This is a rush transcription. The copy may not be in its final form.
FRIEND GOOD MAN: It is Democracy now!democracynow.org, The War and Peace report. My name is Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
“It’s terrorism.” These are the words of Pope Francis after an Israeli sniper shot dead two Christians, an elderly woman and her adult daughter who were trying to save her, at a Catholic church in Gaza City on Sunday. The shooting took place at Holy Family Latin Parish, where many Palestinian Christians were trapped with little food or water. The pope condemned the shooting on Sunday.
POPE FRANCIS: (translated) And let us not forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering from war in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and other conflict zones. May the approach of Christmas strengthen our commitment to opening paths of peace. I continue to receive very serious and painful news from Gaza. Unarmed civilians are bombed and shot. And this even happened inside the grounds of the Parish of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, disabled patients and nuns. A mother and her daughter, Ms. Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton, were killed and others injured by snipers while they were going to the toilet. The house of Mother Teresa’s nuns was damaged, their generator broke down. Some say it’s terrorism. It’s the war. Yes, it’s war. It’s terrorism. This is why the scripture says that God stops war, breaks the bows and breaks the spears. Let us pray to the Lord for peace.
FRIEND GOOD MAN: It was the Pope this Sunday. British MP Layla Moran also denounced Israeli attacks on the Catholic church in Gaza City. Some of his loved ones are stuck inside.
LAYLA MORAN: I have spoken before in this Assembly about my extended family who live in the parish church of the Holy Family in Zeitoun, Gaza. And the situation has been desperate for weeks, but now it’s getting worse. There are tanks in front of the gates. Soldiers and snipers point to the compound and shoot anyone who ventures outside. And the convent was bombed. On Saturday, two women were shot dead. They were just trying to go to the bathroom. There is no electricity. There is no clean water. And the update I got last night is that they’re down to their last can of corn. I am told, after pressure, that the food has been delivered. But they didn’t see it.
And when it started a week ago, the FDI the soldiers ordered these civilians to evacuate against their will. Can the government confirm that it considers the forced displacement of civilians unacceptable? The people of this church, Mr. President, are civilians. They have nothing to do with Hamas. They are nuns, orphans, disabled people. It’s a small Christian community and they know everyone. As the Pope has said, and my family can confirm, it is categorically false to say that Hamas operates from there. This situation was condemned by many. Will this government do it?
FRIEND GOOD MAN: We are now joined by Philip Farah. He is a co-founder of the Palestinian Christian Peace Alliance and has relatives sheltering in St. Porphyry Church in Gaza City, which was also attacked. Last month, one of his relatives, Elham Farah, a beloved 84-year-old music teacher and daughter of a famous Palestinian poet, was killed by an Israeli sniper outside the Church of the Holy Family , where the mother and daughter were killed on Sunday by an Israeli sniper.
Philip Farah, can you describe what is happening there right now? And let’s talk about this small, besieged Palestinian Christian community. How is it going ?
PHILIPPE FARAH: Thanks, Amy. THANKS, Democracy now!
Yes, three of my grandparents are from Gaza. I grew up in Jerusalem, but we had very strong ties to Gaza. There were many, many Palestinian Christian families in Gaza. It was a thriving community. Our parents, the Medbaqs, the Tarazis, the Sabas, the Jahshans, the Farahs, including Farahs, and the Sayeghs, formed a prosperous community that lived in peace with their Muslim neighbors and even their Jewish neighbors. At the time, one of my great-uncles was a greengrocer, and some of his best friends were also Jewish greengrocers. In fact, they were exporting barley to the UK to add value to beer in UK breweries.
Over the years, this community has dwindled to a tiny minority due to the horrific conditions Israel has imposed on Gaza in particular: in 2013 their number was 3,000, much smaller than it is today. was, let’s say, the turn of the century. century. Today, there are only a thousand people left. And they all took refuge in Saint Porphyry, the Orthodox church. This is the church where my father, aunts and uncles and members of my extended family were baptized. Thus, many took refuge in Saint Porphyre. I think some still are. Four of my relatives in Tarazi were killed there.
Elham was actually taking refuge in Saint Porphyrius until the bombing that killed — the Israeli bombing that killed 18 Christians in that church. And then she moved to the Holy Cross, the Church of the Holy Family. She was a charming 84-year-old woman, loved by many students in Gaza. But she was stubborn. And against the advice of her comrades who were taking refuge there, she wanted to return home. She just wanted to go home. And she did just that. A sniper shot him in the leg. And the people who were trying to save her all got shot, so she bled to death. What could a woman like that, aged 84, have done to hurt Israelis?
So, you know, it’s an ongoing saga. Today, the vast majority of them are taking refuge in the Church of the Holy Family. And as you said, the snipers shot two other elderly people – well, Nahida, an elderly woman, and her daughter came to carry her, and she was shot. And several others were also injured.
I have a relative named Philip Jahshan. In fact, my family was originally Jahshan. Philip Jahshan is the only Gazan I can reach via social media. He takes shelter there. You know, for four days I worried about him and tried to contact him, but communications were cut off. Finally, I could. He told me he was fine. But like you said, they don’t have food. And as you know, Israel used water, food and electricity in its genocidal war. There is no other name for it.
FRIEND GOOD MAN: Philip, we want to continue this conversation after the broadcast, and we will publish it online. Philip Farah is co-founder of the Palestinian Christian Peace Alliance and has relatives sheltering in St. Porphyry Church in Gaza City, which was bombed by the Israeli army. Porphyrius is considered the third oldest church in the world. Last month, her family member Elham Farah was killed by an Israeli sniper outside the Holy Family Church, where she had taken refuge.
Then Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed one of the most extreme anti-immigration bills in the country, authorizing local police to arrest anyone suspected of entering the United States without authorization. Back in 20 seconds.
