My Palestinian Christian family has gone

[Theend123]

I am late to this and name changed as I frequently get accused of anti-semitism for just telling my family story.
I am of Palestinian Christian heritage, I have lived in the UK for most of my adult life and am agnostic because I have faith, but cannot believe in religion due to its destructive nature.
Until two weeks ago, I had 16 relatives living in Gaza, I believe I now have two: my father's cousin and her daughter.
I also have relatives in Bethlehem but the connectivity is bad and no-one wants to identify themselves.
It's heart-breaking on a personal level. My Palestinian relatives have suffered so much living in the Occupied Territories.
There is fault on all sides but I am rarely able to express my family's problems because they are not seen as being legitimately part of the region's natural order.

So very sorry for your terrible, pointless losses.

It's heartbreaking to lose only one person but to have lost so many members of your family. I am so sorry for your loss.

Please do not come looking for an argument on this post. I didn’t generalise about all those in support of Palestinian freedom, I commented that there were many people involved who make this a ‘Muslim-Jewish’ religious struggle (which should be evident to anyone following this conflict). We clearly both agree it is not and this is a humanitarian issue.

OP felt the need to establish herself as a Palestinian Christian for a reason, an identity very little heard about on the global stage, or even acknowledged most of the time.

This post isn’t here for you to get into a debate, please find somewhere else to air your grievances.

I am so sorry OP. I am Jewish and I can't bear that anyone should think this should happen in my name and in my family's name. My grandfather's family were almost all murdered in the Holocaust and honestly I think Israel behaving in this way, destroying families and places communities live, is a descration of their memory, it really is.

The horrors, violence and bereavement that innocent people are suffering both in this conflict and the Ukraine conflict are beyond my imagination. To offer love and sympathy seems so inadequate, but my heart goes out to you @Theend123 and to everyone whose family and friends are caught up in matters totally out of their control.

Living with verbal and physical aggression simply because of where you were born, or into which religion, is something I've never had to deal with. I've also only to endure the uncertainty about my loved ones' lives for short periods and in circumstances which make sense, so to live with the daily fear and bereavement must be unbearable.

This is just another voice for peace. I wish I had the first idea how it can be achieved 🌼

Thank you all for your very kind comments. We had some good news today that our West Bank relatives are alive and (mostly) well.
I will reply to some posts individually later.
I was not expecting this to be a safe space because IRL people do not understand why the heck my family is there in the first place. None of us can choose where we are born.

@RandomMess that brought a smile to face!

Dablikeacrap · Yesterday 22:50

Theend123

Yup. It’s exhausting. I’m not even really talking about it as I’m so sick of having to explain that my heritage and empathy for my people does not make me an antisemite

@Dablikeacrap This is EXACTLY how I feel. I mean it has been forever thus, but this is possibly the worse in a decade or so. I don't really talk about IRL because of the exact same reason. I try not to feel the need to justify myself but you know, sometimes it comes up that I was born in Bethlehem.

@Mdg247 you are awesome and thank you.
Having spoken to my family today, we - the older generation (45+) - would give up our identities and lives for a proper solution so that people could co-exist in a fair way.

💐 I’m truly sorry for your loss x

im so sorry for your losses. None of this is right. Innocent people are the victims. X

I'm sorry for your losses, and saddened that civilians are paying the price while this attack is allowed to continue.

@feralunderclass, I thank you for your activism, it is appreciated. It's an aspiration and, sadly, unlikely. Not that I have given up the struggle but it is hard

I am so deeply sorry for the absolute horror you have endured 💐

I am sending you so much love, I am sorry x

I am very, very sorry for what has happened.

As well as what it would mean for you and your family, Christianity in Palestine is at the heart of so much of the European shared culture going back 2,000 years. This is all dreadful.
For you and all Palestinians may there one day be peace.

There are some beautiful photographs here of Palestine from the late 19th Century to about 1906. You need to click on the arrow within a photo to see the next one. Then there is a + sign to enlarge them. I saw a lovely one of Palestinian Christian women studying.

Photographs of Life in Palestine (ca. 1896–1919) — The Public Domain Review https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/photographs-of-palestinian-life/

I’m am so sorry for your loss OP. So devastating to lose so many family members. There are no words.

I am so very sorry to hear about your loss. Sending you lots of love xx

I’m really sorry for your loss. I have no words, just sympathies. 😓

sending you love xxx

I’m so sorry for your loss OP, it’s horrendous and awful.

I saw an article about a small church where people were sheltering, and it was heartbreaking to read. I can’t even imagine what your family is going through.

I’ll keep them in my prayers.

I'm so sorry for your loss OP
I was so glad to read your update about your relatives in The West Bank being live and well 🙏
Sending love to you and your family x

I love you beyond words.
You are always in my heart and may God make it easier for you.
Free Palestine 🇵🇸

The poster who started this thread stopped posting on it in Oct23, the last post was Oct23 until a few days ago.

I guess the op has changed username as I can't them anywhere else to see how they are.

Sorry, I have indeed name changed.
We are healing - although feeling the loss of friends and colleagues in Gaza. It has been a horrific time. And every day seems harder.
The thought of the Israeli government annexing Gaza is horrifying. I am heartened by the governments who are willing to recognise a Palestinian state. However, it feels like a bribe to get Netanyahu to submit rather than a real commitment. Also, Trump sanctioning countries because of their stance is very depressing.
My friends and family in the West Bank are "relatively" safe although there are daily arrests of their neighbours (which is never rarely reported). We would love them to leave and be in a safer place, but - rightly - they don't want to be bullied out of the only life they have known.
They also report that new settlements are being set up all around their town.