Bethlehem Cancels Christmas, But Pastors Expect a Holy Night

At Immanuel Evangelical Church in Bethlehem, instead of Christmas lights, senior pastor Nihad Salman rummaged out a banner from the church closet. The banner has a picture of a woman fleeing bomb-shelled buildings, and printed in Arabic are the words “Let us arise and worship God.” The last time the church had the banner out was two years ago, during the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas. That banner sums up Salman’s approach to Christmas during wartime this year. He sees an opportunity to preach the gospel to people who live under military occupation while grieving the deaths of their people in Gaza.