How the childhood home of Jesus is praying for a new saviour… tourism

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SHIRA RUBIN

Christmas celebrations, such as re-enactments of the Nativity scene, are failing to attract the number of visitors Nazareth needs.

them at home and then sell them online at cheaper prices across the globe.

Elias Mattar, the chef at the trendy Locanda restaurant in the newly opened Ramada Nazareth Hotel, said the weeks between December 15 and the beginning of the New Year can translate into as much as two months’ profit and set the tone for the rest of the business year.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, Israel is expecting a spike in tourists this Christmas holiday, though it said the vast majority of Christian visitors plan to visit only the holy sites in Jerusalem.

In the winding alleys of Nazareth’s Old City the week before Christmas, there were only a handful of tourists, most of whom came from Jewish towns in Israel.

Mr Mattar said the economic difficulties deter Christians from remaining in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. Before the Jewish state was established in 1948, this city boasted a Christian majority of more than 60 per cent. Today, Christians

comprise population.

The Christian exodus has been under way for decades, but accelerated in recent years because of a combination of economic hardship, low birth rates and what some say is discrimination by the Israeli government.

In October, the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, told Pope Francis that there is a “disturbing situation in the Holy Land” in which the “historic rights of Christians are being undermined.”

Mr Mattar, like many Christians in the region, has relatives living abroad, and says that if he had the opportunity, he would leave the area.

“It’s unreal the extent to which politics enters everything here, even in Nazareth — the symbol of Christianity,” he said. “The situation is not normal.”

Meanwhile, it emerged that the seven nations that sided with the United States and Israel in a vote on President Trump’s

only

30

per

cent

of

the

recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital are all small and obscure as world players.

The UN General Assembly resolution declaring “null and void” Mr Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem ended with a 128-9 vote, with 35 nations abstaining.

Those that joined the US and Israel were Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo. Four of the countries — Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau — have combined populations less than Boise, Idaho. Nauru, for example, has a population of 10,000.

The combined land mass of all seven countries puts it between that of Illinois and Florida.

Of those who abstained, two are the United States closest neighbours, Canada and Mexico. The others are allies across the globe.