Sir, – Many of our schools finished up this week for their Christmas holidays with nativity plays, carol services and other festive rituals which celebrate the spirit and meaning of Christmas.
Amongst the joy and fun of these rituals, the comfort and serenity of nostalgia takes hold as we unlock treasured memories of Christmases gone by with the telling and retelling of the Christmas story.
We are so familiar with the place names, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Israel, Palestine yet maybe unmindful of the fact that since before the birth of Jesus it has been such a troubled and divided region. Tragically, this year we have seen a horrendous escalation with the horror and terror of October 7th in Israel and the horror and terror since then in Gaza.
The word for peace in Arabic and Hebrew comes from the same root, sal, giving us the Arabic greeting, Salaam and the Hebrew greeting, Shalom.
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These two great traditions share this beautiful expression of peace and yet have such a history of conflict.
History tells us, and we are conscious of it in our own country, that peace can be built, however irresolvable the situation may seem.
A starting point must be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.
“Peace on Earth” must become an emergent reality and not just a refrain we hear at this time of year and all sides must work for it. – Yours, etc,
JOHN MCHUGH,
Principal,
Ardscoil Rís,
Dublin 9