Bansky graffiti: Gone

You can’t make stuff like this up.

BETHLEHEM, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Offended Bethlehem residents have painted over a satirical mural by graffiti artist Banksy that was meant to highlight their plight.

The elusive British street artist painted six images around the town revered as the birthplace of Jesus to help drum up tourism ahead of Christmas and to illustrate the hardships faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

But the irony behind a painting of an Israeli soldier checking a donkey’s identity papers — a jab at the Jewish state’s strict security measures — was lost on some locals, who found it offensive and painted over it.

“We’re humans here, not donkeys. This is insulting. I’m glad it was painted over,” said restaurant owner Nasri Canavati. Comparing someone to a donkey in Palestinian society is like calling them an idiot.

Banksy’s images have fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. His London spokeswoman said a U.S. buyer had reportedly offered $150,000 for a piece of wall in Bethlehem bearing another of his paintings, and estimated the donkey mural was worth at least tens of thousands of dollars.

This is on the heels of multiple stories discussing how great the tourism season is in Bethlehem this year. Let’s think as to why this year is different from the past seven years. Hm. What’s different? Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink.

According to the AFP, these are the reasons:

But falling levels of violence, revived peace talks and what Batarseh credits as encouragement from churches in promoting support for one of the holiest sites in Christendom is encouraging the tourists back en masse.

Hm. Let’s see. Church support? Naaah. That’s not it. Revived peace talks? Feh. Tourists don’t give a damn about Annapolis. Falling levels of violence? Gee, ya think? The fact that bombs aren’t going off on buses and in cafes and markets, bullets aren’t flying in Manger Square, and molotov cocktails aren’t being tossed at passing cars might—just might—have something to do with it.

Before the Palestinian uprising broke out in September 2000, nearly a million tourists and Christian pilgrims visited Bethlehem each year.

Astonishing, isn’t it, how the media refuses to credit the real reason with the tourism revival? Just as the editors and writers must be dying this year because they can’t write their typical “Israel is killing Christmas” stories if the damned tourists show up in droves.

But fear not. They’re still pumping out the anti-fence stories, and pretending that Joseph and Mary (two nice Jewish kids with a baby Jewish boy) were Palestinians. And then there’s the Anti-Israel Nativity Scene available this year, complete with separation fence keeping the Wise Men out of Bethlehem.