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Christian tourism
File: Tourists look out over Jerusalem's Old City, as seen from the rooftop of the Austrian hospice, on a foggy winter day, January 2, 2018. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
December 29, 2018, 4:39 pm
Israel saw record-breaking 4 million tourists in 2018, says tourism ministry
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin hails ‘significant revolution in marketing Israel’ abroad
By TOI staff
A group of tourists and pilgrims visit the Church of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem, on December 12, 2018. (THOMAS COEX / AFP)
December 20, 2018, 6:04 pm
At Jesus’s birthplace, an app is born… to ease crowds
With tourism to Bethlehem on the rise, PA ministry says advance reservation system will shorten lines at entrance to Church of the Nativity
By AFP and TOI staff
A couple poses for a picture in front of the Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, inside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 12, 2018. (Thomas Coex/AFP)
December 17, 2018, 2:15 pm
Bethlehem church mosaics sparkle in time for Christmas
Experts clean, repair surviving fragments of 12th century masterworks at famed Church of the Nativity, some of which were covered by soot for centuries
By Clothilde Mraffko
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City forms the backdrop to a tour guide holding up a picture of the ancient Jewish Temple. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)
October 8, 2018, 1:06 pm
Riled tour guides warn new bill could skew tourists’ Israel experience
Legislation that would allow non-licensed guides for pilgrims and some foreign groups, set for Knesset debate this month, would lower standards, threaten livelihoods, guides say
By Sue Surkes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wishes 'Merry Christmas' on December 24, 2017. (Screen capture: Facebook video)
December 25, 2017, 12:24 am
In Christmas message, Netanyahu offers Christians personal tours of Israel
Prime minister wishes ‘Merry Christmas’ to citizens of the Jewish state celebrating the festival and to ‘our Christian friends around the world’
By JTA and TOI staff
Kathie Lee Gifford at the 2016 Greenwich International Film Festival in Greenwich, Connecticut, June 10, 2016. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for GIFF)
September 26, 2017, 3:34 am
Kathie Lee Gifford wrote a book about Israel
‘Today’ co-host chronicles her past four rabbinical study trips to the Holy Land in ‘The Rock, The Road, and the Rabbi’
By Gabe Friedman
Illustrative: A tour bus with an advertisement encouraging tourists to travel to the West Bank settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, January 6, 2015. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
April 25, 2017, 12:55 am
Gov’t agency bans all tour groups from West Bank, then says it made a mistake
Population Immigration and Border Authority says letter barring trips was issued in error; will send new missive with guidance for PA-controlled areas
By TOI staff
Foreign students of the Bethlehem Icon Center work on their painting during their course, in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem on April 11, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX)
April 13, 2017, 8:03 am
Ancient sacred art resurrected in city of Jesus’s birth
In Bethlehem, a group of enthusiasts specializing in the sacred craft of iconography work to keep the 2,000-year-old tradition alive
By Sarah Benhaida
Loa'i Ghaithe carefully applies gold trim to a specialty item. (Brett Kline/Times of Israel)
January 3, 2017, 10:29 am
From Hebron hovel to airport kiosk, on the trail of Holy Land ceramics
Tourists flock to Jerusalem and Jaffa to purchase this ornate flowery pottery — made in Palestinian workshops in the West Bank
By Brett Kline
Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, a Bible-themed Christian tourist attraction on December 8, 2016 (Matt Lebovic/The Times of Israel)
December 21, 2016, 9:31 pm
Will Florida’s ‘Holy Land’ survive another Christmas?
The Jesus Christ-themed Holy Land Experience is celebrating 15 years, but some neighbors claim the theme park is facing financial Armageddon
By Matt Lebovic
Greek Orthodox Christian pilgrims walk by a sign warning of mines as they take part in a traditional Epiphany baptism ceremony, at Qasr el Yahud on January 18, 2011. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
May 16, 2016, 12:20 pm
Jesus’s baptismal site, long sealed off, to be cleared of landmines
Churches at Qasr al-Yahud have languished behind barbed wire for five decades; now a UK anti-mine group plans to rid area of 4,000 explosives, giving pilgrims access
By TOI staff
Thousands of Brazilian Christian Evangelists wave their national flag as they march in the Feast of the Tabernacles parade in Jerusalem, October 14, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 11, 2016, 8:39 pm
Brazilian Facebook ‘followers’ of Israeli tourism exceed 2 million
Tourism Ministry hopes targeting Christian evangelicals will boost number of visitors from Latin America
By JTA
Roman Catholic clergymen carry palm fronds during the Palm Sunday procession at Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
March 23, 2016, 6:06 pm
Tomb of Jesus set for restoration work after Easter
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected
By AFP
A giant Christmas Tree being placed during Christmas preparations at Nativity Church Square in Bethlehem on November 30, 2015. (Flash90)
December 22, 2015, 11:43 pm
Looming public sector strike threatens Christmas travel
Christian group asks labor federation to exempt Ben Gurion Airport from nationwide action slated for Wednesday
By AFP
Tourists walk next to the Church of St. John the Baptist in Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood on November 03, 2015 (Lior Mizrahi/Flash90)
November 5, 2015, 3:37 am
For tourists to Israel, stabbings less daunting than rockets
Despite a wave of 69 stabbing and other attacks over the last month, it’s largely business as usual for Israel’s tourism industry — for now
By Simona Weinglass
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