Santa in Distress, Three Wise Men
Arrested
In
a recent photo Santa, otherwise referred to as St. Nicholas, can be seen
chipping away at the Israeli Separation Wall. On the 24th of July 2004,
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the Israeli Wall “contrary to
international law” and instructed that this illegal construction end. Ignoring
the ICJ, Israel is continuing to build its wall (sometimes called the
"Apartheid Wall" because it separates people on the basis on
ethnicity).
In
his support for BDS, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said: “surely we must recognize that people caged in, starved and stripped of
their essential material and political rights must resist their Pharaoh? Surely
resistance also makes us human? Palestinians have chosen, like we did, the
nonviolent tools of boycott, divestment and sanctions.”
Motion to Cancel Christmas in Israeli Parliament
A
member of Knesset (Israeli parliament) has announced that it might be prudent
to cancel Christmas until others in the plot are rounded up. “I assure you that
this measure will be temporary, like our Occupation of Palestine. Israelis love
Christmas (and peace) as much as anyone but our security comes above everything.
People can still shop and give expensive gifts, but we’re asking them not
to think about world peace and justice at this sensitive time.
For people to sing, ‘peace on earth, goodwill to all’, is just the wrong
message to send to these Palestinian terrorists at this time.”
By Ari Edwin | Bethlehem | 24
December 2012
Santa in Distress
Ever since Israel began construction in 2002 of its Separation Wall, Santa Clause
has had much difficulty on his annual Christmas routes (Bethlehem is, after
all, located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories).
In
a recent photo Santa, otherwise referred to as St. Nicholas, can be seen
chipping away at the Israeli Separation Wall. On the 24th of July 2004,
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared the Israeli Wall “contrary to
international law” and instructed that this illegal construction end. Ignoring
the ICJ, Israel is continuing to build its wall (sometimes called the
"Apartheid Wall" because it separates people on the basis on
ethnicity). 
The Israeli Wall cuts through
Bethlehem and isolates major holy sites such as Rachel’s Tomb, the Cave of the
Patriarchs and the Church of Nativity (the birthplace of Christ). Since its
building started in the Bethlehem area, Palestinians have submitted 520 cases
to court in an attempt to retain their property adjacent to the Wall,
mostly to no avail. Palestinians, among whom many are Christians, can only
submit their cases to an Israeli military court and not to a civil court
(as Israeli citizens and its illegal settlers are allowed to do). The Wall, once completed,
will be over 700 km long
and more than 8 meters high. Human rights workers argue that the Wall is not for
security reasons (as Israel claims), but rather to “grab” Palestinian
agricultural land.
Supporting Santa
Local
Palestinian supporters of peace (including many Santa supporters), a year after
the ICJ legal opinion, gathered in Ramallah in July 2005 and issued a call to theinternational community for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) until Israel breaks down its Separation Wall and abides by international law.
The BDS campaign has had much success
in the six years since its launch. In South Africa, for example, the South
African Council of Churches issued a resolution in which it states: “[We] Confess our contribution towards the
suffering of Palestinians through our silence or lack of action. [We commit
ourselves] toward ensuring that the call and challenge from our Palestinian
brothers and sisters will not go unheard … [and we] support the non-violent
resistance to the occupation of Palestine such as the call to support the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. This is a commitment toward a
just and lasting peace and reconciliation in and for Israel and Palestine”
In
his support for BDS, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said: “surely we must recognize that people caged in, starved and stripped of
their essential material and political rights must resist their Pharaoh? Surely
resistance also makes us human? Palestinians have chosen, like we did, the
nonviolent tools of boycott, divestment and sanctions.”
Just
yesterday, 23 December 2011, BDS campaigners were celebrating after the West
London Waste Authority excluded the multinational, Veolia, from a £485 million
contract. Human rights workers across the globe have been campaigning against
Veolia (as part of BDS) due to the company's involvement, with the Israeli
government, in violations of human rights and humanitarian law. To date Veolia
has lost contracts up to $12 Billion.
Efforts
to contact Santa were unsuccessful. A source close to him has said that he is
very “distressed”.
In a related case, three wise men are
arrested*
In a related case, three wise men
were arrested today attempting to enter Jerusalem, en-route to Bethlehem.
According to an Israeli official, the Iraqi nationals were carrying massive
amounts of flammable substances known as “frankincense” and “myrrh.” While not
explosives themselves, Israeli security experts revealed that these two
substances could be used as a fuse to detonate a larger bomb. The three alleged
terrorists were also carrying gold, presumably to finance the rest of their
mission.
Also implicated in the plot were two
Palestinians named Joseph and Mary. An anonymous source close to the family
overheard Mary saying that her son would “bring down the mighty from their
thrones and lift up the lowly.” In what appears to be a call
to resistance, the couple claims their son will someday “help to unite and
free the world.” “These people match, in word and deed, our terrorist profile
perfectly,” an IDF spokesperson said.
All
of the suspects claimed they heard angels singing of a new era of hope for the
afflicted and poor. However, Israeli settlers are ridiculing this sentiment, as one put it, “These One-State-For-All wackos are
talking about overturning our entire Israeli Bantustan model. In fact the Israeli
Separation Wall and Bantustan model are working perfectly well and the
objections from the ICJ are ridiculous. I don’t care what some angel sang or
for that matter the UN or ICJ say; God wants Israel to be king and He is on our
side. And so is the USA. Who cares about the indigenous Palestinian Christians, they lost out, tough!”
Motion to Cancel Christmas in Israeli Parliament
The strongest
opponents of the Christmas “ban” were, surprisingly, representatives of
American retail stores, movie chains and makers of porcelain Christmas
figurines. “This is a tempest in a teapot,” fumed one unnamed American
businessman. “No one thinks of the political meaning of Christmas any
more. Christmas isn’t about a savior who will bring hope to the outcasts of the
world; it’s about feasts, presents and bright lights. History has shown that
mature people are perfectly capable of singing hymns about world peace while
still supporting whatever war or occupation our leaders think necessary.
People long ago stopped tying religion to the real events in the world”.
It
is rare for America to be critical of Israel. In fact, America has used it veto
power at the UN, to protect Israeli actions (often deemed illegal) over 40
times. Most recently, in February this year, the USA vetoed a resolution
critical of Israeli settlement construction in the holy city of Jerusalem.
Amnesty International Issues Urgent Appeal
There
has been no word on where the three suspects are being kept, or when their
trial might take place. They are being held under the notorious "administrative detention order”, a law
resembling Apartheid South Africa's “detention without trial". Amnesty
International has issued an urgent appeal for the immediate release of the
three wise men or "trial in full conformity with international fair trial
standards".
Israeli
authorities have not responded to the Amnesty International statement and are
instead asking citizens who see other Arabs resembling nativity scene figures
to contact the Israeli internal security agency, the Shin Bet.
*
Based on Pastor Jim Rigby’s article, “Christmas Is No Time To Talk About War
And Peace”.