A Pilgrim's Tales

Israel Agrees to Free Khadar Adnan

2012-02-22T08:27:00.004-07:00

Thanks for your support!

It appears that the Israelis have agreed to release Khadar Adnan and that he will end his hunger strike (although ending the hunger strike has not been officially confirmed at this time). Israeli human right organization Addameer has been supporting his case and reports: http://www.addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=444 Because of the settlement, the hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was cancelled (Israel is 9 hours ahead of us in Denver, so as I write, it is 8 pm there.)

Thanks to Carol LaHurd for these updates---

From Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-prisoner-ends-66-day-hunger-strike-after-israel-guarantees-his-release-1.413978

On BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17112804

From the Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/deal-reached-end-khader-adnans-detention-17-april-no-confirmation-hunger-strike?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=d368898057-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Addameer posted the following message, in Arabic, on its Facebook page today, 21 February just after 11AM local time in Palestine. It has been translated by The Electronic Intifada:

A lawyer from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association was able to visit the prisoner Sheikh Khader Adnan (34 years old) and on hunger strike for 66 days in Ziv Hospital in the Upper Galilee city of Safad, on Monday 20 February 2012, to review the latest developments regarding his health status. The lawyer conveyed from Sheikh Khader his intention to proceed with his hunger strike and that he is in high spirits, and that he will not back down until freedom.

The lawyer said that that the prisoner’s health condition has entered a critical stage, especially after medical tests were carried out on him, and that his hemoglobin level declined from 10.9 to 9.9 in a short period.

Today at 3pm the Israeli High Court will hear the petition against the administrative detention order for Sheikh Khader, despite the fact that Khader was prevented from attending the court. A lawyer from Addameer will be present at the court to bring you the latest developments about the hearing and his medical situation.

The prisoner Khader sent his greetings and thanks to all parties, institutions and individuals who have supported his cause and his hunger strike and all who are working toward his victory.

Is not this the fast that I choose: to let the oppressed go free....

2012-02-17T09:14:00.006-07:00

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the third month of a hunger strike by Khader Adnan, who was awakened in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers, forced out of his home and arrested on December 17. When he was not charged with a crime, Khader Adnan began a hunger strike, protesting Israel's illegal detention of 301 Palestinian prisoners without charges.

Photo shows Randa Jihad Adnan, Khadar's wife, holding a photo of her husband.

I have always seen the Muslim veiling as a sign of the inequality of women in some Muslim communities, that the veil, the hijab, the burqa, are all signs of women's subordinate role. That women deserve more respect and should not be forced to veil themselves, when the men dress as they please.

Looking at this photograph, I am forced to reconsider. Her veil forces me to look into her eyes, to see her passion for justice, her grief for her husband, her dedication to the struggle for hunan rights for her people. Without her veil, I would not have seen into her soul.

Yesterday Randa Jihad Adnan visited her husband in the military hospital, with her two young daughters and her father-in-law, and then she spoke with reporters. They found him "weak and extremely thin, his beard unkempt and his fingernails long. He was shackled by two legs and one arm to his bed, and was connected to a heart monitor. Though mentally alert, he could speak only with difficulty. 'I was shocked,' she said yesterday. 'I couldn't speak for about three minutes, and it was the same for my daughters.'"

Today's story in The Independent (UK) concludes, "Randa Adnan recalled that her husband told one of his lawyers: 'I do not want to go to oblivion or death. But I am a man who defends his freedom. If I die it will be my fate.'"

Read the rest of the story in The Independent (UK)....

Lenten Meditations

2012-02-17T09:07:00.003-07:00

Follow my posts through Lent on my blog: A Lenten Geography. I write meditations based on the three lessons for the following Sunday, remembering the people I have met in Israel and Palestine--peacemakers who are working for freedom, justice and a better life for their people.

Ash Wednesday's (February 22) post is already online because it is written about Khadar Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner being held in Israeli prison without charges since December 17. He will likely not be alive on Ash Wednesday.

Bedouin Relocations in the West Bank

2012-02-04T15:27:00.003-07:00

B'tSelem, Israeli Human Rights Organization, reports that Israel's Civil Administration is planning to relocate some 27,000 Bedouins living in Area C in the West Bank. At first, some 2,300 people will be expelled from their homes near the Ma'ale Adummim settlement and relocated to a site next to the Abu Dis garbage dump, east of Jerusalem. Members of the Khan al-Ahmar community explain how the move will affect them.

Take three minutes to watch the video

This is a map of the area - it is all in the West Bank - blue areas are Israeli settlements. Brown/tan areas are Palestinian villages and towns. More Swiss cheese, created by the Oslo Accords.

If you have been on a Holy Land Tour, you probably rode the bus down the highway to Jericho and saw the Bedouin camps along the highway. This is the area where they are being forced to move. Israel is doing this to protects the settlements they build on West Bank land, where the Bedouin have been living. Makes me CRAZY!!!

Christmas Eve, Luke - O Little Town of Bethlehem

2011-12-24T08:43:00.013-07:00

Luke 2.1-14

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem…. (Lk 2.4)

O Little Town of Bethlehem, 2011

Church of the Nativity, shrine marking the place whereJesus was born….

Bethlehem, main street, with the wall and guard tower

English students at Dar Al-Kalima School, speaking to us

Bethlehem - Dar Al-Kalima College, cafe

Bethlehem, Detour around the Wall

Graffiti on the Wall

O God, as we remember your advent on this holy night, we celebrate your gift of light and life. As we sing "O Little Town of Bethlehem, help us remember your people who are still suffering in the place of your birth, and in all the conflicted places around the world. Help us be agents of your peace, bringing your light and life to the world. Amen.

Jan Miller, MDiv
janlmiller@q.com
Read my blogs about peacemaking in Israel and Palestine: www.apilgrimstales.blogspot.com

Christmas Eve - Titus, Waiting for the Blessed Hope

2011-12-21T22:50:00.004-07:00

Christmas Eve - Titus

Titus 2.11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God…. (Titus 2.11)

God of grace, grant us lives lived in hope while we wait for the manifestation of your glory. Amen.

Read this commentary and news from Sam Bahour, a Palestinian/American businessman who lives in Ramallah:

Some Palestinians refuse to just sit still and accept their fate as a permanently, militarily occupied people. One would think by now that Palestinians would have received the message loud and clear - the world couldn't care less about their fate. But no, these Palestinians just refuse to sit still. They continue to defy their reality and can be seen across the Holy Land - jumping, climbing, swinging, falling, tripping, singing, twirling, juggling, cycling, tight roping, and the like. Their nerve! To think they can attempt to live a normal life when the powers that be are spending billions, literally, to cause a collapse of Palestinian society.

And who is it exactly I speak of? Palestinian clowns. No, I'm not taking a swing at the political leadership, at least not here. I'm talking about the real thing: circus clowns, like in clowns that make you laugh and make you forget that the boot of occupation is pressing on your neck.

I can understand your confusion. Clowns and circus do not usually appear in the same sentence with Palestine. You are probably much more attuned to how Palestinians have been labeled over the years by some Israelis and their marionettes - everything from terrorists, crocodiles, 'beasts walking on two legs,' grasshoppers, cockroaches, slaves, 'a community of woodcutters and waiters,' the 'penniless population,' 'not worth a Jewish fingernail,' all the way to the most recent classification of being an 'invented people.'

As many are bent on dehumanizing Palestinians, systematically and with contempt, others are mending the wounds of a

people who have been purposely stripped of their well-being in one of the world's most unjust chapters of history. One group tending to that process of mending the deep wounds that 44 years of military occupation continue to inflict is the Palestinian Circus School (PCS), based in Birzeit, Palestine…..

The Palestinian Circus School is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 2006 and registered with the Palestinian Authority since February 2007. You can read more and view some videos of their work at: www.palcircus.ps…..

Contemporary circus (or nouveau cirque as it was originally known in French-speaking countries) is a genre of performing art developed in the late 20th century, in which a story or theme is conveyed through traditional circus skills. It may all look like a game to the untrained eye, but this is serious business. At its heart, this style of circus is a societal change agent. The Circus School teaches young Palestinians the circus pedagogy to stimulate and develop their physical, mental, artistic, emotional, social and cognitive abilities. The circus then employs these skills in bringing smiles to the faces of children throughout Palestine, especially in marginalized areas.

If you spend any time in any part of Palestine, or even in Palestinian refugee communities outside of Palestine, you will quickly notice that the ultimate weight of this conflict is falling on the shoulders of our youngsters-shoulders that should never have to carry the weight of a military occupation! These young minds continue to be systematically damaged, but society is not standing still.

The Palestinian Circus School puts smiles on children's faces as well as using the platform of circus to link to a global circus arts community. Circus schools and troupes worldwide are acting in solidarity with Palestinians by exchanging trainers, performances and experiences. It's serious business with serious results. Maybe that's why, last year, Israeli authorities denied entry to Mr. Ivan Prado, the most famous clown in Spain, who was coming to perform to Palestinian audiences.

Robert Sugarman, author of The Many Worlds of Circus, described the impact of circus best when he wrote, "By turning you upside down, we teach you to stand on your own two feet. By dropping objects we teach you to catch them. By having you walk all over someone, we teach you to take care of them. By having you clown around, we teach you to take yourself seriously." The children of Palestine have had their lives turned upside down. Help us bring a smile to their faces and build confidence in their futures to make their lives worth living.

So, as you prepare to bring in a new year, I appeal for your generous support to the Palestinian Circus School in any way you can. You will not be disappointed. There are three places donations can be made:

- IndieGoGo Campaign to raise $25,000 to kick off fundraising for erecting a movable training hanger, which will be located adjacent to the newly donated headquarters. This new addition will house the high circus equipment, which are now placed outside in the cold under the open sky. This campaign just started and will run through February 20, 2012 at: http://igg.me/p/52303. Read more about this project...

Christmas Eve - Isaiah, Here we stand; Stand with us

2011-12-19T09:17:00.003-07:00

Christmas Eve - Isaiah, Here we stand; Stand with us

Isaiah 9.2-7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…. (Is 9.2)

On Christmas Eve we will celebrate the incarnation—the god who comes to us as a baby in the manger is flesh and blood and tears and dirty diapers. A god who suffers at the hands of an occupying army—beginning with his family’s flight from a ruler who wants to kill their baby. A god who shows us that our bodies and our actions matter.

Palestinians know this God intimately; they know in their bodies what Jesus suffered.,,,,,arrested and beaten. Palestinian parents know homelessness—with no place to rest for the night, forced to find shelter in a barn.

A couple of weeks ago, more than 60 participants from 15 countries met with Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem for a Kairos Palestine Global Justice Encounter/Conference. They met to “share a Kairos consciousness, strengthen and build ties among Kairos groups to form a global network for justice, and learn from the Palestinian experience the urgency of Kairos solidarity and to end injustice.”

The participants in this conference issued a statement, “The Bethlehem Call: Here we stand - Stand with us”. It begins, “How long, O God, will they steal our livelihood? Oppress, imprison and humiliate our people? Deprive our children of their childhood? Indeed how long, God, will the multitudes of Christians of the world ignore the anguish of our Palestinian sisters and brothers and all of the oppressed?”……”We now say: ‘Injustice no more. Here we stand. Stand with us.’”

It continues: (or read the whole statement)

"Today, the illegal regime and illegal forms of the Israeli occupation of Palestine assumes dimensions of systemic injustice whereby the unthinkable and unimaginable becomes globally accepted, supported and normalized. This is an example of Empire (global domination) at work. It happens in Palestine as it happens in many other contexts around the world. At the same time, Palestine is clearly a global issue. The government of Israel claims to have and indeed enjoys an exceptional status within the international community. Israel regards itself to be above the law and is treated as exempt from international law. This status provides the Israeli government the freedom to occupy Palestine with impunity. (photo is Bethlehem)

As witnessed with our own eyes, the treacherous conditions imposed by the Israeli occupation on Palestinians and their land have reached a level of almost unimaginable and sophisticated criminality. This includes

the slow yet deliberate and systematic ethnic cleansing and the geocide of Palestinians and Palestine as well as the strangling of the Palestinian economy. The brutality in the “violence of silence” internationally provides an almost impenetrable shield for the Israeli government to implement its evil designs in blatant disregard for human rights and international law. Silence is an opinion. Inaction is an action….”

These are people who have been walking in darkness. Palestinians have been in the shadows, invisible to most of the world. Christians around the world have been walking in the darkness of their ignorance of the Palestinians’ suffering. But the participants in this conference “have seen a great light” and this statement declares their vision.

God made flesh, dwelling among us…...as we approach the manger on this holy day, make us mindful of all your people who still suffer as you did. Use us as prophets to proclaim your “great light” to the world, wherever we work and play. In your holy name. Amen.

