JESUS WAS PALESTINIAN

Pope unveils nativity scene with baby Jesus wrapped in Palestinian keffiyeh

In a ceremony held at the Vatican, Pope Francis presented the annual nativity scene, which features baby Jesus dawned in a Palestinian keffiyeh.

The New Arab Staff
08 December, 2024


Pope Francis has been vocal about Israel's current war on Gaza and has called for an end to the onslaught 

Pope Francis unveiled the annual nativity scene at the Vatican on Saturday, which this year featured baby Jesus dressed in a Palestinian keffiyeh.

The scene, crafted by Palestinian artists from Bethlehem, features a Bethlehem Star with the Latin and Arabic inscription: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to all people." It also includes figures of the Holy Family carved from olive wood.

The keffiyeh is a traditional head and face covering worn by many around the Middle East. The Palestinian keffiyeh is seen as a national symbol and is emblematic of the struggle against Israeli occupation.

The nativity scene was organised with the Palestinian Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, the Palestinian Embassy to the Vatican, and Dar Al-Kalima University in collaboration with the Beitcharilo Center.

Pope Francis was also joined by Ramzi Khouri, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Executive Committee and head of the Palestinian Presidential Committee for Church Affairs.


A view of Nativity Scene, crafted in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, with Baby Jesus' crib covered by a Palestinian kaffiyeh donated by delegates of the Palestinian Embassy to the Holy See, in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 | Photo: AP/Andrew Medichini
The Pope also presented two Palestinian children, who were representing the committee, with a Bethlehem star, which is seen as a reminder of the plight Palestinian children are currently facing.

After the nativity was shown, a mass for peace and a ceasefire in Palestine was held at the Angeli Chapel. It was led by Ibrahim Faltas, Deputy Custodian of the Holy Land, alongside Father Ibrahim Shomali and Monsignor Marco.

Pope Francis has been vocal about Israel's current war on Gaza and has called for an end to the onslaught.

"Enough wars, enough violence! Did you know that one of the most profitable industries here is weapons manufacturing? Profit from killing. Enough wars!" he said at the event.

"As our eyes fill with tears, we lift up our prayers for peace, that peace may reign over the entire world, and for all people whom God loves."

Pope recently became a target of pro-Israel figures after calling for an investigation into whether Israel's war on Gaza amounts to genocide. He also decried the deaths of children in the Palestinian territory and Israel's attacks on a Gaza church.

Outrage after Vatican hosts 'Jesus in keffiyeh' nativity scene

One online commentator wrote, "The pope is exploiting Christmas to advance the ridiculous effort to rebrand Jesus as Palestinian rather than what he was – a Jew who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of a Messiah."
 

By Miri Weissman
Published on 12-08-2024

ISRAEL HAYOM 



A Nativity Scene crafted in Bethlehem and displayed at the Vatican's Paul VI hall features a distinctive and controversial addition this year – a cloth that appeared to be a Palestinian keffiyeh (traditional head dress) covering the baby Jesus' manger, donated by the Palestinian Embassy to the Holy See. The inclusion of the traditional Arab scarf has sparked discussion.

The display has drawn particular attention for its connection to Jesus' historical Jewish identity, as he was born to Jewish parents in what was then the Roman province of Judea.

Pope Francis arrives to hold an audience with donors of the St. Peter's Square Christmas tree and Nativity scene, at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, December 7, 2024 (Photo: Reuters/Remo Casilli)

One online commentator wrote, "Does the pope think Jesus wasn't a Jew either? Did he even read the Bible?" Another outraged X user wrote, "The pope is exploiting Christmas to advance the ridiculous effort to rebrand Jesus as Palestinian rather than what He was – a Jew who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of a Messiah."

THEIR AHISTORICAL ISLAMOPHOBIC CLAIM IS THAT PALESTINE NEVER EXISTED

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The Greatest Story Never Told? 

Why we need to talk about Jesus' ‘blackness’

Richard Sudan
21 Dec, 2022

Jesus was one of the most important figures in history, his whitewashing has been used to justify white supremacy, colonialism and imperialism, this is why we must ‘tell the truth’ about him, argues Richard Sudan.

A painting of a black Jesus hanging up at Saint Margaret of Scotland Catholic school. [Photo by Mark Gail/The The Washington Post via Getty Images]

Jesus was a black Palestinian revolutionary, who was born in Africa. To some, this might seem a controversial statement, but when considering the facts, reaching such a conclusion is obvious.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, which at the time of his birth was considered part of North East Africa.

The term Middle East wasn’t coined until the 1850s after the creation of the Suez Canal by the British, long after the lifetime of Jesus.

Naturally, the appearance and characteristics of the people from Palestine at the time reflected the region of the world in which they lived.

Beyond the geographical reality of the holy land in the time of Jesus, there is also an abundance of evidence in the bible itself reflecting the fact that Jesus did not have classic European features as modern day depictions like to indicate, but was in fact a dark-skinned man with curly hair.

''During colonisation, Europeans took their white Jesus with them and used it to preach a doctrine of white supremacy. The notion of white superiority relied on God being represented as white. White deity was used to sell the myth of white superiority. Similarly black inferiority cannot stand up, if God is black.''

Scripture describes Jesus as having hair “like wool” and feet like “burnished brass” and looking at some of those among his lineage suggests that it is unlikely Jesus had white European features.

Rahab the harlot, Tamar, the Queen of Sheba were all of black ancestry and part of Jesus’ genealogy. Abraham too, was born in the city of a black man, Nimrod.

In the book of the songs of Solomon, Solomon says “I am black but I am handsome.”

There are numerous other references speaking to the blackness and African heritage of those in the lineage of Jesus. Let’s not forget too, that when Jesus fled persecution he hid in Egypt among black skinned Africans. What this means when testing the white Jesus myth, is that looking plainly at the available evidence; Jesus most certainly, did not look of northern European descent.

Early depictions of black Jesus

From Ethiopia to Russia many images of Christ reflect him as a dark skinned man. Prior to the European Renaissance it was more commonly accepted that Jesus had features in line with how the people in the region looked at the time. Different cultures eventually painted Christ in their own image, and Europeans were no exception.

What this meant, however, was that during colonisation, Europeans took their white Jesus with them and used it to preach a doctrine of white supremacy.

The notion of white superiority relied on God being represented as white. White deity was used to sell the myth of white superiority. Similarly black inferiority cannot stand up, if God is black.

Jesus was Palestinian: Re-politicising Christmas

Voices

Jeanine Hourani

This thinking has persisted in Western society at least, which today remains reluctant to present Jesus as black or as a person of colour opting instead to depict him as one of their own.

While people might debate the best way to characterise Jesus, what’s certain is it is highly unlikely that he looked like the whitened Eurocentric depictions.

The big question is, 2000 years after his death, why does it matter?

A question of representation

Facts matter, but so too does representation.

Hollywood for example, with all its influence, is notorious for producing a majority of movies casting Jesus as a white man, decade after decade. At the same time, Hollywood also stands accused of readily profiting from films portraying black people negatively.

All of this of course is by design and is simply another example of a system operating as intended.

Countries like Britain and the US, which many define as Christian, cannot seem to grasp the notion that Jesus, who was a refugee, looked like the vulnerable migrants trying to enter Britain today, rather than the way he has been portrayed across history by the West.

Britain, which was barely able to accept that the oldest known remains in the country belonged to a black man, embraces white Jesus in the same way it denies or apologises for Winston Churchill’s racism.

White supremacy and racism depend on a number of falsehoods being maintained, and acknowledging Jesus as black means exposing and turning a system, and an entire way of thinking about that system, on its head.

Ancient black history: Jabel Qafzeh

Additionally, when considering the wider historical backdrop to the region, it is unsurprising that some of the oldest remains found in Palestine speak to the African 

Yes, UK has grown more diverse. No, it's not cause for panic

Voices  Mariya bint Rehan

A number of remains found in Jabal Qafzeh around 100 years ago are estimated to be between 80-100,000 years old. Recently, modern technology gave the ability to reproduce what one of those remains would have looked like had they been alive today. Jabal Qafzeh 9, bore the clear resemblance and features of a black West African woman.

Black people have been in Palestine for millennia, including the time when Palestine was considered part of Africa, and for thousands of years before that.

