About Elias Zuluf
About Elias Zuluf
The Bethlehem Artisan Behind Zuluf
I never planned to start a business. I just grew up around olive wood in Bethlehem, and it became part of who I am.
Beit Sahour is a small town next to Bethlehem, tucked into the Judean hills — about a ten-minute walk from the site where tradition says the angels announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds. That is where I grew up. That is still my home.
In our neighborhood, the sound of a chisel hitting olive wood is as ordinary as birdsong. My earliest memories involve watching men in dusty aprons carve nativity figures from chunks of pale, golden timber. The workshop smelled sweet and earthy. As a kid, I thought every town in the world was like this. It took me time to understand what we had was rare — and worth protecting.
Olive wood carving in Bethlehem is a centuries-old tradition, passed down through Christian families who have lived in the Bethlehem hills for generations. The families who keep it alive today face real pressures: fluctuating tourism, complicated international shipping, and a global market that rarely distinguishes genuine hand-carved Holy Land pieces from mass-produced imitations. Most of the world does not know the difference. I made it my mission to change that.
Today, Zuluf is one of the largest olive wood factories in Bethlehem and the Holy Land. More than 20 full-time staff work in our main factory, and we partner with 14+ small Christian family workshops across the Bethlehem area. I built Zuluf to connect those artisans directly with people who care — no resellers, no intermediaries, no compromises on quality. Just authentic, hand-carved gifts from the Holy Land, shipped directly to your door.
Our workshop sits near the Orthodox Shepherds Field, where tradition says the angels first announced the birth of Christ. Every piece we create carries that connection. My job is simple: keep this tradition alive by sharing it with the world, one hand-carved piece at a time.
A Family Rooted in Beit Sahour Since the 13th Century
The Jarayseh clan — the family at the root of the Zuluf name — are the first recorded inhabitants of Beit Sahour, the City of the Shepherds. Our family's presence in this land traces back to the 13th century, long before most of the surrounding villages took shape. According to historian Dr. Toma Banoura's foundational 1982 study of the town, the Jarayseh were not just early arrivals: they were the only inhabitants of Beit Sahour for a long period of time.
"The Jarayseh were the only inhabitants of Beit Sahour for a long period of time."
— Dr. Toma Banoura, Beit Sahour: History and Civilization, 1982, p. 218One specific passage in that same book traces the original settlement area of the village using a family home as its geographic reference point: the house of Antoun Youssef Abu Zuluf — our ancestor. In the scholarly record, our family's home was a landmark used to map where life in Beit Sahour first took hold. That is the ground Zuluf comes from.
Local tradition in Beit Sahour holds that our family are the Sons of Boaz — named after our great-grandfather Boaz, and believed by many locals to be descendants of the Boaz of the Book of Ruth, whose fields lay on the same hillside where our family has lived for centuries. It cannot be confirmed, but it has never been forgotten.
Beit Sahour — the City of the Shepherds — is where Luke 2:8 places the angels' announcement of Christ's birth. Our family was already living on that hillside when the Crusaders were still in the region. We did not arrive here. We have simply never left.
Pages 218–221 document the founding families of Beit Sahour and the earliest settlement geography, including direct reference to the Jarayseh clan and the house of Antoun Youssef Abu Zuluf as a geographic landmark.
Available via Internet Archive.
Our Ancestors Found Jars Filled With Gold — On Their Own Land
It was January 1936. Two men from our family — Saleh Elias Zuluf and Hanna Zuluf — were doing something entirely ordinary on their land near Beit Sahour: clearing a cave to use as a cistern. The plot was called 'Ush al-Ghurab. It had been in the family for generations.
Then their tools broke through a sealed wall. They stepped into a circular stone chamber that had not been opened in thousands of years. Inside: jars filled with gold. One complete jar. A small jug beside it. The cave was an intact Middle Bronze Age grotto, blocked by a roundish stone since before recorded memory — and our family had been walking above it their entire lives.
The Bethlehem Police were called immediately. Then the British Mandate's Department of Antiquities in Jerusalem. Inspector S. A. S. Husseini arrived, inspected the grotto, and filed a formal report recommending prosecution. The case grew urgent enough that the Antiquities office in Jerusalem was fielding direct telephone calls from police — the court outcome, they were told, "depended upon" the Inspector's report.
