ON 7 OCTOBER 2023, there were 35 pilgrims at St George’s College. Instead of visiting the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem that day, I informed them that, for safety reasons, we would be staying in the Cathedral Close in Jerusalem.
In the days that followed, we were able to do some visits, especially in Galilee, although there was a palpable sense of fear throughout the land as events unfolded. Every day, we offered our pilgrims the option to leave by the swiftest available exit, but only two people took that option. The remainder, who stayed, were impressively stalwart and trusted us to keep them safe in a time of uncertainty.
One week later, however, we decided that the time had come for the whole group to evacuate before the situation deteriorated further and the borders closed. From that day until now, we have not had a single group of pilgrims at St George’s. We have had numerous solidarity visits, most notably from Church of England archbishops and bishops (News, 21 November).
With a fragile ceasefire in place, however, and missiles currently not traversing the skies above us, we have noticed increasing numbers of pilgrims from all over the world returning to Jerusalem. Our bookings have not yet seen an upturn, but, for the first time, I am receiving enquiries. We are hoping that our pilgrimages will begin to fill up for 2026 and beyond.
I have often been asked “When will the College reopen?” I have usually replied that we have never actually been closed. It is just that either the airport was closed, travel insurance was not available, or people were (understandably) scared to come.
SINCE the ceasefire in Gaza was established, it has been noticeable that the number of international visitors has increased significantly. The Holy Sepulchre is occasionally quite busy once again.
Stories from Gaza and the wider region have somewhat retreated from the news, but no one should be under any illusion that the general situation has become peaceable. The “ceasefire” is fragile and regularly broken; and the “peace plan” is woefully inadequate and a long way short of being a realistic route to the needed solutions.
But Palestinians, including Christians, are grateful for any improvement after two years of the indiscriminate and massive destruction of Gaza, its people, its infrastructure, and its culture.
In fact, the sign of that change of mood and outlook is that, for the first time in three years, Christmas decorations in public places have been put up in their full and sparkling glory. The Bethlehem Christmas tree is up once again in Manger Square, and Christians are allowing themselves some festive celebrations.
The past two years have been painful beyond words, and the lack of overt Christmas joy has been a symptom of a far deeper grief (Comment, 22/29 December 2023). Christians in Israel-Palestine normally delight that the Advent and Christmas seasons are a time to shine and to make their presence (and Christ) known, because, as such a small percentage of the whole population, they can feel that they are barely noticed. We endured international headlines declaring “Christmas cancelled in Bethlehem”, which was not true: only public celebrations were cancelled, and we observed Christmas privately and quietly.
WE NOW believe, however, that the conditions are right for pilgrims to return. We hope that UK Christians and churches will consider St George’s as an option for them. We are an institution of the diocese of Jerusalem; so, making a pilgrimage with the College supports the ministry of local Anglicans.
Pilgrimage has to be different from some of the ways in which it was conducted before, however. Among too many groups and companies, I have noticed a reluctance even to name “Palestine”. The destination was the “Holy Land”, which seemed to be used as a fig leaf to hide what might be considered the awkward political issues.
Of course, “Holy Land” can be used, but not exclusively. An even worse option is when “Israel” is named as the pilgrimage destination, even though pilgrims would certainly visit Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, and, quite possibly, Nablus and Jericho, including the River Jordan baptism site, all of which are in Palestine.
Terminology can be awkward when people do not know all the facts, but making Palestinians and Palestine invisible should never have been acceptable for Christian pilgrims visiting Israel/Palestine. After the horrors of the genocide of Gaza and the ethnic-cleansing process in the West Bank, ensuring solidarity with all Palestinians must be a clear and stated goal for Christian pilgrims.
Solidarity can be shown in many different ways. One way is to ensure that a pilgrimage has a Christian guide; another is to stay in a hotel in Bethlehem, or in East Jerusalem. There are some good Jewish guides who do understand the local Christian community, and there are very comfortable hotels in West Jerusalem; but, if Christian groups do not support and meet the local Christian community, then that makes a very clear statement about Christian sisters and brothers in Palestine and Israel.
Throughout these two years of deep sadness and enduring pain, I have been asked, “What can we do to help?” There have been many ways to answer that, which include prayer, financial support for the churches, and advocacy.
But the best way to help now is to plan to come on a visit — whether or not that is a pilgrimage — to support the ailing economy and to listen to the voices of the suffering peoples of this land. It is important to listen to Jewish Israeli voices, too, but, ideally, in my view, these should be the voices of those who are standing in solidarity with Palestinians, and who work together for justice and peace for everyone.
The Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell is the Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem.
