As the countdown to Christmas begins in earnest, Israel is bracing to host around 40,000 Christian pilgrims. Israel’s Ynetnews reported that the country’s “Ministry of Tourism is preparing to welcome an estimated 130,000 visitors this December, including about 40,000 Christian pilgrims expected to celebrate Christmas at holy sites across the country.”
With relative calm returning to the region following President Trump’s Gaza deal, Christmas celebrations were underway in full swing in the Holy Land. The broadcaster CBN noted earlier this month that “in Jerusalem’s Old City, Christmas celebrations are picking up after two years of war.” Most of the pilgrims will be heading to holy sites in Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem.
Airline data also suggest a rise in the number of tourists and pilgrims visiting the Holy Land around Christmas. “With a ceasefire in place, airlines – and travellers – are slowly returning to Israel,” The Telegraph (UK) noted last Wednesday. “Passenger data from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport suggests that [tourists are returning to Israel]. This summer passenger numbers reached their highest levels since October 2023. British travellers are among those returning: UK visitors are up ten per cent in one year.”
The Israeli news outlet Ynetnews reported:
With the end of the war in Gaza and the return of international flights to Israel, the Ministry of Tourism is preparing to welcome an estimated 130,000 visitors this December, including about 40,000 Christian pilgrims expected to celebrate Christmas at holy sites across the country.As part of its holiday preparations, the ministry has invested more than 600,000 shekels ($160,000) in upgrades to infrastructure and festive decorations in Nazareth, a key destination for Christian tourism. The enhancements include lighting displays, fireworks and other seasonal installations. An additional 250,000 shekels ($67,000) was allocated for marketing Christmas events aimed at both international and domestic tourists.Nazareth’s annual Christmas processions are among the most prominent events for religious tourism in Israel. The ministry, through a government-backed development company, is also organizing a Christmas market in the Courtyard of the Knights’ Halls in the Old City of Acre.The Ministry of Tourism maintains ongoing ties with Christian leaders in Israel. Ahead of the holiday, Tourism Ministry Director-General Michael Izhakov and Deputy Director-General for Tourism Experience Rakefet Levy led a delegation to meet senior clergy from various denominations, offering holiday greetings and presenting gifts.
While Israeli security services remain vigilant during the holiday season, this year’s Christmas was again marred by Palestinian attacks on Christians. A church compound and a Christmas tree were set on fire in the Palestinian Authority-held city of Jenin. “The Christmas tree and Nativity Grotto at the Holy Redeemer Church of Jenin in the West Bank were destroyed in an arson attack early Monday, at approximately 3:00 a.m.” local time, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.
While Christianity thrives in Israel, the population of fellow believers continues to decline in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, demographic data shows. In the city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Christians have gone from 86% in the 1950s to merely 12% of the total population. In Nazareth, where Christ once lived and preached, the Christian community has declined from 80% to 20% in roughly the same period.
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