We also have to consider the modern context in which Jesus would have lived. As a man of colour persecuted for speaking up for the downtrodden, he’d have seen others punished for the same motive. Indeed, if Jesus were alive today, he and his people would be under siege by the Israeli Occupation Forces. 

Denied entry at borders.

Why? Jesus spoke up for the oppressed, refugees, the marginalised and those cast to the outskirts of society. While European Christianity has often watered-down Christ’s message to simple forgiveness, the fact is, Christ was a black revolutionary with a political, economic and health program who strived for equality and was lynched by the Roman empire as a result.

In this sense Jesus has to be considered in the radical black tradition which has always existed in all parts of the world including Palestine. That tradition has held firm, from the time of Christ to torchbearers like Fatima Bernawi, an Afro-Palestinian resistance fighter who recently died and who became the first Palestinian woman to be imprisoned by Israel after the 1967 war.

Reframing how we think about Jesus might also serve as a counter weight to the churches in the US and UK which unflinchingly support and lobby on behalf of Israel.

Churches with the iconography of black Jesus at the centrepiece are an important voice within the Christian community, where traditionally so many institutions have been completely whitened essentially acting as a conduit to further normalise white supremacy.

By the same token, Christian churches and institutions speaking out against apartheid and racism, challenging the dominant narrative are very much needed to change how we think about Christianity, which in the West at least has often been used to uphold power, rather than to hold it accountable.

With racism being challenged all over the globe, it is important that mainstream perceptions of Jesus change and evolve with the times. We must popularise an accurate portrayal of one of the most important figures in history, revered by so many millions of people all over the world. After all, he continues to have an important political, theological and social role today. Telling the ‘truth’ about Jesus is therefore not simply a matter of racial ‘preference’ in the religious imagery used.

Richard Sudan is a journalist and writer specialising in anti-racism and has reported on various human rights issues from around the world. His writing has been published by The Guardian, Independent, The Voice and many others.
Follow him on Twitter: @richardsudan
Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@newarab.com

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JESUS WAS PALESTINIAN

How the Bible contradicts itself over key details about Jesus' birth

Photo by Michael Payne on Unsplash

The Conversation

November 26, 2024

Every Christmas, a relatively small town in the Palestinian West Bank comes center stage: Bethlehem. Jesus, according to some biblical sources, was born in this town some two millennia ago.

Yet the New Testament Gospels do not agree about the details of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Some do not mention Bethlehem or Jesus' birth at all.

The Gospels' different views might be hard to reconcile. But as a scholar of the New Testament, what I argue is that the Gospels offer an important insight into the Greco-Roman views of ethnic identity, including genealogies.

Today, genealogies may bring more awareness of one's family medical history or help uncover lost family members. In the Greco-Roman era, birth stories and genealogical claims were used to establish rights to rule and link individuals with purported ancestral grandeur.

Gospel of Matthew

According to the Gospel of Matthew, the first Gospel in the canon of the New Testament, Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The story begins with wise men who come to the city of Jerusalem after seeing a star that they interpreted as signaling the birth of a new king.

It goes on to describe their meeting with the local Jewish king named Herod, of whom they inquire about the location of Jesus' birth. The Gospel says that the star of Bethlehem subsequently leads them to a house – not a manger – where Jesus has been born to Joseph and Mary. Overjoyed, they worship Jesus and present gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were valuable gifts, especially frankincense and myrrh, which were costly fragrances that had medicinal use.

The Gospel explains that after their visit, Joseph has a dream where he is warned of Herod's attempt to kill baby Jesus. When the wise men went to Herod with the news that a child had been born to be the king of the Jews, he made a plan to kill all young children to remove the threat to his throne. It then mentions how Joseph, Mary and infant Jesus leave for Egypt to escape King Herod's attempt to assassinate all young children.

Matthew also says that after Herod dies from an illness, Joseph, Mary and Jesus do not return to Bethlehem. Instead, they travel north to Nazareth in Galilee, which is modern-day Nazareth in Israel.

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke, an account of Jesus' life which was written during the same period as the Gospel of Matthew, has a different version of Jesus' birth. The Gospel of Luke starts with Joseph and a pregnant Mary in Galilee. They journey to Bethlehem in response to a census that the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus required for all the Jewish people. Since Joseph was a descendant of King David, Bethlehem was the hometown where he was required to register.

The Gospel of Luke includes no flight to Egypt, no paranoid King Herod, no murder of children and no wise men visiting baby Jesus. Jesus is born in a manger because all the travelers overcrowded the guest rooms. After the birth, Joseph and Mary are visited not by wise men but shepherds, who were also overjoyed at Jesus' birth.

Luke says these shepherds were notified about Jesus' location in Bethlehem by angels. There is no guiding star in Luke's story, nor do the shepherds bring gifts to baby Jesus. Luke also mentions that Joseph, Mary and Jesus leave Bethlehem eight days after his birth and travel to Jerusalem and then to Nazareth.

The differences between Matthew and Luke are nearly impossible to reconcile, although they do share some similarities. John Meier, a scholar on the historical Jesus, explains that Jesus' “birth at Bethlehem is to be taken not as a historical fact" but as a “theological affirmation put into the form of an apparently historical narrative." In other words, the belief that Jesus was a descendant of King David led to the development of a story about Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

Raymond Brown, another scholar on the Gospels, also states that “the two narratives are not only different – they are contrary to each other in a number of details."

Mark's and John's Gospels

What makes it more difficult is that neither the other Gospels, that of Mark and John, mentions Jesus' birth or his connection to Bethlehem.

The Gospel of Mark is the earliest account of Jesus' life, written around A.D. 60. The opening chapter of Mark says that Jesus is from “Nazareth of Galilee." This is repeated throughout the Gospel on several occasions, and Bethlehem is never mentioned.

A blind beggar in the Gospel of Mark describes Jesus as both from Nazareth and the son of David, the second king of Israel and Judah during 1010-970 B.C. But King David was not born in Nazareth, nor associated with that city. He was from Bethlehem. Yet Mark doesn't identify Jesus with the city Bethlehem.

The Gospel of John, written approximately 15 to 20 years after that of Mark, also does not associate Jesus with Bethlehem. Galilee is Jesus' hometown. Jesus finds his first disciples, does several miracles and has brothers in Galilee.

This is not to say that John was unaware of Bethlehem's significance. John mentions a debate where some Jewish people referred to the prophecy which claimed that the messiah would be a descendant of David and come from Bethlehem. But Jesus according to John's Gospel is never associated with Bethlehem, but with Galilee, and more specifically, Nazareth.

The Gospels of Mark and John reveal that they either had trouble linking Bethlehem with Jesus, did not know his birthplace, or were not concerned with this city.

These were not the only ones. Apostle Paul, who wrote the earliest documents of the New Testament, considered Jesus a descendant of David but does not associate him with Bethlehem. The Book of Revelation also affirms that Jesus was a descendant of David but does not mention Bethlehem.

An ethnic identity

During the period of Jesus' life, there were multiple perspectives on the Messiah. In one stream of Jewish thought, the Messiah was expected to be an everlasting ruler from the lineage of David. Other Jewish texts, such as the book 4 Ezra, written in the same century as the Gospels, and the Jewish sectarian Qumran literature, which is written two centuries earlier, also echo this belief.

But within the Hebrew Bible, a prophetic book called Micah, thought to be written around B.C. 722, prophesies that the messiah would come from David's hometown, Bethlehem. This text is repeated in Matthew's version. Luke mentions that Jesus is not only genealogically connected to King David, but also born in Bethlehem, “the city of David."

Genealogical claims were made for important ancient founders and political leaders. For example, Ion, the founder of the Greek colonies in Asia, was considered to be a descendant of Apollo. Alexander the Great, whose empire reached from Macedonia to India, was claimed to be a son of Hercules. Caesar Augustus, who was the first Roman emperor, was proclaimed as a descendant of Apollo. And a Jewish writer named Philo who lived in the first century wrote that Abraham and the Jewish priest and prophets were born of God.

Regardless of whether these claims were accepted at the time to be true, they shaped a person's ethnic identity, political status and claims to honor. As the Greek historian Polybius explains, the renown deeds of ancestors are “part of the heritage of posterity."

Matthew and Luke's inclusion of the city of Bethlehem contributed to the claim that Jesus was the Messiah from a Davidic lineage. They made sure that readers were aware of Jesus' genealogical connection to King David with the mention of this city. Birth stories in Bethlehem solidified the claim that Jesus was a rightful descendant of King David.

