Christmas honors the miraculous birth of the Virgin Mary’s son Jesus—known and loved by Muslims as the prophet Issa—a Palestinian Jew who was violently persecuted by the ruling empire of his time. The city of Bethlehem, Issa’s birthplace, has canceled Christmas this year in recognition of the immense suffering and injustice that has befallen the Palestinian people of Gaza.Â
While Issa’s homeland burns, Christmas celebrations persist around the world. For those of us who are deeply mourning the ongoing erasure of Gaza, Christmas celebrations are a glaring reminder that the world, despite all its cruel ironies, keeps turning. That the arc of history has a long, long way to go to reach justice.
To cope with the painful dissonance of these times, I search for tiny miracles every day. In Gaza, they are not hard to find. I see it in the way this man enthusiastically reads a story to traumatized children, the way this doctor tenderly places his sweater onto shivering, injured siblings. I see it in the dutiful demeanor of this elderly woman as she prepares food for stray animals. I see it in every journalist’s funeral prayer, every child’s birthday that is celebrated despite the horror. Gaza radiates with dignity and compassion just as much as it overflows with pain. Â
This week, I saw a video of a young man who planted a small vegetable patch in a humble attempt to overcome the famine imposed on Gaza by Israel. A few seedlings have risen past the earth’s surface. In all this death and destruction, it is a miracle to be reminded that Palestinian land is alive and conspiring with its people to create a fruitful future. I am reminded of the Islamic hadith that guides us to cling onto hope: If the end of days are upon you and you have a sapling in your hand, plant it. To be reminded of these words, in this time of calamity, is a tiny miracle.Â
My friends in Gaza, despite the immense suffering they are enduring, are running mutual aid efforts. They are distributing aid in the form of cash, medicine, hygiene kits, and winter supplies to those most in need. They are supporting the installation of portable bathrooms in refugee camps and waterproofing tents for displaced families to endure the cold, rainy winter. To support their efforts, my friends in the West Bank are fundraising locally and transferring funds directly to our people in Gaza. My former colleague and dear friend Matt based in the UK has set up a donation page so that people outside of Palestine can support too. I hope you will consider contributing.
These efforts do not replace our moral and urgent duty to demand a permanent ceasefire and end to Israel’s inhumane military occupation of Palestine.
Instead, this call for donations is an invitation to mirror the humanity that Gaza demonstrates each and every day. It is an opportunity, this Christmas, to partake in a tiny miracle.Â