December 25, 2023
Dear friends,
It seems like the plot of a Christmas movie: Christmas is canceled in Bethlehem.
Rubble was added to nativity scenes and the traditional festive mood Palestinian Christians have during this time turned somber as they mourn the more than 20,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza.
Church leaders in Jerusalem called on Christians to skip “unnecessarily festive activities" and focus instead on contributing generously to aid people who have been victims of the war.
Support World Central Kitchen, which is working with a local organization in Gaza and feeding displaced people in Israel.
Protesters in US cities have joined church leaders to reject the idea of Christmas-as-usual during a war that has killed unprecedented numbers of UN aid workers and more journalists than in any conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) started keeping records more than three decades ago.
It was another extraordinarily bloody weekend in Gaza.
Donate to the American Friends Service Committee’s Gaza emergency response.
I’m more of a card person than a gift person, so I may not be your go-to person for gift ideas. That said, I created a wiffij gift guide last year, which I’ve updated a tiny bit, for those of you who are in a gift-giving state of emergency this morning.
My gift ideas are perfect for people who have enough (or too much) stuff and who get a good feeling from spreading a bit of hope and joy around.
with love,
L