Advent 4 - Luke, Pondering

2011-12-16T08:16:00.005-07:00

Advent 4 - Luke

Luke 1.26-38

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. (Lk 1.29)

I find myself drawn to Mary’s perplexed reaction to what she cannot understand. I too, ponder…..what are God’s intentions? How can this be? My ponderings, however, are not prompted by an angel, but by what I hear from Palestine.

Yesterday I read a report from Adameer, (Arabic for “conscience”) Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, “a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution that works to support Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli and Palestinian prisons, offering free legal aid to political prisoners, advocating their rights at the national and international level, and working to end torture and other violations of prisoners' rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns."

Adameer reports that since October 18, when 477 Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, nearly 470 other Palestinians have been arrested. Some of the released prisoners have been harassed, and one has been rearrested. 70 of those arrested are children; 11 are women.

Most disturbing to me is that many of those arrested are human rights workers, political activists, journalists and people participating in the popular resistance movement, arrested for peacefully protesting Israel’s theft of Palestinian land. The list of those arrested includes 17 people from a village I visited last year—Beit Ummar, just south of Bethlehem...and I wonder if these are people I met on our visit. Eleven were also arrested at the Deheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, where I have visited several times. Two elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (the “Palestinian Parliament”) were also arrested. Read Adameer’s report.

Fuad Al-Khuffash is one of these prisoners (see his picture). He is a human rights defender, director of Ahrar Center for Prisoners’ studies and Human Rights, the Palestinian representative for Al Karama Association, which works to ensure the protection of human rights, and a field

researcher for Friends of Humanity International, a human rights organization based in Vienna. He has also worked as a journalist, writing extensively on human rights issues, and specifically on political prisoners and administrative detention. At 3:00 in the morning on June 28, soldiers used explosives to break down the door to his apartment. He awoke with 20 soldiers in his bedroom (read an account of his arrest and trial). He received a ten year sentence. Fuad’s wife Rana is forbidden to visit him.

On Sunday, as you are sitting in the pew listening to Mary’s story, an additional 500 Palestinian prisoners will be released—to complete the deal struck for Gilad Shalit’s release. Adameer calls on us to protest the arrests of human rights activists like Fuad. Send an email to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: rohm@pmo.gov.il, pm_eng@pmo.gov.il (There are more contacts for the campaign to release Fuad al-Kuffash at the bottom of the story about his case.)

God of those who ponder….people like Fuad al-Kuffash and people like us. Keep us mindful of those who risk their lives to speak out when the powerful trample on the rights of ordinary people. Strengthen us in faithfulness to your promises, so that we, too, speak out when we witness injustice. Amen.

Advent 4 - Romans

2011-12-14T07:54:00.006-07:00

Advent 4 - Romans

Romans 16.25-27

Every Friday, in several villages in the West Bank, residents protest Israel’s theft of their lands—some protest the wall being built on village farmland; others protest theft of land for settlements. In Nabi Saleh in the Ramallah district, villagers are protesting the takeover of a spring owned by the head of the village council. These are peaceful protests; demonstrators march, sing, chant. Palestinians from nearby villages and international supporters join the demonstrations. Until this week, no one had been killed in these demonstrations.

For decades, Nabi Saleh residents have endured the gradual takeover of their lands for the nearby Israeli settlement of Halamish. Then, in late 2009, settlers gradually began taking over Ein al-Qaws, the Bow Spring, which is on lands owned by Bashir Tamimi. With the help of the army, the settlers built a shed over the spring. They threw rocks and pointed guns at Palestinians who approached.

The Israeli army has responded to the demonstrations by declaring the entire village a “closed military zone,” which means that the army occupies the village and prevents everyone from leaving or entering. They conduct nighttime raids, forcing families out of their homes, arresting and intimidating the villagers, even minor children.

Last Friday, during the protest, Israeli soldiers fired a tear-gas canister and hit 28-year-old Mustafa Tamimi in the face. He was only meters from the soldier who shot him from the back of an armored vehicle. Tamimi died of his injuries. He was killed INSIDE his village, in the West Bank, where he was protesting the theft of his family’s lands. He had no weapons—only stones he picked up from the ground to throw at the tanks invading his village. [The photo shows Tamimi and his friend chasing the tank; the back door is open and a soldier is aiming the tear gas canister directly at Tamimi. The second photo is Tamimi.]

Read his companion’s eyewitness account . Protesters now carry cameras and video recorders and the Isra

eli human rights organization B’Tselem has posted a report with photos of the shooting. B’Tselem has long been protesting the army’s unlawful use of tear gas canisters as weapons, and is pursuing this case in court.

The joy of Advent is not a result of making the world a better place. If we depend on our work as our source of hope, we have only despair. In spite of UN resolutions and talk of peace, the world is not safer—not in Palestine, not in Yemen…..not in Denver.

In Advent, we anticipate God’s gracious self-giving, the source of our hope. We dare to hope, even as we read of Mustafa’s needless death, because we know God’s plans for us. We know Mustafa’s death is not the end of the story.

Gracious God, you chose to enter into our suffering and pain, in a manger in Bethlehem. Today the people of the Holy Land still suffer under an unjust occupation. Grant us grace to trust in your promises. In the name of your son, whose birth we await. Amen.

Advent 4 - 2 Samuel, Living in Tents

2011-12-12T09:31:00.001-07:00

Advent 4 - 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7.1-11, 16

For thousands of years, tents have been an important part of the lives of the people of the Holy Land, who have a long tradition of nomadic life—herding sheep, hauling goods for trade, or seeking out more fertile land. Our ancient ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, lived in tents. The Hebrews fleeing Pharoah lived in tents for forty years while they waited to enter the promised land.

Jews today have their meals in tents during the week of Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. Sukkot is a pilgrimage holiday, when Jews travel to Jerusalem. When we were in the Old City in October, there were temporary shelters everywhere in the narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter, the sukkahs—“tents” made of plant material (and some plastic for shade). The city was crowded with people who had come to celebrate the harvest with delicious food and remember the time when they lived in those temporary homes in the Sinai, waiting for God’s gift of a homeland.

Today in the Holy Land, there are also people who are trying to maintain this ancient nomadic life—the Bedouin, whose lives revolve around herding sheep and make a living from the desert lands east of Jerusalem and south in the Negev.

Many times, riding between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, I have looked out the window at the Bedouin camps and thought, “Surely, if these people had a choice, they would want to live in houses in Jerusalem or Bethlehem or Jericho.” The life in the desert looks very hard—no trees, no water, no shade, and a relentless sun. I was wrong.

For years, the Israeli government has been trying to get the Bedouin in the Negev to move into towns. They have built them houses and tried to make them move. The bulldozers come and destroy the Bedouin camps, but the Bedouin like their way of life and resent the Israelis for taking their grazing land to build new Israeli towns. When the soldiers with their bulldozers leave, the Bedouin put up new tents and rebuild their camps. For a short history of Israeli efforts to destroy one Bedouin town, see a Palestine News Network article.

Just two weeks ago, Israel announced that they will remove 2300 Bedouin from the area east of Jerusalem, the Bedouin communities I see when I have traveled on the tour bus from Jerusalem down to Jericho and the Dead Sea. The Guardian newspaper reports that the Palestinians say this is part of a larger plan to obtain more land for the Israeli settlements that stretch from East Jerusalem, now almost to Jericho, dividing the West Bank in two—north and south (picture is of these Bedouin, sorting through their belongings after their homes have been destroyed).

This portion of 2 Samuel questions, “Who is in charge here?” Both David and Nathan have gotten it wrong. God’s message is clear—God dwells where God choses, not where David wants God to be. And God does not choose the sturdy protection of the house of cedar; God chooses the precarious and temporary tent.

Wanderer God, as we ponder your words to Nathan, we, too, are reminded of our own endless quest for security and safety. Help us learn the lesson you tried to teach David, to trust in your plans for us and to remember that you, not we, are God. In the name of your son, whose advent we await. Amen.

Advent 3 - John, Testifying to the Light

2011-12-08T22:40:00.002-07:00

John 1.6-8, 19-28
For Sunday, December 11

He came as a witness to testify to the light…. (Jn 1.7)

The first time I went to Israel and Palestine, I thought I would find a land preparing to be divided. After all, I had seen it on the map—Israel hugging the Mediterranean coast, the West Bank sitting atop the hills to the east, and Gaza, wedged between the sea, the desert and Egypt. Eventually these areas would be confirmed by treaty and the violence would end. There was nothing I could do to change the slow pace of peace, but it would come.

I knew there were obstacles—suicide bombers who blew up buses, and settlements that Israel had built in the West Bank and Gaza. But I thought that Israel was doing everything it could to come to a peace agreement. It’s military actions were regrettable but necessary for their safety; I thought the Jews were, as they have always been, the victims. Our $3B military assistance guaranteed they would be victims “never again.”

SO…… when I visited the West Bank, I was shocked by what I saw—a 24-foot-high concrete barrier being constructed around Bethlehem, to protect the nearby Israeli settlements from the people of Bethlehem. Because, after all, the settlements had been built on Palestinian land and the Israelis who lived on these islands surrounded by Palestinians, lived in fear of retaliation and attack.

I was shocked by 18-year-old Israeli soldiers pointing their AK-47s at shoppers in the market in Hebron, or using their guns to prod Palestinians off the bus to stand in the heat while documents were checked. I was shocked by the rubble everywhere—the remains of buildings left in the middle of town or bulldozed into the road to close it off.

Although we were on the Palestinian side of the map in my head, we were subject to whatever the Israeli soldiers wanted. There were no rules but their commander’s voice on the cell phone. Nothing to protect us except our American passports.

Like many people I have traveled with since, I sat in the back of the tour bus and exclaimed, “How can they do this?? “Who allows this to happen?” “Why doesn’t someone do something about what is going on here?” “Why didn’t I know this before?”

It makes you crazy—seeing the injustice, the lies,,,,the Israeli campaign to take as much land as they can while they stall the peace talks. The land that has been given to the Jews for a homeland was not ours to give in 1948. It belonged to Palestinian farmers who had nothing to do with the murder of six million Jews.

It’s not the coming of the messiah, but we are all called to testify to the light that is revealed to us. John is not the only one who is called to cry out in the wilderness.

God of light, in this Advent season, help us to find ways to testify to your light in the dark places where we live and work and play. Amen.

Advent 3 - 1 Thessalonians, Giving Thanks

2011-12-07T08:08:00.004-07:00

1 Thessalonians 5.16-24

for Sunday, December 11

Give thanks in all circumstances…. (1 Thess 5.18)

I have never met a Palestinian who has not lost home or lands. As you sit reading these words, many more are in the process of losing homes and land. If they have not already lost everything, they live in daily fear that bulldozers will come to tear down their homes, or that the bulldozers will tear out their olive groves to make way for a new part of Israel’s security wall.

All the Palestinians I have met have lost fathers or uncles or cousins or sons, either shot by Israeli soldiers, or serving long sentences in Israeli prisons. Human rights workers are regularly imprisoned for speaking out against Israel’s occupation. Professors are arrested for voicing their opposition to Israel’s policies.

Palestinians cannot travel without an Israeli permit. Their borders are still controlled by Israeli soldiers, even where the border is with another country, as in Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. They cannot even move freely within the West Bank because Israel has built settlements between the Palestinian towns and has set up checkpoints where Palestinians must wait in long lines to have their Israeli IDs and travel permits inspected by Israeli soldiers.

So...Paul admonishes Christians, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Certainly this doesn’t apply to the Palestinians! How could they possibly give thanks for these difficult lives they have been given?

The Palestinians at Christmas Lutheran Church give thanks by preparing their children for a different future, a future they cannot see, or perhaps even imagine. Giving thanks for their long history of commitment to education, they build schools—first a K-12 school, and now a new college…..behind Israel’s 24-foot-high security wall.

Giving thanks for their resilience, they repaired their church compound after Israeli soldiers stormed the building in 2002 and destroyed all their computers and their offices, scattering their files and breaking furniture. They rebuilt the parts of the building that were destroyed by the tanks that pushed through Bethlehem’s too-narrow-for-tanks streets.

Giving thanks for their patience and perseverance, they got the necessary permits and funding to build a new conference center and guesthouse….and a new building for their school.

Giving thanks for the creativity and the dreams of their young people, they are now building a new college so that these future leaders of their community will have the skills to lead when a new country is finally realized. (Photo: Music Students in a practice room at Dar Al-Kalima College)

Gracious God, you have sent your prophets and apostles to remind us of your intentions for us, your beloved creation. Today we give thanks for the abundance in our lives—for the freedom to travel and be with our loved ones, for our democratic government which gives us the opportunity to shape our own future, for the peace and security we enjoy daily, and for_________________. In the name of your son, born in Bethlehem. Amen.

Advent 3 - Isaiah, Release to the Prisoners

2011-12-05T08:57:00.005-07:00

Advent 3 - Isaiah

Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11

For Sunday, December 11

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me; …..

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And release to the prisoners…. (Is 61.1)

Isaiah is pretty specific here. God has sent him, not to save souls, but to end ordinary, everyday suffering. He has been sent to free the captives and the prisoners.

