Eid Mubarak

During this time of reflection, ARA would like to express its solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters living in Palestine. Recently, Eid al-Adha marked the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and, as the following article notes, this year's Eid was one of the most difficult in recent memory for Palestinian Muslims. Israeli colonialism is making it harder and harder for folks of all faiths to practice their religions. Let us reflect on these sober realities today, and begin working toward destroying them tomorrow.

Gazans say this Eid is the worst ever
Rami Almeghari writing from occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 20 December 2007

A 500-meter-long street in the heart of Gaza City is empty of cars and vehicles, but full of men, women and children. Omar al-Mokhtar Street is considered the largest commercial area in Gaza where people from all over the coastal region have always come to shop, especially during the holiday season.

In recent days, Gaza, like other Islamic communities around the world, prepared to celebrate Eid al-Adha, a major holiday marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj. Normally a time of joy, this year's Eid is different from past years because Gaza suffers from the tight Israeli closures on all travel and commercial crossings.

People across this large street spoke to EI, expressing how they view the occasion under the current conditions, mainly the economic siege Israel has imposed since mid-June.

Abu Muhammad al-Khudary, owner of a used clothing store, was sitting idle with a young boy who helps around the shop.

"This year's Eid is unprecedented, people just come, ask, examine clothes and when it comes to price, they leave things on the table and walk away," says Abu Muhammad.

Abu Muhammad tells us that in past years, he used to stay open extra hours on the eve of the Eid doing good business, but now he closes the shop much earlier because of the lack of customers.

"What has affected our business these days is the ongoing siege, in addition to people's inability to buy clothes, whose prices are higher than ever."

Rajab Mansour, another clothing vendor, stood in front of his stand with arms folded on Monday at midday.

"I have been standing here since 8:00 am, yet I have only sold four shirts, each for only 20 shekels (four dollars)."

Abu Ehab Nassar, owner of a women's clothing shop in the Shija'ya local market, reputed to be the cheapest shop around, says that people now only buy the basic things and in smaller quantities than ever.

"I have been here over the past 11 years, yet I have never experienced such a recession. It's because of the siege which has impacted people's purchasing power and prevented entry of goods. Nowadays, we close the shop by sunset, but in the past we used to stay working until midnight."

Om Hatem, a housewife from Gaza City, was picking out some shoes for her four children at the Shija'ya market when EI asked her about shopping for the Eid. "In this situation, I can only buy one pair of shoes for each child, yet I used to buy more than one," she said. "The cuts in our husbands' incomes over the past year have forced us to reduce our expenditures, and we can no longer guarantee a regular flow of salaries."

Traditionally on Eid al-Adha Muslims slaughter a sheep, a commemoration of the prophet Abraham's sacrifice. The meat is often distributed to the needy. But over the past six months of the Israeli closure, many goods including livestock have not been allowed in. As a result of economic hardships and an inadequate supply of livestock, many Gazans are unable to meet what they see as one of their basic religious obligations.

A Gaza taxi driver, who chose not to give his name, said he wouldn't be fulfilling the tradition this year. "Over the past 20 years, I have always slaughtered a sheep on the Eid, but this year I am not going to take part in the tradition. I cannot guarantee the near future and I have to save money under such crippling economic conditions."

Media reports suggest that hundreds of livestock have been allowed into the coastal region from Israel via otherwise closed commercial crossings. However, such a small number cannot meet the high demand of Gaza's 1.4 million population.

Israel claims its closure is intended to prevent Palestinian resistance factions from firing homemade rockets onto nearby Israeli towns. While Israelis are rarely injured by these rockets, Palestinians continue to be maimed and killed on a daily basis by Israeli attacks from land and air.

On the ground it's the people who are suffering most from the Israeli closure. This human-imposed poverty has left many Gazans saying that this Eid al-Adha is the worst ever.

Rami Almeghari is currently contributor to several media outlets including the Palestine Chronicle, aljazeerah.info, IMEMC, The Electronic Intifada and Free Speech Radio News. Rami is also a former senior English translator at and editor in chief of the international press center of the Gaza-based Palestinian Information Service. He can be contacted at rami_almeghari at hotmail.com.

Noted Detroit Activist Dies

"A hero of Detroit's leftist movement in the 1960s and '70s, Ravitz teamed with attorney Ken Cockrel Sr. to shred some of the most insidious forms of abuse by local police, courts and jails."

