All I want for Christmas is peace in Gaza

Perhaps for the first time since the birth of Christ more than 2,000 years ago, Christians in Bethlehem have decided to forego Christmas celebrations in the little town where Jesus was born.

They will continue to worship and host religious services, but rather than express celebrations of joy, they will lament and grieve the ongoing death of thousands of their Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza as a result of Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza.

Earlier this month, several dozen Christian denominations and organisations co-convened a Christmas Ceasefire Service in Washington, DC in solidarity with Christians in Bethlehem and throughout the Middle East, calling for an end to the bombing of Gaza and the devastating effects on the civilians living there.

The culminating speaker, Rev. William Young IV, pastor of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., and the American Baptist Church board member of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), read a letter written by several Palestinian Christian pastoral leaders from the occupied city of Bethlehem that had been addressed to US President Joe Biden.

Delivered the week prior, three Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem and Bethlehem had come to Washington to advocate for a comprehensive ceasefire that would stop all violence and bring an end to the war on Gaza.

The letter states, “We are writing to plead with you to stop this war. God has placed political leaders in a position of power to bring justice, support those who suffer, and be instruments of God’s peace. We want a constant and comprehensive ceasefire. Enough death. Enough destruction. This is a moral obligation. There must be other ways. This is our call and prayer this Christmas.” The entire letter can be read here.

The December service was one of many gatherings facilitated by American Christians, heeding the call of Christians in the Middle East to stand in solidarity with those in Gaza.

Those gathered called on Biden and the US government to end the killing and support a comprehensive ceasefire and end to war. They also encouraged pursuing alternative nonviolent means through negotiations, securing a release of hostages held in Gaza and prisoners held without charges in Israel, and immediate and adequate humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Tamar Haddad, one of the visiting Christians from Palestine, leads CMEP’s women’s empowerment program And Still We Rise (ASWR), and sang a song at the December Christmas service.

To the tune of “The Little Drummer Boy,” the song, Shu Fee Atfal’am Tebkee or “Many Children Are Weeping” by Hiba Tiwaji. The words say, “Christmas has two faces, While one of them laughs, the other is gloomy. The very sadness that is coming from deep within is in agony. There is a voice that screams, ‘we have a hunger that remains unheeded.’ ”

The lyrics continue and do not shy away from criticising global silence regarding Palestinian hunger, the desperate need for humanitarian assistance, and its effect on children.

“The world is standing, watching. The world can see us, but it does not want to heed us. If it hears us, it remains silent. Justice in this world has no heart, it does not speak up.”

Christians in Palestine are begging the world to no longer be silent. In late October, Palestinian Christian leaders issued an open letter to Western leaders and theologians, stating that they are “profoundly troubled” as they watch with “horror the way many Western Christians” have offered “unwavering support to Israel’s war against the people of Palestine.”

The Palestinian Christian leaders condemned attacks against all civilians, identified specific abuses by Israel during its 75 years of “systematic oppression against Palestinians,” and held Western church leaders accountable for their “theological and political complicity” in Israeli crimes.

The war against Gaza rages on, and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says it will continue despite international consternation and opposition, with already more than 18,000 people killed, the majority of whom are women and children.

As the world prepares for Christmas, Bethlehem Lutheran Pastor Munther Isaac reminds the world where Jesus would be found if he were in his birth city today: “Under the Rubble.” In fact, the manger scene at his church, the Bethlehem Lutheran Christmas Church, depicts baby Jesus lying surrounded by rubble.

When asked about the response of Biden and the White House to the letter from Bethlehem Christian leaders, Isaac said that the US answer was to be the only country to veto the United Nations Security Council Resolution calling for a ceasefire. “They celebrate Christmas in their land, and wage war in our land.”

Christians and all people have a role to play in contributing to peace by heeding the call of the church in Palestine.

We must condemn the violent acts by Hamas on October 7 and condemn the indiscriminate killing of civilians by the Israeli military through their bombing campaign and incursion into Gaza. The killing must be brought to an end.

A comprehensive ceasefire is the only answer. Christians around the world consider this the “Advent Season” - a time of waiting to celebrate the Good News of the celebration of the birth of the Messiah commemorated at Christmas.

In this time of waiting, there is much work to be done - work calling for a #CeasefireNow while diligently working toward peace and justice, advocating for nonviolence, and demanding an end to this horrific war on Gaza and the Palestinian people.