Israel: Christmas and tourism in Bethlehem
70% of what had been Palestine until 1949 is now controlled by Israel. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the continuing expansion of settlements and military law in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority now has control over about 18% of the West Bank - which includes Bethlehem. The tourism industry there is yet another battleground of Palestinians and Israelis for controlling the narrative around the occupation. At Christmas there are strings of lights over the town's famous Manger Square, with a life-sized nativity scene, and pilgrims entering the church to see where Jesus was born. Tourists come in groups organised by Israeli tour companies, while native Palestinian local guides look for individual tourists to show them around their hometown. There is an unseen struggle for Palestinians, many of them Christians, to earn a living.
Syria: Trump’s meandering policy
On 19 December, a week after his special coalition envoy to defeat IS said that US troops would be in Syria for the foreseeable future, Donald Trump has ordered a complete, rapid withdrawal of 2,000 military personnel. He tweeted, ‘We have defeated IS in Syria, my only reason for being there.’ Earlier this year he said, ‘I want to get out. I want to bring our troops home and start rebuilding our nation’. He has always said the money spent on the struggle would be better spent at home. Britain has distanced itself from Trump’s perception of the situation, which has also led to the resignation of his defence secretary James Mattis (see). US allies and Kurdish militias feel abandoned, as this decision hands Iran and Russia more leverage across the country. A group of Kurdish and Arab units raised by Washington specifically to fight IS said that the move would have ‘dangerous implications for international stability’. See
Missionary who uses a gun and brings a Bible
Dave Eubank moved his family into the middle of some of the most dangerous places in the world to spread the Gospel and help others. He has been described as a Christian Rambo. Countless people caught in war zones around the globe are incredibly thankful for his outlook. Eubank achieved media fame last year when he saw IS forces shoot a fleeing family. He assumed everyone was dead, but then spotted slight movement; there was a small child alive in the midst of the horrific scene, lying under her mother’s body. With smoke screen and covering fire, he daringly ran into the open, exposing himself to enemy fire, grabbed the girl, and brought her to safety. He was seen praying for protection, crying out to Jesus, before he made the rescue attempt. Jesus is at the heart of everything Eubank does.
Canada: forced sterilisation of indigenous women
In 2017 two indigenous women alleged that they were coerced into undergoing sterilisation at a Saskatchewan hospital. More than sixty women have now joined them in a pending class action lawsuit, seeking compensation for the violation of their rights, supported by Amnesty International (see). The legal challenge centres on whether proper and informed consent was obtained before the women were sterilised. One woman said she explicitly refused to have her fallopian tubes tied when staff suggested the procedure after the birth of her son. On 7 December the UN officially called on Canada to ‘ensure that all allegations of forced or coerced sterilisation are impartially investigated, and the persons responsible held accountable with adequate redress for the victims’. Pray for policies and accountability mechanisms across all provinces to ensure there are clear regulations around free will, and informed consent.