So today, when the importance of Bethlehem is heard in Christmas carols or displayed in Nativity scenes, the name of the town connects Jesus to an ancestral lineage and the prophetic hope for a new leader like King David

.

Fuller Theological Seminary is a member of the Association of Theological Schools.The ATS is a funding partner of The Conversation US.

Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III, Adjunct Assistant Professor of the New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

OPINION

Christmas in Bethlehem 2022 vs 2023

Christians in Palestine called on the world to not celebrate Christmas this year in solidarity with Gaza. Yet many Christian leaders choose to stand with Israel without caring about the land of the man they are supposedly celebrating.

BY SYEDA MAAH-NOOR ALI 

DECEMBER 25, 2023 1
MONDOWEISS.NET

PALESTINIANS ARRIVE FOR CHRISTMAS EVENTS AT THE CHURCH OF NATIVITY ON DECEMBER 24, 2023 IN BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK. 

(PHOTO: MAMOUN WAZWAZ/APA IMAGES)

Despite being under occupation, Palestinians resist. They resist yet also welcome worshipers from all over the world, particularly during Christmas and particularly to Bethlehem. Yet this year is different. From resisting and spreading cheer to dejection, the journey has been both short and long. During the genocide inflicted upon Gaza, the Israeli occupation has bombed a number of Gaza’s churches, including the third oldest church in the world. They have killed the earliest Christians and also harmed those Christians in other biblically mentioned towns such as Jerusalem and Jericho. The Christians of Palestine, those from Jesus’s homeland, have called upon the world to not celebrate Christmas this year in solidarity with Gaza and with Palestinians and to call for an end to the genocide instead. Yet, the world, including many Christian leaders across the world, are publicly standing with Israel without so much as caring about the land of the man they are supposedly celebrating.

Thinking back to last Christmas, I woke up at my hotel early on December 25, 2022, in Jerusalem, right near Damascus Gate, from where I could faintly hear the call to prayer from Al Aqsa. Today was going to be exciting. The plan was to visit Bethlehem on Christmas Day. I may be Muslim, but the thought of experiencing Christmas in Bethlehem was nothing short of special.

CHRISTMAS TREE IN BETHLEHEM, DECEMBER 2022. 

(PHOTO: SYEDA MAAH-NOOR ALI)

After an unnecessarily convoluted journey, which included being dehumanized at checkpoints, we finally reached Bethlehem. The first thing I noticed was how less commercialized Christmas is in the Holy Land. The focus is most definitely more on worship and joy than dramatic decorations. The huge Christmas tree in Manger Square, a blown-up Santa, and some small decorations in homes, being a few exceptions. Despite the minimal decorations, the spirit was alive and well. The square and areas around were teeming with worshipers and onlookers like myself. People were clamoring toward the grotto under the Church of Nativity, which is believed to be the place where Jesus was born. At the entrance, we found a Palestinian policeman. It was refreshing to see the Palestinian flag on his uniform, and he welcomed us with a smile. Then we began to enter. We started ducking very low to get through the tiny stone door, barely over a meter and a half. Once in, we stood up straight and were met with a magnificent display. The chancel with gilded iconostasis was a bejeweled sight to behold. The stone church, the gold hues, the candles, and the ruby red decorations. But what struck me were the lines, the lines were huge. People lined up one behind the other on their holiest day after their morning service. To get a chance to take it all in and worship. To pay their respects at the grotto.

Seeing the Christmas celebrations in full swing in the Church of the Nativity on Christmas day was nothing short of electric and an image I will never forget.

But this year, Christmas is canceled in Bethlehem. The tree in Manger Square is nowhere to be seen. There is melancholy in the air. The birthplace of Christianity has asked its residents to withhold from celebrations and ceremonies this year. No decorations and no festivities in the public areas of the city.

A SCENE IN THE CHURCH OF NATIVITY ON DECEMBER 24, 2023 IN BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK. LAST MONTH, CHRISTIAN PALESTINIAN LEADERS HERE CALLED OFF PUBLIC CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS, CITING THE EFFECTS OF THE ONGOING WAR IN GAZA.

(PHOTO: MAMOUN WAZWAZ/APA IMAGES)

Rev Munther Isaac Live from Bethlehem, in his ‘Liturgy of Lament’ told us that while in America last month, upon seeing the excess decorations and commercialization of Christmas, he thought that “They sent us bombs whilst celebrating Christmas in their lands’ ‘they sing about the prince of peace in their land, while playing the drum of war in our land,'” and that encapsulates the feelings of many. The West watches and cheers on the genocide in Gaza, all whilst celebrating the birth of a Palestinian man. If Jesus were born today, he would be born under rubble, he would be born under occupation. He would be born under persecution; he would be born being hated. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem wouldn’t have been made, the apartheid wall and checkpoints would have prevented it. Jesus’s existence would have been taken as a threat by Israel.

The irony isn’t lost. The irony is astounding and sickening.


Jesus was Palestinian, this is a factual statement. But very conveniently, Palestine has been eradicated from the retelling of the Christmas story in the Western world.

By painting Bethlehem as a mystical place far far away, with mangers and wise men, and absolutely no mention that Bethlehem is in Occupied Palestine, resisting to survive every day. Fighting for its existence. People don’t like speaking about politics, but politics is real, the occupation is real, the systematic violence is real. But all very very conveniently left out. Left out to prevent making people uncomfortable. To prevent ‘ruining the holiday mood’ yet there would be no ‘holiday mood’ if Jesus hadn’t been born. Born in a land that is being bombed. Born in a land with an active occupation. and no one thinks. What of the 20,000 + people in Gaza that have been mercilessly massacred? What of the men, women, children? What of the holy sights? What of Gaza’s Christian population? Those that live only a few kilometers from where Jesus was born?

Christmas day saw one of the biggest massacres in Gaza by Israel. They took advantage of the world looking away for their festivities and slaughtered.

Even Bethlehem was attacked as part of routine raids on the West Bank.

There is no pause, or looking away, or breaks for Palestinians.

The world just doesn’t care. But it must.

Pope Francis Posts Political Christmas Message Amid Israel-Hamas War

Pope Francis' Israel Remarks Spark Fury

By Shannon Power
Pop Culture & Entertainment Reporter

Dec 25, 2023 

Pope Francis has shared his thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war as Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem remain canceled.

Bethlehem is located in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank and is considered the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Usually a sacred place for Christians to celebrate Christmas, this year's festivities were canceled in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, who remain under fire from Israeli forces.

The Pontiff took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his thoughts on the ongoing Israeli war efforts in Gaza, which are retaliation to Palestinian militant group Hamas' surprise attack on October 7 that led to the death of 1,200 people in Israel. Around 20,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to The Associated Press.

Pope Francis delivers his Sunday Angelus blessing on December 24, 2023, in the Vatican City. He has shared a message about the Israel-Hamas war to X, formerly Twitter.

VATICAN POOL/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE

"Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world. #Christmas," wrote Pope Francis.

Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Prince of Peace, especially around Christmas time.



On Friday, the pope announced he had sent papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, to the Holy Land as a "sign of his solidarity amid the tragedy of war." The papal almoner is responsible for performing works of mercy on behalf of the pope.

Krajewski will spend Christmas with the local church in the place of Jesus' birth and has previously personally delivered humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.

"Cardinal Krajewski will join this great invocation for peace together with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the entire local church, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the only hope of our world," a release from the Vatican stated.

Pope Francis invited everyone to accompany the cardinal's journey in prayer, "in order to obtain the gift of peace in areas where the thunder of weapons continues to roar."
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"Pope Francis, saddened by the 'third world war fought piecemeal' that afflicts the world, prays every day for peace, calling for an end to the conflicts that stain the earth: in martyred Ukraine, in Syria, in many countries in Africa, and now in Israel and Palestine," read the statement.

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Pope Francis had warned of a "mountain of dead" piling up in Gaza and Israel, and described the conflict there as "terrorism."

"This is what wars do. But here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism," the Pontiff told an audience in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City in November.

Earlier that week, he shared a video message to X in which he said: "The Palestinian people and the people of Israel have the right to live in peace: two fraternal peoples.

