Wartime Christmas in the Holy Land: More duty than joy

War in the Middle East - Wartime Christmas in the Holy Land: More duty than joy

"Behold, I proclaim to you great joy, which will come to all people, for today the Savior has been born to you." These words from the Christmas story in the Gospel of Luke are likely to be difficult for many Christians in the Middle East and beyond to say in view of the horrific images of the attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas and the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. For some, Christmas this year is more of a duty than a celebration.

"The atmosphere is very sad. No one feels like celebrating in view of the Gaza war," Anton Siniora, a Christian from Jerusalem, told the German Press Agency. "We didn't even put up a Christmas tree this year. Only a few families did, at least to give their children a little joy," he added.

Bethlehem, with its world-famous Church of the Nativity south of Jerusalem, is also a sad, deserted place this Christmas. However, midnight mass will also be said this Christmas in the church, under the altar of which is the grotto where, according to tradition, Jesus Christ was born more than 2000 years ago.

No Christmas decorations

The city, which is usually crowded with tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world at Christmas, is virtually deserted due to the war and the lockdown imposed by Israel. The large Christmas tree that usually stands in front of the Church of the Nativity during Advent is missing. The heads of the churches in Jerusalem had already decided in November that there would be no Christmas decorations in the Holy Land because of the war.

"It's not just a sad Christmas, it's also an economic disaster," said George Rishmawi, a resident of Bethlehem. "The Israeli occupation has stifled the economy. Because of the closure of the city, no one can get in or out without a pass," he said. Bethlehem is under siege. In addition, public employees no longer receive salaries because the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, no longer has any money.

No one can go to work in Israel anymore, there are no tourists and sales of the famous olive wood Christmas souvenirs are close to zero. "It's sad, and instead of going to Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity like I do every Christmas, I'm going to stay at home," said Rishmawi. "Everyone here feels that way in view of the killing in the Gaza Strip," he added. Not even during the coronavirus pandemic had he seen Bethlehem this bleak. And no one wants to meet the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbatista Pizzaballa, because everyone is annoyed that he met with Israeli President Izchak Herzog.

Christians only a very small minority

As the highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Pizzaballa took part in the traditional Christmas procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the morning. However, he was only accompanied by a few believers and a few Franciscans on the car journey. As every year, the procession began at the Jaffa Gate in the historic Old City of Jerusalem and ended at the Church of the Nativity.

In the Holy Land, Christians are only a very small minority: around 1,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, out of a total population of around 2.2 million. In Israel, Christians make up just under two percent of the approximately 10 million citizens. In the West Bank, they make up around 1.5 percent of the approximately 3.2 million Palestinians.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Pizzaballa on the phone and assured him of France's continued solidarity. Macron expressed his great concern about the dramatic situation of the Latin Church in Gaza, where hundreds of civilians of all denominations have been seeking refuge and living under fire for months.

Hope for an end to the dying in the Gaza Strip

Despite the generally subdued mood, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed hope in a Christmas message that the Christian festival would bring an end to the dying in the Gaza Strip. However, there were no signs of this. Abbas emphasized that the Palestinians were continuing to fight for their right to a separate and sovereign state.

The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other groups on October 7 in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1200 people were killed. Israel responded with massive air strikes and, since the end of October, a ground offensive in the area. According to the health authority controlled by the Islamist Hamas, more than 20,400 people have now been killed.