On May 31 of this year, the universal Church celebrated Pentecost, and the Holy Land is preparing with hope to close the cycle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The world leaves behind 3 hard months, lived here with very few cases: the dead do not exceed 280 people.
Easter, Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish, discreet, muted. Ramadan under de-escalation, without crowds and with the esplanade of al-Aqsa also deserted, silent, like all Jerusalem: empty.
The Holy Land is preparing for the return to normality, which has been gradual throughout the month of May. For the Ascension, almost all schools and workplaces are already open; only the hotel business remains, for the moment, dormant.
The main challenge, as for the rest of the world, is to return to what was once everyday life, to the routine of a naturally bustling land, where the hustle and bustle of people from all over the world is a constant. Israel entered the Covid stage with an 18 % increase in pilgrims in the first two months of the year; more than 5 million were expected by 2020. Religious tourism is key for the two political entities that constitute the Holy Land, Israel and Palestine.
Re-creating wealth will depend on the ability of both countries, Israel and Palestine, to attract tourism that can feel safe and free from contagion, with full health guarantees.
In the midst of this turmoil, an even more important issue remains latent: the crisis of families, especially in Palestine, whose members are left without work because they depended directly or indirectly on tourism, and where, unlike Israel, there is no unemployment benefit.
From the Christian Information CenterThe Franciscans, where the Franciscans make reservations for celebrations in all the sanctuaries of the Holy Land, have confirmed reservations for the month of August by groups from Poland. And the possible arrival of other pilgrims from Greece, Cyprus or Ukraine is foreseen. With more hope, it is possible to think that Europe will perhaps timidly reappear in October.
Professor of Islamology (Jerusalem)