Isaiah does his work because God anointed him. Lest we think that Isaiah was chosen for tasks much too difficult for us, or that he was singled out because he was especially talented, let me remind you that you, too, have been anointed by the same spirit of God that anointed Isaiah—when the oil was placed on your forehead in the sign of the cross and water splashed over you.

Last year when I visited Beit Ummar, a Palestinian town just south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, I met Jamal Muqbel, who hosted our group in his home. He spends a lot of his time building bridges of understanding between Palestinians and Israelis. He is part of a group called Wounded Crossing Borders—Israelis and Palestinians who have been wounded in the conflict, who are committed to getting to know one another so that there will be no more death and suffering. We met Jamal and his family, his wife Sadiya, the Israelis who are part of the group and Jamal’s brother and sister-in-law, Mohammad and Sulha.

Mohammad told us the story of their son’s arrest earlier in the week (see picture with Sadiyaa, Sulha, and Mohammad telling us the story). Ibrahim was fourteen when the whole family was awakened at 2:00 am and forced out of their home at gunpoint, even the baby. The soldiers took Ibrahim, dressed only in his shirt and shorts, and beat him in front of the whole family. They blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back. Then they took Ibrahim to a nearby settlement. Ibrahim was arrested for “throwing stones,” which he denies.

Mohammad had great difficulty in finding out where his son was taken and he did not get to see Ibrahim until the next day. In the meantime, Ibrahim’s hands were subjected to electric shock and the shackles he was forced to wear bruised his legs. Ibrahim was eventually released, but his family suffered and had to pay to have him released.

Ibrahim is only one of dozens of Palestinian children detained by Israel every year for stone-throwing. In its report, titled, “No Minor Matter, Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Minors Arrested by Israel on Suspicion of Stone Throwing,” the Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, details what happens when these young people are arrested—how their human rights are violated, and the effects of detention on such young people. Israel has established a separate criminal justice system for minors, but the military justice system treats these Palestinian minors as adults.

Although Ibrahim is back with his family, at the end of October, there were still 150 minors in Israeli prisons, 30 of them under the age of 16. [http://www.btselem.org/statistics/minors_in_custody] . There were no children among the 477 prisoners released in the prisoner swap for Gilad Shalit in October. Read more: http://electronicintifada.net/tags/defence-children-international-palestine-section

Take two minutes to watch a short video and hear the story of another young person, Mohammad, arrested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUGWmCXrcWg

God of the imprisoned, we remember before you all the children of the world who are imprisoned, separated from their families, tortured and beaten. Help us find ways to protest this inhumane treatment and stop the cycles of violence that permeate our world. Amen.

Advent 2 - Mark, Preparers of the Way

2011-12-01T22:29:00.004-07:00

Mark 1.1-8

For Sunday, December 4

John seems an unlikely leader, badly in need of a wardrobe manager, some cooking classes, and a marketing strategist. But here he is, miles from the city in the wasteland of the Judean desert, shouting that he is not the savior people have been waiting for. John is only preparing the way for the real deal.

If we try to listen with the ears of the first-century readers of Mark’s gospel, we would be desperate for some hope. The Judeans have been skirmishing with Rome for decades. One rebel leader after another has tried to throw off the yoke of occupation, only to be defeated by the superior firepower of the Roman legions. Finally, by 70 CE, Rome has grown impatient with the uprisings and has squelched the insurrection once and for all, not only defeating the rebels, but completely destroying the temple and

forcing the Judeans to leave the city.

This is life for Mark’s readers—forced from their homes and suffering under conquest and occupation. A striking parallel with the situation of Palestinians today, and they, too, are desperate for good news—some glimmer of hope for an end to Israel’s occupation and an end to the theft of their land.

On November 16, in the West Bank, a group of Palestinians boarded the Israeli buses.

They took their cue from Rosa Parks, because, you see, Israel has segregated bus systems. The Israeli Egged and Veolia buses are only for Jews,even when the buses operate in the West Bank (for the settlers). There is a separate bus line for the Palestinians—the blue Arab buses. The Palestinians waited at the Israeli bus stops and boarded the Israeli buses, but they were physically removed from the buses by Israeli soldiers when they reached the Hizmeh checkpoint, which is a Jewish-only checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Read more in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Or watch a two-minute ABC report. Or a six-minute video describing the action, paired with footage of Mississippi freedom rides of the 60s.

It was a small gesture, but one of hope—a glimpse of liberation for the Palestinians, pushed about by rules and permits and exclusions. These Palestinians claimed what they believe is rightfully theirs—the freedom to travel and equality with the Jewish Israelis. Now, I’ve ridden the Arab buses and they are fine buses, safe, prompt—the only hassle is the soldiers who stop the buses, board with their automatic weapons, and make everyone get off the bus and produce their identification documents—IF you are Palestinian, that is; Americans with our blue passports did not have to get off. And I am also allowed to ride the Egged buses, something denied Palestinians, even when these buses are traveling in the West Bank.

These six freedom riders are preparing the way—they are planning more such actions to call attention to the apartheid policies of the state of Israel.

God of the powerless, you sent your messenger John to prepare people’s hearts for your son. Show us how we, like John, can be your messengers, preparing the way for your coming reign. In the name of your son, Amen.

Advent 2 - 2 Peter, Waiting

2011-11-30T08:39:00.010-07:00

Advent 2 - 2 Peter

2 Peter 3.8-15a

Therefore, beloved, while you ware waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace… (2 Peter 3.14)

Waiting…...no one has more experience waiting than Palestinians.

In America, waiting signifies failure. Finding ways to avoid waiting is a national pastime. A few years ago I signed up for Amazon’s two-day shipping, and when the free trial period expired I paid the annual fee to keep getting my books instantly. We add lanes when our superhighways start backing up. The apps on my iPhone give me instant access to restaurant information, weather, and even my own adult children. When people camp out overnight to wait for post-Thanksgiving bargains, it makes the national news.

While I gripe about the injustice of having to sit through two red lights, the Palestinians wait. They have been waiting for justice for more than sixty years. At the end of the war that erupted when

the UN recognized the State of Israel in 1948—on land that already belonged to olive growers and sheepherders and teachers and doctors—the Palestinians assumed that a peace agreement would soon allow them to return to their homes. When they fled, they carried their house keys with them. In exile, they hung these keys where they could look at them every day. With the passage of years, as Jews took over their villages, moved into their fully furnished homes and cut down their olive groves, the Palestinians began to realize that return was unlikely so they began to wait for compensation—either for land in other parts of Palestine or financial compensation for the land and homes that they lost.

The Palestinians of the Christmas Lutheran Church practice a theology of waiting. Like the writer of 2 Peter admonishes, they have found peace in the waiting. This does not mean that they no longer need the justice, or that they have given up the struggle. But they have found a way to live in peace and provide a future for their children even as they wait. They do not put their hope in the world’s obligation to provide justice for them.

Their latest project is the college—the first Lutheran college in the Holy Land. Pastor Mitri Raheb says that they are preparing leaders for the future of Palestine, so they will be ready when peace comes. They are starting small. The first classes to be offered focus on media and the arts, which have long been strong Palestinian traditions. The media classes help them share their stories and aid them in their struggle for human rights. Music and art programs help keep Palestinian culture alive. Their hope does not rest in a brighter future tomorrow, but in God’s promises of faithfulness.

God of waiting, you reveal to us your way of patience, and your mercy in giving us time for repentance. You have promised new heavens and a new earth where righteousness will reign. Help us to wisely use the time you have given us. Amen.

***Come support the building of the college in Bethlehem—Lessons and Carols for Advent, Sunday, December 4, 7:30 pm at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda, Denver, or contact me about making a contribution: janlmiller@q.com

Advent 2 - Isaiah's vision for Jerusalem

2011-11-28T06:00:00.003-07:00

Advent 2 - Isaiah

Isaiah 40.1-11

for Sunday, December 4

The grass withers, the flower fades;

but the word of our God will stand forever. (Is 40.8)

The writer of these words probably lived among the exiles in Babylon—Israelites who had been conquered in 587 BCE, forced from their homes in Jerusalem and marched to Babylon. There they spent 50 years mourning their beloved Jerusalem and doing what exiles always do—finding ways to feed their families and carry on their traditions in a strange land. When Cyrus conquered the Babylonian empire in 538, he issued an edict which allowed these exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple.

The Palestinians know exile and longing for home. 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and villages in 1947-50 as the Israeli paramilitaries, the Haganah and the Irgun, roamed the land. They rousted villagers out of their homes at gunpoint, forcing them onto the roads and either blowing up the buildings or guarding them to prevent the return of the people.** An additional 300,000 Palestinians were displaced during the 1967 war. These statistics are disputed, but the ones I’ve used are averages. [See a detailed description of Palestinian refugees on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_refugee]

Today their descendants, 4.7 million Palestinians, are registered as refugees with the UN. They live primarily in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. They are still waiting for the edict allowing them to return home.

Like the ancient Israelites in Babylon, the Palestinian refugees live their lives while

they wait. They marry, raise children, bury their elders and create businesses, schools and civic organizations. They March in protest against the building of the separation wall, which, in the Bethlehem district, has taken all but 13% of the land for the wall and for the building of new Israeli settlements StopTheWall.org).

The people of Bethlehem and people from all over the world who visit the wall have created works of art on the 24-foot-high concrete barrier. Some of the artwork protests the wall; some of the outsized figures minimize the wall; slogans express the people’s longing for freedom. Near our hotel in October I walked along the wall as it meandered in and out, cutting off streets and shops.

The artwork on the wall in the photo reminds me of Isaiah’s words. It shows the New Jerusalem—herald of GOOD tidings, a city shining on the hill. A Jerusalem where the reign of God’s love and compassion has broken into the world and the walls have fallen. It is a vision Palestinians cling to—their hope for the future.

God of the impossible, in this Advent season, we await your new creation, a world where your gentle reign breaks through the darkness, a world where your lambs are sheltered and cared for. Help us trust your promises and proclaim your good news to the world. Amen.

** (for a detailed history, village by village, read Ilan Pappe’s The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine; Elias Chacour’s Blood Brothers tells his own family’s story; a Colorado family’s story is told in The Olive Grove, by Deborah Rohan; or see IfAmericansKnew.org: http://www.ifamericansknew.com/history/refugees.html).

Advent 1 - Mark's apocalypse

2011-11-25T09:20:00.002-07:00

Advent 1 - Mark
Sunday, November 27

Mark 13.24-37

But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened... (Mark 13.24)

This odd selection from the gospel of Mark is sometimes described as “the little apocalypse.” Responding to desperate times in the first century, the writer of Mark’s gospel recycled the apocalyptic imagery of the sun, the heavens and the “Son of Man” from Isaiah (13.19, 34.4), Joel (2.10, 3.4, 4.15) Ezekiel (32.7, 8) and Daniel (7.13).

Apocalyptic literature arises out of hopeless situations, times of oppression when people are suffering under wicked leaders who have no regard for God’s reign. The desperation of first-century followers of Jesus is expressed as the cosmos breaking apart (13.24). The hope is, that when the world seems to be coming to an end, God breaks in to set things right (the coming of the Son of Man).

The author of Daniel was probably writing during the Seleucid empire’s oppression of the Jews, when it was illegal even to own a copy of the Torah. For the readers of Mark’s gospel in 70 CE, the oppressors were the Romans, who had ruthlessly put down the Jewish revolt and totally destroyed Jerusalem—Rome’s final response to persistent attempts by Jewish re

volutionaries to overthrow the Roman occupation.

Apocalyptic writing expresses a dualistic worldview—the ultimate battle between good and evil. Direct intervention by God is the only hope.

These predictions in Mark remind me of the “Arab Spring” and the “Occupy” movement here in the US. People tolerate a certain level of suffering—it can go on for years. But eventually the pressure builds and their frustrations explode into the streets.

There is much promise in the ideals of the protesters in Tahrir Square, but the reality of the new government has not matched the expectations of the crowds [Our Egyptian guide Bishoy sent a text to Pastor Paul Rowold today that he is there with the crowds-see my photo of him in Abu Simbel in October]. And so it has always been with governments. Power so easily corrupts.

When I see Israel’s security wall meandering through a Palestinian farmer’s olive grove in Bethlehem, it’s easy to blame the Israelis for the misery of the Palestinians. It’s convenient to put everything into two categories, the good guys and the bad guys. But casting the Israelis as the bad guys does not explain the reality of life on the ground.

There are good guys on both sides—Jewish peacemakers who protest Palestinian evictions and lawyers who press for Palestinian equal rights. And there are non-violent protesters in Palestinian villages, standing in the path of the bulldozers clearing the way for the wall. And there are bad guys on both sides—the Israeli soldiers who beat Palestinian children and falsely accuse them of throwing stones, and Palestinian leaders who use public funds or bribes to buy a Mercedes or build themselves mansions in Ramallah.

