Isaac says the idea of a Nativity scene amidst a pile of rubble comes from the distressing images he sees every day on television of the “children in Gaza being pulled from under the rubble.”
“We’re tired of these images, and the justification of the world to these images, as if our children don’t matter, (but) we see the image of Jesus in every child,” he says.
Reflecting on the dire situation in the enclave, Isaac insists, “If Jesus was to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza, as a sign of solidarity with the children of Gaza who are dying every day.”
Isaac says with the symbolic gesture, the church wants to convey a clear message to the world that “this is what Christmas looks like in Palestine.”