3 JANUARY—An email arrived in the morning of the last day of 2025 with the subject line “A cry from the heart for the New Year.” It was from a friend living in East Jerusalem, a Christian Palestinian. Now 92 years old, my friend witnessed the Nakba when she was a teenaged schoolgirl. I publish her message, addressed as a letter to God, with permission and of necessity anonymously.
Imagine, if you will, if you can, a life blessed with such longevity—a good marriage, fulfilling career, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren—and yet engulfed by unceasing violence. Imagine beloved family members in prison. Image coming to the end of just such a long life having spent it working and praying for peace, hoping for justice, believing always in mercy, and witnessing instead a genocide against your people—this as the world remained silent.
Imagine what you might say in a letter to God.
Would it be as faithful and charitable as the one you are about to read?
—C. M.
East Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine.
Dear God,
As one the most distressing years in my life is coming to an end today, I thought I would sit at my computer and have a chat with You.
To start with, I want You to know that despite all that we have gone through starting with the Nakba of 1948, the military occupation of our Palestinian territories as well as the genocide in the Gaza Strip, we have never lost our faith in You.
Inshallah (God willing) is the most common word in our language, whether we are Christians or Muslims, because we literally believe, “Your will be done.” When we see our families off to work or the children off to school we are bound to say to each one of them, “Allah Maak (God be with you). Inshallah you will have a good day.” When they all get back home safely we welcome them, “Alhamdulilah ala el Salameh” (Thank God for your getting back home safely). And when things get tough we plead, “Allah yefrijha” (May God solve the problem). Even when somebody passes away, and as sad as we may be, we accept the fact that it is God’s will, “Mashe’et Allah.”
These are just a few examples to assure You of how strongly we believe in You and that You will never abandon us no matter how bad the situation gets. So whatever good or bad that comes our way we are always thankful. Alhamdulilah.
Sadly, however, and after these long years of one Nakba after the other, one genocide after the other, and now all this stormy weather that has left the homeless in the Gaza Strip drowning in their flimsy tents while more restrictions are put on aid organizations, I could not help but cry out, “Where are You, Dear God, when we need You most? Should You by any chance have lost or misplaced Your hearing aids or Your contact lenses? La Samah Allah (God forbid).” But You do not need medical experts to help You retrieve those abilities. You are the Master Healer.
I lost my eyesight after a big fall a few years ago, but with Your blessings and mercy, and with the healing hands of Dr. Jaouni, Alhamdulilah I can now read and write You this letter. I can also read the scriptures every night and continue to be fascinated by the sacrifice of Your beloved Son.
We need Him now more than ever as we are tired, drained, and unable to cope any more with this grave injustice that has been lingering in our region for the last hundred years. We have had enough of false promises of peace, when in reality we see more aggression and more loss of lives and more young and old people languishing in Israeli jails.
Justice and only justice can bring about the peace that is meant to make our Land Holy again. We need Your help right now, Dear God. We need You to see and to hear our stories so that You can grant us justice. We will not bother You anymore, but we will keep pleading our case just like the widow did until the judge granted her justice. But after all, You are the most gracious, Allah Kareem.
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What awe-inspiring faith and, for me personally, a wonderful example of how to embrace 2026 amidst my old-age challenges... how weird that a 92 year-old Palestinian woman is a role model for an 81 year-old Irish woman... I will add her to my daily prayers.
Incredibly touching, Cara, but alas, I do not possess the faith of your dear friend. Instead, JFK's inaugural address comes to mind, nearly 65 years ago to the day, the closing of which reads, "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." Thus it seems to me that our putting an end to the illegitimate, genocidal entity called Israel would be doing God's work, that it is incumbent upon us to do so.