ARA notes with sadness the passing of Justin Ravitz announced in today's edition of the Detroit Free Press. Ravitz was an important player in the Detroit radical scene of the 1960s and '70s. He participated in and was a product of the social movement Detroit experienced at the time. This social movement, documented in the excellent Detroit I Do Mind Dying by Dan Georgakas and Marvin Surkin, gave rise to the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, the Detroit chapter of the Black Panther Party, the Motor City Labor League, and the proud period in The South End student newspaper when it actually fought for social justice instead of against it, and its masthead boldly declared, "One Class-Conscious Worker Is Worth 100 Students." Some may recall that these movements, and the League in particular, consistently aligned themselves with the struggle for the liberation of Palestine, and an infamous editorial in the South End in solidarity with that movement created an uproar that eventually led to the dismissal of John Watson as editor of the South End.

Ravitz was a part of this movement along with John Watson, General Baker, Ken Cockrel, Mike Hamlin, Luke Tripp, John Williams and Chuck Wooten. Mentors of this movement included Grace Lee Boggs, CLR James, and Martin Glaberman, all long-time Detroit activists. With his passing, a legacy that activists today can and should learn much from passes further from our vision. We honor his legacy by learning from the movements he was a part of and applying their lessons to our own work for a better world today.

Christmas Homily 2007

Brothers and Sisters,
I wish you all a Blessed Christmas.

Mr. President,
1. This holy night, we pray for you, for your difficult task, for the security and unity of the people, and for peace. May God give you light, wisdom and courage. For the leaders of this country, for all the leaders in the Middle East, we pray that God will grant all of them the grace of being able to bring about peace and stability here and throughout the entire region.

2. Brothers and Sisters,
The grace of God has appeared. The Eternal Word of God became man. Saint John tells us in clear terms, whose meaning nevertheless escapes the understanding of many: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1, 1) and “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1, 14). That, my Brothers and Sisters, is the meaning of Christmas, that is what we celebrate, and that is why we rejoice. The prophet Isaiah had predicted: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace” (Is 9, 1.5). Saint Leo the Great, commenting on this mystery, said: “Human nature and divine nature were united in one person so that the Creator of time might be born in time, and he through whom all things were made might be brought forth in their midst” (Leo the Great, 2nd reading, Dec. 17).

The one through whom all things were made was brought forth in their midst, here in Bethlehem, to fill us with his grace, and to save us from the evil against which we must fight every day. Saint John says: “From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace” (Jn 1, 16). He then says: “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” These words tell us that on Christmas, the only begotten Son, who alone knows the Father, who was born here in Bethlehem, born to bring life to men and women, has also enabled us to know God and to enter already here on earth into eternal life. This life is meant to shed light on all our efforts as we try to build our human society and struggle for peace. We have the power to transform all our challenges, joys and suffering into life everlasting, i.e. into a life with God, with his light, his strength and his goodness.

Christmas renews us “by the Holy Spirit whom God richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior” (Titus 3, 6), so that in hope we might inherit eternal life. With the strength that comes from this grace, with Christmas present in us every day, we commit ourselves to live in our society in order to bring it the peace of Christmas. Life in this world, with all of its poverty, all of its weaknesses, but also with the strength that comes from grace, must become in us the beginning of eternal life.

3. With this faith in God, with this grace of Christmas, we meditate on the mystery of our land which has not yet succeeded in seeing God within it, and naturally has not succeeded in making peace. With Christmas, with the goodness of God which He himself placed in every human person, it is essential, first of all, to believe that we are capable of making peace. But to do that, we must surpass ourselves and look at the other person through the eyes of God in order to receive justice for ourselves and for the others.

It is also important to understand the universal vocation of this land, and to see the will of God for the land both in the Scriptures and in the evolution of history of which the same God is Lord. He is the one who gathered all of us here throughout the centuries, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze, we who today constitute two peoples, Palestinians and Israelis. To understand and accept this universal vocation is to accept the plan of God for this land and to become capable of establishing peace within it. Any exclusivism that pushes the other party aside or imposes occupation or any other type of submission on it is not in keeping with the vocation of this land. This land of God cannot be for some a land of life and for others a land of death, exclusion, occupation, or political imprisonment. All those whom God, the Lord of history, has gathered here must be able to find in this land life, dignity and security.

