wfn.org | This Christmas in Bethlehem--a perspective

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by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh  

BETHLEHEM, December 25, 2000--I was born within a short walking distance of 
where tradition says Jesus Christ was born.  The Biblical Shepherd's field 
(Beit Sahur in Arabic) where I was born and Beit Jala, where St. Nicholas was 
believed to have been born.  Both are suburbs of Bethlehem in the Holy Land.  

Unfortunately, the residents of those places like all Palestinians (Christian 
and Muslim) will not see "peace on earth" or "good will" but more blood and 
mayhem this Christmas and Ramadan season. (Ramadan is the Muslim month of 
fasting and prayers).  My mother's side of the family is Lutheran and my 
father's side is Greek Orthodox.  

My hometown was an idyllic place, a place were Christians and Muslims lived 
and worked side by side.   The main town mosque and church are still in the 
same block both in Bethlehem and Beit Sahur.  Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit 
Sahur have been relentlessly bombed by Israeli occupation forces with 
hundreds of families having to desert their homes. (About 70% of the damaged 
homes belonging to Christian families). Amnesty International, Human Rights 
Watch, and B'Tselem (Israeli Human Rights Organization) have called this 
"excessive use of force" and "collective punishment," which is banned by 
International law.  

My parents tell me they feel lucky since the level of atrocities is still 
small compared to those faced by other places such as Ramallah, Gaza, Rafah, 
and  Husan.   A siege on all towns is also in effect and the United Nations 
has warned of potential starvation.  In some places (e.g. Hebron) curfews are 
in effect for weeks with no school, no work, and no supplies.

In these times of crisis and Christmas renewal, we reflect on the Palestine 
of Jesus’ day and how things may have been.  Like today, the picture in the 
Holy Land was less than idyllic 2000 years ago.  

The similarities are astonishing: a brutal military occupation supported both 
by resources extracted from the natives and by funding and weaponry from the 
west, rulers using collective punishment against the inhabitants, grinding 
poverty of the natives, wealthy overlords using self proclaimed divine 
authority to do what they please, soldiers killing children, selfish 
collaborators, parents grieving over the loss of their children, attacks on 
houses of worship, and an organized public relations campaign to justify it 
all. 

Of course some differences exist.  Gunship helicopters and tanks are used 
today to bomb neighborhoods--and even Churches and Mosques--and assassinate 
individuals in lieu of Roman crucifixion or feeding them to the lions.  And 
instead of public pronouncements by scribes, we have sophisticated media 
tools used to show that two undercover soldiers killed by a mob are more 
precious than one hundred Palestinian children massacred and thousands 
injured.  

Absurdly blaming the victims for their own killing, the current occupier has 
produced a new logic.  Instead of chariots, spears, and swords, the occupier 
has 400 nuclear weapons and a modern US-equipped army (for which my tax 
dollars are now supporting to kill my friends and relatives).

I also reflect on what Jesus recommended to his followers.   Better yet, he 
set the example for them when he went into the Temple grounds, turned the 
tables of the money-changers, and chastized those who have turned the house 
of the Lord to suit their own personal benefit.  Americans today know very 
little about what is happening to their co-religionists in the Holy Land 
other than the distorted snippets seen on TV.   Sure, the Catholic Bishops 
issued a statement denouncing the excessive use of force by the Israeli army 
as did the World Council of Churches.   They did this on the heels of similar 
reports from over six human rights organizations.  

But are words enough while the killing and oppression continues?   Are words 
enough when our own US government basically supplies the weapons and the 
money for Israel to continue its policies?  

These are policies that in the past 52 years resulted in the largest refugee 
problem in the world (70% of Palestinians are displaced or refugees)?   
Policies that include land confiscation, home demolitions, and settlement 
construction.   The answer given by a small group of Christians working in 
the occupied territories is no.  

This group (called the Christian Peacemaker Teams, see 
www.prairienet.org/cpt/) of highly dedicated individuals sometimes put 
themselves in front of Israeli bulldozers to prevent the demolishing of 
Palestinian homes.   They have worked in many corners of the world to rectify 
injustice by non-violent means and mostly by putting their bodies between the 
oppressor and the oppressed.  This Christmas, the group will still be in Beit 
Jala and in Hebron.  

Hebron, where Abraham is believed buried, has seen horrific suffering where 
400 fanatical Jewish colonizers/settlers supported by 2000 Israeli soldiers 
basically rule the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians.  If the clock 
would turn back 2000 years, I really believe that Jesus would be walking and 
acting in the wretched streets of downtown Hebron under curfew, with the 
besieged people of the Shepherd's field, and in the basements of my/his home 
town.

(Dr. Mazin B. Qumsiyeh is Chair of the Media Committee, The Palestine Right 
to Return Coalition.)

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