On 28th January 1936, Saleh Elias Zuluf and Hanna Zuluf stood before the Bethlehem Magistrates' Court, charged under Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the Antiquities Ordinance 1929. Both were fined. The gold-filled jars — held as court exhibits — were subsequently ordered returned to the family.
"Saleh Zuluf and Hanna Zuluf have discovered jars filled with gold."
— Inspector S. A. S. Husseini, Department of Antiquities, Jerusalem, 8 January 1936Three government documents survive from that file. Stamped, signed, and archived. They name our family. They name our land. The first document carries the name Saleh Elias Zuluf — the same name our family carries to this day.
We did not go looking for treasure. We were digging a cistern on land our ancestors had owned for centuries — and discovered that the ground beneath us had been keeping secrets for three thousand years.
Department of Antiquities, Jerusalem — 8 January 1936
Bethlehem Police Station — 11 February 1936
Internal note — Dept. of Antiquities, ATQ/233
Three documents: Inspector S. A. S. Husseini's field report (8 January 1936), internal routing note, and Bethlehem Police Station court outcome (11 February 1936).
Source: Israel Antiquities Authority Archives.
How Zuluf Was Built
From Small Workshop to Holy Land Leader — Since 2007
These are real photos from the Zuluf journey. From a single desk covered in olive wood shavings in 2008 to one of the largest olive wood operations in Bethlehem today — nearly two decades of firsthand work in the Holy Land.
All photos taken in Beit Sahour & Bethlehem. Every year shown is real — this is the actual Zuluf journey since 2007.
How Genuine Holy Land Olive Wood Is Made
Most people have no idea what goes into a single authentic piece of hand-carved olive wood from Bethlehem. Here is the process before anything reaches your door:
Watch It Being Made
Carving an Olive Wood Cross — Live from the Bethlehem Workshop
Filmed in our Beit Sahour factory. This is exactly how every cross leaves Bethlehem — shaped by hand, one cut at a time.
▶ Subscribe to the Zuluf YouTube Channel for more from the Bethlehem workshop
Handcrafted Olive Wood Gifts from Bethlehem
Every product in the Zuluf collection is made by hand in Bethlehem from genuine Holy Land olive wood. These are the categories I know best — and write about most:
Looking for gifts for Easter, Christmas, baptism, first communion, or confirmation? Every category above ships worldwide direct from our Bethlehem factory.
What I Write About
Everything on this blog comes from firsthand experience — not research papers or SEO briefs. I write about what I have seen, carved, shipped, and lived in Bethlehem:
The Zuluf Family in Bethlehem
This is not a one-person operation. With over 20 people in our main factory and another 14+ Christian family workshops producing alongside us, Zuluf is one of the largest olive wood operations in Bethlehem and the Holy Land.
From our master carvers to the team that hand-wraps every order, every person here is part of connecting the Holy Land to homes around the world. When you email or call Zuluf, you are talking to someone who probably helped pack your last order in Bethlehem.
"I have ordered from Zuluf three times now. Every piece is beautifully made and arrives with care. Knowing that my purchase directly supports Christian families in Bethlehem makes it even more meaningful. This is what authentic Holy Land craftsmanship looks like."— Verified Customer, United States · ★★★★★
Awards & Recognition
Palestine Exporter of the Year — 2017
In 2017, Zuluf was recognized by the Palestinian Authority with the Palestine Exporter of the Year Award in the category of Tourism Exports — Oriental Souvenirs. This government-awarded recognition confirmed Zuluf's position as the leading exporter of authentic handcrafted souvenirs from Bethlehem and the Holy Land. Elias received the award at an official ceremony — the only olive wood factory from Beit Sahour to be recognized at this level.
Frequently Asked Questions About Zuluf & Bethlehem Olive Wood
Follow the Journey from Bethlehem
I post workshop videos, carving process clips, behind-the-scenes packing, and stories from Bethlehem. Come see what handcrafted really looks like:
Read Articles by Elias
Every article on this blog is written from firsthand experience in Bethlehem's workshops. No filler, no generic content — just real knowledge about olive wood, Christian traditions, and the Holy Land from someone who lives it.
Every Piece Tells a Story from the Holy Land
Hand-carved in Bethlehem by the artisan families I work with every day. Authentic, chemical-free, and shipped directly from our factory to your home.
Shop the Zuluf Collection