A nativity scene with baby Jesus among a large pile of rubble has been constructed outside Christchurch Transitional Cathedral, aiming to highlight the ongoing genocide of Palestinian communities in Gaza this Christmas.
Organisers are holding an interfaith vigil at 8pm on Monday (22nd Dec) to mourn the third Christmas and Chanukah marked by Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The installation from Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine, with the support of Sh’ma Koleinu – Alternative Jewish Voices NZ, contains a ‘yahrtzeit’ memorial candle to mark the loss of loved ones, particularly following the recent terror attack on the Jewish community in Bondi, as well as a red candle as part of a global nonviolent movement for justice and peace in Palestine. Jesus was a Palestinian Jew.
The scene mirrors an installation from December 2023 when Palestinian Pastor, Munther Isaac of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, laid baby Jesus in rubble – a pastoral act, declaring; “If Christ was born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza… Born among the occupied and oppressed as a sign of solidarity with those who are marginalised today.”
Marilyn Garson, the co-founder of Alternative Jewish Voices who spent years working alongside communities in Gaza, commented; “Right now, we mark the hate-killing of Australian Jews at Bondi, but one grief does not blot out another. This week they are Jews. In Christchurch [March 2019], they were Muslim. None of us will ever be separately safe. We respond to Bondi, to Christchurch and to Gaza by refusing to be separate. We grieve every life lost and we protect whichever life is endangered. We stretch our hearts to hold them all.”
Leading human rights monitors have warned Israel’s calculated slaughter of Palestinians has not ended despite the ‘ceasefire’ – with over 390 people killed so far; widespread starvation, malnutrition, and medical shortages ongoing due to Israel’s blockade; millions permanently displaced, with over half of Gaza inaccessible and the majority in rubble; and families’ emergency tents are now being washed away by winter storms. Yet the world has turned away.
Rev’d Matt Maslin of the Bryndwr Anglican Parish described it as; “the perfect time to show solidarity with those who are violently oppressed, displaced and dominated because, at the heart of advent is the story of a God that has shown solidarity with humanity. The story of Christmas is one where God enters into the difficulties of humanity, to both empathise with and transform its suffering. This is a story we are invited to meaningfully participate in as well.”
The group say Christ in the rubble challenges us to think beyond ourselves during the Christmas season; it invites us to see the image of Jesus in every child killed and pulled from under the rubble. In those facing starvation and genocide in Gaza; those held captive, displaced, and living under domination in the West Bank; those mourning their loved ones violently taken from them in Bondi; those facing famine and genocide in Sudan and Congo; vulnerable communities being trafficked and exploited across the world; our neighbours in the Pacific and elsewhere already suffering the effects of climate destruction; those without food, shelter, safety, freedom and dignity.
“The display also acknowledges our own complicity” said Cole Martin from Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine. “For decades our churches, institutions, and faith community have blindly supported Israel’s campaign of domination and destruction across the Holy Land; manufacturing warped biblical justifications for violence and funding the machinery, technology, and weapons used to displace families, imprison children, demolish homes, and persecute entire communities. Today the church is crucifying Christ all over again.”
“Some might feel this takes away from the joy of Christmas, but this is precisely the meaning of Christmas. The birth of Jesus among us – not into wealth, safety, or power, but rather a difficult and messy birth in a cave of livestock under foreign military occupation, to an unmarried couple soon to become refugees fleeing a murderous political regime. Christmas is a very Palestinian story, and it gives hope that God turns up even in the most hopeless of places.”
The installation will remain at the Cathedral over the Christmas period, as a space for people to grieve, reflect, and pray. All are welcome.