In our soundbite culture, it is tempting to simplify the conflict and cast the characters as good or evil. Judging is easy and quick—we can admire our cleverness and be smug about our wisdom. But peacemaking—reconciliation—takes more work.

God of the new creation, we pray for those who work for justice and peace—in Israel and Palestine, in Egypt, in Libya, in Afghanistan, in the US and in all the troubled parts of your world. As they stand in solidarity with those who are suffering, give them hope and courage. Give us all wisdom and discerning hearts so that we recognize injustice, and give us all the courage to speak out. Amen.

Advent 1 - 1 Corinthians, Giving Thanks

2011-11-23T09:59:00.009-07:00

First Sunday in Advent
November 27, 2011
1 Corinthians 1.3-9

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace that has been given you in Christ Jesus… (1 Cor 1.4)

Israel’s security wall is not finished. The first time I visited Bethlehem we could walk around the 24-foot-high concrete barrier. The next time I came, there was a checkpoint with heavy metal gates and guards who boarded our bus with their AK-47s.

Each time I have visited over the past six years, I see some portion of the wall which was incomplete on my previous visit, but now is finished. And where the wall is still unfinished, there are always bulldozers, earthmovers and Palestinian laborers setting rebar and pouring concrete—the constant hum of heavy machinery echoes across the hills of Bethlehem. In 2010 when I stayed at the Everest Hotel high on a hilltop above Beit Jala, we woke each morning to the sound of the bulldozers across the street, adding one more section to the wall.

It is depressing and it makes me very angry….and crazy to know that my tax dollars support what is happening.

So I am all the more amazed when I witness the work of the Lutherans who stay in Bethlehem and create a future for their children and a comfortable life for their elderly—even though they are held captive behind these walls. This is why I return—to sit with them in worship and soak

up a bit of the hope they have been given. They embody a deep faith in God’s promises that I do not see very often—a hope I too easily forget.

It is a hope based, not on knowing that their situation will improve, but, as Paul reminds us, on “the grace of God that has been given to [them] in Christ Jesus.”

On this last visit, I was particularly sad to hear Pastor Mitri tell us that politically he has no hope. “We cannot change the world,” he said, but he went on to say they can change the reality of life for the people of Bethlehem. He told us that the ministries of the Christmas Lutheran Church—the K-12 school, wellness center, senior program, and the new college—constitute the third largest employer in the Bethlehem area.

This is truly a grace of God—and we were there to witness this miracle as we toured the school and watched the children, Christian and Muslim, learning and playing together. And as we visited the Wellness Center and Dar Al-Kalima college, where we saw students eating in the beautiful new cafeteria, practicing in the music practice rooms and studying with their professors.

I am always reminded of the miracles that Jesus performed as he walked these same hills and encountered people who were suffering. God is working miracles in Bethlehem today through these faithful servants who have been given God’s grace for this work.

God of grace, you sent your son so that we might know you and receive your blessings. In this Advent season, help us to know the hope of your steadfast love and promises. Help us find ways to join in the work of your servants, bringing hope to hopeless people in the US and around the world. Amen.

*****If you live in Denver, plan to support these Lutherans by coming to a special service of Lessons and Carols for Advent, “On Our Way to Bethlehem,” on Sunday, December 4, 7:30 pm, at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda. It is a fundraiser for a music classroom for the College. We are raising $50,000 so that construction can be completed and loans repaid. If you cannot come, but would like to make a donation, please email me.

Advent 1 - Isaiah

2011-11-22T10:58:00.005-07:00

First Sunday in Advent
November 27, 2011
Isaiah 64.1-9

For you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O Lord, you are as a father to us;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are the work of your hand. (Is 64.7-8)

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of a savior, we also mark the beginning of a new church year—our New Year. A time to reflect—what does it mean to be God’s people? Are we living the life we intend? The life God envisions for us?

The prophet Isaiah addresses these questions—left to our own will and whims, we screw it up every time, but God does not abandon us. God, like the ideal parent, continues to shape and mold us in God’s own image.

As you look at this picture of Israel’s security wall in Bethlehem, it is easy to see how nations screw up. In the name of greater security, Israel and the US have joined forces to create a barrier that makes everyday life impossible for the people of Bethlehem.

The wall here, with its guard tower dwarfing homes and businesses, was built right down the middle of Bethlehem’s busiest street, the street where tour buses used to enter Bethlehem, stopping at the shops, where pilgrims bought their olive wood and jewelry to remember their visit.

In October, this is what the street looked like—shops shuttered, the abandoned buildings falling down. The buses do not pass these shops anymore. (Although I’ve ridden with many persistent and skilled Palestinian drivers who probably could maneuver their buses through here if they needed to!)

Isaiah’s message is one of incredible hope for the people of Bethlehem—the Israeli security wall may be enclosing their city, shutting them off from the world and even from one another, but this is not God’s plan for us. God has not abandoned us.

And our country’s military response to every threat is not God’s plan for us either. We are the clay, and God can shape us for a different response—one that does not purchase our safety with the misery and despair of people halfway around the world.

God of new beginnings, we praise you for your unfailing love and steadfastness, even when we use our power to harm others. Mold us in your image—shape us into caretakers of your good creation and caregivers for your people. Amen.

From Bethlehem, October 2011

2011-10-16T12:15:00.004-06:00

As I write this on Saturday evening, the sun setting over the western hills surrounding Bethlehem, I am listening to the call to prayer (5:10 pm) echoing from hill to hill. Several mosques—some live, some recorded. Different styles, melodies, some more like chanting, some with more melody.

Bethlehem is a town of hills--nothing is level, a lot like Pittsburgh, where I grew up. Roads curve and wind up and down, the apartheid wall cutting into the old pathways, making travel even more difficult. Especially around Rachel’s Tomb, near the entrance to Bethlehem. Walls, walls and more walls, isolating stores, homes with laundry out to dry and the tourist shops that are at the heart of Bethlehem’s economy.

Earlier today we were in Hebron, where the violence of the fanatical settlers spills over into the city—bleach poured down on the merchandise in the old suq, Palestinian children stoned on their way to school. After our visit to the Mosque of Ibrihim at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, we were walking back to our bus through the modern market street (the old one having been closed by Israeli soldiers). Near the bus, one shopkeeper asked where we were from. I smiled and said brightly, “America!” He shook his head and replied “enemy....enemy....enemy.” So hard to explain. What could I say? Because he is right.

When we got back to the hotel I took a walk along the Israeli separation wall near our hotel—where the wall runs around Rachel’s Tomb near the entrance to the city. The wall curves and dips, climbs and winds through a neighborhood of homes with garden courtyards and what used to be tourist shops, where the tour buses stopped on their way into and out of Bethlehem. Now the shops are shuttered with the traditional turquoise steel doors, locked and bolted shut. The wall hovers menacingly over olive trees, jacaranda bushes, rhododendrons and laundry blowing in the evening breeze on the balcony. The gun-turret watchtowers rise high above the 24-foot-high wall. The graffiti on the wall is testimony to the longing for peace and freedom of the Palestinian people of Bethlehem, testimony to the international support for Palestinian freedom and testimony to the creativity of the Palestinians who always manage to make something beautiful out of their misery and oppression. Also hard to explain, but I am grateful tonight for this gift.

Today

2011-10-15T13:14:00.002-06:00

Beit Ummar today.
Two soldiers at the tower.
The wall marches on.

Pending prisoner release

2011-10-13T12:23:00.003-06:00

When we landed in Israel yesterday we were greeted with the news that 1000 Palestinian prisoners may be released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured in 2006 by Hamas militants at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel. He has been held since then, without access to Red Cross observers, so it is a good thing that he may be reunited with his family.

.......but (as of August) there are more than 5000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons - most are held in connection with supposed terrorist activities, which can include writing in support of Palestinian nationalism and freedom from occupation. One of these prisoners is Marwan Barghouti, who many Palestinians would like to see as their president - a man Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery has referred to as the "Palestinian Mandela." It is unlikely that Barghouti will be part of the exchange.

Of the 5000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli prisons,

4164 are serving sentences
272 are administrative detainees - held without being charged with a crime, only deemed a "security risk" to the State of Israel
most of the other prisoners are in process of being tried

Marwan Barghouti has recently written a book, which Mazin Qumsiyeh reviews on his blog:

So not everything that seems like good news really is....

A Day of Repentance, Return and Restoring Relationships

2011-10-07T09:41:00.003-06:00

This evening marks the beginning of Yom Kippur. Today on his blog, Tikkun, Rabbi Michael Lerner writes for all of us. Isaiah 58 is read on this morning of the holy day. Yom Kippur is about repentance or return, about restoring broken relationships. It is a joyous day, an opportunity to begin again.

Tonight at Occupy Wall Street, a Yom Kippur service, Kol Nidre, will be held. A good time for us to ponder Isaiah’s words in our own context—the widening gap between the poor and the rich, the oppression of dictators and occupying powers, the problems with our health care system in the US……and I’m sure you can think of many more.

Rabbi Lerner writes:

The prophet Isaiah stood outside the ancient Israelite Temple and denounced those fasting on Yom Kippur, who nevertheless were participating in an immoral society. Said Isaiah (in a statement that is now read in synagogues around the world on Yom Kippur morning though its message mostly ignored when it applies to some Jews' participation in some of the most exploitative practices of Western capitalism or in support for the current right-wing government of Israel even as it engages in oppression of Palestinians):

Look! On the very day you fast you keep scrabbling for wealth;
On the very day you fast you keep oppressing all your workers.
Look! You fast in strife and contention.
You strike with a wicked fist.
You are not fasting today in such a way
As to make your voices heard on high.
Is that the kind of fast that I desire?
Is that really a day for people to "press down their egos"?
Am I commanding you to droop your heads like bulrushes
And lie around in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast day,
The kind of day that the God of the Burning Bush would wish?
No! This is the kind of fast that I desire:
Unlock the hand-cuffs put on by wicked power!
Untie the ropes of the yoke! Let the oppressed go free,
And break off every yoke!
Share your bread with the hungry.
Bring the poor, the outcasts, to your house.
When you see them naked, clothe them;
They are your flesh and blood;
Don't hide yourself from them!
Then your light will burst through like the dawn;
Then when you need healing it will spring up quickly;
Then your own righteousness will march ahead to guard you.
And a radiance from YHWH will reach out behind to guard you.
Then, when you cry out, YHWH will answer;
Then, when you call, God will say: "Here I am!"
If you banish the yoke from your midst,
If you rid yourself of scornful finger-pointing
And words of contempt;
If you open up your life-experience to the hungry
And soothe the life that has been trampled underfoot,
Then even in darkness your light will shine out
And your moments of gloom turn bright as noonday.
Then the Breath of Life will always be your guide,
Will soothe your own life in your own times of dryness
And strengthen your bones when they are weary.
Then you shall be like a garden given water,
Like a wellspring whose waters never fail.
Those who spring from you shall rebuild the ancient ruins
And you shall lay foundations for the coming generation.
You shall be called "Those who mend torn places,"
You shall be called "Those who build lanes to live in."
If you refrain from trampling my Renewal-time (lit.: Shabbat)
And from being busy-busy on My holy day;
If you will not only call Renewal-time* delightful
But also turn far from your usual way
And set aside your business and your chatter
To be yourselves the rays by which God's Holiness
Can turn this world into a radiant joy ---
Then indeed you will find delight in YHWH.
For then --- when you have joined the lowly ---
I will set you all with Me, Astride the heights of earth.
Then --- when you feed others --- I will let you eat your fill
From what is truly due you as the heirs of Jacob.
Now! For this word comes from the Mouth that Breathes all life.

-------translation by Arthur Waskow

Lessons Learned?

2011-10-01T10:52:00.004-06:00

I've been doing some reading to prepare for my first visit down the Nile to the Valley of the Kings and Queens - we leave in a week! Last night I was reading about the succession of Egyptian empires - specifically a description of the period after 1100 BCE, when "Egypt's role as a great political power approached its end. Racked by internal dissension, the nation broke apart at its traditional geographic seam, and weak successors of the mighty pharaohs took over a land that henceforth would be frequently divided." It reminded me of the US - and our inability to form and act on a coherent foreign policy based on democratic principles of justice and equality. We, too, are breaking apart at our seams.

In a week, I will be heading back to Palestine and Israel, with a group of pilgrims - to visit the holy sites, the ancient stones, and learn about the realities of life for the "living stones" of the land--the people living in the land today.

Much has changed since my last trip a year ago--the "Arab Spring" promises new life and possibilities for many in the region, but for the Lutheran Palestinians we will be visiting in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, life goes on much the same. President Mahmoud Abbas has submitted Palestine's application for statehood to the UN, and they are doing what they have been doing for 63 years--waiting.