"Let us #PrayTogether for peace in the Holy Land, so that disputes may be resolved through dialogue and negotiations, and not with a mountain of dead on each side."

JESUS WAS PALESTINIAN

From DC to the Vatican, baby Jesus is wearing a keffiyeh

(RNS) — The pro-Palestinian creche is intended to point out the disconnect between the idealized Bethlehem of most representations and the reality in present-day Gaza and the West Bank.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood is one of several churches across the country that have created crèches called “Christ in the Rubble.” The name comes from a book by Palestinian Christian pastor Munther Isaac. Featuring the baby Jesus wrapped in a black-and-white checkered keffiyeh, the creche is intended to remind Christians that if Jesus were born today, he would be born under the rubble. (Photo courtesy Lindsey Jones-Renaud)

Yonat Shimron
December 9, 2024

(RNS) — The scene representing the birth of Jesus is a common December sight, artfully arranged on church lawns or entryways across the country.

But in some churches this year, the nativity crèche is looking a bit different.

The manger has been replaced with a pile of rocks, and the baby Jesus is swaddled not with a thin blanket but with a black-and-white keffiyeh, the Middle Eastern-style scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinians’ resistance to Israeli aggression.

This tableau, often called Christ in the Rubble, first appeared last year in the town of Bethlehem outside the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, pastored by the prominent Palestinian minister and activist Munther Issac. All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, quickly copied it and constructed one on its lawn.

This Advent season, leading to Christmas, they are becoming more common. Even Pope Francis was presented a crèche Saturday (Dec. 7) by two Bethlehem-based artists, featuring a baby Jesus nestled in a keffiyeh.

The pontiff declared “Enough wars, enough violence!” while receiving the delegation of Palestinian groups that organized the project.

Pope Francis prays in front of a nativity scene crafted in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, as he arrives for a meeting with the donors of the fir tree set up in St. Peter’s Square as a Christmas tree and those who have crafted the life-size nativity scene at the base of the tree, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In Washington, D.C., less than half a mile from the U.S. Capitol, another church assembled a Christ in the Rubble crèche last week.

The nativity scene outside St. Mark’s Episcopal Church features a Black baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh lying in a bed of broken bricks and clumps of concrete and wire.

It is intended to bring awareness to Israel’s ongoing war that has leveled the Gaza Strip and killed more than 44,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as well as to the plight of Palestinians in Bethlehem, located in the occupied West Bank. While most Palestinians are Muslim, there is a thriving Palestinian Christian community in Bethlehem, the site of Jesus’ birth, according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

“At Christmas, we sing about Bethlehem and we put up our manger scenes and talk about this story of Jesus being born in this town of Bethlehem with its themes of peace, love, joy and hope,” said Lindsey Jones-Renaud, a lay member of St. Mark’s who was part of the team that assembled the crèche last week. “But there’s such a disconnect between all that and what is actually happening in Bethlehem right now and in the surrounding lands.”

Since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on West Bank Palestinians have skyrocketed. Israeli settlers have vandalized Palestinian property and burned homes and cars, often as Israeli security forces stand by. About 900 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in 1,400 attacks, according to the United Nations. More than 50 West Bank Palestinian communities have been forced to abandon their homes.

Steven Scammacca, left, and Lindsey Jones-Renaud, members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, pose with the church’s “Christ in the Rubble” crèche in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. (Photo courtesy Lindsey Jones-Renaud)

On Sunday, Jones-Renaud flew to Israel on a 10-day delegation that will tour the West Bank in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian villagers — and, if necessary, to act as a buffer to protect them from the escalated attacks by Israeli settlers and the Israeli army. It is the fourth trip planned by the group Christians for Ceasefire.

Multiple U.S. Christian organizations have protested Israel’s harsh military rule on Palestinians. They have called for a cease-fire and an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. The U.S. has supplied more than $22 billion in military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began, according to a Brown University study.

Now, during the season of Advent, these organizations are working on campaigns to bring greater awareness to the plight of Palestinians.

“We need to take more risks to stop the killing in the spirit of Christmas and the birth of the Prince of Peace,” said Eli McCarthy, a professor of theology at Georgetown University and a Just Peace Fellow with the Franciscan Action Network. (Jesus is often referred to as the Prince of Peace.)

Friends of Sabeel North America, an interdenominational Christian organization working on Palestinian justice, is encouraging a Preach Palestine Day of Action in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, which falls on Tuesday.

FOSNA’s Michigan chapter is planning to install two moveable “Christ in the Rubble” crèches this month, one at a park and another at a market — both in Detroit.

“Symbols matter and visuals matter, and our understanding in all of our traditions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, is that God is always on the side of the oppressed,” said Kim Redigan, a member of the FOSNA Michigan group and a Catholic. “God is on the side of those who are suffering. God is on the side of those who are being crushed.”

Some churches will also be participating in a Mennonite Action event on Dec. 21 called the “Longest Night for Gaza Service” to grieve the loss of Palestinian lives. And on Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, some churches will take public actions on the day Christians commemorate the Gospel story of the massacre of male children in Bethlehem by King Herod.

“Scripture reminds us to seek justice, show mercy and protect innocent life,” said Steven Scammacca, a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church who worked on the Christ in the Rubble crèche alongside Jones-Renaud. “Those values are clearly violated by the violence in Gaza.”

YESHUA WAS PALESTINIAN
In Bethlehem, the home of Jesus' birth, a season of grieving for Palestinian Christians
Laura King
Tue, December 19, 2023 

Father Issa Thaljieh, a 40-year-old Greek Orthodox parish priest at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, kneels at the spot where tradition says Jesus was born. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

It isn’t subtle. Nor is it intended to be.

Instead of a pastoral-looking Nativity scene, the creche features baby Jesus wrapped in a checkered Palestinian kaffiyeh, surrounded by jagged chunks of stone — evoking bombed-out buildings in the Gaza Strip and children buried beneath them.

“I see God in the rubble,” said Munther Isaac, the Palestinian pastor of a landmark Lutheran church in Bethlehem, the West Bank town revered by Christians as Jesus’ birthplace. “And Christ was born under occupation."


Together with parishioners, he created the wartime tableau, which will remain in place at the church through the Christmas season. The image is a jarring one, Isaac acknowledges — but cannot come close to summing up the daily horrors taking place only 45 miles distant, in Gaza.

The creche at a landmark Lutheran church in Bethlehem, West Bank, features baby Jesus surrounded by jagged chunks of stone — evoking bombed-out buildings. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Palestinian Christians, a fast-dwindling minority in the Holy Land, are marking an especially somber Christmas this year, canceling holiday festivities in an expression of solidarity with compatriots as Israel's war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas grinds on.

In this third month of Israeli bombardment of Gaza, coupled with a wide-ranging ground offensive — both launched after Hamas attackers killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes and at an open-air dance festival — the death toll inside the crowded coastal enclave stands at more than 19,000, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian officials.

Read more: Two strangers — a Palestinian and an Israeli — tell the story of a region's pain

In Bethlehem, where many local Christians have relatives in Gaza, the Christmas holiday will be marked by prayers, church services and the annual procession of Christian patriarchs — but the more joyous traditional trappings are being eschewed. No twinkling Christmas lights, no lavishly decorated tree in Manger Square, no festive parade with marching bands.

People walk through the Old City in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

“How could we celebrate?” asked the town’s mayor, Hanna Hanania, whose office overlooks a nearly deserted Manger Square. The flagstone plaza facing the Church of the Nativity, a pilgrimage site for Christians the world over, is usually bustling at this time of year, but most of the souvenir shops and restaurants lining it are tightly shuttered.

Bethlehem, where once-majority Christians now make up fewer than one-fifth of the town's population of some 30,000, is a microcosm of the West Bank’s woes. Checkpoints hem it in, and the stony terraced hills — where shepherds watched their flocks by night, as the traditional Christmas carol has it — are transversed by a hulking Israeli security barrier.

Surrounded by Jewish settlements, the town is home to two Palestinian refugee camps that seethe with unrest and are regularly raided by Israeli troops.

Read more: As Biden-Netanyahu gulf widens, Israeli leader vows to continue Gaza war 'until the end'

“It’s not the little town of the Bible anymore,” said the Rev. Mitri Raheb, president of Bethlehem’s Dar al-Kalima University. At 61, he remembers when the unobstructed view from his nearby family home was a mountainside that turned green in spring rains. Now it is topped by a settlement, one of nearly 150 in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.

