ismail expressed hope that this will soon change, his tone
fluctuating between pragmatism and optimism.

	"We are expecting some European groups in the coming days," he said.
"Perhaps we'll be able to judge any improvement after their visit."

	Ismail promised that those determined enough to enter the West Bank
will return home unscathed and well fed.

	"The pilgrims who come know that it is completely safe here, and that
the Palestinians are a very hospitable people," Ismail said.

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