A dark Xmas
by Reneva Fourie
Writing is losing its lustre. When it comes to developments in Palestine, despondency sets in; for truth appears to have little impact, rendering writing seemingly worthless.
The Christmas season is usually associated with jolliness due to the celebration of the birth of Jesus or Isa (AS). It is said that on the day this holy eminence was born, in a stable in Bethlehem, Palestine, angels lit the sky and sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men.’
But on this 25 December the holy land was devoid of peace. The only thing that lit the Christmas eve sky was the vile baptism of fire and destruction unleashed by apartheid-Israel’s missiles upon Jesus’s fellow Palestinians. The aggression continued as the day progressed.
In Al-Maghazi, a single Israeli airstrike took the lives of 70 civilians, wiping out an entire residential block. According to the Palestinian health authority, Israeli occupation forces committed 25 massacres against entire families within a period of 24 hours, resulting in 250 deaths and 500 injuries. Consequently, the overall toll of the ongoing aggression on Gaza since 7 October surged to 20,674 deaths and 54,536 wounded, the majority of whom are women and children. Other incidents of apartheid-Israeli aggression within this ‘festive’ season include: severely restricting the entry points to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, bombing a 600 year-old church in Lebanon, bombing a convent in Gaza, sniping to death Christian women at a church, and bombing St.Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza.
While many across the world, inclusive of those of Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith, are repeatedly condemning these acts of terror, the voices that defend outweigh them. The defenders are stuck on the 7 October act of resistance by Hamas (a narrative, which is now proving to be fraught with errors) and refuse to recognise that the impact of the legitimate acts of resistance by Palestinians, with low intensity support from within Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, despite being noteworthy, is minuscule. It does not by any means justify the unfolding genocide. It is fair to say that this Christmas season, in general, lacks the goodwill that the angels had professed.
A testimony to the eroding of goodwill is the tension that is rising in families. We are a blended family of Christian and Jewish descent, composed of pro- and anti- Zionists in both faiths. We recently had lunch with another from a blended family and he was describing how current developments in Palestine have resulted in an irrevocable split in his family.
While the Christmas season is usually the primary time of gathering in ours, we avoided family this time, precisely to prevent a split. For when I listen to loved-ones who are so high on their spirituality that they are blinded by the evil before them, my disappointment at their insensitive irrationality is painted on my face. The pain of their former abuse of religion to isolate us for resisting apartheid resurfaces.
Indeed, the religious fissures that were prevalent during South Africa’s dark days of apartheid, are becoming more prominent than ever. Those religious (and non-religious) persons that led the fight against South Africa’s apartheid are now at the forefront of creating awareness around fighting apartheid-Israel. And once again some of us are being ostracised by our families.
Despite this ostracisation, the struggle continues. This year’s South African Bethlehem Christmas Pilgrimage led by Reverend Frank Chikane was an act of defiance as much as an act of solidarity. It was an affirmation of our unwavering support for the oppressed people of Palestine. As religious leaders, their pilgrimage was also reflective of the many teachings of Jesus, that ascribes the second greatest commandment to being that of loving your neighbour as you love yourself.
And so, it is out of love for one’s neighbour, love for truth, and love for justice that we also continue to write. Communication is a fundamental weapon in modern-day warfare. It is therefore imperative to consistently and persistently contest the space in the battle of ideas, even if efforts appear to be futile. Apartheid-Israel would not be targeting journalists if the exposure of the atrocities were meaningless. The Christmas season is also supposed to be a season of hope. As dark as these past months, and particularly these few days, has been, the collapse of apartheid in South Africa demonstrates that righteousness will eventually triumph.
Writing is losing its lustre. When it comes to developments in Palestine, despondency sets in; for truth appears to have little impact, rendering writing seemingly worthless.
The Christmas season is usually associated with jolliness due to the celebration of the birth of Jesus or Isa (AS). It is said that on the day this holy eminence was born, in a stable in Bethlehem, Palestine, angels lit the sky and sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men.’
But on this 25 December the holy land was devoid of peace. The only thing that lit the Christmas eve sky was the vile baptism of fire and destruction unleashed by apartheid-Israel’s missiles upon Jesus’s fellow Palestinians. The aggression continued as the day progressed.
In Al-Maghazi, a single Israeli airstrike took the lives of 70 civilians, wiping out an entire residential block. According to the Palestinian health authority, Israeli occupation forces committed 25 massacres against entire families within a period of 24 hours, resulting in 250 deaths and 500 injuries. Consequently, the overall toll of the ongoing aggression on Gaza since 7 October surged to 20,674 deaths and 54,536 wounded, the majority of whom are women and children. Other incidents of apartheid-Israeli aggression within this ‘festive’ season include: severely restricting the entry points to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, bombing a 600 year-old church in Lebanon, bombing a convent in Gaza, sniping to death Christian women at a church, and bombing St.Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza.
While many across the world, inclusive of those of Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith, are repeatedly condemning these acts of terror, the voices that defend outweigh them. The defenders are stuck on the 7 October act of resistance by Hamas (a narrative, which is now proving to be fraught with errors) and refuse to recognise that the impact of the legitimate acts of resistance by Palestinians, with low intensity support from within Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, despite being noteworthy, is minuscule. It does not by any means justify the unfolding genocide. It is fair to say that this Christmas season, in general, lacks the goodwill that the angels had professed.
A testimony to the eroding of goodwill is the tension that is rising in families. We are a blended family of Christian and Jewish descent, composed of pro- and anti- Zionists in both faiths. We recently had lunch with another from a blended family and he was describing how current developments in Palestine have resulted in an irrevocable split in his family.
While the Christmas season is usually the primary time of gathering in ours, we avoided family this time, precisely to prevent a split. For when I listen to loved-ones who are so high on their spirituality that they are blinded by the evil before them, my disappointment at their insensitive irrationality is painted on my face. The pain of their former abuse of religion to isolate us for resisting apartheid resurfaces.
Indeed, the religious fissures that were prevalent during South Africa’s dark days of apartheid, are becoming more prominent than ever. Those religious (and non-religious) persons that led the fight against South Africa’s apartheid are now at the forefront of creating awareness around fighting apartheid-Israel. And once again some of us are being ostracised by our families.
Despite this ostracisation, the struggle continues. This year’s South African Bethlehem Christmas Pilgrimage led by Reverend Frank Chikane was an act of defiance as much as an act of solidarity. It was an affirmation of our unwavering support for the oppressed people of Palestine. As religious leaders, their pilgrimage was also reflective of the many teachings of Jesus, that ascribes the second greatest commandment to being that of loving your neighbour as you love yourself.
And so, it is out of love for one’s neighbour, love for truth, and love for justice that we also continue to write. Communication is a fundamental weapon in modern-day warfare. It is therefore imperative to consistently and persistently contest the space in the battle of ideas, even if efforts appear to be futile. Apartheid-Israel would not be targeting journalists if the exposure of the atrocities were meaningless. The Christmas season is also supposed to be a season of hope. As dark as these past months, and particularly these few days, has been, the collapse of apartheid in South Africa demonstrates that righteousness will eventually triumph.
Reneva Fourie (PhD) is an analyst specialising in governance, development and security