Fact-finding Tours

Open Bethelehem’s programme of Fact-Finding tours for 2007 is sponsored by Trocaire.



A Belgian delegation surveys a section of the wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.

The Cardinal of Washington visits Bethlehem

Why not sponsor a delegation from your own city or state? From senators or parliamentarians, to pastors and Bishops, or even journalists, a little first-hand knowledge goes a long way. Open Bethlehem can help your community leaders arrive at an informed decision on one of the most important issues of the day.

Since our launch, Open Bethlehem has hosted more than 100 fact-finding tours, becoming a key address for international delegations visiting Palestine. We have hosted diplomats, politicians and religious leaders, whether Christian churchmen or Muslim and Jewish community leaders. We also provide background tours for journalists, documentary-makers and television news crews, as well as tour agencies and researchers from travel publications, such as The Lonely Planet Guide.


Leila Sansour with American delegates for Sabeel Conference.

Carol Dabdoub gives a television  interview by the sealed gate on the historic pilgrimage trail.

Though our program focuses on the Wall, we are happy to organize tours of Bethlehem’s civil institutions, refugee camps, charities and industry. We also endeavor to provide tailor-made tours for academics and historians, visiting Bethlehem’s Christian shrines and Roman ruins. The Bethlehem wilderness, which stretches from our city to the Dead Sea, is the West Bank’s most important ecological site and home to the first ever monasteries, including the breath-taking Mar Saba Greek Orthodox monastery.

Bethlehem’s political situation and unique heritage attracts artists, writers and political scientists. Open Bethlehem also provides tours to support their projects or research.

We make every effort to suit the needs of our visitors and, at times, their tight schedules. In 2007, we will continue to accommodate high-profile international delegations thanks to the support of Trocaire. We also hope to provide tours for individuals and private groups. This may not always be possible, but why not give us a call and find out? You can contact our office in Bethlehem on + 970 22777993 or e-mail us at admin@openbethlehem.org

If you fundraise to send a delegation from your state or region, you will all be guaranteed a life-enhancing experience. Your testimony when you return home will be more powerful than anything we could say. Become an ambassador for Bethlehem.

Urgent: If a delegation from your region is visiting Israel, help them to see that it is not acceptable to tour Israel without coming to Palestine and visiting our city.
The historian Dr Joan Taylor on her research visit to Bethlehem.

Read Dr Joan Taylor’s essay on the history of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, birthplace of Christ and one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. 

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