"Five Lessons Learned from Palestinian UN Bid"

There have been many analyses of the Palestinian bid for statehood, but one of the most complete was this one from al-Jezeera:

The first lesson, "Washington is Broken" is especially heart-rending because it is so true and it does not affect simply our role in peacemaking in the Middle East. It is at the heart of our struggle to survive as a nation and our ability to be a leader pointing the way toward freedom, equality and justice for all. I commend it to your reading: AlJezeera: Five Lessons

5-6-7-8--Stop the Suffering, Stop the Hate!

2011-08-15T09:22:00.006-06:00

Watching news of the "Arab Spring" moving across the region--in Syria, Libya and Yemen--we are tempted to forget that the struggle of Palestinians continues.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who traveled from Beit Sahour (Bethlehem) to speak in Denver in March, updates us on the struggle of the people of Al-Walaja, a small village near Bethlehem, where Israel is continuing the building of the wall, which will soon completely surround the village.

When the people of Al-Walaja were forced out of their village in 1948, they moved east and built homes on their agricultural lands, which ended up on the Palestinian side of the "Green Line" armistice line in 1949 (administered by Jordan until Israel took the land in the 1967 war).

Today, the people of Al-Walaja are again being forced off their land to make way for Israel's "security" wall being built--NOT on the land Israel already took, but on the remnant of land where the people of Al-Walaja live today. During all these years, the people of Al-Walaja have engaged in non-violent resistance to Israel's confiscation of their lands--never violence.

Watch one of the non-violent demonstrations against the wall in Al-Walaja, where Israeli and international demonstrators join with the people of the village to confront the bulldozers that are uprooting olive trees and destroying the village lands to build the wall. Five Israelis were taken away by the soldiers. Take four minutes to watch Dr. Qumsiyeh's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZAWODp_jDQ

After bullying the demonstrators, the Israeli soldiers entered the village and harrassed residents who had not even participated in the demonstration. Watch a seven-minute video of the harrassment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUF6gkgRxzA

This is only one example of the reality of daily life in Palestinian towns and villages all over the West Bank.

If you would like to understand the history of Al-Walaja's struggle, watch a video of Dr. Qumsiyeh's talk at Yale University earlier this year, where he shows how the village lands were taken from them and how, after their 1967 conquest, Israel annexed more village land, and today is building a wall to take more of this valuable real estate adjacent to West Jerusalem: http://tv.thestruggle.org/node/434

Keep reading below for more of Dr. Qumsiyeh's news about what you can do.

UPDATE: Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Beit Sahour, Palestine

2011-08-15T08:36:00.005-06:00

It's been awhile since I've written--I think I'm feeling like our President, Senators and Representatives are not listening. They seem captive to Israel's propaganda machine that drowns out the reality of Palestinian life and human rights. But then today I read Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh's call to action.

Last March Dr. Qumsiyeh visited Denver and spoke about the ongoing confiscation of Palestinian land by Israel's occupation and construction of the wall. In the post below he writes about non-violent actions in the West Bank, urging us to keep working for Palestinian human rights with our own policmakers in the US. Read more about his work: http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/ [photo is of his arrest in 2010; he was released shortly after]

From Dr. Qumsiyeh--

Four actions: Please take at least two of them

Action 1: Join us Saturday 10 AM Palestine Ramadan Time in Al-Walaja as villagers continue to see their lands destroyed. Last Wednesday at 8 AM, some 60-80 human rights advocates marched with drums and chants to the sites inside Al-Walaja al-Jadia (the new Al-Walaja) where the Israeli occupation forces are uprooting trees and destroying the beautiful landscape to separate people from their agricultural lands and to allow for further expansion of illegal colonies built on Palestinian lands. Five Israelis were kidnapped. Later after the actual event, the Israeli soldiers came into town to terrorize the locals and one Palestinian was taken from his house and treated badly even though he was not in the demonstration with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUF6gkgRxzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZAWODp_jDQ
The Struggle video network featured Al-Walaja and part of my talk in March abou the town http://tv.thestruggle.org/node/434

Action 2: Marwa was shot in the head 10 years ago. She is now 20 and a university student. However, her original injury has led to severe dental problems that her family cannot afford. Some friends in Palestine have arranged for a dentist to begin work with some money we've already raised, but the work will not be finished until we raise another $4000. If anyone is interested in helping Marwa you can send a contribution to the Hartford Catholic Worker with Marwa noted on the memo line. See http://hartfordcatholicworker.org/
And http://www.qumsiyeh.org/marwa/

Action 3: This August break is for Members of Congress to be at home, meeting with constituents to hear about our concerns. . Instead, 81 Representatives--nearly 20% of the House--are hightailing off to Israel on an all-expense-paid junket organized by an affiliate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Israel's goal there is to lobby the Representatives to continue sending the Israeli military $30 billion of our tax money -- the amount pledged for these 10 years (2009-2018). That means sending money we won't have for jobs and healthcare to buy weapons for Israel to perpetuate its illegal military occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. It's time to "name and shame" these Members of Congress who put more weapons for Israel ahead of their own constituents' economic rights. We need you to take action today
http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=3080
Also similar actions called by Code Pink
http://www.codepink.org/article.php?id=5919
See also "Israel Lobby Dominates Congress, Media Covers it Up" by Alison Weir, August 11, 2011
http://www.counterpunch.org/weir08112011.html

http://original.antiwar.com/alison-weir/2011/08/10/israel-lobby-dominates-congress/

Action 4: Roadmap to Apartheid, a documentary film examining the apartheid analogy is near completion! Narrated by Alice Walker, Roadmap to Apartheid is promising to be the definitive documentary that compares and contrasts South African apartheid with Israeli policies and practices. It will be a very important and useful tool for BDS organizing worldwide. Finishing funds are lacking to take it through the home stretch. Learn about the current fundraising campaign here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roadmaptoapartheid/roadmap-to-apartheid

Inspiring Video on a group of activists who rode bicycles from London to visit with us in Palestine

http://www.100daystopalestine.org/2011/08/10/the-pedal-short-video-from-london-to-palestine-is-here/

In Tumult, New Hope for Palestinian Cause

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/world/middleeast/10palestinians.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

How Palestinian Authority's UN "statehood" bid endangers Palestinian rights

http://electronicintifada.net/blog/ali-abunimah/how-palestinian-authoritys-un-statehood-bid-endangers-palestinian-rights

Come visit us in Palestine this October for the Olive Harvest season and this Christmas for a week of activities. Watch for more details next email.
Meantime, act, act, act.

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD

The Audacity of Hope - Alice Walker on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

2011-06-23T09:25:00.004-06:00

Alice Walker, author poet and activist writes a very moving explanation of her decision to sail on the upcoming Gaza flotilla. Her letter, below, was published by CNN on their web site. As you hear news accounts of the flotilla, remember her words and take a look at the biographies of all the Americans going on the ship, Audacity of Hope.

Alice Walker's letter:

Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: What else would I do? I am in my sixty-seventh year, having lived already a long and fruitful life, one with which I am content.

It seems to me that during this period of eldering it is good to reap the harvest of one's understanding of what is important, and to share this, especially with the young. How are they to learn, otherwise?

Our boat, The Audacity of Hope, will be carrying letters to the people of Gaza. Letters expressing solidarity and love. That is all its cargo will consist of. If the Israeli military attacks us, it will be as if they attacked the mailman. This should go down hilariously in the annals of history. But if they insist on attacking us, wounding us, even murdering us, as they did some of the activists in the last flotilla, Freedom Flotilla I, what is to be done?

There is a scene in the movie "Gandhi" that is very moving to me: it is when the unarmed Indian protesters line up to confront the armed forces of the British Empire. The soldiers beat them unmercifully, but the Indians, their broken and dead lifted tenderly out of the fray, keep coming.

Alongside this image of brave followers of Gandhi there is for me an awareness of paying off a debt to the Jewish civil rights activists who faced death to come to the side of black people in the South in our time of need. I am especially indebted to Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who heard our calls for help - our government then as now glacially slow in providing protection to non-violent protestors-and came to stand with us.

They got as far as the truncheons and bullets of a few "good ol' boys'" of Neshoba County, Mississippi and were beaten and shot to death along with James Cheney, a young black man of formidable courage who died with them. So, even though our boat will be called The Audacity of Hope, it will fly the Goodman, Cheney, Schwerner flag in my own heart.

And what of the children of Palestine, who were ignored in our President's latest speech on Israel and Palestine, and whose impoverished, terrorized, segregated existence was mocked by the standing ovations recently given in the U.S. Congress to the prime minister of Israel?

God Loves EVERYONE!

2011-06-20T11:59:00.006-06:00

Sometimes, like the Wise Men, we have to go away from home to discover the truth. That’s what happens when I go to Israel and Palestine. It is the miracle of pilgrimage. I receive the gospel—God’s good news of love and reconciliation—in a place most people think of as turbulent, conflicted and violent.

But that’s not what I find there. I find forgiveness, reconciliation and hope—the very same message Jesus preached on those lakeshores and mountaintops 2000 years ago. I find Palestinians willing to forgive the violence done to them in 1948 and 1967 and daily at the checkpoints. I find Israelis ready and eager to move on, to let go of their own awful suffering and make peace for the sake of justice for Palestinians, whose land they now call home.

And most amazingly, I find both Palestinians and Israelis—Jews, Muslims and Christians—ready to forgive me for my part in financing their suffering. Opening their homes and their hearts to me is the gospel-good-news of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness—a miracle of healing in a suffering world.

Yesterday I felt the same miracle of healing as I walked rainbow-decorated Colfax holding my sign, “God loves everyone!” And wearing the “Gummy Jesus” crucifix Lee gave us (see photo - Gummy Jesus Celebrates Pride in Denver).

Gummy Jesus on the cross understands what it is like to be rejected, persecuted, spat on and beaten. And the crowd knew it. I watched so many people as their faces lit up when they read the words.

They cheered, photographed my sign, shouted “Yes!” They were so happy they hugged Michael as he worked the edges of the crowd along the parade route. I wonder if Jesus’ disciples held up signs and hugged the crowds on Palm Sunday. No wonder the crowds cheered and waved palms!
Yesterday the gospel was preached at St. Paul at 8 and 10:30, and Saturday at 5:00, and the congregation, good disciples all, carried the message out into the world, preaching it all the way down Colfax and into Civic Center Park at our booth. And the thousands who heard it KNEW it was good news and they shouted for joy.

Non-violent Protest in West Bank - Bassem Tamimi Speaks Out at his Trial

2011-06-09T08:27:00.008-06:00

Almost every Palestinian man I have met, tells the same story you will read below. While the world has averted its eyes, Palestinians struggle every day to keep their homes, even when they live in areas "controlled" by the Palestinian Authority, on lands their families have lived on for centuries, or in houses where they fled for safety in 1948 (from Jewish paramilitary troops) or 1967 (from the Israeli Army as it conquered land placed under the administration of Jordan or Egypt). Bassem Tamimi lives in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh in the West Bank, where he is the coordinator of his village’s "popular committee," organizing non-violent protests against Israel's demolition of homes. He was arrested in March. Photo shows Bassem Tamimi leading a non-violent protest in Bil'in in March.

American news media tends to present these demonstrations as a threat to public safety, while the participants characterize their actions as a challenge to the injustice they are experiencing, and a struggle for their human rights. As an occupied people, Palestinians have no rights in Israeli civil courts; when they sue there for the right to keep their homes, the courts either rule in favor of the Israeli government, or the authorities ignore the courts' ruling (this is the case in Tamimi's village of Nabi Saleh). You can read more of his story here, on Jewish Voice for Peace's (JVP) web site. Read a news account of his arrest and court appearance.

Bassem Tamimi, the subject of an action alert by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), speaks up for freedom on the 44th anniversary of Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, June 5th, 2011.

Tamimi’s statement, from JVP:

Your Honor,

I hold this speech out of belief in peace, justice, freedom, the right to live in dignity, and out of respect for free thought in the absence of Just Laws.

Every time I am called to appear before your courts, I become nervous and afraid. Eighteen years ago, my sister was killed by in a courtroom such as this, by a staff member. In my lifetime, I have been nine times imprisoned for an overall of almost 3 years, though I was never charged or convicted. During my imprisonment, I was paralyzed as a result of torture by your investigators. My wife was detained, my children were wounded, my land was stolen by settlers, and now my house is slated for demolition.

I was born at the same time as the Occupation and have been living under its inherent inhumanity, inequality, racism and lack of freedom ever since. Yet, despite all this, my belief in human values and the need for peace in this land have never been shaken. Suffering and oppression did not fill my heart with hatred for anyone, nor did they kindle feelings of revenge. To the contrary, they reinforced my belief in peace and national standing as an adequate response to the inhumanity of Occupation.

International law guarantees the right of occupied people to resist Occupation. In practicing my right, I have called for and organized peaceful popular demonstrations against the Occupation, settler attacks and the theft of more than half of the land of my village, Nabi Saleh, where the graves of my ancestors have lain since time immemorial.

