A Christmas of love

Holiday greetings

Dear friends,

As this year draws to a close, I just wanted to write to you with our warmest thoughts and gratitude for your solidarity, compassion, and principled action over the last twelve months and beyond. Whether your action was in the streets, organizing in your local community or internationally, donating to campaigns supporting families in Gaza, or even just engaging with new information to broaden your knowledge, all forms of action are important. As we prepare to move into a new year with its own new set of circumstances and challenges — and many continuing from this year — all of these activities will help propel our collective efforts.

For now, I am writing to you from our beautiful little town of Bethlehem, just south of Jerusalem in the center of Palestine. As I walked through the old city today and visited the Church of the Nativity (pictured above), I was struck by the reality of another canceled Christmas in the town of Christmas itself, and by the solemn quietness of a town center usually bustling with energy at this time of year. Instead of endless streams of warm lights, we notice instead the stars serving as permanent fixtures on Bethlehem’s Star Street — little reminders that the light of hope hasn’t gone out. Without tourists, the square and streets are quiet, and the vendors lonely with the absence of talkative tourists, but there is still life here.

The commitment to not celebrating Christmas is not a collectively-imposed punishment, but a demonstration of Palestinians’ solidarity with one another. It’s a display of love. It’s a sacrifice, especially for a town whose economy is deeply connected to the tourism industry and has suffered from many years of disrupted visits.

As we all find ways to express our love for Palestinians in Gaza, for each other, and our commitment to a better future, we can all learn something from the sacrifices Palestinians are making today. Sacrifice is part of making a material change. Whether it’s time, money, freedom, sharing knowledge, or other resources, there is no meaningful change without some kind of sacrifice. This holiday season, let’s recommit to this concept, knowing we can make a real difference with even the smallest sacrifice — like sharing Palestinians’ GoFundMes or donating $5.

To a better year near year, inshallah.

Warmest regards,

Lara Kilani