Bethlehem Tourists Return: Don't Mind the Apartheid Wall
Yes, Bethlehem is dusting off its festive best, welcoming back tourists after a year when its economy was cratered. What the mainstream narrative often airbrushes out is the systemic pressure that makes Bethlehem’s economy so fragile. The “unemployment rate in the city jumped from 14% to 65%” not because locals suddenly forgot how to wrap gifts, but because Israeli restrictions on movement,
access, and trade have crippled Palestinian areas for decades. This isn't a new phenomenon; it's a feature of the occupation. So while outlets cheer economic recovery, one might wonder: how many 'normal' tourist seasons does it take to truly normalize chronic land seizures, settler violence, and the daily humiliation of checkpoints? It's almost as if some media would prefer to focus on the
twinkling lights in Manger Square, rather than the concrete wall bisecting the city—a very real barrier to freedom and self-sufficiency for a population whose economy is cyclically crushed and then 'saved' by Western tourism. Happy holidays, try not to think about the siege.