Once upon a time, not far from where baby Jesus was born, there was a village called Iqrit. It was filled with people who loved Jesus more than anyone in the world. Specifically, ninety percent of them did. The other ten percent also loved Jesus, but not the same way.
The villagers of Iqrit were expelled by an army of Jews in 1948, and despite being told they could return within two weeks they were kept out indefinitely. In July 1951, the villagers took their case before the Israeli Supreme Court. They could do this, because they were supposedly Israeli citizens.
They won this case. However, the government came up with another reason to keep them out, and so the villagers chose to appeal yet again. This was scheduled for 6 February 1952.
However, in December 1951, Israeli soldiers took the leader of Igrit onto a hill.
There, on Christmas Day, they forced him to watch as Israeli troops demolished every home in the village.
In 1972, after various attempts by inhabitants and their descendants, the government recognized the right to return yet refused to allow it in principle. One Israeli politician, Golda Meir, said why:
"It is not only consideration of security preventing an official decision regarding Bi'rim and Igrit, but the desire to avoid a precedent. We cannot allow ourselves to become more and more entangled and to reach a point from which we are unable to extricate ourselves."
In short, they could not allow the return, because if they did, it would set a precedent to allow the return of countless others who were displaced.
Iqrit wasn't the only thing the Jews destroyed. They destroyed the narrative of it being Muslim verses Jew, because the villagers of Iqrit were and are Christian. It destroys the narrative that Palestinians all abandoned their land so other countries could invade, because they did not, they were occupied and expelled.
It destroys the idea that Israel is somehow special and unique for being 'democratic' and having western institutions. The army ignored the court, and made the villagers watch as they destroyed their homes.
To this day, the Israeli government prevents them or their descendants from rebuilding. Note, Israel has not themselves colonized the land, they have not built their own town. They simply prevent its rightful inhabitants from doing so.
This coming twenty fifth (tomorrow) of December is the 74rd anniversary of the destruction of the Christian Village of Iarit, by Israel. They did this, despite the Supreme Court of Israel itself ruling that those who lived there and owned the land were entitled to return to their land.
And I hope maybe you will remember its story, on this, the anniversary of its destruction, on the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Merry Christmas and God bless the resistance.
Mike