I organized these peaceful demonstrations in order to defend our land and our people. I do not know if my actions violate your Occupation laws. As far as I am concerned, these laws do not apply to me and are devoid of meaning. Having been enacted by Occupation authorities, I reject them and cannot recognize their validity.

Despite claiming to be the only democracy in the Middle East you are trying me under military laws which lack any legitimacy; laws that are enacted by authorities that I have not elected and do not represent me. I am accused of organizing peaceful civil demonstrations that have no military aspects and are legal under international law.

We have the right to express our rejection of Occupation in all of its forms; to defend our freedom and dignity as a people and to seek justice and peace in our land in order to protect our children and secure their future.

The civil nature of our actions is the light that will overcome the darkness of the Occupation, bringing a dawn of freedom that will warm the cold wrists in chains, sweep despair from the soul and end decades of oppression.

We have exhausted all possible actions to stop attacks by settlers, who refuse to adhere to your courts’ decisions, which time and again have confirmed that we are the owners of the land, ordering the removal of the fence erected by them.

Read the rest of his statement here....

Israeli Jews and Palestinians Protest East Jerusalem's New Settlement

2011-06-02T09:58:00.006-06:00

Last week, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the US Congress, Israeli officials were unveiling a new settlement in Palestinian East Jerusalem—in an area where most of the world had expected eventually to see the capital of a Palestinian state.

What does peace mean to a Prime Minister who SPEAKS peace, but ACTS takeover of Palestinian land? In the same week, on the public stage? Since Israel began its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, they have destroyed more than 18,000 Palestinian homes (Statistic from ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: http://www.icahd.org/?page_id=313)

Not all Israelis support their Prime Minister’s theft of Palestinian land and they protest every Friday in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jerrah. A year ago this week, I stood with them and clapped (since I don’t know Hebrew, the crowd’s chants were impossible for me!). The demonstrations continue. Watch some video of this week’s demonstration (see picture) and read one demonstrator’s story of what you are seeing: http://theonlydemocracy.org/2011/06/ras-al-amud/

Memorial Day, 2011

2011-05-30T10:23:00.006-06:00

A year ago tomorrow, I was in the West Bank where I awoke to news stories about the Israeli attack on the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, with reports of nine dead. Our small group of Compassionate Listeners was in shock.

The manager of our hotel in Beit Jala moved a large-screen TV into the dining room and we sat in stunned silence, surfing for English-language TV stations, and whispering to one another -- They really are dead? How did it happen? How could this be - the flotilla was a peaceful protest of the blockade of Gaza!

Yael, our Israeli tour guide, kept saying, "How could Israel have done something so stupid? Now we are the pariah of the world." Or similar sentiments....I'm not sure about her exact words, but I do remember "stupid," and her concern that now Israel would be hated even more by her neighbors. Yael was very concerned that her country was becoming an outlaw nation, abandoned by the rest of the nations of the world, hated and feared, standing alone and putting all its citizens in more danger.

In the reporting that followed, many news sources reported that the flotilla was made up of "terrorists." This was supposed justify the nine deaths, so we could dismiss the "incident" and not be too troubled that this represented our tax dollars at work ($3 b/year to Israel).

Today, as we remember those who died protecting the US and our ideals of freedom and liberty, I'd like to also remember the nine who died a year ago, protesting for freedom and liberty for the people Israel has imprisoned in Gaza. For that is what Gaza is.....an outdoor prison, its borders still manned by Israeli soldiers, who decide what goods can enter Gaza and what can be exported. Israel controls how much Gazans eat and also controls all commerce, effectively controlling the whole economy, preventing the export of agricultural commodities like tomatoes, cucumbers, fruits, vegetables, flowers.

This week Egypt opened the Rafah crossing, so hopefully now, this will improve life for Gazans. But Cairo is an 8-hour drive from Gaza. The most logical market for Gazan produce is to the north, where Tel Aviv is only an hour's drive. But commerce is not likely to open up to the north.
A year ago, nine people were shot to death aboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship that was part of a flotilla trying to breach the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza. The flotilla was an act of protest, to call the world's attention to the plight of the Palestinians stuck in Gaza without adequate food, fuel, building materials or even medical and school supplies. The boats carried many of these items, a symbolic gesture to show how desperate the situation in Gaza is.

Many people in the west think that Israel pulled out of Gaza, leaving the Palestinians to govern themselves. But Israel left them with all the problems--hunger, unemployment, no materials to rebuild after the 2009-10 Israeli "Cast Lead" attack and no medical facilities--and no way to solve these problems because Israel imposed a complete sea blockade (including gunfire attacks on fishermen) and severely restricting imports (no building materials), because Gaza is surrounded by Israel and everything going into or out of Gaza must go through an Israeli checkpoint.

So the idea of the flotilla was to call the world's attention to this gross injustice. The flotillas put a spotlight on what Israel is doing. The people on the flotilla knew there were dangers--the most obvious being the Mediterranean Sea itself. They did not expect an all-out attack on their ship by Israeli commandos being lowered, machine guns blazing, on ropes from helicopters in the middle of the night.

So, on this Memorial Day, we remember:

Furkan Dogan, 19
Ibrahim Bilgen, 60
Fahri Yaldiz, 42
Cevdet Kiliçlar, 38
Cengiz Akyüz, 41
Cengiz Songür, 46
Çetin Topçuoglu, 54
Necdet Yildirim, 31

In respect for their willingness to risk their lives, please take a minute to read the UN report, detailing what is known of how these nine Turkish citizens died. One, Furkan Dogan (pictured), was also an American citizen.

Another flotilla is organizing for June of this year. Read about it, so that when it is attacked, you will understand why and how these people continue to risk their lives so that the world will not forget Gaza.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gZF-SJ75WCpfVwL3UXLzwa0ExPtA?docId=6997870

Netanyahu's speech

2011-05-25T13:20:00.005-06:00

From israel's Haaretz daily -- an interesting analysis of Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to congress, by Israeli columnist for Haaretz, Gideon Levy. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-s-speech-to-congress-shows-america-will-buy-anything-1.363897

Listen to his speech -- http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/05/24/video-and-transcript-benjamin-netanyahus-speech-congress

Nakba Day, May 15, 2011

2011-05-16T13:02:00.009-06:00

In Denver we marched in support of Palestinian human rights - at the Capitol and down the 16th Street Mall. A peaceful protest of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands and its continuing confiscation of Palestinian lands for the building of its security wall, which it is building in many places, not on Israeli land, but on Palestinian land. Click on the photo to see video of our protest march in Denver.

The Nakba or "catastrophe" is Palestinians' commemoration, on Israeli Independence Day, May 15, of the depopulation of 500 Palestinian villages in 1947-49, and the forceable removal of Palestinians from their homes and farmlands, as well as the destruction of many of those villages.

In the West Bank, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh was arrested on Sunday, as he participated in a protest in the village of Al-Walaja, where the Israelis are continuing to build their security wall on Palestinian land. The wall in Al-Walaja is being built on village farmlands instead of on Israeli land. The wall is close to surrounding the village, completely cutting it off from the world. The map shows Al-Walaja, at the left, surrounded by the wall (red dotten line indicates where the wall is currently being built); tan areas are Palestinian towns and villages, blue areas are Israeli settlements, green line marks the 1949 armistice line separating Israel and the West Bank Red lines are completed wall; purple is proposed, dotted red under construction.

Israel claims that it is building the wall to protect its settlements (Har Gilo, Gilo), which are also constructed on Palestinian land, well within the Palestinian West Bank. As you can see from the map, the settlements themselves separate Palestinian towns and villages from one another, making commerce and daily life difficult.

See Dr. Qumsiyeh's own video of the demonstration and his arrest:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfizCh0TaZE

Other video of Al-Walaja and his arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD06coIJWQs

Today Dr. Qumsiyeh, an American citizen, and a Palestinian, is still being held in Ofer prison in Israel. Please write to President Obama and the US State Department to put pressure on Israel for his release.

Or call: White House comment line: (202) 456-1111
State Department public information line: (202) 647-6575

Read an excellent analysis of Palestinian protests and the what the future holds for peace in Palestine/Israel, an op-ed piece in the Jerusalem Post by Israeli peace activist Gersho Baskin.

Lent 2011

2011-03-18T13:38:00.003-06:00

During Lent I am writing at A Lenten Geography - Meditations for Lent, written as I ponder the texts for each Sunday, remembering the people I have met and the experiences I have had in Israel and Palestine: http://www.alentengeography.blogspot.com/

Space Available on the 2011 Holy Land Pilgrimage

2011-03-18T13:26:00.004-06:00

Some improvements to the trip!

an upgrade to our hotel in Tiberias - Nofim Hotel, next to the Tiberias Hot Springs.
a discount of $80 on the Egypt portion - total cost from Denver is now $4350

Our tour guide, Pastor Paul Rowold, reports:

I have been in frequent contact with friends in Egypt and our guide there, Bishoy. They all give a picture of new joy among the Egyptian people and an optimism for a bright future. So much of the Egyptian economy is based on tourism that they are putting lavish efforts into the security, comfort, and enjoyment of every tourist who comes. Sites which have always been crowded in the past are waiting for people like us to tour them without congestion.

Please send your $300 deposit by April 1. We have extended the “refundable” clause, making it fully refundable until June 1, when the balance of the cost of the trip is due. If it is necessary to cancel the pilgrimage, we will refund everything we are able to get back from the airlines and tour companies, which should be at least 80% (and probably more) of the cost of the trip.

Ash Wednesday, Isaiah - Shout Out!!

2011-03-04T10:12:00.004-07:00

During Lent, I will be posting weekly on A Lenten Geography, meditations on the texts for Lent reflecting on the people I've met on my five visits to Israel/Palestine these past five years.

Ash Wednesday
March 9, 2011
Isaiah 58.1-12

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion…(Is. 58.1)

What is the worship God desires from us?

Is it the Bach cantata, or the praise band? The old familiar hymns, or some new ones? Does The red book, or the green, or the “cranberry”?

Isaiah is very clear here: what God desires is not our “fasting.” God is not impressed when we wear “sackcloth and ashes.” God is not moved by our rituals. God wants us to “loose the bonds of injustice.”

When I close my eyes and hear these words of Isaiah, I see the demonstrators in Tahrir Square, as they shouted out an end to tyranny, an end to oppression, an end to the misery of the poor, who cannot afford to buy food for their families. They stood their ground, occupying the square, until their demands were heard. Mubarak stepped down—his ruthless and cruel suppression of dissent finally overcome by the sheer numbers and persistence of the demonstrators.

Like Isaiah, these demonstrators protest hypocrisy. Isaiah saw the hypocrisy of the people who worshipped God by wearing sackcloth and ashes, but did nothing to care for God’s people. The demonstrators shouted out the hypocrisy of a president who amassed a large fortune while the people were going hungry. They shouted out the hypocrisy of a United States that talks democracy and freedom, but provides $1.5b for “security,” which tortures and silences those who question the government.

Ironically, many of the demonstrators were inspired by President Obama’s speech in Cairo shortly after he became president, in June of 2009. They were listening when he called for democracy, and they took him seriously when he announced his commitment to “governments that reflect the will of the people.”

Each Friday afternoon in Sheikh Jarrah, as Jerusalem prepares for the Sabbath, a crowd gathers; drummers march through the streets, past the house that used to belong to the Gawi family. These demonstrators, primarily Jewish Israelis, call on the government of Israel to end its hypocrisy, to match its deeds with its words—they hold placards saying “Not in my Name!” and “Free East Jerusalem” and “End the Occupation!” This is their worship…..their Shabbat.

On Fridays in Al-Walaja, Bil’in, Ni’lin, al-Ma’sara, Beit Ommar, Nabi Saleh, Bethlehem, and other villages throughout the West Bank, protesters leave the mosques after Friday prayers and march in non-violent action against the Israeli wall, still being built on Palestinian land. The wall continues to isolate these villages, cutting them off from families, schools, commerce and health care, forcing them to go through several checkpoints to get from one village in the West Bank to another.

Is not this the fast that I choose:
To loose the bonds of injustice,
To undo the thongs of the yoke,
To let the oppressed go free,
And to break every yoke? (Is. 58.6)

God of all hope, your prophets called your people to actions of justice and reconciliation. Help those of us who live in the land of opportunity and freedom to break the yoke of oppression where we see it, to feed your hungry people and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, so that the world may see your light “break forth like the dawn.” Amen.

A Most Excellent Week in the Life of a Palestinian Peace Activist

2011-02-19T10:08:00.009-07:00

Today's news from Jamal Muqbel (see more of his story in previous posts below) -

You may remember that Jamal is involved in an Israeli-Palestinian organization, Wounded Crossing Borders, that brings together Israeli and Palestinians who have been wounded or lost loved ones in the conflict. Last May, my Compassionate Listening delegation met with their group in Jamal's home in Beit Ommar, between Bethlehem and Hebron in the Palestinian West Bank. We had a delicious Palestinian feast prepared by his wife Sadiyeh and her friends and family.

