When I was seventeen, and just graduated from high school, my grandmother took me on a trip to see family that was stationed in Iran (during the Shah’s tenure) and England. On the way we toured the Holy Land in the days when the city of Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan. We went through a refugee camp that was inhabited mostly by Palestinians who had been displaced by the creation of Israel. My seventeen-year-old self fell in love with this nativity scene with the characters portrayed in Palestinian dress. On the bottom of each character are the words World YMCA Center, Aqabat Jabar Refugee Camp, Jericho, Jordan --- a place that does not even exist anymore.
I have treasured this nativity scene, as it has been displayed over the years in our many different homes. This year I treasure it more than ever, as the suffering in Gaza has been on our TV screens for months.
I often wonder where the creators of these figures are and in doing so wish fervently for the continual human craving for “And on earth, peace good-will towards men.”