Jerusalem Post image of the Haifa ‘Festival of Festivals’.
Like all reasonable people I desire peace. I desire that all those, of whatever belief they profess, live in peace, and in the Israeli city of Haifa, this seems to be happening. However, I can only think that the reason why those of different faiths live in peace is because the population make up is 82% Jewish, 14% Christian and only 4% Muslim.
Although I praise and exalt the desire and practise of peaceful co-existence that is being shown by Haifa’s December ‘Festival of Festivals’, I can’t help but think that this sort of thing would not be happening if the demographics were different. Does anybody seriously think that if the population of a city was 82% Muslim, 14% Christian and 4% Jewish then there would be the same peace or desire for peace? I’m cynical enough, and educated enough about Islam, to know that this would probably not happen. You only need to look at Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christianity, to see what happens when Islam calls the shots as it does in the Palestinian controlled areas. In that place life is getting worse and worse for Christians, and is likely to not get much better as long as Muslims are in control.
Read this article from the Jerusalem Post and grieve for the peace that might have been, and which seems impossible to achieve in places and times when Islam is dominant.
“A vendor in a Santa costume roasts chestnuts, standing next to a hijab-clad woman, making pita bread. Nearby, the smell of Hanukkah doughnuts fills the air.
No, the Festival of Festivals not your ordinary holiday celebration in Israel, but then again Haifa is not your ordinary town.
This first festival occurred eight years ago when Christmas, Hanukkah and Ramadan all occurred on the same day. Although the dates of the holidays change every year, the December festival remains. The yearly festival boasts activities such as arts fairs, parades and performances every weekend throughout the month of December.
Haifa’s Christian population is the second largest in Israel, with 14,400 Christian residents, who make up 14 percent of the town’s population. Four percent of the population is Muslim and the remaining 82% is Jewish.
Haifa residents are proud of the fact that all three faiths are able to co-exist in their diverse city, and of this unique event in which they come together to share in celebration of their distinct winter holiday traditions.
Gabriel Ashkar stands outside the music shop he works in wearing a full Santa Claus costume which he borrowed specially for the occasion. Although he is originally from Nazareth, he says that “there is a peace in Haifa like nowhere else, among all the people– Christians, Jews they all come together here.”
Read the rest of this article here:
Out of all the nations that make up the middle an near east, only in Israel could such a thing as the ‘Festival of Festivals’ exist, unmolested by either the state or Islamic religious authorities. That should tell us a lot about the character and qualities of the Islamic nations that border Israel.
I’d like to end this article by wishing peace to all those of peaceful and honest intent, such as the people of Haifa, and will conclude by hoping that the most high source of peace, brings peace to Israel, its people and the whole world.
