The Walled Off Hotel
The Walled Off Hotel is a boutique hotel designed by anonymous London-based artist Banksy alongside other creatives. It is located in Bethlehem, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Ben Gurion Airport. Established in March 2017, and initially set out to only be a temporary exhibition, the hotel has since attracted nearly 140,000 visitors,[1] 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.[2] The hotel is considered to be a key piece of social commentary on the Palestinians affected by the Israeli-Palestine Conflict and billed as having "the worst view of any hotel in the world".[3]
| The Walled Off Hotel | |
|---|---|
 The building's exterior in 2017 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Boutique hotel |
| Location | 182 Caritas Street Bethlehem, Palestine |
| Coordinates | 31.7193°N 35.2033°E |
| Opened | March 3, 2017 |
| Website | |
| walledoffhotel | |
History
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.
Critical reception
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]
Critics have described some art works as antisemitic and have denounced the Holocaust imagery in several displays: "including a scale whereby one Jewish tooth outweighs hundreds of Palestinian teeth; a glass case containing clothing and shoes of Palestinian children. The painting of Jesus Christ with a sniper’s red dot sight on his head is perceived by critics as an antisemitic libel of Jewish deicide.[7]
Gallery
Exterior at night (2022)
See also
References
- Fisher, Ian (16 April 2017). "Banksy Hotel in the West Bank: Small, but Plenty of Wall Space". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Worrall, Simon (December 3, 2017). "The Little Town of Bethlehem Has a Surprising History". National Geographic. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- https://www.sky.com/story/amp/banksy-nativity-appears-at-his-walled-off-hotel-in-bethlehem-11892985
- Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (7 September 2017). "'Worst view in the world': Banksy opens hotel overlooking Bethlehem wall". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- Milani, Tommaso M. (2022-08-08). "Banksy's Walled Off Hotel and the mediatization of street art". Social Semiotics. 32 (4): 545–562. doi:10.1080/10350330.2022.2114730. ISSN 1035-0330. S2CID 251943368.
- Cook, Johnathan (22 December 2018). "Inside Banksy's The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem". The National. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- "Art at Banksy's Bethlehem Hotel gives lie to media claim he merely seeks 'dialogue'". 7 March 2017.
