Italian banner: “Stop embargo, Gaza will live.”

The grim realities of the occupation of the West Bank and the embargo of much transport and trade with the Gaza Strip were included explicitly in the joyful and hope-filled celebration of Christmas in Manger Square, Bethlehem, on Dec. 24, in which MPT members David and Joe were glad to participate. Just after the orchestra and choir of Palestine’s Edward Said^[1] National Conservatory of Music had sung Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus, which for many in the large crowd never had a deeper impact than in this spot on that night, a speaker on the stage just in front of the Church of the Nativity said: “This Christmas we are celebrating Palestinian resilience and resistance to the occupation. We remember our martyrs and political prisoners.”

Later in the music-filled night another speaker announced: “We send our greetings to our suffering brothers and sisters in Gaza; we are one nation, one people, Palestine.”

Solidarity with Gaza, where the Israeli embargo is causing serious distress to the civilian population, was expressed visually by a group of Italian internationals who displayed a banner, “Stop Embargo – Gaza Vivra,” prominently on one side of the square. That Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank will live one day in true freedom and peace based on justice is the Christmas hope of many who work with perseverance toward that end.

Videos of the celebration can be found at BBC-TV and also at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sONUbGT-8yI
 

In his Christmas Message issued on Dec. 19, Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch (Roman Catholic Archbishop) of Jerusalem stated: “We joyfully celebrate Christmas, hoping to see better days in our Holy Land….

“Because God is with us, we remain hopeful in the midst of all the daily difficulties we experience as a result of the occupation and of the insecurity and deprivations that arise from it. God is with us, reminding us that the commandment of love, which was given to us by Jesus, born in Bethlehem, still remains valid for the difficult times in which we are living today....

“It is a love that knows how to forgive and, at the same time, to demand all our rights, especially those given by God to each person and to the entire community, such as the gift of life, of dignity, of freedom, and of the land.

“Palestinians and Israelis are capable of living together in peace, each in their own territory, each enjoying their security, their dignity, and their rights. But to attain that peace, it is necessary to believe that Israelis and Palestinians are equal in all things, that they have the same rights and the same duties, and that both parties must adopt the ways of God, which are not the ways of violence, whether they be carried out by the State or by extremists….

“A new peace effort was begun these last few weeks. In order for it to succeed, there must be a firm willingness to make peace…. The strong party, the one with everything in hand, the one who is imposing occupation on the other, has the obligation to see what is just for everyone and to carry it out courageously….
 

Patriarch Michel Sabbah
leaving Jerusalem for Bethlehem.

“In recent times, there has been some talk about creating ‘religious’ States in this land. But in this land, which is holy for three religions and for two peoples, religious States cannot be established because they would exclude or place in an inferior position the believers of the other religions. A State that would exclude or discriminate against the other religions is not suitable for this land made holy by God for all of humanity….^[2]

“The holiness and the universal vocation of this land also includes the duty to welcome pilgrims from around the world, those who come for a short visit, and those who come to reside, to pray, to study, or to perform the religious ministry to which the faithful of all religions have a right. For many years, we have been suffering from a problem that has never been solved, that of entry-visas into the country for priests and for religious men and women who, in this land, because of their faith, have duties to perform as well as rights….”

One aspect of this problem was reported by the Associated Press on Oct. 27, 2007, in an article published in the Israeli daily, Haaretz: “Israel rescinds Arab Christian clergy travel rights in W. Bank.” The article began by noting that “Israel has rescinded some travel privileges for Arab Christian clergy traveling to and around the West Bank because of security concerns, an Interior Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

"‘The decision means the religious leaders' visas will be good for one entry only, and not for repeat visits as in the past,’ spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said. ‘This means they will be required to coordinate each trip they make,’ she said. ‘According to a request by security officials, we restricted the visas of the clergy,’ Haddad said. ‘We are trying to find a solution to make it easier for them.’" The article further reported that Father Jack Abed, a parish priest of the Melkite Catholic community near the West Bank town of Ramallah, said the new rule violated understandings between Israel and the Vatican. "One of the agreements is the freedom of movement and worship," he said. "There is no freedom of movement if Israel wants to limit visas to a single entry," he added.
 

Singers left to right: Argentinean Paula Almerares, Israeli Jew Orit Gabriel, Israeli Arab Enas Messalha.

Presiding at Midnight Mass in Bethlehem, Patriarch Sabbah said in a sermon delivered in his native Arabic: "This land belongs to God. It must not be for some a land of life and for others a land of occupation and a political prison" (BBC, Dec. 25, 2007)^[3].

BBC also noted that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Muslim, joined the midnight Mass in Bethlehem and emphasized that not only Christians were celebrating the festival. "The new year, God willing, will be a year of security and economic stability," he said. "We pray next year will be the year of independence for the Palestinian people."

Peace was the theme of a “Concert for Life and Peace from Bethlehem and Jerusalem” performed in those two cities on Dec. 22 and 23 respectively by the Italian orchestral group, “I Solisti Veneti,” with the support of a number of Italian local authorities. Toward the end of the Jerusalem concert, held in the packed Henry Crown Symphony Hall, “Silent Night” was sung by an Arab soprano in her language and then by a Jewish mezzo soprano in Hebrew. Then both sang together.

[1] Edward Said, professor, author, and advocate of the Palestinian cause, died in 2003 in New York City.

[2] The issue here is that Israel defines itself as a Jewish state even though about 20% of its population are Arab Muslims, with a very small sprinkling of Arab Christians. These minorities complain of discrimination in various aspects of life in Israel. On Dec. 22 the Jerusalem Post reported that “the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) attacked Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah for commenting last Wednesday during his annual pre-Christmas address that Israel should abandon its Jewish character in favor of a political, normal state for Christians Muslims and Jews.

“The UOJCA, the US's largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, sent a letter of protest to Catholic officials. UOJCA Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi H. Weinreb said, ‘Under Israeli rule, each Abrahamic faith has full access and control over their holy shrines. We are mystified at the suggestion by Patriarch Sabbah that Israel, which has lived each day of its existence under siege and at war, should be the party at fault in his eyes when each day men, women and children are under rocket attack, living in fear of suicide bombings and sniper attacks, and struggling against radical regimes that seek to literally wipe it off the map."

[3] In his Christmas Message of 2006 the Patriarch had delivered a similarly strong message of justice and freedom: “This year again, Christmas is coming to Bethlehem amid the same circumstances of death and frustration, with the Wall and the checkpoints on the ground and in the hearts. The occupation and deprivation of freedom on one side, and fear and insecurity on the other, continue as before. Gaza remains a big prison, a place of death and of internal Palestinian dissension. Even children have been killed….

“Today, life in Bethlehem and its surrounding area has become very difficult to endure, in spite of the numerous initiatives of solidarity that have come from the outside. Yes, we are in need of solidarity, and we are grateful for all the messages of brotherhood we have received from around the world. But our fundamental need is for peace, justice, freedom, and an end to the occupation. Our political leaders … must listen to the voice of the oppressed in this Holy Land, to the voice of those who have died, of those who are still threatened by death and humiliation, those on whom they think they can impose death or humiliation in order to assure the security of the other party.”