The organisers of a "Christ in the rubble" installation outside Christchurch's Transitional Cathedral held an interfaith vigil on Monday 22 December, to mourn the third Christmas and Chanukah marked by Israel’s war on Hamas and all Palestinians in Gaza.  

The installation from Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine, with the support of Sh'ma Koleinu – Alternative Jewish Voices NZ, contains a ‘yahrtzeit’ memorial candle to mark the loss of loved ones, particularly following the recent terror attack on the Jewish community in Bondi, as well as a red candle as part of a global nonviolent movement for justice and peace in Palestine. 

The scene mirrors an installation from December 2023 when Palestinian Lutheran Pastor Rev Munther Isaac of the Christmas Church in Bethlehem, laid baby Jesus in rubble – a pastoral decision to communicate what it would mean for Jesus to be born in Palestine today. 

“If Christ was born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza… Born among the occupied and oppressed as a sign of solidarity with those who are marginalised.” 

Marilyn Garson, the cofounder of Alternative Jewish Voices NZ (who spent years working alongside communities in Gaza) said the Christ in the rubble nativity in Christchurch speaks to our times.  

“Right now, we mark the hate-killing of Australian Jews at Bondi, but one grief does not blot out another. This week they are Jews. In Christchurch [March 2019], they were Muslim. None of us will ever be separately safe." 

Marilyn and the Alternative Jewish Voices group have chosen to respond to the deadly attacks in Bondi and Christchurch and to the ongoing genocide in Gaza by refusing to be separated from other human beings by race or faith. 

"We grieve every life lost and we protect whichever life is endangered.

We stretch our hearts to hold them all.” 

Leading human rights monitors have warned Israel’s ongoing war on Palestinians has not ended, despite the ‘ceasefire,’ with over 390 more people killed, not counting deaths from widespread malnutrition and medical shortages caused by Israel’s blockade. 

Millions of people in Gaza remain permanently displaced, with over half of Gaza inaccessible and the majority in rubble; and right now Gazan families’ emergency tents are being washed away by flooding in winter storms. While the world has turned away at the reported 'ceasefire', the suffering in Gaza continues, only now with less scrutiny.

Rev Matt Maslin from Bryndwr Anglican Parish believes Christmas is the perfect time to show solidarity with all those who are violently oppressed, displaced or dominated.

 "...At the heart of Advent is the story of a God that has shown solidarity with humanity. The story of Christmas is one where God enters into the difficulties of humanity, to both empathise with and transform its suffering. This is a story we are invited to meaningfully participate in as well." 

Christians for Peace spokesperson Cole Martin says the image of baby Jesus in the rubble invites Christians to see Jesus in every child killed.

"We can find the face of Christ in all those facing starvation and genocide in Gaza; those held captive, displaced, and living under domination in the West Bank; those mourning their loved ones violently taken from them in Bondi; those facing famine and genocide in Sudan and Congo; those suffering from colonisation and poverty in Aotearoa, vulnerable communities being trafficked and exploited across the world; our neighbours in the Pacific and elsewhere already suffering the effects of climate destruction; all those without food, shelter, safety, freedom and dignity." 

Cole also believes the Christ in the rubble installation challenges those outside Israel and Palestine whose carols and prayers turn toward Bethlehem in this season.

“For decades our churches, institutions, and faith communities have blindly supported Israel’s campaign of domination and destruction across the Holy Land; manufacturing warped biblical justifications for violence and funding the machinery, technology, and weapons used to displace families, imprison children, demolish homes, and persecute entire communities."

“Some might feel this takes away from the joy of Christmas, but this is precisely the meaning of Christmas. The birth of Jesus among us – not into wealth, safety, or power, but rather a difficult and messy birth in a cave of livestock under foreign military occupation, to a couple soon to become refugees fleeing a murderous political regime."

"Christmas is a very Palestinian story, and it gives hope that God turns up even in the most hopeless of places.”

The installation will remain at the Cathedral over the Christmas period, as a space for people to grieve, reflect and pray. All are welcome.