Today Jamal writes about the work he is continuing to do, bringing understanding, reconciliation and healing to places filled with fear, frustration and hatred.

Earlier this week, on Monday and Tuesday, he traveled with his Israeli friend Gadi Kenny, to Sderot, an Israeli town on the northern edge of the Gaza strip. It's a town very much aware of the ongoing conflict - they live with frequent rocket attacks from angry Palestinians in the Gaza strip. When I visited with a group there in May, they described the trauma of never knowing when or where the next rocket will land. Although these homemade rockets usually land in empty fields and rarely hit anyone or anything, they have occasionally killed people and they are terrifying for the people - going to school or to the market or sitting in their homes. Everyone always knows where the nearest bomb shelter is.

Anyway, this week Jamal went to the "Gaza-Sderot Conference 2011: Moving from Crisis to Sustainability." He describes meeting many Israelis, many who are very angry, some who wanted to hit him and others who yelled at him. He persevered, however, talking with them, telling them about himself and his family, showing them photos of Palestinians. He taught them about the situation of Palestinians who cannot travel (it's a small miracle that he was able to attend the conference - I can hardly imagine how that happened!).

He says he talked to them about why the people of Gaza shoot the rockets across the border and he says that he is now in touch with many of the participants by email; one of the families invited him to stay in their home.

Then on Wednesday he visited the home of the former director of the Hebron prison, where, he says, he could not find much agreement in their dialogue. But, he spent the night in their home.

Photo shows Jamal, with Margee, his long-time friend, who was on our Compassionate Listening delegation in May. Photo: Ellen Greene

Then he and Gadi drove to Tantur (an ecumenical center near Bethlehem) and met with the Bereaved Families Forum. The good news for us Americans is that this workshop was sponsored with USAID funds! Our tax dollars finally buying something besides bulldozers, M16s and tear gas grenades.

Jamal reports that he and Gadi did not get much sleep in those five days, but his energy level is very high. He and Gadi are talking about new projects - visiting people in their homes to talk about peace, talking to people on the roads and in the schools.

Youth Peace Volunteer Killed in Beit Ummar

2011-01-29T19:14:00.003-07:00

More news from Beit Ummar (Ommar), between Bethlehem and Hebron in the West Bank—this time from the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP). In the last two weeks I have written about the violence in Beit Ummar against Jamal Muqbul, whom we met in May. Yousef, the boy who was killed Friday, is a close friend of Jamal’s son Yazan. Jamal writes of their sorrow: “yes.. we are so so sad about Palistinin who killed by settler yesterday morning especially he is close friend of my child Yazan. …. now there is many soldiers in the village.” Take a few minutes to read about Yousef, who was involved in non-violent actions and was learning peacemaking in Beit Ommar. Read this information and more on PSP’s website: http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/

From: palestineproject@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:18:39 -0600
Subject: [PSPUpdates] PSP Youth Volunteer Shot by Settlers and Now Brain-Dead
To: palestinesolidarityproject@googlegroups.com

Earlier today, Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, a 17-year-old youth from Beit Ommar who has worked very closely with PSP over the years, was shot in the head by settlers and he is currently brain-dead in a Hebron hospital. Yousef attended nearly every unarmed Saturday demonstration, was frequently around the PSP house, and participated in both the Freedom Flotilla Summer Camp, and the photography class organized by the Center for Freedom and Justice. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Please consider holding solidarity actions or events in your communities to demand his killers be brought to justice, and for Yousef to be the last victim of an ongoing brutal occupation.

Below is more information about the circumstances of Yousef's shooting.

With anger and grief,
The Palestine Solidarity Project

__________

Friday, January 28th 2011, 9am: Around 100 settlers from Bat Ayn settlement descended upon the Palestinian villages of Saffa and nearby Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank, shooting 17-year-old Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl in his head, leaving him critically injured. Doctors have announced that Yousef is currently brain-dead in a Hebron hospital.

Settlers also shot 16-year-old Bilal Mohammad Abed Al-Qador with live ammunition in his arm.

The large group of armed settlers began shooting towards Palestinian homes in Saffa at around 9am, leaving Bilal injured. At the same time, a second group of settlers attacked an area of Beit Ommar called Jodor. Yousef was shot in the head in this area while he was standing in grapes vines he had planted on his family’s land.

Dozens of Palestinians from Beit Ommar and the nearby village of Surif began coming to the area to defend their communities. Seven jeeps of Israeli Forces also arrived in the area and escorted the settlers back to Bat Ayn.

This is the second settler attack with live ammunition on Palestinians in as many days. On January 27th, Uday Maher Qadous was shot and killed in Iraq Burin, in the Nablus district, by armed settlers as he was working his land.

Yousef Fahkri Ikhlayl is from the village of Beit Ommar and has worked on initiatives with the Palestine Solidarity Project, an ant-occupation organization in Beit Ommar. In the summer of 2010, Yousef attended the Center for Freedom and Justice’s Freedom Flotilla Summer Camp where he engaged in educational projects, community service, and unarmed demonstrations against the Israeli occupation. In the fall of 2010 Yousef was a participant in a youth photography class also sponsored by the center.

“Yousef was a kid who hoped for a better future for Palestine. His life was ended prematurely by right-wing extremists. People around the world should be outraged by his shooting, and should work to bring his attackers to justice. “
-Bekah Wolf, American citizen who worked with Yousef in the Center for Freedom and Justice

Settlers from Bat Ayn routinely attack and harass Palestinians in the Beit Ommar area. In January 27th, 2011 settlers in the area destroyed several hundred olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers.

--
Free Palestine!

More from Jamal in Beit Ummar

2011-01-27T11:31:00.003-07:00

Jamal Mequbul writes from the Palestinian town of Beit Ummar (Ommar) in the West Bank. It's between Bethlehem and Hebron, in an area where Israeli settlements are closing in, taking more of their farmland. Jamal is a barber in the town, although now there are fewer customers because everyone is just struggling to stay alive. He is part of an Israeli-Palestinian group called Wounded Crossing Borders. He refers to this group in the first email.

We talk a lot about terrorism - it's become our excuse for most anything we want to do as a country. When I read Jamal's words, I realize that, rather than BEING at terrorist, this Palestinian is the VICTIM of terrorism. But since it's not a suicide bombing or planes crashing, we don't hear about this terrorism. (Photo shows Margee from our Compassionate Listening delegation and Jamal's wife Saddiye)

Tuesday, January 25

Thank you a lot and every one who concern and care a bout us ; your caring support us a lot , we hope your messeges to B'tselem and Dr Micheael Oren will help to end this difficult days, every day we're suffering from gas even the vegetables in our area taste and smell is gas, we can't move , yesterday three israeli's from our group were in a visit to our area , it was hard to let them come and see what is happening , they don't imagine and believe what I told them before but yesterday they saw the soldiers shooting a lot of gas and closing the road to my house , also I took them to visit the Mayer he is really a wonderful person , he told them many stories , the situation is unbelievable.

THE children finished their exams they're starting a holiday for 12 days, every family is so worry a bout there sons .

We're ready to welcome the Compassionate Listening Project any time, Are you be able to come with them?. They can coordinate by e.mail and phones.

Also on Tuesday:

The tru i live in very very difficult situation, i dont know how to start my day, every morning i wake up and i cant thinking, many Responsibilities many pressure, also i cant live or work Naturally, when Saddiye call me and ask me to go quickly to my home to help to care them, and i cant do any thing, also i cant use the road because the soldiers close it. other thing many from my town ask me to help because i am with peace group at the same time others ask me to leave the Israeli group also i lose most customers that mean I am not able to secure the expense also the UNRWA stooped the Aid for us before 3 years, they till me you are live out the camp, add to my health, some time i cant move my body, before 2 weeks when my brother Mohamad take me to hospital the doctor ask me to do ct skan for my back quickly, believe me i cant do it its Expensive for me. dear Mum pls you must know those Examples to understand more and more about my life, not only me most Palestinians like me, always i hope to tell you good news but this is what i have i so so sorry to bother you and the others. sometimes i think to leave this area.

All of us now sleep in the same room, my kids are so worry and fraid from the Israeli soldiers, may be the soldiers come at any moment to take Zain or Yazan, now we think to let them go to Jericho and live there in my friend house period of time. i am sure that you and the others nice friends pray to us.

big hugs to all

This Week in Palestine...

2011-01-23T15:07:00.004-07:00

Today I’m writing because I have had a couple of alarming notes from Jamal, who hosted us at his home in Beit Ummar in the West Bank, just south of Bethlehem. In May, Jamal invited our Compassionate Listening delegation to meet with his group—Wounded Crossing Borders. This is a group of Israelis and Palestinians who have all lost loved ones or been wounded in the conflict. They meet together to get to know one another and to build bridges of understanding. Our group sat with them in the shade on Jamal’s patio as the late afternoon sun filtered through the grapevines. The geraniums were blooming—pink, red—and the Muqbul family had prepared a feast for us, coordinated by Jamal’s wife Saddiye. As we sat eating our homemade humus, pita, chicken, rice and vegetables, we heard the story of Jamal’s 14-year-old nephew Ibrahim, who had just been arrested (he has now been cleared of all charges, with the help of the Israelis in Wounded Crossing Borders).

That warm afternoon on his patio, with Palestinians and Israelis who are seeking peace, seemed far away as I read his email on Thursday [photo shows Jamal and my friend Margee, who introduced us to Jamal in May]:

January 20—All time we afraid about our kids always we worry, last night the Israelis soldiers come to my family houses, they brock windows and doors then they ask about my son Zain they need him, my be they will return back in any moment, Sadiye crying all the time and she ask me to keep them in another place but where ? i call all of my group if we can do any thing, i am sure the Israelis IDF dont need me work for peace.

January 18 he also wrote—Here it’s so bad with the Israelis soldiers, every day they coming to the area and start shooting allot of Gaz [tear gas] also they close the road for 5 hours every day then we must go or come from fields, some from my group need to come today to speack with the soldiers, yesterday I try to talk with them but they refused also 3 of them beat me and shooting Gaz at my car then I stay in hospital few hours, I am okay now, the mean problem for us is Amr (3), all time he is afraid every night he crying and need to sleep near to me also many kids like Amr. my nephew Malik, 11 months, stay 7 days in the hospital because he smell allot of Gaz when the soldiers shooting 3 bombs in my fathers house. Saddiye [Jamal’s wife] worry
about everything especially our kids have exams these days.

This week in Palestine—GAZA:

On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed Amjad Sami Ahmed al-Za'anin, 18, when they fired seven artillery shells at Palestinian workers in Gaza, who were collecting scraps of construction materials near the town of Beit Hanoun, about a third of a mile from the border with Israel. Two other workers were wounded. On Sunday, two other workers were wounded in another area of Gaza.
On Wednesday, another worker was injured collecting construction materials. You see, Israel is still not allowing construction materials through the checkpoints into Gaza, so young men earn money scavenging in the rubble for materials, which can be sold and used to rebuild Gaza, which is still in ruins from the attack in 2008-2009.
Israeli soldiers are still not allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza for medical procedures, commerce or family visits. The ban on exports from Gaza continues.

And, in the West Bank:

Israeli forces conducted 54 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, abducting 27 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children.
Israeli soldiers positioned at military checkpoints in the West Bank abducted two Palestinian civilians.

Information from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), as reported in the International Middle East Media Center’s weekly report: http://www.imemc.org/article/60474

I don’t know if Jamal’s night of terror is included in the 54 incursions, but I do know that he is a man of peace. He has worked for years to stand up for his rights as Israel has confiscated the lands around his village so that they can establish an Israeli presence in the West Bank with their settlements. Like all but a handful of Palestinians, he has not resisted with guns or bombs or even rocks. He has resisted by remaining in his town—building a home, marrying and raising a family, going to work every day. Even though the settlements are continuing to close in on his town, stealing farmland from his people, he remains. And he reaches out to get to know Israelis who have also been wounded in the conflict over the land. This is his life; it is his resistance.

Because the Israeli military is stepping up its attacks on civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, I am worried for Jamal’s safety and especially for the safety of his young sons, who seem to be the special target of these raids. If you would like to protest Israel’s actions, please write:

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren in DC: info@washington.mfa.gov.il
Senator Mark Udall: http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact
Senator Michael Bennet: http://bennet.senate.gov/contact/
Representative Diana DeGette: http://degette.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=483&Itemid=202
Send a copy of your message to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
And President Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

[If you are not in Colorado, you will have some different contacts]

Al-Walaja in the News!

2011-01-20T15:31:00.001-07:00

This morning on NPR, Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Al-Walaja, the West Bank village I wrote about on Monday, where Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh is part of the group organizing demonstrations against Israel’s wall now being constructed.

