By Liz Kearney
The Inishowen branch of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Group have taken down the Rubble
Crib which they had placed in St Mary’s Oratory, Buncrana over Christmas, raising over
€2,000 in donations. They have called on local people to take action on Gaza.
“128 people have died in Gaza in the past 48 hours from a combination of cold, bombing
and hunger,” said Majida Alaskri of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Group.
Majida explained that the situation in Gaza is worse than that portrayed in the media.
Severe winter weather has caused bitter hardship to hundreds of thousands who are
sheltering in makeshift tent encampments.
“The people of Palestine are enduring temperatures of – 5 to -7 degrees in tents that often
collapse in the heavy rain, and the harsh conditions are causing many deaths from the
cold,” she said.
“The best thing Irish people can do to help is to call for an end to the genocide being
caused by the Israeli government,” said Majida.
As the crib, made by local man Seamus Meenan, was taken down this week, the group
expressed their thanks to Fr Bradley for having the crib in St Mary’s Oratory. They also
expressed their appreciation to local people for their generous donations of over €2,000
that will provide crucial humanitarian aid on the ground in Gaza.
“The idea of having a Rubble Crib started last year in Bethlehem, when the Lutheran
church put up a rubble crib to represent Jesus, saying that if Jesus was alive today he
could be a refugee child,” said Miriam Killeney of IPSG.
“About 700 babies under one have died in Palestine in this war, and at least 17,000
children altogether. All celebrations of Christmas have been cancelled in Bethlehem for the
second year running. The baby in a crib wrapped in a Keffiyeh symbolises the thousands
of dead children, and those buried under the rubble.
“It was fantastic that we could have the crib in St Mary’s Oratory,” said Miriam. “It brought it
right into the church where it should be, given the whole history of what happened to Jesus
at Christmas and what’s happening now. It’s about the children of Gaza, but it’s also about
the wider picture of children being caught up in war all over the world, and the bigger
picture about what’s happening with the arms trade.”
Miriam also called on local people to take action.
“There are three things the government could do, and that is to pursue the Occupied
Territories Bill, which should be going through. There are arms going through Shannon
Airways to Israel, and we’re supposed to be a neutral country – that shouldn’t be
happening.
“Finally, because since Brexit they can’t go through London, our Central Bank are now
selling Israel’s Gold Bonds. We shouldn’t be supporting the Israeli government to commit
genocide.
“People could email the Taoiseach once a week in relation to the implementation of the
Occupied Territories Bill, the use of our airspace in Shannon and the Gold Bonds.
“The other thing for people to do is to boycott Israeli goods.”
Fr Bradley said “it was so important to have the Rubble Crib – especially in a year when
Christmas has been cancelled in Bethlehem, and when you see the tremendous suffering
faced by so many people in the Holy Land.”
Palihope, a grassroots volunteer group in North Gaza that supports a group of 20 children
orphaned in Palestine this year as one of their activities, will receive almost €2,000.
The recipient of the group’s sterling donations is Fund a Food Drop, a grassroots
organisation in southern Gaza, set up by Hilda Orr and based in Derry.
If you wish to donate to Palihope, Fund a Food Drop or Medical Aid Palestine, you can
contact them on Facebook or on their websites