We arrive in Bethlehem

It was getting dusk as our mini-bus skirted Jerusalem and reached the checkpoint leading to Bethlehem. Our first sight of the separation barrier scarcely matched  some of those horror pics we’ve become accustomed to seeing over recent years, but as the bus eased through there was no doubt about its effectiveness. There’d be no getting over it, no getting round it. You couldn’t imagine a symbol speaking more pointedly of separation of communities and peoples.

And now we’ve just returned from an evening spent nosing around the town, with a local to guide us and explain something of the family histories of Bethlehemites going back centuries. Here are people who reckon to be descended from Bedouin who converted to Christianity in the 3^rd century, while families who lived over there, and who used to carve mother of pearl crosses, settled in the time of the Crusaders – bringing their coastal skills with them. We saw heritage plaques that tried to tell some of these stories defaced: changing populations have different perceptions of shared heritage. Today there will be some who find it hard to accept that you can be Palestinian and Christian; while hardly anyone can imagine a time when Palestinians might be Muslim, Christian or even Jewish.

 Probably there’s too much for us to take in just now: it’s been a long day, with many of us rising around 4.00 this morning – and we know that tomorrow and every day on this trip will be early starts. But there are a few facts and figures that will be buzzing round in our heads. This side of the barrier, the average wage is 30% of an average wage in Israel – yet here electricity costs 20% more, and staple foods are liable to be pricier too. And the contrast between the dimly lit streets we’ve just been strolling round and the gleaming airport we arrive at in Tel Aviv could not be greater.

But where do we fit into all of this – visitors, pilgrims, or whoever we think we are? We’ve visited one of the olive carvers’ shops. and promised to return – with a real intention I’m sure, to buy: though probably many of us will want to buy the manger set that features the modern day barrier striding through its middle. Meanwhile, we shall sleep soundly tonight in our beds in the surprisingly luxurious and well furnished Russian Orthodox Guesthouse. And outside a car continues to hoot impatiently. “How still we see thee lie?”