For Palestinian Christians, the current war marks a catastrophe embedded within a catastrophe: the potential eradication of what was already a minuscule Christian presence in Gaza. Numbering fewer than 1,000 out of a population of more than 2 million, the community’s wartime losses are disproportionately felt.

Many Bethlehem-area Christians have relatives in Gaza, and are terrified for their safety.

A man walks through the Old City near the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. People crowd a busy market street in Bethlehem. A man sits by a mural on a wall separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times

An outbuilding of Gaza City’s oldest working church, St. Porphyrius, was hit by Israeli bombardment in October, killing at least 16 of the hundreds of people sheltering there, according to Palestinian officials. Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, a Palestinian American, posted anguished social-media accounts about several Christian relatives killed or maimed in the strike.

“Our family is hurting badly,” the Michigan Republican-turned-independent wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "May God watch over all Christians in Gaza — and all Israelis and Palestinians who are suffering, whatever their religion or creed."

Last weekend, two Christian women sheltering at a Roman Catholic church compound in Gaza City were killed by Israeli sniper fire, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said. Relatives identified them as a mother and daughter — Naheda Anton, 71, and her daughter, Samr Anton, 58 — and said that after the older woman was hit, her daughter tried to pull her to safety, and was shot as well.

Jawdat Hanna Mikhail, the grandson of one slain woman and the nephew of the other, said several other family members inside the Holy Family compound tried to reach the pair, and were shot and wounded themselves.

"Snipers are deployed around the church," said Mikhail, 27, who lives in Beit Sahur, just outside Bethlehem. "Nobody can move."

Pope Francis condemned the killing of the women. A British member of Parliament, Layla Moran, has been posting on social media about members of her extended family, including 11-year-old twins, also trapped in the complex.

“I’m now no longer sure they are going to survive until Christmas,” she told the BBC.

Some longtime monitors of Christian demographic trends say that after years of hardship, the small and struggling community in Gaza stands on the verge of extinction.

The Rev. Munther Isaac plays the flute at a landmark Lutheran church in Bethlehem. Daher Nassar lowers his head to pray. The Rev. Munther Isaac leads singing and prayers for the victims in Gaza. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times

“I fear that this war will be the end of the Christian presence in Gaza,” said Raheb, the college president. “It is a bleeding wound.”

The surging violence also points up the complex internal interplay in the occupied Palestinian territories between Christians and the overwhelming Muslim majority. Recent surveys suggest Hamas’ popularity among Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza is running higher despite — or because of — the devastating Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel that precipitated the war.

Read more: In Gaza, she sits by her belongings, waiting for her home to be bombed

Gaza’s Christian population numbered about 3,000 when Hamas took over the narrow Mediterranean strip in 2007; about two-thirds of them left in the intervening years, before the start of this war.

Although generally wealthier and better educated than the population as a whole, Christians in Gaza endured or were driven out by the same privations as other Palestinians — raging unemployment, lack of opportunity, periodic battles between Israel and Hamas. But they were also chilled by the unsolved slaying, in the early days of Hamas rule, of a prominent Christian bookstore manager who had been threatened before his death by jihadist groups.

In Bethlehem, a decree from the West Bank’s governing Palestinian Authority mandates that the city’s mayor, deputy mayor and a majority of the municipal council must be Christians. Prior to that, a coalition backed by Hamas, which functions as a political movement in addition to its armed wing, held a council majority, the mayor said.

“They are our neighbors,” he said.

At the Church of the Nativity, the ancient limestone basilica venerated by Christians as marking the place of Christ’s birth, hard times have helped dampen tensions between the three Christian sects that share control of its premises.

In past years, jurisdictional clashes over nooks and crannies in the church’s dim, incense-scented recesses had sometimes boiled over into physical altercations.

Father Issa Thaljieh, a 40-year-old Greek Orthodox parish priest at the Church of the Nativity, said there was relative harmony among the sects now, their disputes vastly overshadowed by the war.

Father Issa, born and raised in Bethlehem, said that from boyhood on, he felt the powerful pull of spiritual wonder associated with not only the basilica but the town itself, even as the ongoing conflict with Israel disfigured the biblical landscape surrounding Bethlehem.

Father Issa Thaljieh poses for a portrait inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Though he could live and work elsewhere, he said he feels a call of duty to stay and minister to his shrinking flock.

Deep grief over death and destruction in Gaza pervades the holiday, the priest said, but he also saw this season as a beacon of much-needed hope.

“These are very, very sad times,” he said. “But the message of Bethlehem and the message of Christmas, which is the message of peace, is more important than ever.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Israel-Hamas war subdues Christmas in Bethlehem
Dana Forsythe
Tue, December 19, 2023 



Dec. 19 (UPI) -- As Christmas Day approaches on Monday, the mood is subdued and the decorations are sparse in the biblical town of Bethlehem in the West Bank, as Israel's war rages on with Hamas.

In solidarity with Palestinians who have been under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Christians have canceled public Christmas celebrations in the town considered the birthplace of Jesus.

Holiday decorations have been dismantled and the Lutheran Church is displaying a nativity scene showing the baby Jesus amid rubble, symbolizing children killed in Gaza.

The Rev. Munther Isaac told al-Jazeera last week, "If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble and Israeli shelling. Bethlehem is sad and broken."

The town is usually teeming with tourists this time of year. But instead, much of the Gaza Strip is in ruins.

In other parts of Israel, hotels are filled with 80,000 people who had to evacuate from the south and north of the country, not tourists. Israel's Tourism Ministry had expected 4 million visitors this year, nearing 2019 levels. But war broke out during the busiest months for travel, including the winter holidays.

Ministry figures show 38,000 tourists entered Israel in November, compared to 370,000 last year during the same time.

Lufthansa airline and its subsidiaries Swiss and Austrian Airlines plan to resume flights to Israel in January. Most major carriers have paused service to Tel Aviv during the war.

U.S.-based Delta Airlines announced Monday that starting in January, it will offer a code-share agreement with EL AL Israel Airlines to allow Delta customers flying from North America to use EL AL's nonstop services from New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, Birthright Israel announced Monday it would resume its free, 10-day educational trips to Israel in January after suspending them earlier in the year.

The U.S. State Department's travel advisory for Americans warns visitors to Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of active military operations and rocket and mortar fire.

"Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities," according to the advisory.

It will be a ‘very sad’ Christmas this year, says Palestinian priest

3% of the Christian community in besieged Palestinian enclave killed in 75 days, says Mitri Raheb

23.12.2023 - 

A view of the Christmas tree decoration being prepared from pieces of war debris at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, West Bank on December 04, 2023. 

( Hisham K. K. Abu Shaqra - Anadolu Agency )


ERBIL, Iraq

A Palestinian priest said that it will be a “very sad” Christmas this year, as 3% of the Christian community in the Gaza Strip has been killed in the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Palestinian enclave since Oct. 7.

In an interview with the website Democracy Now, Mitri Raheb, the president of Dar al-Kalima University, said: “I don’t think in my entire life I experienced so much sadness, but also so much anger about what’s happening in Gaza.”

“I fear that this is the end of the Christian presence in Gaza. And, you know, the Christian presence in Gaza is a 2,000-years-old presence,” he added.

Raheb noted that Christmas festivities have been canceled in Bethlehem.

“You don't have Christmas lights. you don't have (a) Christmas tree in Bethlehem. There are no tourists coming because of the war,” he said.

“Here in the West Bank, we are experiencing apartheid colonization by Jewish settlers,” Raheb added.

“I find it really a shame that in this season, where every church hears these words, ‘peace on Earth,’ that the United States is vetoing even a cease-fire. It’s a shame,” he said.

He noted that more than 8,000 children have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 20,057 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 53,320 others, according to health authorities in the besieged enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara

Bethlehem cancels Christmas celebrations: Rev. Raheb draws his parallels to Gaza's plight

"The Christmas story actually is a Palestinian story par excellence, echoing the current plight of Palestinians in Gaza." Rev. Mitri Raheb, a prominent Palestinian theologian and pastor, explains why traditional Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem are cancelled this year. He draws poignant parallels between the biblical story of Christmas and the current situation in Gaza. Rev. Raheb emphasises the displacement of families, the plight of pregnant women, and the tragic loss of children, comparing these to the events surrounding the nativity story.

