top
Palestine
Palestine
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Tue Dec 31 2013 (Updated 01/04/14)
Christmas in Bethlehem
Christian Palestinian Reflects on Life Under Israeli Occupation and Maintains Hope
Mazin Qumsiyeh writes: Christmas 2013 in Bethlehem (Beit Laham, Aramaic for House of Laham, the Canaanitic God of Sustenance) is still a very special and meaningful time even under the brutal Israeli apartheid occupation. We are not talking about the visual aspects and the unique religious services at the Church of Nativity. It is special because reflection here is special. Nowhere is there an exhibit of “Occupation Art” shown in a “Peace Center” in front of a large Christmas tree in front of one of the holiest places in Christianity. Nowhere on earth do people pray that the wall suffocating them is dismantled then watch and listen to Christmas carols from around the world after admiring such exhibits....

The end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 is a time to reflect that some 2.5 billion human beings believe in a message that originated with a Palestinian child thought to be born in a manger over 2000 years ago. The land was called Palestine at the time of Jesus’ birth and also for hundreds of years before he was born and it is still geographically Palestine today. It is also a time to reflect on the real message of Jesus, sometimes distorted (like happened with the Crusaders and with the marginal misnamed “Christian Zionists”). It is still a message of hope, peace, joy, justice, love, and harmony....

[Yet] on Christmas eve, Israeli forces also bombed Gaza killing at least two including a 3-year old girl and injuring others in her family. So many Palestinians in Bethlehem and in the Churches directed our Christmas gifts to people of Gaza and people of Syria. And most of us (me included) are barred from entering our city of Jerusalem which is methodically being stripped of its Palestinian population (Christians and Muslims) and isolated by walls (physical and psychological).

Read More | audio This Week in Palestine, December 27th, 2013
2024-03-20 Victory! EFF Helps Indybay Resist San Francisco Police Warrant and Gag Order Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Media Activism & Independent Media | San Francisco2024-02-09 Catholic Anti-Choice Marchers Get an Earful from Abortion Rights Activists in San Francisco Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Womyn | San Francisco | South Bay | U.S.2024-01-10 Wall of Shipping Containers Intended to Keep the Public Out of People's Park Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | East Bay | California2023-12-08 Largest Ever Pro-Palestine Marches in NorCal Demand End to US Aid for Israel's War on Gaza Front Page | Anti-War | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2023-10-31 Three Activists Detained at Climate Protest for Crossing Beale Air Force Base Gate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Anti-War | Central Valley | California | U.S.2023-09-29 California Climate Justice Actions in Coordination with Massive New York City March Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California2023-08-19 Environmentalists Speak Out Against Airport Expansion as Climate Disasters Accelerate Environment & Forest Defense | East Bay2023-08-12 Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization Labor & Workers | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S.2023-07-19 Halt to Fossil Fuel Funding Demanded as Wells Fargo Operations Shut Down Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | San Francisco | U.S.2023-07-13 Demonstrations Wrack France, Boiling Over After Police Murder of Youth Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | LGBTI / Queer | International | Government & Elections | Immigrant Rights2023-07-02 A Call for Pride to Return to its Roots as a Riot in Defense of LGBTQ+ Rights Health, Housing & Public Services | LGBTI / Queer | Womyn | San Francisco
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network