The Walled Off Hotel | |
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General information | |
Type | Boutique hotel |
Location | 182 Caritas Street Bethlehem, Palestine |
Coordinates | 31°43′09″N35°12′12″E / 31.7193°N 35.2033°E |
Opened | March 3, 2017 |
Website | |
walledoffhotel |
The Walled Off Hotel is a boutique hotel in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine. It was designed by anonymous London-based artist Banksy alongside other creatives. Established in March 2017, and initially set out to only be a temporary exhibition and a word play on the Waldorf hotel chain name, [1] the hotel has since attracted nearly 140,000 visitors, [2] thanks in part to its location opposite the portion of the Israeli West Bank Barrier separating Bethlehem from the holy site of Rachel's Tomb. [3]
Established on 3 March 2017, the hotel is generally considered to be a follow-up to Banksy's 2015 Dismaland project, held for five weeks in Weston-Super-Mare in the South-West of England, making a commentary on life in coastal towns in 21st-century Britain.[ citation needed ] The reaction to the hotel as a work of art and social intervention has been mixed, especially given its location and subject matter. Critics have argued that such a building profits off tragedy, and is a case of war tourism. [4] On the topic of Banksy's Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, Palestinian artist and activist Rana Bishara criticized the initiative for commodifying the Israeli separation wall while the real wall remains a source of oppression for Palestinians. Bishara also expressed concern over the potential dehumanization of socially disadvantaged areas like the West Bank due to "dark tourism" or "tourism of suffering." [5] Nonetheless, evidence has suggested that the hotel has brought more tourism to areas of the West Bank, in turn raising awareness of the realities of the Palestinians affected by the conflict. [6]
CAMERA UK denounced a painting in the hotel of Jesus Christ with a sniper’s red dot sight on his head as in support of the antisemitic belief of Jewish deicide. [7]
Following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the Walled Off Hotel announced its closure "for the time being", "due to major developments in the region" [8]
Bethlehem is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and as of 2017 had a population of 28,591 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The West Bank, so called due to its location relative to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories that comprise the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north. Since 1967, the territory has been occupied by Israel and in 2024 an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice determined that the occupation is illegal under international law.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia recognized by 145 out of 193 UN member states. It encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, collectively known as the Palestinian territories, within the broader geographic and historical Palestine region. The country shares most of its borders with Israel, and it borders Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a total land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Ramallah serves as its administrative center. Gaza City was its largest city until 2023.
The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid". At a total length of 708 kilometres (440 mi) upon completion, the route traced by the barrier is more than double the length of the Green Line, with 15% of its length running along the Green Line or inside Israel, and the remaining 85% running as much as 18 kilometres (11 mi) inside the West Bank, effectively isolating about 9% of the land and approximately 25,000 Palestinians from the rest of the Palestinian territory.
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine. Palestine receives substantial financial aid from international donors, including governments and international organizations. In 2020, the inflation rate of -0.7% and unemployment rate was 25.9%. While exports were recorded at US$ 1 billion, with an import value of US$ 6 billion. Contributors to the national economy is service sector (47%), wholesale and repair (19%), manufacturing (12%), agriculture (7%), finance and banking (3%), construction (5%), information technology (5%) and transportation sector (2%).
Tourism in Israel is a major economic sector and a significant source of national income. Israel offers a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, natural sites, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism, adventure tourism, and ecotourism. For practical reasons, this article also covers tourism in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, since it is closely interconnected with the mass tourism in Israel. In 2019, Israel saw a record 4.55 million tourist arrivals, with tourism contributing NIS 20 billion to the national economy in 2017.
Aida, also spelled 'Ayda, is a Palestinian refugee camp situated 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the historic centre of Bethlehem and 1 km (0.62 mi) north of Beit Jala, in the central West Bank, State of Palestine.
Tourism in the Palestinian territories is tourism in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. In 2010, 4.6 million people visited the Palestinian territories, compared to 2.6 million in 2009. Of that number, 2.2 million were foreign tourists while 2.7 million were domestic. In the last quarter of 2012 over 150,000 guests stayed in West Bank hotels; 40% were European and 9% were from the United States and Canada. Major travel guides write that "the West Bank is not the easiest place in which to travel but the effort is richly rewarded."
Tent of Nations is an educational and environmental farm covering 400 dunams next to the village of Nahalin, on a hill top southwest of Bethlehem. The farm has been in Daoud Nassar's family since 1916 when his grandfather purchased the land known as Dahers’ Vineyard. The farm is now surrounded by the Gush Etzion settlement bloc.
Girl with Balloon is a series of stencil murals around London by the graffiti artist Banksy, started in 2002. They depict a young girl with her hand extended toward a red heart-shaped balloon carried away by the wind. The locations for this work include street murals in Shoreditch and the South bank in London on the Waterloo Bridge and other murals were around London, though none remain there.
Lushsux is an anonymous Australian street artist whose works have received international coverage. Based in Melbourne, he is best known for his large murals that draw on internet meme culture, as well as popular culture more broadly. He has been called "the prototypical post-Internet artist" and "Australia's answer to Banksy".
The Peace Kids is a mural depicting Srulik, a symbol of Israel, in embrace with Handala, a symbol of Palestine. It was created by Israeli artist John Kiss in dual locations: Bethlehem, Palestine and Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Palestinian enclaves are areas in the West Bank designated for Palestinians under a variety of unsuccessful U.S. and Israeli-led proposals to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The enclaves are often compared to the nominally self-governing black homelands created in apartheid-era South Africa, and are thus referred to as bantustans. They have been referred to figuratively as the Palestinian archipelago, among other terms. The de facto status in 2024 is that Israel controls all area outside these enclaves.
The Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research is a multi-faceted artist-run space for artistic, educational, cultural and agricultural exchanges and research located in Bethlehem. It was founded in 2014 by Emily Jacir; Annemarie Jacir and Yusuf Nasri Jacir are co-founders. The space is located in their 19th century family home in Bethlehem. Originally built in the late 1880's by al Mukhtar Yusuf Jacir. Emily Jacir is the Director and Aline Khoury is Program Manager.
Flying Balloon Girl, also known as Balloon Debate, is a 2005 stencil mural in the West Bank by the graffiti artist Banksy, depicting a young girl holding a bunch of seven balloons floating above the 8 meter-high wall built around the Palestinian enclave near the Qalandia checkpoint.
West Bank Wall graffiti art is street art on the walled sections of the Israeli West Bank barrier, by a wide range of international and Palestinian artists. The wall is 8 to 10 metres tall, and is easily accessible to artists as it frequently divides urban areas. The graffiti is on the Palestinian side of the wall and primarily expresses anti-wall sentiments.
Mediterranean Sea View 2017 is a set of three reworked oil paintings designed by Banksy. Each portion of the piece depicts the Mediterranean seascape filled with life vests and flotation devices beached on the shores. Originally displayed in the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, it was then donated to ABCD Bethlehem, a nonprofit medical organization. The set of three paintings was then sold in a Sotheby auction in 2020 for £2.2 million, with the proceeds donated to providing medical equipment for the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR) hospital. Two anonymous buyers bought the art, and the piece is currently in a private location.
Crossing a Line: Laws, Violence, and Roadblocks to Palestinian Political Expression is a nonfiction book by Amahl Bishara. The book is an ethnography of political expression for Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, based on Bishara's field research in the region.