December 23, 2023

Congressional staff urged Israel against attacking Gaza churches: report

The New Arab Staff
23 December, 2023

US congressional staff attempted to alert Israel on two holy sites to avoid targeting them- and they were still attacked

Palestinian Christians attend Sunday Mass celebrated in Gaza City's Holy Family church prior to the conflict 

US Christian congressional staff members reportedly warned Israel against attacking religious sites in Gaza that were deemed safe zones for civilians, however the sites were eventually targeted by Israeli bombardment.

According to a series of emails obtained by US news site Politico, Gaza-based aid group Catholic Relief Services had repeatedly sent locations to Israel to instruct them to avoid attacking Christian facilities where Palestinian civilians sought refuge.

The emails, dated between October 14 to October 26, show Catholic Relief Services sending the coordinates of several buildings to staff members of the US Senate, who had forwarded them to Israeli forces.

Despite this, the Israelis said that they could not “guarantee” the safety of civilians who were staying inside, according to the report.

Israeli forces have yet to respond to Politico’s report.

Meanwhile, anonymous senate and congressional staff told the news outlet that they hope to continue attempts to protect Gaza’s civilians “without fear of retribution”.

A mother and daughter sheltering at the Holy Family Church were killed by Israeli sniper fire, and the Convent of the Missionaries of Charity was shelled by Israeli military tanks.

Outcry as UK school threatens children over Gaza solidarity

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem previously reported both incidents that were dated 16 December in an official statement.

The patriarchate said that the shootings at Holy Family Church, Gaza’s only Catholic church, led to the killings of Nahida Khalil Anton and daughter Samar while walking to the Sister’s Convent building in the complex.

The statement also said that seven were killed and injured while they attempted to protect others in the church.

“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the patriarchate said. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

According to the patriarchate, the Missionaries of Charity located in a section of the church’s compound and housing 54 individuals with disabilities was struck by fire from an Israeli tank.

This attack led to a fire that demolished the building’s generator, resulting in several residents being unable to use their respirators.

Pope Francis deplored the deaths, which he said happened in a church complex "where there are no terrorists but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities".

Israeli forces said they had "no reports of a hit on the church", stressing the army "does not target civilians, no matter their religion". The Israeli army has destroyed several religious sites in Gaza, and in recent days has been accused of carrying out summary executions of civilians.

This year, church leaders in Jerusalem and the city council of Bethlehem – home to the Church of the Nativity where Christians believe Jesus was born – decided to tone down Christmas celebrations in solidarity with Gaza.

In a Christmas message, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem lamented that "hope seems distant and beyond" reach for Gazans caught up in 11 weeks of deadly violence.

No festive season in the West Bank
·19.12.2023
Christmas muted in 'grieving' Bethlehem

The grotto believed to be the spot where Jesus was born: as the war between Israel and Hamas rages around 100 km away in Gaza, Christmas will be a muted affair in the occupied West Bank (image: HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian West Bank, the throngs of tourists and pilgrims who normally rub shoulders with costumed Santas and marching bands are missing this year

There are no festive lights strung overhead and no sign of the huge tree normally erected to celebrate the event that Christians believe took place on this spot 2,000 years ago: the birth of Jesus Christ.

As the war between Israel and Hamas rages around 100 km away in Gaza – leaving thousands of Palestinians dead and nearly two million displaced and trapped in a humanitarian catastrophe – Christmas will be a muted affair in the occupied West Bank.

In a normal year, Bethlehem would be a "city full of people, full of tourists", said 30-year-old Abood Suboh, standing in his empty shop where he sells cashmere scarves and leather handbags.

"This war stopped everything."

'Tourists disappeared'

Church leaders in Jerusalem and the Bethlehem city council took the decision last month to forego "any unnecessarily festive" Christmas celebrations in solidarity with Gazans.

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem will still come to deliver his traditional midnight mass on Christmas Eve, but with pilgrims staying away and access to the city restricted by Israeli authorities, turnout is likely to suffer.

The war could not have come at a worse time for locals who depend on the Christmas tourist trade.

Jack Giacaman, of the Christmas House souvenir shop, said 80 percent of their sales came at the end of the year.

"Suddenly, in October, tourists disappeared from the streets. And now Bethlehem is completely closed from all directions," he said, referring to the Israeli checkpoints that restrict movement into the walled-off West Bank.

Some pilgrims don't even realise Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, said Jack Giacaman from The Christmas House souvenir shop. "Sometimes they come in and say, 'I'm happy to be in Bethlehem, Israel'"

 (image: HAZEM BADER/AFP)

In the workshop behind Giacaman's store, half-finished shepherds and magi stood watch over deserted workstations.

He had already been forced to borrow money to tide over the business after the slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but had a three-year plan to get back on track.

"Now we don't know how to cover this year," he said.

'Like living in a prison'

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the West Bank has seen a surge in violence, with more than 290 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers, local health officials say.

Some pilgrims don't even realise Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War, Giacaman said.

"Sometimes they come into the shop and say, 'I'm happy to be in Bethlehem, Israel,'" he said.

The Church of the Nativity was empty during our visit, save for a handful of workmen and a small group of pilgrims.

Grieving the violence in Gaza: Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was practically empty ahead of Christmas

 (image: HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Outside, Greek Orthodox priest Issa Thaljieh said Bethlehem was "grieving" the violence in Gaza.

And he regretted that pilgrims would not see the reality of life for Palestinians this year.

Visiting holy sites is important, he said, "but what's most important is to know how Palestinians are living, how they are passing through the difficult situation daily, with the walls around, like living in a prison."

An eye-catching tableau for resistance: graffiti art in Bethlehem

Yamen Elabed was the first Palestinian to come up with the idea of earning money from the graffiti on the barrier wall. Two years ago, he opened his "Banksy's Shop" in Bethlehem. The store features items such as postcards, bags, and T-shirts printed with the most famous motifs of the British artist (including those that no longer exist), as well as works of other artists. On request, tourists can even purchase cans of spray paint so that they too can immortalise themselves on the wall.

The wall at the Qalandiya Checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah serves as a canvas for professional artists as well as politically active Palestinians and those that sympathise with their cause. Here, the likenesses of two of the most important and charismatic Palestinian figures adorn the cement wall: left, the revered former President Yasser Arafat, right, the Fatah politician Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment and has been in prison since 2002.

The trailblazer: in 2005, the legendary British street artist Banksy visited the West Bank and left behind nine stencilled graffiti images on the wall and on private buildings in and around Bethlehem. His satirical and critical commentary on Israel's occupation policy marked the start of an onslaught of international and Palestinian graffiti artists – amateurs and professionals alike – who have adorned the wall with their political and personal messages.

Black humour: many of Banksy's early and later works still exist today, such as his famous "Flower Thrower" and the little girl frisking an Israeli soldier. Some images have been painted over by other artists or even removed out of protest, as a number of Palestinians don't like the British artist's signature black humour.

Escape by escalator: in 2007, Banksy started the "Santa's Ghetto" artist initiative and organised a gathering of internationally renowned "street artists" in Bethlehem (including Mark Jenkins, Sam3, Ron English, Eircailcane, Swoon, and Faile) in order to draw attention to the political situation in the occupied territories. The Italian graffiti artist Blu also contributed with a work on the Israeli barrier opposite the UN refugee camp Aida.

Of hijackers and Christmas trees: this section of the wall features a portrait of the PFLP plane hijacker Leila Khaled and, on the right, a walled-up Christmas tree by the graffiti artist Blu. Bethlehem is characteristically symbolised by Christmas motifs. It remains a matter of interpretation, however, what the artist intended to convey with the image of the dead tree stumps outside of the wall. The power of destruction? Avarice? Hypocrisy?

Pacifism Palestinian style: this work by an unknown Palestinian artist also embellishes the wall in Bethlehem. It makes a humorous reference to the slogan of the hippy and anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s: "Make love, not war."

Mourning "Handala": an unknown Palestinian artist created the image of a mourning Statue of Liberty cradling "Handala" in its arms. In 1969, the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali created the autobiographical figure of the refugee boy "Handala," who always has his back turned to the observer and has his arms folded in a gesture of defiance. To this day, "Handala" serves as a symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance against the occupation.

