Merry Christmas from Gaza
How our partner families are celebrating another Christmas under genocide.
Fewer than 500 Christians remain alive in Gaza.
Most of them are Greek Orthodox.
They will celebrate on January 7th in the recently attacked St Porphyrius Orthodox Church.
Others, in the Holy Family Catholic Church, will celebrate tomorrow on December 25th.
Christmas also represents the birth of Nabi Isa, a Holy Prophet in Islam.
Gaza’s first music teacher Elham Farah loved Christmas.
Before she was brutally murdered by the Israeli Military in November of last year she celebrated Christmas by participating in church prayers and playing the keyboard for the congregation and at Christmas performances.
Christmas in Bethlehem is normally an eagerly anticipated affair.
Tree lighting in Manger Square, festivals, music and Santas, an import from the days of Britain’s rule over Palestine, adorn the city streets.
Auntie Elham would apply for a permit every year to go to Bethlehem with the other Christians to celebrate Christmas in the birthplace of Jesus.
Permits were rarely given but always celebrated.
As an extreme minority, the Christian community in Gaza tends to stay fairly quiet and private when it comes to self expression.
Many have been reluctant to set up GoFundMe pages or do anything that attracts attention.
Israel notoriously ramps up their attacks whenever the west is distracted by things like the Superbowl or holidays.
As the targeting and violence dramatically escalate, our partner doctors, journalists and healthcare workers are considered a prime target by Israel.
There is an understandable sense that talking to anyone at this moment is a grave risk.
Here is how Elham Fund partner families will celebrate their second Christmas under genocide.
“We did not celebrate last Christmas or Easter. So we will not celebrate this year. We will celebrate only upon our return to our homes in Gaza City.”
“I miss decorating the house with my family and our gatherings around the fireplace next to the Christmas tree”
“I really hope that I can at least feel the warmth of Christmas this year. One of my wishes for this Christmas is to see my mother”
“Being in a church is a privilege for celebrating Christmas. We get to celebrate the holy mass and celebrate with other displaced families”
“For the second year celebrating Christmas under genocide I lost many meanings for Christmas but I still have faith in God that he is preparing something great for me and my wife”
There will be no Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
"Christmas celebrations across the Holy Land will only include religious rituals, as was the case last year,” Ramzi Khoury, head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, said in a statement.
There is no spirit to celebrate in the West Bank, knowing the horrors that are being suffered just miles away.
The West Bank is in mourning as loved ones have all been lost in the genocide.
“For all the Christians in the world, as you are decorating your surroundings, streets, and towns, the people of Gaza are being killed.”
Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia in Occupied al-Quds
Reverend Dr. Munther Isaac, director of Christ at the Checkpoint and senior pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem has been making headlines for displaying a very different Christmas manger at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem this year: Baby Jesus lying amid the rubble.
This Christmas we ask that, as you celebrate the holidays and the coming new year, that you take some time to think about the people of Palestine as they find ways to celebrate under genocide.
Please keep the people of Gaza in your hearts and minds.
Merry Christmas from all of us at the Elham Fund.
Authors note: One of the things that struck me was how typical everyone’s descriptions of Christmas celebrations are. The Christians of Gaza are not some kind of unique specimen, they are Christians who have celebrated the holiday the way many people all over the world celebrate. It is part of the narrative that has been used to disparage Palestinians and made them feel like they are “other” and different in the eyes of the west to help justify the brutality against them. Let’s do our best to hold them in our hearts and recognize our common humanity.
As you celebrate with your friends and family, we ask you to find ways to support the people of Gaza through giving, advocacy, and conversations.
Have a difficult conversation with someone that will be receptive to it. You might be the party pooper but we all need to have uncomfortable personal conversations with people if we are going to continue to turn the tide of opinion to support the people of Gaza. If you don’t want to have a conversation with someone consider sharing our work with someone who would be receptive. Every person who learns the truth of what is happening on a human level creates another supporter. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
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