December 22, 2002
Zababdeh’s children get a chance to celebrate Christmas, thanks to the Bible Society.
The fourth Sunday of Advent has arrived, and we worshiped in the Latin Church of Visitation. After Mass, the children headed down to the church hall for a program put on by the Bible Society of Jerusalem. They had done such a show a couple of years ago, and though the road has gotten much more complicated, they were still able to come and put on a show for the kids. Again, presents were the main draw.
Israeli soldiers set up a “flying” checkpoint on the road between the University and Zababdeh.
But it wasn't the biggest event in town - in plain sight on the road was a military blockade in place on the road up to the University. Marthame called Elizabeth so she could film it from our balcony. Instead, she decided to walk up there and see what was going on.
Palestinian students detained, their IDs confiscated.
Since 9:00 that morning, soldiers had stopped all movement along the road. Perhaps two hundred students who had tried to make their way from Zababdeh up to take their exams were stopped by the soldiers, not allowed to go to the University or back home. Most young men had their IDs taken as they waited. After a couple hours, the women and the professors were told they could go, but they decided to stay, both as a sign of solidarity and because they feared what might happen to the male students if they left.
An impromptu lecture on political science as an act of non-violent resistance.
"They punched some of the students and arrested them," they said. "Come look," as they led Elizabeth to the side of the road, where she could see students on the ground next to the army jeep far ahead. One professor held an impromptu lecture on political science. When afternoon prayer time came, a dozen students began to pray in the middle of the road.
Daily Muslim prayer at the checkpoint.
Elizabeth spoke with both the soldiers and the students - the former were nervous about being filmed, the latter were not. She asked one soldier what was happening. "We are looking for a student. He is a bad man. We know his name. We know his face."
Elizabeth pointed to one student, "Is that him?"
"No."
"What about him?"
"No."
"OK. Then why not let them go?"
"I can't do that. We have to check them." Ah, the Israeli military logic.
Students were frustrated and hungry, having stood waiting for more than three hours. "They killed our humanity," noted one student.
Elizabeth left the students and headed back to Zababdeh for lunch with Marthame at Fr. Firas' house. No sooner had we started eating our fried chicken when the mosque sounded an announcement: the students of the University were calling for a demonstration to walk up to the site.
At 2:00, small groups of young men began slowly making their way up the road. We watched from our balcony, not sure what would happen next. Before the demonstrators made it to the checkpoint, we could see the students passing the jeep and going up to the university.
As we learned later, Fr. Aktham had gone to the checkpoint to plead with the soldiers - some of the students being detained were part of the Christmas Pageant that night. The reaction was similar to that of a couple of days ago: a round of "I don't care" followed by the release of the students.
Marthame and a friend rehearse hymns for the Christmas pageant.
The Christmas party started "on time" - announced at 4:30, it began at 5:00. Sister Elba had taught the children some Christmas songs, some of them with familiar tunes if not words. The University-age students had also prepared hymns, Marthame joining in on guitar. Again, some were familiar to us, others new.
A modern-day retelling of the Christmas pageant.
Then came the evening's focal point, The Star of Bethlehem: Lost or Found?, Fr. Aktham's modern-day retelling of the Christmas story in Zababdeh. Breaking news from Al-Jazeera, Israeli incursions into Bethlehem, the sounds of war outside, inside jokes about "no room in the inn" because University students have taken every last place...It was very well done, very funny, and very well received. It struck a chord, and drove home the message that the Christmas season gives hope even in the most desperate of times.