Each one knows what it takes to make peace. Each one knows what is due to each of the two peoples who inhabit this land. It is not up to the weakest to submit themselves and continue to live a life of deprivation; it is up to the strongest, to those who have everything in hand, to detach themselves and to give to the weakest what is due to them. All of the difficult questions can be resolved if all those involved are truly determined to make peace.

4. With all of the religious leaders in this land, we have started to meet and to reflect together. We wanted to ask ourselves, each of us, the question, as believers before God: what is justice before God for each of us? We are on a long and difficult road, because it involves freeing ourselves from the political system, from its exclusive views, and from its fears, in order to enable ourselves to say and to bring something new and good to everyone.

Human history is full of wars, but it is also full of God. And God is love. There should not be any tyranny on the part of some believers, who call themselves believers, but who carry out not the will of God, but their own will, Muslims or Jews or Christians. Some also have recourse to violence in the name of God or of God’s promises. Violence cannot claim to be part of any religion. Extremism, in all religions, is the desire to appropriate to oneself, to exclude, and to subject others, not to a faith in God, but to human behaviors that are hostile to the others. Religious leaders have a role to play in the education of believers, by confirming them in the ways of justice, of what is right, and of forgiveness, all the while demanding their rights, and collaborating with all men and women of good will.

5. Brothers and Sisters, you might be asking yourselves what is your role as Christians in the peace process and in the future of this land. Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent encyclical on Hope, says that the characteristic of “Christians is that they have hope, and to have hope is to have a future.”

This applies to us, Christians in the Holy Land and in the entire Middle East. Everyone is worried about our Christian presence here: Israel as well as the Palestinian Authority. King Abdalla II of Jordan has called attention for several years to the seriousness of the exodus of the Christian Arabs. Numerous Muslim voices are being raised in many quarters, calling attention to the vacuum that the exodus of Christians would create in the Arab Muslim world. The Christian world, for its part, is equally worried about our survival and about our disappearance.

To you, Brothers and Sisters, to all of you Christians in this land, you who are tempted to emigrate, you who are the object of everyone’s preoccupation, I say to you what Jesus told us: do not be afraid. Christians should not be afraid and should not run away from difficulties. Being Christian means sharing the concerns of all, building peace with everyone else, and accepting the sacrifices this implies, prison, possibly life, or the difficulties of daily life, of occupation, of the wall of separation, and of the lack of freedom of movement. All of this is our common fate, and all of us together, by our sacrifices, we must build peace for everyone.

To those who are tempted or pressed by difficulties to leave the country, we say: you have a place here, and more than a place, you have a vocation: to be Christians here, in the land of Jesus, and not elsewhere in the world. Accept your vocation, despite the fact that it is difficult. Our presence here will remain a witness to the universal vocation of this land, the land of God, and the land of the three religions and of the two peoples that inhabit it. Listen to the voice of your vocation, and listen to the voice of all those who want you to be present here.

Indeed, we live not only in the midst of a conflict, but are part of a history of which God is the master, a history made by God who invites us to make this history with Him. He is Lord of the entire history of the human race, since its distant beginnings, since the time of biblical history until today. He is the one who was, who is, and who will be. No person or period in history can avoid Him. He is the inevitable one with whom and before whom we live, act, and exist (cf. Acts 17, 28). Full of hope, free from fear, we continue to move ahead.

6. Brothers and Sisters,
I wish you a Blessed Christmas. We pray here this night, here in Bethlehem, for all of you in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus. We pray for all who suffer, for the sick, and for the prisoners so that they can finally enjoy freedom and dignity. We pray for all our leaders so they can envisage justice, enter into the ways of peace, and have the courage to give it to their people. To the entire Christian world, from Bethlehem, we say: have a pleasant and blessed Christmas. Amen.

+ Michel Sabbah, Patriarch

Merry Christmas! Remember Beit Sahour!

We, the people of Bayt Sahur, being an integral part of the Palestinian people and its Intifada, refuse to pay taxes to the occupiers of our land, considering such payment to be a symbol of slavery and oppression. We consider the occupation of one people by another to be a clear violation of all international laws and religions, and it is in violation of the most basic human rights and democratic principles. We strongly believe that every citizen has to pay taxes to his national government in order to enable it to perform its duties and obligations. No taxation without representation!

