This Christmas, Bethlehem is in mourning
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Nativity scene in Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
"Christmas is Palestine's own story. The story of a family in Nazareth in the north. They are ordered by the Roman Empire to flee to Bethlehem in the south. The same misery that families in Gaza have been going through for the last 75 days. Like the 50,000 pregnant women there today, Mariam, who was pregnant then, became homeless. Jesus was born as a refugee; he had to be given birth in a cowshed because there was no other place. Today, in Gaza, where there are no hospitals, care centres or homes, babies are born amid the rubble. Herod was a bloodthirsty Roman emperor who ruled over Palestine. He ordered the killing of children born in Bethlehem out of fear of losing his position. Even behind the killing of 8,000 children in Gaza so far is Netanyahu’s desire to retain power.” This is what author, priest and founder of Dar al-Kalima University, Rev Prof Mitri Rahab, said, explaining why Christmas was cancelled in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, for the first time in history. For two thousand years, Christmas has been a time of special celebration for Bethlehem. This time, there are only prayer ceremonies. No tourists, no pilgrims, no Christmas tree and decorations, no carols and no Santa Claus. In this way, the Christian Church is also declaring that they are with Palestine. It won’t be the usual Nativity scene today at the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, but a figure of Jesus, wrapped in a Palestinian Keffiyeh, lying among the rubble of a bombed-out building.
Christian leaders explain that it carries the message that 'Jesus is with those who suffer'. The Palestinian pastor of the Lutheran Church, Rev. Muntadar Ishaq, says Christmas is also the story of a child born in the terrible conditions of occupation. Palestine is the land where prophets and heroes of the age lived, who worked hard to liberate human communities from slavery and oppressive regimes. There, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in peace for centuries. As the violent imperialism of Zionism unleashed its perverse plans, it became chaotic. Nazi Europe that exterminated the Jews let them colonize Palestine. The Zionists approached Pope Pius X to agree to the conspiracy, but he refused. So, to ensnare the Protestants, a priest named Scofield was made to write a new interpretation of the Bible and circulate it widely, says history. In fact, it was not religious faith but a colonial project called Zionism to what Israel is related, historians have revealed. This is why true believers reject Christian Zionists who have weaponized the Bible. As Rev Mitri Rahab points out, Zionism with its embodiment, Israel, is the enemy of all religious communities. In order to expel the natives of Palestine, they - who came from Europe and other regions - incite hatred by describing victims as terrorists and animals; Netanyahu interprets the Bible as saying that "there is God's command to kill the Amalekites without exception" in order to justify the genocide, which is the exact opposite of Jesus' teachings.
Demonstrations everywhere prove that when governments in the US and Europe support genocide, they do not represent the believers there. Church leaders emphasize that if Jesus were to be born today, it would be among the ruins of a kingdom destroyed by oppressors. Israel has already destroyed countless mosques, churches, schools and hospitals. The prehabilitation centre established by Mother Teresa was also demolished. It was last week that two women were shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the compound of the Holy Family Church. And this after the information about the churches was handed over to the army. Pope Francis II has repeatedly said bluntly that what Israel does is 'terror'. Jesus was a prophet of peace. Christmas too gives a message of peace. The Christian Church upholds the interest of justice when it rejects oppressors who spread hatred among men and cause destruction. Now is the time to discover the true spirit of Christmas. May this Nativity day be the hope for the birth of a peaceful world.
