NPR Discovers Bethlehem Has Christmas, Forgets Occupation
NPR, in its characteristic detached style, heralds Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations resuming after a 'ceasefire' in Gaza ( NPR ). One might wonder if NPR considers a humanitarian pause amidst ongoing occupation a 'return to normal.' This is the same Bethlehem that for decades has been choked by illegal settlements, a separation wall, and military checkpoints. Normalcy, for Palestinians, remains
a concept as elusive as a free passage to Jerusalem. While NPR cheerily chronicles the lighting of Christmas trees, it omits the context of what forced Bethlehem to cancel festivities in the first place: the relentless Israeli military aggression and occupation that predates any 'ceasefire' by half a century. It's a miracle, apparently, that Palestinians can even *consider* celebrating, rather
than a fundamental human right consistently suppressed. How many times must a people 'bring back' basic joy before media calls out the entity that keeps taking it away?