In town of Jesus’ birth, craftsmen take on Chinese imports
Some souvenir shops are trying to go against the tide by stocking locally made products
Christmas is approaching and pilgrims and tourists have begun to arrive, crowding the souvenir shops that line the narrow streets and alleys of Bethlehem, the biblical town revered as Jesus’ birthplace.
But when visitors choose to take a piece of the Holy Land back home with them, they better check the labels. Many souvenirs – including the West Bank town’s trademark rosary beads – are imported, mainly China.
A small number of souvenir shops are now trying to fight the trend, stocking their shelves almost exclusively with locally made products. Shopkeepers say that while their wares may be more expensive, the quality is much better and they give an important boost to the struggling economy.
I’ve got nothing that is made overseas except for one thing, that’s the magnets ... Everything else is made locally so I can keep the local economy working
“I’ve got nothing that is made overseas except for one thing, that’s the magnets. It’s something that sells for cheap and people want them,” said Bassem Giacaman, owner of the Blessings Gift Shop and The Olive Wood Factory. “Everything else is made locally so I can keep the local economy working.”
Some 120,000 people are expected to visit the Holy Land this holiday season, half of them Christian, according to Israel’s Tourism Ministry.
Many will visit Bethlehem, where globalisation has left its imprint like everywhere else. Foreign-made crafts, especially Chinese ones, have come to represent a big part of the market here, including Christmas souvenirs. While there are no official statistics, local officials and businesspeople estimate that nearly half of the products, perhaps more, are imported.