Bethlehem Cancels Christmas to Show Support for Palestinians in Gaza

Even long-standing Christmas traditions in Bethlehem are not immune to the deadly fighting in Gaza.

Last month, local leaders in Bethlehem made the decision to cancel all public Christmas festivities. According to The Associated Press, the decision was made in solidarity with the Palestinian population, as heavy fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The conflict erupted on October 7 when the militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel.

In the place of a decorated Christmas tree, the municipality of Bethlehem organized an artwork called “Nativity under the Rubble” in Manger Square. The artwork depicts the nativity scene within a demolished building. It is meant to symbolize the struggles and suffering faced by the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Regarded by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem is typically bustling with foreign tourists in December. Historically, streets have been full of holiday decorations and vendors selling ornaments and festive figurines.

Bethlehem is located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Nativity scene shows baby Jesus wrapped in a keffiyeh and placed in a pile of rubble to show solidarity with the people of Gaza on December 18, 2023, in Bethlehem, West Bank. Last month, Christian Palestinian leaders there called off public Christmas celebrations.

“This is what Christmas looks like in Palestine,” Rev. Dr. Munther Ishaq, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, told Al-Jazeera.

Newsweek has reached out to Ishaq for comment via email.

According to The Associated Press, the artwork was presented Saturday by Rula Maayah, the former Palestinian minister of tourism, and Hana Hananiyeh, the mayor of Bethlehem. Hananiyeh said the displacement of Palestinian families echoed Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s escape from King Herod’s decree.

“This is a message to the whole world that the whole world is celebrating Christmas, but not Bethlehem,” Rula Maayah told The Associated Press.

“Bethlehem this year is celebrating Christmas in a different way with a message to the whole world that Palestine is suffering, That Bethlehem is suffering. That Bethlehem is celebrating Christmas from the rubble. Not like all other people in the world,”

Israel declared war after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages.

Since then, more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war against Hamas and more than 53,000 have been wounded, according to health officials in Gaza.

Israel has vowed to keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed and removed from power in Gaza and all hostages are freed.

Former Rep. Justin Amash, a Christian Palestinian, lost several of his relatives in the Gaza Strip fighting when an Israeli airstrike hit a Greek Orthodox church in October.

Amash recently posted on X, formerly Twitter:

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. But for Christians in Gaza—whose family members have been killed or maimed, whose homes and churches have been destroyed or badly damaged, and who suffer through sleepless nights of bombings—this Christmas will be one of… pic.twitter.com/NINLRNSZdg

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 17, 2023

“Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. But for Christians in Gaza—whose family members have been killed or maimed, whose homes and churches have been destroyed or badly damaged, and who suffer through sleepless nights of bombings—this Christmas will be one of great sadness and mourning. Please pray for peace and reprieve from the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) siege that is devastating this ancient community.”

Newsweek has reached out to Amash for comment via email.

A priest places a candle in front of an installation depicting the nativity of Christ with a figure “symbolizing baby Jesus lying in his manger amid rubble.”
AFP/Getty Images

On Friday, Pope Francis announced he was sending the papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, to the Holy Land as a “sign of his solidarity amid the tragedy of war.” The papal almoner is responsible for performing works of mercy on behalf of the pope.

According to Vatican News, Krajewski will spend Christmas with the local church in the place of Jesus’ birth.

“Cardinal Krajewski will join this great invocation for peace together with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the entire local church, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace and the only hope of our world,” the release from the Vatican stated.

Pope Francis, the release added, invites everyone to accompany the cardinal’s journey in prayer, “in order to obtain the gift of peace in areas where the thunder of weapons continues to roar.”