The government of Israel is reportedly mulling a plan to punish travel agencies whose tour groups spend the night in Bethlehem.
Travel agents who met recently with the Ministry's director general, Amir Halevy, told Haaretz that Halevy said the Ministry was considering cutting grants to tour companies if they organize overnight trips to Bethlehem, a traditionally Christian city that is part of the Palestinian Authority.
Israel's Ministry of Tourism told Haaretz that Halevy never said such a thing. But such a move would not be completely unheard of, and there is precedent for similar actions by the Israeli government against businesses that the government deems unpatriotic. For example, Israel's Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, is pushing forward a bill in parliament that would cut funding from arts institutions deemed by the government to have "degraded state symbols" or "rejected Israel as a Jewish state."
Tourism to Bethlehem has already fallen in recent months because of the wave of violence that has consumed the region since early October. Christmas festivities in the city were held this year under tight security. If the government of Israel cut funding to travel agencies that bring tourists to Bethlehem hotels, it would almost certainly harm tourism revenues even further.
