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Bethlehem’s olive wood carvers

As Christmas tourists begin to arrive in the city, craftspeople are hoping that a difficult year will end well.

In a small workshop in Beit Jala, Jeries Lolas manages the family(***)s olive wood carving business. Lolas(***) grandfather founded the business more than seven decades ago, although the existing workshop was established more recently.
By Rich Wiles
Published On 19 Dec 2014

Beit Sahour is the heart of the olive wood carving industry in Palestine. Among its population of about 15,000, the small town that neighbours Bethlehem boasts 135 registered olive wood carving workshops. Bethlehem also houses many workshops, along with Beit Jala to the north.

Historians believe olive wood was first carved in Bethlehem by monks in the fourth century after the construction of the Nativity Church, but it was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that the work was industrialised, as Franciscan and Italian pilgrims reportedly trained artisans in the Bethlehem area. The production and sale of olive wood carvings has since become a notable part of the regional tourism industry.

Despite its long history, the industry today faces many challenges. Tens of thousands of olive trees have been destroyed, uprooted or annexed by Israel’s separation wall and settlement infrastructure, while ongoing political instability has hurt tourism. Still, as Christmas tourists begin to arrive in Bethlehem this month, olive wood carvers are hoping that a difficult year will end well.

  

  

Palestinian artisans have produced olive wood carvings for centuries. Although some workshops now use lasers, many artisans prefer to work each piece individually by hand.
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Originally the carving industry in the Bethlehem area was sustained by local trees, but with an increased number of workshops and many olive groves lost to construction of Israel(***)s separation wall and settlements, most carvers now buy their wood from the Jenin and Nablus areas in northern West Bank.
Thick layers of sawdust cover every inch of the Lolas(***) workshop in Beit Jala.
Some carvers wear face masks to prevent inhalation of the fine sawdust, which can cause respiratory problems after years of work.
After carving, pieces are initially placed above a wood-burning fire before being laid out in the sun for 24 hours to complete the drying process.
The Giacaman family has carved olive wood for nearly 100 years. Khader Giacaman is among the fourth generation of his family to carve in the workshop on Bethlehem(***)s Milk Grotto Street, which was established by his great-grandfather in 1955.
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Yusef Giacaman says the wholesale price of olive wood has risen substantially amid ongoing settlement construction: (***)We have lost so much land and so many trees. We used to buy a tonne of wood for $150, but now it can cost as much as $600 or even $700 for good quality wood.(***)
Jeries Lolas says the vast majority of his carvings are sold to international tourists. Many carvings focus on Bethlehem(***)s Christian heritage, the main source of tourism in the area.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: (***)After four decades of Israeli occupation, only approximately 13 percent of the Bethlehem governorate(***)s land is available for Palestinian use.(***) Once completed, the separation wall will isolate about 74sq km of land and water resources in the Bethlehem area, including thousands of dunums of olive groves, UNOCHA says. 
Olive wood must be stored for up to one year at factories before it can be carved, in order to dry out the fresh wood. No living trees are ever cut down for carving; instead, branches are pruned to ensure the olive industry(***)s sustainability. Dead or diseased trees are used for larger carvings.
According to Ibrahim Odeh, manager of the Odeh olive wood factory in Beit Sahour: (***)Two hundred people from Beit Sahour used to work in the casino in Jericho that closed during the Intifada; others worked in Jerusalem. All that work has gone now. Those people either went into the olive wood industry or emigrated. If a man cannot provide for his family, what can he do?(***)
After Salam Musleh was shot and killed by an Israeli settler in 1991, his father, Jalal, had his Israeli work permit rescinded by the Israeli government. Unable to find other work, Jalal established a small olive wood factory in Beit Sahour.  
Jalal Musleh works with three friends and family members in his two-room workshop in Beit Sahour. (***)I could earn more money when I worked inside Israel, but they cancelled my permit,(***) he said. (***)[This year(***)s] Gaza war hit the industry hard and tourists stopped coming here. This should be our busiest period now, but I am not seeing much work. If a man has good work he can live and eat, but like this we have nothing.(***)
An elderly Palestinian street vendor attempts to sell rosaries and olive wood pendants to tourists in Bethlehem(***)s Manager Square. Up to 100,000 tourists are expected to visit Bethlehem this Christmas. However, many carvers complain that the majority of the tourists are brought by Israeli tourism agencies who take them to Israeli shops to buy souvenirs before they arrive in Bethlehem. 
(***)Because of the Gaza war this summer and political instability in the wider region, many tourist groups have cancelled their trips to Palestine,(***) said Suzan Sahouri of the Bethlehem Fair Trade Association. (***)As 70 percent of Bethlehem(***)s economy comes from tourism, this is a huge problem. Since the summer, I know of 10 artisan families who have emigrated due to the economic pressure brought on by the occupation.(***)