Grace descended upon Yasser Abed Rabbo, Faisal Husseini, and Nabil Kassis on
a cold winter Sunday evening recently just before Christmas.
The three hardened Palestinian negotiators listened with relaxed and
contented looks in a renovated St. Catherine's Church as the Vienna Boys'
Choir sang Mozart's Coronation Mass during the first concert of the
Bethlehem 2000 festivities.
That event and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's subsequent
visit to the city to inaugurate a peace center where an Israeli military
headquarters once stood, are signs that Bethlehem 2000 is taking off.
Despite the need for some last-minute cleanup and several sites that remain
unfinished, the project has already markedly improved the appearance of
this town of 40,000. The new stones, new street lamps, and restored
buildings are in step with the old, southern European ambience of
Bethlehem.
Streets around Manger Square have been converted into attractive pedestrian malls,
their storefronts daubed with turquoise paint.
Underground, there has also been a sea change - a new water system, a
sewerage system, electricity and phone lines. Some of the replaced sewerage
infrastructure dated back to the Ottoman era, according to city officials.
'Bethlehem has changed a lot in the past two years and it is becoming one
of our jewels,' said Abed Rabbo, the PA's culture minister. 'We hope this
will not be the end of the process, but on the contrary, that it will be
the launching of a process to renovate Bethlehem and make it really deserve
the third millennium.'
ABED Rabbo's comments reflect both the optimism and uncertainty of the PA and
Bethlehem leaders at the start of a year in which it is hoped that tourists will rewrite
their itineraries to include more time in the town of Jesus's birth. Increased tourism,
highlighted by the planned visit of the pope in late March, should attract
international sympathy for the PA statehood drive.
There is a sense of satisfaction and relief that most of the restoration
has been done, and confidence that the VIPs, performers, and tourists will
show up. But a daunting question remains, perhaps the only one that
matters: Will Bethlehem 2000 have a lasting impact on the economy, or,
when the festivities are over, will it be back to business - or the lack
thereof - as usual?
In the offices of Bethlehem 2000, which is not just a project but a PA
ministry, staffers stress that the efforts are aimed at making a lasting
difference.
'This is not a program of celebrations, but a development project; it is
the biggest development project in Palestine,' says spokesman Miguel
Marado.
Referring to hopes for boosting investment and tourism, Kassis, the
Bethlehem 2000 minister said, 'We hope 2000 will create the egg that will
hatch the chicken.'
He added that this would depend in large part on political stability and
progress in the peace process, so that the area projects a positive image.
'The idea is to use the celebrations to create a legacy and to keep up the
momentum,' Kassis said.
Foreign donors, including European Union countries, Japan and the United
States, have given about $160 million for Bethlehem 2000, according to Marado. The hope is that interest in the success of the peace process will induce countries to
remain involved in funding efforts, even if at a lesser level.
Marado and town manager Jamal Salman both stress that a change in the
pattern of tourism to Bethlehem will be the key to transforming the
millennium-year influx of an expected two million visitors into sustained
gains for the town.
They hope to halt the practice of tourists making lightning visits and then
returning to Jerusalem. Instead, they want visitors to base themselves in
the town or at least spend more time and money there.
'Tourists should come not for two hours, but live in the city for two or
three nights,' Salman says. 'They should not see only the Church of the
Nativity, but live with people, walk through the city, eat in our
restaurants. In other words, change their whole program.'
Samir Hazboun, head of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, says, however,
that the town is not as prepared for such a change - or for the impending
surge of tourists - as it should be. Among other things, it still lacks
adequate restaurants and entertainment facilities to accommodate the
visitors, he says.
'Bethlehem 2000 has given first priority to infrastructure. These other
projects have been given third and second place.'
By Hazboun's calculations, the city is already facing an increase in
tourism for which it is ill-equipped to maximize revenues. Since April, the
number of tour buses arriving daily has jumped from 60 to 95, he says.
'Our problem is that we need to find a way to manage with that. To get the
benefit, we need to encourage more private sector people to do projects to
support the inflow.'
Moreover, even with the building of two large luxury hotels in progress,
Bethlehem's accommodation capacity remains small. By Salman's count, the
city has 1,200 hotel rooms, though he says this is expected to rise to
3,000 during the year 2000. One major project is the Jacir Palace Hotel,
being built with the facade of a restored mansion near Rachel's Tomb.
Bethlehem's shops are booming for the Christmas holiday. |
'Bethlehem 2000 was done in a way to improve infrastructure and tourism on
a long-term basis,' says Ghassan Khatib, director of the Jerusalem Media
and Communications Center. 'They failed, however, to improve the support
structure of hotels, shops and restaurants that would allow maximum benefit
from tourism.'