Christmas tourism vs art tourism: despite the many security warnings, Bethlehem remains a magnet for tourists. Especially during the Christmas season, the small city is overwhelmed by a flood of tourists and pilgrims. As the presumed birthplace of Jesus Christ, Bethlehem draws people from all over the world. Many, however, overlook the stark political realities of life in the city, e.g. the Israeli separation wall.

The New Yorker twins How & Nosm are known in the international street art world for their complicated and abstract graffiti works in red, black, and white. While engaged in their artwork in the autumn of 2013, they were frequently confronted and threatened by Israeli soldiers. One of their works, a symbolic image of a key, was painted over with "Stars of David" and pro-Israeli slogans by soldiers on the very day it was completed.

A special obligation: "We believe that just coming here and tagging, doing pieces, would be inappropriate and selfish. We felt an obligation to bring more than just our names so we brought some messages. If you're an artist you should take that into consideration," says the artistic duo How & Nosm.

Berlin– Bethlehem: parallels are often drawn to another historically significant wall (and its fall). The citation "Ich bin ein Palästinenser" (I am a Palestinian) can be found on a number of places on the cement wall. Many sections of the Israeli separation barrier, as is the case here in Bethlehem, are quite similar in appearance to its former Berlin counterpart.

'All gone now'

Franco-Palestinian restaurateur and hotelier Fadi Kattan, however, was sceptical that pilgrims learn much about the Palestinian cause.

Israeli tour operators nurture a perception that "all Palestinians are dangerous", turning them off interactions with locals, said Kattan, sitting on the terrace of his Bethlehem home that has been in his family for generations.

"For the pilgrims, it's like there's an invisible line where they don't go any deeper into the old city," he added.

Kattan – who serves modern Palestinian cuisine at his restaurants Fawda in Bethlehem and Akub in London's Notting Hill – had hoped to reopen his local businesses for Christmas this year after closing them during the pandemic.

"But that's all gone now," he said.

He said frightening wartime rhetoric from Israeli leaders had worsened the problem.

"If I was an American pilgrim, I would wait a few months to see what happens. Which is terrible to say, because it's a disaster for Bethlehem."

 (AFP)

To Christian Zionists from Palestinian Christians: Enough complicity with Israel

Perspectives

Ryan Al-Natour
23 Dec, 2023

Opinion: On Christmas, a reminder that Christian Palestinians, like Palestinians of all faiths, are killed in Israel's war, a fact ignored by Christian Zionists

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK - This year, instead of a Christmas tree, the church had a decoration made of rubble. It represented the destruction in Gaza.

In Bethlehem, Christian leaders in the town where Jesus was born made a heart-breaking announcement in mid-November 2023: Christmas would be cancelled this year in Palestine.

The decision came from senior church deacons and the Christian mayor of Bethlehem. In years past, Palestinian towns would be decorated with Christmas trees and joyful lights. Children would receive gifts and visits from Santa. But this year, the Bishops and Church Leaders in Jerusalem issued a 'call upon our parishes to let aside unnecessary celebrations this year'.

Father Yousef Matta, the Orthodox Bishop of Galilee based in Nazareth, echoed this position, declaring that parishes across occupied Palestine would cancel Christmas celebrations. In Ramallah, church services attended by children took turns praying for their brethren under fire in the Gaza Strip.

Christmas is, of course, not the holiest day in the Christian calendar – that would be Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection. However, Christmas is our most joyous holiday, during which Palestinian Christians show gratitude for the birth of the Prince of Peace.

And yet, for the past 75 years, Palestine, the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, has been robbed of peace.

This year, there is a genocide in which the Palestinian death toll has already far exceeded that of the original Nakba.

Given the unwavering financial and military support extended to Israel's war machine by the United States, as well as its continual vetoing of ceasefire efforts in the UN, no end is likely in sight.

Instrumentalising our suffering

What an odd situation that we Palestinian Christians find ourselves in. We hear evangelical Christian ministers in the United States, like John Hagee, speak about war in ecstatic and thrilling terms.

"Christian Zionists maintain that the Book of Genesis says that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse it. They insist that if America, as a country, does not "bless" Israel (that is, offer its government its unconditional support), God will curse America," he proclaimed.

Such rhetoric by Christian Zionism imposes violence upon Christian Palestinians, which ignores several vital facts.

Christians in Palestine have existed continuously and have lived in harmony with Muslims for millennia. The Christian Zionist approach weaponizes Western racism, Orientalism and Islamophobia, which are the antithesis of peaceful co-existence. In fact, Christians of Palestine are being subjected to the same anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic racism as our Muslim compatriots.

Christians are dying in Gaza under Israel's indiscriminate bombing campaign. In the West Bank, Christians face assault on their persons, neighbourhoods, and churches from Israeli settlers.

Yet racist right-wing media claim Palestinian leaders cancelled Christmas 'in honour of Hamas martyrs' as Israel continues to battle terrorists in Gaza'. But the martyrs we're talking about are thousands of innocent Palestinian men, women and children who were murdered by Israel, many Christians.

On October 20th 2023, Israel bombed the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City, killing several Palestinians. It was Gaza's oldest church, and Palestinians held a massive joint funeral for those martyred.

As a Christian Palestinian in Gaza named Fadi told the international press, 'nobody is safe in Gaza, regardless of [their] religion'.

Palestinian families are rushing to baptize their youngest, anticipating their death could come at any moment.

Western Christians have had a unique, often contradictory fascination with Palestinian Christians. Some of them are surprised to find out that we exist; others claim the Israeli state is there to 'save' us. Then others have watched our genocide and supported the Zionist state in the hope of the Messiah's 'second coming'. It is perplexing to see how some Christian Zionists think that the return of a Palestinian Jew who founded Christianity would somehow be 'pleased' that they cheered the onslaught of 20 thousand Palestinians and counting.

Unrecognizable Christianity in the West

The West's 'white saviourism' offends and insults Christian Palestinians.

But we ask the West here: do not speak on our behalf. Please keep your white saviours to yourself and stay in your lane. Do not use us as discussion points that support our genocide or vilify our Muslim Brothers and Sisters.

The Christian Zionist approach to Christians in Palestine is in line with the West's 'divide and conquer' methods. In response, Palestinian Christians echo the words of a Palestinian Orthodox Church Monk, Father Antonius Hannania, who said that if the Zionists bombed every mosque in Gaza, he would conduct the Adhaan (call to prayer). Palestinian Christians stand with our Muslim Brothers and Sisters in Gaza, and we will not allow Zionists to divide us in our shared struggle against the Israeli settler colony's racism, apartheid and genocide of Palestinians.

From the Bishops and Church leaders across Occupied Palestine to the exiled diaspora, Christian Palestinians will join the call to cancel celebrations accordingly. Our ancestors protected the budding religion that Jesus of Nazareth gifted to us.

It was our ancestors who nurtured this new faith in the early centuries after his death and spread the Gospels. Christian Zionists today practise a version of this religion that is unrecognizable to us. It remains perhaps one of the greatest ironies that a religion founded by a Palestinian man is instrumentalized in the genocide of the Palestinians.

With the genocide occurring over the sacred holiday, we ask Christians of the world to abstain from celebrating this year, but we highly doubt that this will be considered by the likes of Christian Zionists.

Whilst we remain grief-stricken, in mourning and horrified, Palestinian Christians will take little comfort in watching Christian Zionists celebrate a holiday that we gifted the world whilst they drape their homes in red and green - colours that perhaps they should notice, match the flag of Palestine.

Dr Ryan Al-Natour is a diaspora Palestinian who works as a lecturer in the School of Education, Charles Sturt University. He has experience working in antiracist teaching and has worked in secondary, primary and early childhood teacher training.

Evangelicals Will Never Abandon Israel Even if World Does


By Joel C. Rosenberg | NEWSMAX Saturday, 23 December 2023 

With just days to go before Christmas, and Israel fighting for its existence against Iranian terror proxies on multiple fronts, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and I had the opportunity to spend some time on Thursday afternoon with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.

The meeting took place in the highly secure IDF headquarters known as “The Kirya” – Israel’s Pentagon – in the heart of Tel Aviv.

For the past three days, the governor and I have been co-leading a “Solidarity Mission” of influential Evangelical Christian leaders throughout the country.

