Palestine supporters will march through central Bristol tomorrow (December 21) to draw attention to the links between the country and Christmas. As part of the procession there will be a float depicting what organisers say is a ‘2024 Palestinian Nativity Scene’.
Supporters will carry a selection of Banksy murals that have been painted on walls in Bethlehem and placards linking Christmas and Palestine. The march will be led by a banner saying ‘Jesus was a Palestinian?’.
Supporters will gather at noon on College Green with speeches at 12.30pm. The protest organised by Bristol Palestine Alliance will then hold a circular march around Broadmead before returning to College Green for a closing rally.
The nativity scene will include a picture of Mary being targeted by a sniper rifle and a blindfolded and handcuffed Joseph. The Three Kings will be shown stranded outside the separation wall, having not been able to pass through the main check point to Bethlehem.
The modern nativity scene aims to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians living in Bethlehem today which is part of the Israeli occupied West Bank where almost 200 children have been killed by the Israeli army and settlers in the last year alone.
A spokesperson for BPA said: “While many will be spending time with loved ones, in our warm homes enjoying our Christmas holiday, Palestine – the land that Christians believe to be Christ’s birthplace – is being bombed and its people the victims of an ongoing genocide. For more than a year, Gazans have been subjected to constant bombing, starvation, dehumanisation, ethnic cleansing, mass murder on horrific scale – most of which have been women and children.
“Medics, journalists, emergency aid workers, charity workers, UN peace keepers and children are deliberately targeted and it is all being live streamed on our phones. This Saturday, whilst our Palestinian brothers, sisters and children, are suffering, we will gather to reflect and grieve and show them we are with them.
“The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity. Jesus is respected in the Abrahamic religions and the Christmas story is well known in Britain, but surprisingly few people realise Bethlehem exists outside the Christmas story and is a real city in Palestine. If Jesus was born now he would undeniably be Palestinian but the odds of him surviving might not be very good.”