In Khatib's view, there was not enough time to accomplish this. A committee
for Bethlehem 2000 was formed in 1997 and detailed planning began the
following year. Kassis took over his post as minister less than a year ago.
'Hotels can't be created by rubbing Aladdin's lamp,' Kassis said.
Still, Salman is looking ahead to when more tourists will spend the night.
With Solomon's Pools, Herodion, and the Mar Saba Monastery nearby, Bethlehem
can become a good base for the nearby sites in the West Bank, he says. In
Marado's view, its proximity to Jerusalem means it can also serve as a base
for tourists who want to spend time in the other holy city.
The municipality, according to Salman, is hoping new attractions will
induce a change in visiting patterns. These include:
Having tour buses drop visitors off at an entrance to Bethlehem's Old City, 700
meters from Manger Square, rather than at the Church of the Nativity. The
idea is to encourage people to buy in shops along the way. There are plans
to install mini-trains through the Old City to carry tourists who cannot
manage the walk.
Arranging cultural activities and evening entertainment in the new peace
center.
Opening a Nativity museum and a cultural museum.
Opening a new bus terminal, whose two top floors will be a shopping mall
known as Bethlehem City Center. The parking facility is due to open
tomorrow, but the mall section appears to be far from completion. Banks,
two cinemas, a food court, nargila cafes, and upscale restaurants will open
at the site, according to project manager Michel Jallad.
Not everyone is enthralled by the rush to make Bethlehem a tourism capital.
In Madbasa Square, Manger Square's less famous sister, shopkeepers complain
that they are having difficulty adjusting to the new Bethlehem.
'Not everyone can work in tourism,' says Hisham Kamel, 35. 'I've worked in
hardware for 15 years and I can't begin again for the tourists.'
Kamel, like other store owners, is angry that, as part of the changes, the
street leading to his store was turned into a pedestrian mall, deterring
customers who are unable or unwilling to haul his merchandise to their
cars.
The mall was funded by Germany and the square now centers around a platform
with a stone from Cologne Cathedral.
'The people who paid for this project are looking to put their names on
stones,' he said. 'No one has made schools for our children, or hospitals,
or anything useful.'
Added Mohammed Mutti, a friend: 'Ten percent of the people, those who sell
to the tourists, are being helped. The rest are watching.'
In the refurbished and barely recognizable market, there were mixed views
about Bethlehem 2000.
'A nice place is fine, but we need to sell vegetables,' said Musa Suleiman,
19. 'Taxis can't reach the souk and there is no place to park, so people
from Beit Safafa and other places outside Bethlehem won't come here.'
But Mahmoud Abdel-Salaam, 35, countered: 'This project is good for the
people of Bethlehem. We have had all of our infrastructure restored. It is
good for the tourists coming from outside, and it is very important for the
Palestinian [national] project.'
Marado dismissed the criticisms.
'These are the typical complaints you hear anywhere such work is
undertaken. Bethlehem will either be a tourist city or it will be nothing.
I understand their concern, but they are wrong. If we leave Bethlehem as it
is, it will die slowly. This had to be done.'
The famous Milk Grotto Street, where tradition holds that Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus stayed when fleeing to Egypt, now bears a striking resemblance to some of Jerusalem's more chic downtown districts - but for a towering church steeple.
Souvenir-store owner Florence Tabash says the long-term impact of Bethlehem
2000 could factor into the decisions of young people grappling with the question of whether to stay in Bethlehem.
'We are hoping it will not be only for two or three months. We want things
to continue getting better and better,' she said, as songs from a practice
session of the boys' choir wafted in from Manger Square.
'And we need peace so we can build more projects, offer more work, and give
opportunities for young people to stay.'
The Tabash family depends completely on tourism for its livelihood.
Tabash's son, Richard, a graduate of Leicester University who was
uncertain about living in Bethlehem after he finished his studies, remained
in order to be close to his family and manage a new store opened by his
father, Edward. Richard's sister, Grace, studied hotel management at
Bethlehem University. Since she does not have a permit to enter Jerusalem,
her employment prospects are also linked to the success of the local effort
to generate tourism.
Thirty people are employed in the store managed by Richard, and its sales
impact on olive-wood producers as well as diamond and gold suppliers in
Israel.
'If there is work, we can support all of the workers, and maybe add 10.
When there is no work, we can't place orders,' said Florence Tabash.
'If this turns out well, young people will feel that they have
opportunities. They will say 'Why not open a coffee shop or a nargila
place?' There are already a lot of young people who are happy inside, who
want this to go forward.'
'We hear on television that thousands and thousands of people are coming.
Some people say it will last for a while and then be the same,' Tabash
said. 'But you have to be optimistic.'