We’ve visited Israeli hostage families, visited Israeli communities devastated by the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7th, visited with local Jewish and Christians leaders, compared notes on what we’ve been seeing and hearing, and spent time praying together.

For several hours, our entire group met with the Prime Minister’s senior communications, public diplomacy, and foreign policy advisors to discuss how Israel can more effectively combat the avalanche of lies crashing down on them in the midst of this raging and bitter war.

We also discussed how Israeli leaders can do more to “call up the reserves” of millions of Evangelical Christians to tell the truth about Israel and the Jewish people from pulpits, on podcasts, on social media, in print media, and on radio and TV programs in the United States and all over the world.

AN INVITATION TO MEET THE PRIME MINISTER

At one point, as those critical conversations continued with the rest of the delegation, Governor Huckabee and I were asked to step out of the National Public Diplomacy’s media “war room” and to cross the Kirya campus to the offices and wartime residence of the prime minister.

While we had, of course, been hoping for the opportunity to see him this week, we knew that with such an intense schedule – and constant emergencies interrupting even a normally hard day – it might not happen.

But consistent with his decades of building personal friendships with Evangelical Christian leaders, the prime minister somehow found a way to carve out time.

Netanyahu has long called the Christian community the “greatest friends the Jewish state has.”

As important as the global Jewish community is, it is still fairly small, with perhaps 15 to 17 million Jewish people worldwide.

Yet, there are some 60 million Evangelical Christians in the United States alone.

And some 600 million Evangelicals worldwide.

NETANYAHU UNDERSTANDS WHY EVANGELICALS LOVE ISRAEL SO MUCH

Most love the Bible and read it from Genesis to Revelation.

Thus, most understand the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They understand the history of the 12 tribes of Israel.

So, they understand and embrace God’s unique love and plan for Israel and the Jewish people.

As the Lord once told the Israeli nation through Moses, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them [your enemies], for the Lord your God is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

As the Lord once told the Israeli people through the Hebrew Prophet Jeremiah: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

And as David – Israel’s greatest king – once wrote to his people, encouraging them to embrace these very truths: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:1-4).

Evangelicals know God is not in the business of abandoning His chosen people.

So we shouldn’t abandon them either.

This isn’t at its core a political commitment to Israel.

It’s a theological commitment, and a deeply held one at that.

Few Israelis understand this better than Netanyahu.

DEEPENING A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

That’s why, for the past three decades, he has consistently cultivated this strategic alliance. And yesterday, it turned out, was no different.

After clearing another round of security checks, the governor and I were taken up several flights of stairs and ushered into Netanyahu’s office.

We were accompanied by Ophir Falk, the prime minister's foreign policy advisor.

And Tal Heinrich, a spokeswoman who was hired by the prime minister on Oct. 7th after working for several years for me as a senior correspondent for ALL ISRAEL NEWS and senior producer for THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN.

To our surprise, Netanyahu wasn’t inviting us into a quick pop-in to say hi.

The meeting ended up lasting almost 45 minutes.

WHAT WE WANTED TO SAY TO THE PRIME MINISTER

Wearing a dark suit, Netanyahu wasn’t harried or stressed or rushed, even though yet another salvo of rockets had just been fired by Hamas at Tel Aviv not too much earlier (quickly intercepted by the ever-faithful Iron Dome).

To the contrary, the Prime Minister struck me as calm and laser-focused on winning this war once and for all.

He was particularly happy to see Huckabee, one of the most well-known and influential Evangelicals in the United States.

After all, the two have been good and faithful friends for decades.

From the outset of the meeting, we reaffirmed to the prime minister that the overwhelming majority of Evangelical Christians in the United States love and support the Jewish state and the Jewish people, despite such fierce and unrelenting attacks from so much of the rest of the world.

We also affirmed the fact that millions of Evangelicals are “praying without ceasing” for him, for all the people and leaders of Israel, and for a quick victory over the forces of radical Islamism who are seeking Israel’s total annihilation.

GOVERNOR HUCKABEE’S STATEMENT FOLLOWING THE MEETING

While we covered a range of issues related to the war, the road ahead, and ways to strengthen the Israeli-Evangelical alliance, I’m not at liberty to share specifics.

Rather, let me share our reactions coming out of the meeting.

Governor Huckabee, for example, wanted to issue the following statement.

I’ve known the Prime Minister for many years and always find him to be in command of whatever situation he faces.

I can’t imagine anyone being as rock solid to lead Israel during such an existential crisis.

We conveyed to him our support for Israel and the Jewish people and our confidence in his leadership.

The Prime Minister has shown a steely resolve to carry out the mission of eliminating the terrorist threat of Hamas.

He is a steady head and hand in an unsteady time.

Well put.

A FEW PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

I must say, it was an honor to spend time with the prime minister.

While I first met him in the fall of 2000 – some 23 years ago – this was the first time I’d ever met with him in the middle of a war.

It was particularly interesting to hear his heart and his perspective on the immense challenges that Israelis are facing.

To ask him questions.

And to have the opportunity to share with him in person that we believe in the power of prayer.

That we and our colleagues really are praying for him personally, for his family, for his advisors, as well as for the nation, for victory, and for the immediate and safe release of all the remaining hostages.

This isn’t talk.

It’s not posturing.

It’s a deep commitment that we as Evangelicals have because we know we serve a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God – a God who responds to the cries of His children, and loves to move mountains and work wonders.

With the United Nations increasingly united against Israel – and so many in the international media viciously attacking Israel – the governor and I organized this Evangelical delegation because we wanted to send a crystal clear message to the prime minister, the Israeli people and the Jewish people worldwide.

Evangelical Christians love Israel and the Jewish people with an unconditional and unwavering love because the God of the Bible loves Israel and the Jewish people with an unconditional and unwavering love.

We came to see him because that’s what friends do when times are hard.

We know Bibi has many critics.

But while right now he is a wartime leader, he’s also a husband and a father who is going through one of the most terrible crises in modern Israeli history.

He needs prayer.

He needs encouragement.

He is the one the Lord has chosen for such a time as this.

And we as Christians are commanded in the New Testament to pray for kings and governors and all those in authority.

Let’s be faithful to that charge.

A WINSTON CHURCHILL IN ISRAEL’S DARKEST HOUR

At one point, I told the prime minister that I honestly have no idea how he summons the physical and emotional energy to keep going without developing ulcers over so many years, so many attacks, and so much criticism.

He laughed and attributed it to “good genes.”

“I’m sure,” I said, but added, “I believe it’s also God’s grace, that the Lord is responding to the prayers of millions of Christians and thus giving you the capacity to keep going beyond what most normal people can handle.”

Regardless of your views of Netanyahu, there is no doubt that he is an historic figure. In many ways, he is Israel’s Winston Churchill who, while having his flaws, has been enormously consequential.

We need him to succeed.

And he can’t do it without the intercessory prayers of Christians all over the world.

One thing is certain.

No Israeli leader has ever done more to build both a friendship and a strategic alliance with the Christian community.

And his welcoming us so warmly yesterday was yet further proof of that deep bond of friendship.

That said, meeting senior political leaders was not our primary objective as a delegation.

Over the past three days, we have:

toured Kfar Aza, one of 22 Israeli communities along the Gaza border that were savaged during the Hamas invasion and slaughter of Oct. 7th

met with and was briefed by officials in Sderot, the largest Israeli city on the Gaza border and one of the communities invaded by Hamas on Oct. 7th

met with and heard the personal stories of three Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv

met with and listened to a group of American lone soldiers in Jerusalem

met with and was briefed by Jewish and Christian NGO leaders providing humanitarian aid to Israelis and Palestinians, including those from The Joshua Fund, Samaritan’s Purse, and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

been interviewed by Israeli and American reporters about what we have seen and heard during their time in the Land

met with, prayed with, and been briefed by local Evangelicals in the Land

prayed for the liberation of Gaza from Hamas and a decisive victory over Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian regime

prayed for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza

prayed for the protection of all Israeli soldiers

prayed for the protection of all Palestinian Christians in Gaza

prayed for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing for all Israelis and Palestinians traumatized by this war

prayed for the peace of Jerusalem, according to Psalm 122

My team and I will be sharing more insights from these meetings and visits in the days ahead.

But for now, I wanted to share with you some of what I saw when the Lord opened the door to meet a unique and compelling leader.

This story was reprinted by permission from AllIsraelNews.com.

Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.

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