South African Christian leaders to spend Christmas in Bethlehem in solidarity with Palestinians

Manger Square is seen on 18 December, 2023 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Regarded by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem is usually bustling with foreign tourists at this time of year, with streets full of holiday decoration and vendors selling ornaments and festive figurines. (Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

By Suné Payne

21 Dec 2023

Reverend Frank Chikane and St George’s Cathedral Anglican Church Dean Michael Weeder are among the group of prominent clerics who have arrived in the Holy City as part of a solidarity mission with Palestinians.

South African Christian religious leaders are part of a global delegation that will spend Christmas in Bethlehem in solidarity with Palestinian Christians from the conflict-ridden region.

The group — made up of international clerics, will also spend time in Jerusalem and meet released Palestinian prisoners as well as families of Israeli hostages.

Some of the delegation includes South African clerics such as Reverend Frank Chikane, General Secretary of the Council of African Independent Churches Archbishop Thami Ngcana; Michael Weeder, Dean of the St George’s Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town; Ds Riaan de Villiers, a Dominee of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, Groote Kerk, Cape Town; and Reverend Rene August, an Anglican priest, and a veteran of the anti-apartheid movement.

“We’re here to bring about hope that we can all work towards peace in Jerusalem. We’re here to keep the hopes alive of a human solution based on justice, dignity and security for all. For lasting peace for all, for Jerusalem,” said Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), who is also part of the group.

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In a trip organised by Kairos Southern Africa in collaboration with Kairos Palestine, the global group of Christian leaders travelled via Amman, Jordan and arrived on Wednesday 20 December. Kairos Palestine will host the delegation in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Some of the international clerics include Reverend Dr Chris Ferguson, pastor of the United Church of Canada (UCC); Reverend Susan Wilder, Presbyterian Church; and Reverend David Wildman, Methodist Church, who are both from the United States.

Rev Dr Chris Ferguson, pastor of the United Church of Canada. (Photo: Flickr/LWF/Albin Hillert)

The group will meet Christian Palestinians and Palestinians of other faiths in territories occupied by Israel, including the Gaza Strip, as Christians celebrate their holiest day on Monday.

The group will also visit holy sites of Abrahamic faiths, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and meet with church leaders, Christian and civil society organisations and human rights groups.

On 7 October, Hamas attacked and killed around 1200 people in Israel and kept 240 people hostage. In response, Israel retaliated against Hamas through aerial bombardments, ground offensives and imposing a siege. Thus far, nearly 20,000 Palestinian people have been killed, according to Gaza health officials and people providing humanitarian aid.

Read more in Daily Maverick: UN vote on Gaza delayed another day amid talks to avoid US veto

The trip, according to Mpumlwana was “an act of solidarity in their state of siege both in Gaza and the West Bank,”. He told Daily Maverick: “The SACC stands for a solution based on justice, dignity and security for all, for lasting peace, the peace for Jerusalem”.

The group, he said would “pray with the people here in the land that God in Christ became part of the human experience was crucified and died, but rose again so that there is hope again beyond the crucifixication experience”.

Manger Square, Bethlehem Manger Square is seen on 18 December, 2023 in Bethlehem, West Bank. Regarded by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem is usually bustling with foreign tourists at this time of year, with streets full of holiday decoration and vendors selling ornaments and festive figurines. (Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Importance of Bethlehem

According to the SACC, “Bethlehem, being the birthplace of Jesus, is of course deeply significant at this time”.

Making parallels between the time of Jesus’ birth and the current situation in the Middle East, the church said it was “hard to ignore”.

“Then, the land was under occupation by the Roman Empire. Now, the occupier is the state of Israel. Then, King Herod carried out a genocide of boys under the age of two. Now, Israel is carrying out a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza which is now spilling over to the West Bank, and more than 8,000 children have been killed,” said the church in a statement during the announcement of the visit.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Love and solidarity in time of the Israel-Palestine war

In Bethlehem, Palestinian Christians have cancelled festivities and public Christmas celebrations due to the ongoing conflict.

Dean Michael Weeder of St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town told Daily Maverick that someone had said during a meeting upon their arrival: “The Holy land and the people of the Holy Land of the Abrahamic faiths of Christians, Jews and Muslim — it is a mosaic and a work of art. If you take away one portion of that art, then the beauty of it is marred, scarred”.

He added: “It was such a telling reference and an illustration of the woundedness not only of the occupied Palestinians but what it does to the psyche, the thinking, the spirituality, the soul of the occupier”.

Weeder’s church has a history of involvement in the anti-apartheid movement. In recent weeks, the church has hosted various interfaith services and vigils, including a memorial for Dr Ahmed Abassi, a Gift of Givers worker who was killed in Gaza after coming from morning prayers. Weeder himself has been on a fast for a free Palestine.

Ds. Riaan de Villiers from Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk told Daily Maverick it became important for him to understand what real peace was in the world — and how justice needed to be sought.

“And coming from a tradition — the Dutch Reformed Church who were biblically and theologically justified with ideologies such as apartheid, and used it for oppression,” he added.

“I’ve also been challenged by the words of President Mandela who said our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people. Therefore it is important for me to be here amongst our Palestinian brothers and sisters to hear their stories, to hear and see what it means to live under Israeli occupation and oppression.”

From the West Bank, the delegation plans to head to the Rafah Border Crossing via Cairo to try to reach out to those in Gaza. According to the SACC, “it is our prayer that the relevant authorities will allow the delegation to be able to carry out their pastoral responsibilities and be there for the victims of the genocide as part of our ministry of presence and service to God’s people”. DM

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Importance of Bethlehem