Crib, Wise Men and Separation Wall

December 23rd, 2009 • Awareness, News
Tags: bethlehem, crafts, nativity, separation wall, the guardian

Bethlehem’s modern nativity scene

A Palestinian worker makes souvenirs at the Giacaman olive wood factory in Bethlehem.

The shelves of Bethlehem’s tourist shops this winter are filled with the gifts you might expect. There are countless carved olive-wood crucifixes, angels and last suppers. But there are also unexpected nativity scenes complete with Joseph, Mary, crib, wise men and large Israeli concrete wall with military watchtower.

Israel’s vast separation barrier is at its most prominent around Bethlehem. Here it is a tall concrete wall that crosses into the occupied West Bank, runs up tight against the Palestinian city and cuts it off from much of its farmland. For Palestinians it has become one of the most striking symbols of Israel’s 42-year military occupation.

In some of these modern interpretations of the nativity the wall cuts through the centre of the scene, dividing wise men and camels from the crib. At the Holy Land Arts Museum, on Bethlehem’s Manager Square, the Giacaman family sells a different version, carved carefully to scale with three slices of wall and a looming watchtower. These pieces are not cheap: the full-size version, made from olive wood and with a thick Cyprus-wood watchtower nearly 50cm tall, sells for hundreds of pounds. They are made only to order.

“It’s important that people see what is really happening here,” said Elias Giacaman, 27. “We could have said the scale doesn’t matter, but I wanted it to be actually accurate to show the real image of the wall.”

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