With this leaflet from November 5, 1989, the people of Bayt Sahur (Beit Sahour) announced the beginning of a campaign of civil disobedience centered around the nonpayment of taxes to the Israeli government. Israel, afraid that such resistance would become a model to other villages and towns throughout the Palestinian territories during the first Intifada, responded to their resistance with force.

Bayt Sahur is a largely Christian village in the West Bank with a population of approximately 12,000. Its Christian population dates back hundreds of years, and local legend asserts that it was Bayt Sahurian shepherds to whom the bright star above Bethlehem signaling the birth of Jesus Christ appeared. The reason for this, the legend goes, is that Bayt Sahurians have a legendary reputation for gossip, and God therefore figured the news of Christ's coming would travel quickest if Bayt Sahurians found out first.

Bayt Sahur was the site of perhaps the most organized and effective Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonialism during the first Intifada. Residents of Bayt Sahur quickly concluded that the Intifada was no passing phenomenon and began organizing their own resistance beginning in January, 1988. Initial attempts at a coordinated, regional network failed, but more localized efforts flourished and soon, much of the town was involved in active resistance to Israeli colonialism.

This resistance took the form of popular committees organized by the citizens of Bayt Sahur at the grassroots. These popular committees, lijan sha'biya in Arabic, were the driving force of the Intifada, and established a security force to fight Israeli settlers and the Israeli army. They also organized commerce, medical care, and even judicial affairs. The people of Bayt Sahur did all this at great personal risk, since many of these activities were illegal, and could even result in their death.

Perhaps the most memorable campaign of resistance that occurred in Bayt Sahur during the Intifada was city resident's refusal to pay taxes to the Israeli government. This followed a call by the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising (UNLU) from February 5, 1988, to conduct "complete civil disobedience" ('isyan muduni shamil) including the nonpayment of taxes. The Israeli response began in July of that year. On July 7th, a curfew was enacted and numerous people were arrested. A sit-down strike was soon organized to demand the release of all those arrested. This, too, was brutally repressed by Israeli authorities, who arrested hundreds of people who took part in this action, sending many to prison. On July 17th, Archbishop Michel Sabbah threatened to begin a hunger strike unless the curfew was lifted. The Israeli authorities so feared the leader of Palestinian Christians and his ability through his actions to motivate others to resistance, that they called off the curfew that day. These and similar skirmishes continued for over a year, until in September of 1989, Israel decided to put an end to Bayt Sahur's civil disobedience campaign once and for all.

On September 20th, 1989, Israeli troops surrounded Bayt Sahur, setting up military checkpoints, cutting telephone lines, and barring nonresidents entry. Tax officials entered Bayt Sahur with armed security personnel and began raiding businesses and private residences, taking cash when available, but settling for other valuables, such as couches, TV sets, chairs and tables when they had to. On October 4th, Israeli authorities eased their siege and allowed Palestinians to pay taxes. No one did. This enraged Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who declared that Israel was going to "teach a lesson" to Bayt Sahur, knowing that the resistance in Bayt Sahur had to be crushed so that it would not be seen as an effective model of resistance elsewhere in Palestine. Following this declaration, Israeli aggression intensified, finally ending on October 31st, 1989 with the withdrawal of Israeli troops, although not before collecting almost $1.5 million in goods from Palestinian businesses and homes.

Although costly, the withdrawal of Israeli troops was hailed as a victory by the people of Bayt Sahur, who quickly thereafter hosted a Day of Prayer celebration. This celebration was attended by the mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Sa'd al-Din al-'Alami, who was greeted enthusiastically when he visited the churches of Bayt Sahur. In solidarity with the struggle of the people of Bayt Sahur, 'Alami issued a fatwa against the purchase of any goods confiscated by israeli authorities during the month of siege, calling it "stolen property," and declaring that, "It is forbidden or a Muslim, Arab, or any man with a conscience to buy any of these unjustly plundered goods. Purchasing any such item is like participating in the theft of the plundered goods, and whoever does so deserves punishment for stealing his brothers' property." At auction, much of this confiscated property did not sell.

This Christmas, let people of all faiths and denominations remember and honor our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine, past, present, and future, in their struggle against Israeli apartheid.

(This account owes much to factual information and analysis found in chapter 4 of Glenn Robinson's Building a Palestinian State, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.)