Holy Family Parish in Gaza

Trump ordered the killing of Nigerian Muslims who had been attacking Nigerian Christians. It was an action of Christian Nationalism.

Israelis have killed hundreds of thousands in Gaza over the past two years –by far mostly Muslims but Christians have been attacked as well by Israelis, and with no problem for Christian Nationalists or the US Commander-in-Chief who supports weapons to Israel and is a buddy of Israeli war criminal Netenyahu.

Pope Francis called the Pastor of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza every night until the day before he died. We have many Holy Family parishes here throughout the USA. I went to Holy Family in Endwell this morning, hoping to hear some prayers for the people of Gaza and maybe just noting the Holy Family Church in Gaza that has been under deadly fire from the IDF for the past two years. Today is the RC Feast Day of the Holy Family–the nonviolent Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I had asked my wife if she ever heard a homily (sermon) about the people of Gaza and/or the sister church, Holy Family of Gaza. She said no. (I stopped attending Holy Family some years ago).

At the church door, I asked the pastor if he had ever given a homily about the Holy Family of Gaza. He quickly replied no.

Life is comfortable in Endwell. Today’s Holy Family Parish bulletin noted that over $40,000 was given in this year’s Christmas collection.

Endwell is a fine place with lovely homes, good schools, and lots of families dependent on the merchants of death, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, nearby–two known monsters of the war industry. There are only a few Endwell small companies and they rely on Defense (sic) contracts like EMT – “Streamlined Solutions for Aerospace and Defense” on Delaware Ave and Amphenol Aerospace near Hooper Rd.

There are multiple local industries connected to the business of fear and hate. It makes it difficult to change the American mindset to something like the mindset in BRICS nations that focus on designing and making things than enhance life not destroy it. The BRICS mindset is focused on improving life at home and reaching out–offering development projects to poor countries, a plan to sustain life, not destroy and kill life.

But fear and distrust turn to hate and hate means more war preparation (called defense work in the US of A) And workers are paid well. Some of the money finds its way into the many churches that pray for peace and pray for the troops.

Here is what has happened to Holy Family Church in Gaza the past couple of years, thanks to the US War Department and the Israeli Defense (sic) Force

From a simple AI search:

The Holy Family Church in Gaza has been subject to multiple attacks and damage in recent years, particularly since the start of the current Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. The most significant incidents include:

December 16, 2023: Two Christian women, Naheda Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar Kamal Anton, were killed by gunfire as they walked to the Sisters’ convent within the church compound. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem stated they were “shot in cold blood” by an IDF sniper, while the IDF alleged Hamas had fired an RPG from the vicinity and its soldiers had fired back.
November 4, 2023 / Early War Period: The Rosary Sisters’ school, part of the parish complex, was destroyed or severely damaged by an Israeli airstrike. Other buildings in the compound, including the convent, water tanks, and solar panels, also suffered damage from shelling and shrapnel during this period.
July 7, 2024: An Israeli bomb targeting a Palestinian official hit the Holy Family Catholic School, killing four people who were sheltering there.
July 17, 2025: An Israeli tank shell or an airstrike hit the church, killing three people (Saad Salameh, Foumia Ayyad, and Najwa Abu Dawood) and wounding at least nine others, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Israel expressed regret and stated it was a mistake caused by “stray ammunition” or “fragments from a shell fired during operational activity”. Church officials and international observers widely condemned the attack, with some leaders, like the Italian Prime Minister, calling the attacks on civilians “unacceptable”.

The church compound has served as a sanctuary for hundreds of displaced Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, including the elderly and people with disabilities, throughout the conflict. Church leaders have repeatedly called for the protection of religious sites under international law and for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The silence of Holy Family Endwell is not unique. It mirrors the national acceptance of the Merchant of Death system, which has trained Americans to believe that the military and our defense industries keep us safe and secure. The exact opposite is true. We are willing to push enemies, like the Russians, to the brink of the end of the planet–as in last year’s firing of US missiles deep into Russia near their nuclear fleet of aircraft.

The big lie works for the US, keeping us comfortable as we celebrate near the brink of Armageddon. Our ignorance of the truth would be no surprise to Nazi Josef Goebbels: The term “the big lie” (German: die große Lüge) is a propaganda technique that was discussed by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf and implemented by the Nazi regime’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. “The core principle is that a falsehood so colossal will be more readily believed than a small one, especially if repeated frequently enough”

Now, please repeat after me: Our arms industry keeps us safe and secure is bullshit.

But, don’t forget to put some “defense” cash in the collection box at church.

Jack Gilroy

Jack Gilroy has been organizing justice actions since the 1960s. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Infantry, and converted to nonviolence during the Viet Nam War. Nonviolently standing for justice has led to him spending time in Southern jails, federal prisons, and more recently Jamesville Penitentiary.