Please keep the people of Palestine in your prayers this Christmas. Below are a number of practical suggestions and resources. Every year on November 29, The United Nations’ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is commemorated around the world; click here to see some learning and action options from our partners in Mennonite Church Canada.
These photos show one way that Palestinian craftspeople express the Nativity story. One photo shows the Nativity with a wall hiding the Holy Family. The wall, however, is removable and the second photo shows the Holy Family no longer hidden by a wall. Palestinian people hope that the wall in Jerusalem will eventually be torn down and they will no longer be persecuted in their homeland.
Here are some easy ways that you can acknowledge the situation in Palestine during Advent and Christmas:
A peace-focused service has been recorded for your use by a group of United Church members across Canada; Peace and Justice for Palestine could be used through Advent or Christmas. Click here: https://youtu.be/k3Ry1Buz41o
Show the Minute for Mission called “No Way to Treat a Child: Obaida’s Story”, about a 17-year-old boy killed by the Israeli Military on May 17th of this year. Israel’s policy of arresting and incarcerating children is widely condemned by human rights organizations.
https://nwttac.dci-palestine.org/obaida_film?locale=en
Encourage your congregation to sign MP Salma Zahid’s petition for a study by our government to review Israel’s treatment of children in Israeli-occupied Palestine. The petition closes the end of December. Here is the link: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Sign/e-3608
Suggest that your congregation watch a 25-minute film, “The Present”, available on Netflix, about a father and his daughter as they navigate checkpoints to buy a gift.