This is a map of the village’s position in the West Bank. Al Walaja is next to Jerusalem, just to the northeast of Bethlehem, surrounded by the (blue) Israeli West Bank settlements of Gilo, Har Gilo and Betar Illit – where Israel is currently completing their wall (the dotted red circle), which, as you can see, is being built to completely surround the village. Since the land belongs to the village, Israel’s wall confiscates their land.

Take four minutes to listen to Lourdes Garcia Navarro’s coverage of their story: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=133071551&m=133071539

And, if you are in the Denver area, plan to come hear Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh give a firsthand account of what is happening in Al Walaja and other places in the West Bank:

Sabeel-Colorado Film and Lecture Series
Sunday, March 6, 3-5 pm
At Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia, at the corner of Montview and Dahlia in Park Hill

Photo shows Al-Walaja resident Sheerin, with pepper-spray on her face, being detained by Israeli soldiers during a peaceful demonstration against the wall December 23.

We Are Not Afraid.....Today

2011-01-17T08:59:00.004-07:00

Today we celebrate the life of a man of peace, a pastor, a leader of the American Civil Rights movement, and a strong advocate and leader in non-violent actions against injustice. He led massive civil demonstrations, using popular resistance to dismantle a system of discrimination and oppression.

In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr. King said, “I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted up from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”

I read these words yesterday in Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh’s recently published book, Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment (Pluto Press, Jan 2011: www.plutobooks.com. Read about the book.). Dr. King’s speeches and writings have provided inspiration and strength for Palestinians engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, his dreams offering a vision for their future as well.

Education is very important to the Palestinians I know. Most of them are much better educated than Americans (many have earned degrees from prestigious American universities), and so it is not surprising that non-violent movements around the world have given them courage in their struggles against discrimination—including Mohandas Gandhi’s non-violent movement against British rule in India and the American Civil Rights movement. But, as Dr. Qumsiyeh notes in his new book, non-violence in Palestine is much older than these movements, going back at least as far as the “earliest philosopher of popular resistance in Palestine…Jesus.” (p30)

Dr. Qumsiyeh goes on to recount the non-violent roots of Islam. The Islamic movement was founded as a religion of justice and for thirteen years the prophet Muhammad used non-violence in his struggle in Mecca. Jihad, often understood by those of us in the West as an act of violence, is, in fact, an act of peace—a personal struggle to live a life faithful to God, Allah, and to improve the Muslim world. Jihad is the sacred duty of every Muslim, and many Muslim scholars would deny that it has anything to do with war or violence. The Prophet Muhammad and his immediate followers did not employ any form of violent jihad. In his book, Dr Qumsiyeh chronicles the use of non-violence as an important tool in Palestinians' resistance to oppression from Ottoman times to today.

Yesterday, in worship at St. Paul Lutheran in Denver, we closed by singing the anthem of the American Civil Rights Movement, “We Shall Overcome.” The words brought tears to my eyes as we sang, “We are not afraid, We are not afraid….We are not afraid some day,” and I thought about the civil protests against the building of the Israeli wall around Palestinian villages in the West Bank.

Every week, the villagers, other Palestinian supporters, and international volunteers, protest in front of bulldozers in places like Al-Walaja. (see Al-Walaja on the left of the map--where the wall is being constructed today to surround the village). Dr. Qumsiyeh is an organizer and leader of these protests. He left his comfortable life in the U.S. to return to his home in Beit Sahour, in the Bethlehem district, so that he could stand with his people in resisting Israel’s occupation. He is a genetic biologist, teaching and doing research at Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities. He has been arrested twice this past year, once as recently as December 23.
• Read about their arrest
• Read his own description of the events
• Watch his video describing his experience
• See photos of the arrests
• Listen to Pete Seeger singing "We Shall Overcome"

Someday....the hope of the Palestinians. Come hear Dr. Qumsiyeh talk about popular resistance and his new book when he is in Denver in March:

Sunday, March 3, 3-5 pm
Sabeel Film and Lecture Series
at Montview Presbyterian Church
1980 Dahlia, at Montview Boulevard

We shall overcome, We shall overcome, We shall overcome some day.
Deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome some day.

We’ll walk hand in hand….We’ll walk hand in hand some day.
Deep in my heart I do believe we’ll walk hand in hand some day.

We shall all be free…..
We are not afraid, We are not afraid today,
Deep in my heart, I do believe……
The truth shall set us free…..
We shall live in peace…..someday.
Deep in my heart, I do believe…..

Advent Reflections, 2010

2010-12-01T12:20:00.002-07:00

During December, please ready my Advent reflections three times weekly on my Advent blog:
http://adventjourneybethlehem.blogspot.com/

When I have visited Palestine and Israel I always ask the people I meet how I can support their peacemaking work. The answer is always the same: Tell our story. So, during Advent and Lent, I read the weekly lectionary (texts for Sunday) and reflect on them through the experiences I have had learning about the people of the Holy Land.

Journey with me to Bethlehem in Advent and Christmas: http://adventjourneybethlehem.blogspot.com/

A Survivor's Tale - from the Jewish Boat to Gaza

2010-10-23T09:55:00.002-06:00

Lillian Rosengarten, a Holocaust survivor, tells about her experiences on her recent voyage to Gaza, in this interivew by Philip Weiss, posted on his blog, Mondoweiss.

Lillian Rosengarten, the only American on the Jewish boat to Gaza, lives near me in the Hudson Valley, and the other day I visited her to interview her about her experience on the British-flagged catamaran that the Israelis had intercepted on the high seas on September 28.

I hoped the activist/therapist/poet could answer a big question. How did she reconcile two important events in her life: her family had fled Nazi Germany when she was a toddler, but now, 73 years later, the state created to rescue the Jews had deported her and said she could never come back?

It was Wednesday afternoon. The door was open and Rosengarten was in her kitchen. There were three pots on the stove. She was making beans and soup for a sick friend.

We sat down in the living room near a carving from New Guinea. Rosengarten was rested and relaxed, and I thought of how fretful she had been before she left, as she waited to hear from the secretive boat organizers in Europe. Her friends and family had been afraid for her, we kept hearing rumors that she was on the list or off the list, she had nearly taken off on a trip she’d planned to Indonesia. Since then she’d had an adventure on the high seas and become a public figure. She’d been quoted in the New York Times, people were calling her from all over.

I asked her whether she’d been afraid to go.

“I was afraid from the beginning. There was some ambivalence, and on the other hand I absolutely had to go on this mission. I knew damn well this is dangerous. I knew what happened on the Mavi Marmara, I knew what happened in Dubai. I am not a martyr and I wanted to survive the trip. But if I were to die, I thought, so be it, I have to go.”

From the moment when she had first heard about the German Jewish boat (its original name) early last summer, she had felt called to be on it. “I thought, I have to be on that boat. It was completely emotional, not intellectual.”

Rosengarten was born in Frankfurt in 1935. By 1937 her father had seen the writing on the wall and arranged to get most of the extended family out. Today her relatives are scattered around the world, on several continents. Many live in Israel. Though she was never a Zionist, Rosengarten went to Israel a half dozen times, the first time in 1971, when she fell in love with the country. Read about her experience on the boat....

Columbus Day, 2010

2010-10-11T12:07:00.004-06:00

Today is a government holiday in Colorado. In spite of protests and negotiations over the past several decades, a small group in Denver’s Italian community has maintained a parade to honor Columbus and state employees like my husband have the day off, in honor of Christopher Columbus.

When I have taken groups to Israel/Palestine, we meet Palestinians who live, say, in Bethlehem, but they stand on a rooftop and point off in the distance to a hilltop where their family’s village once stood (one of these, ironically named the American Park-you can see one of these hills to the top left in the photo, taken from the Deheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem--the site of Shadee's family's home, where he has never been able to visit). Americans are often baffled by how, in so many instances, Israel has simply taken lands that belonged to Palestinians. They often ask, How can this happen? How does Israel get away with this?

I have found myself explaining it by noting that it’s like when American colonists and pioneers “settled” America—building their log cabins or sod homes, cutting down the forests or plowing the prairie and rationalizing it by saying that no one lived on the land, that the land was empty, or it was (US) government land.

Over the past 20 years I have marched several times in the “Transform Columbus Day” protest of Denver’s Columbus Day parade. This year, because of my work to learn about and educate Americans about Palestinian rights, three parallels seem particularly striking to me.

A Land Without a People for a People Without a Land

Seventeenth century European immigrants to America thought that God was providing them with the land—that it had been “abandoned” by the inhabitants, who had conveniently died of smallpox epidemic in 1616, a disease brought by earlier European explorers. William Bradford wrote in his diary “For it pleased God to visit these Indians with a great sickness and such a mortality that of a thousand, nine and a half hundred of them died…” Because their methods of cultivation were different, one early colonist describes the Indians as lazy, “fettered by the chains of idleness,” unworthy to properly care for the land by efficient cultivation—leaving the land “marred for want of manuring, gathering, ordering, etc.” The Europeans justified their occupation of the land with the argument that they would put the land to its proper use. (from Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror)

Following God’s Will

Columbus, like many of the Europeans who came to the “New World,” was an apocalyptic Christian—he believed that the fulfillment of scripture depended on the Christianization of the world. Columbus writes, “God made me a messenger of the new heaven and new earth…” Columbus also hoped to use the wealth he gained to finance a new crusade to take Jerusalem back from the Muslims. (see Christianity: a Global History by David Chidester)

Security Needs—the New Residents of the Land Demand Protection

In a description of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado, near La Junta, we read,

“The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) had recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho claims to much of the high plains between the Front Range of Colorado and western Kansas, and the North Platte and Arkansas rivers, but increasing Anglo-American emigrant traffic through native lands as well as the Pikes Peak gold rush in 1859 made it necessary for the government to ‘renegotiate’ the treaty….[The new treaty,] the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861) established a Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation in southeast Colorado (officially known as the ‘Reservation of the Arapahoes and Cheyennes of the Upper Arkansas’).…The treaty faced problems from the beginning, since only the ‘peace factions’ of the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahos signed. No Northern Cheyennes and Arapahos participated in the ratification, and these bands continued to claim hunting lands in the South Platte valley. In addition, militants such as the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, established on the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers, also resisted the new demands.” Read more in a history of the Sand Creek massacre by Colorado State University. Photo is of the Sand Creek National Historic Site near La Junta, Colorado.

In Israel, too, settlers expect their government to protect them. In the West Bank, settlers first build temporary mobile units, and then more permanent homes. As new people move to the settlement and all the children grow up, they need more homes and more land. The settlers begin to feel threatened, either because of actual attacks or because they want to expand their lands and fear resistance from the nearby villages that claim these lands. Sometimes the lands for settlements are purchased from the Palestinian owners. Sometimes the lands are simply declared “parkland” by the Israeli government, which can then dispose of the lands as they wish.
On this Columbus Day, from where I am writing, I look out over West Denver, where the names of the streets remind me of those who used to gather here to trade and hunt buffalo—Arapaho, Bannock, Shoshone, Lipan, Navajo…and others who inhabited the southwest—Acoma, Zuni, the Cherokee and Elati who were forced west by settlement. Like many current residents of Denver, the Arapaho came here (of their own accord) from Minnesota—the Red River Valley area. Read more….

From Inside Gilboa Prison, Israel

2010-10-08T09:38:00.004-06:00

From the Electric Intifada--read it on their website

"Solidarity tastes different inside prison"
Ameer Makhoul writing from Gilboa prison, Live from Palestine, 30 August 2010

Ameer Makhoul (Adri Nieuwhof)
The following is an edited excerpt from a 7 August 2010 letter written by Ameer Makhoul from Israeli prison. A human rights defender, the director of the Arab nongovernmental organization network Ittijah, a leading voice of the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Makhoul was arrested during a raid of his family home in Haifa in the early morning hours of 6 May. For the following eleven days Makhoul was held in isolation, denied access to a lawyer, and subjected to torture. Rights groups have condemned his political persecution and the criminal proceedings launched against him. Amnesty International supports his rele ase.

My trail is still somehow stuck. The system is structurally and politically Shabak-oriented, not justice-oriented. My human dignity, basic human rights and constitutional rights are suffering from basic violations. I still have no permit to meet my lawyers without being recorded. The ruling of the three judges is to justify the decision of the attorney general of Israel and the Shabak to ban free meeting with my lawyers in prison. The judges insist that such a meeting should be done through the glass separation wall and through a telephone in order to ensure recording of the whole conversation.

On its face the process as well as the procedures look fair, but essentially, systematic, structural and political violations of my basic right to fair procedure are practiced. The role of the attorney general is to criminalize me, not to seek truth.

In Gilboa prison there are approximately 600 Palestinian and Arab prisoners of freedom distributed into sections/branches. The distribution of prisoners is geopolitically oriented: prisoners of the West Bank, prisoners of 1948 (including occupied East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights) are together, while in the prisons located in the Naqab [Negev], prisoners of the West Bank are separated from those from Gaza. And prisoners from Gaza are separated along affiliation to Fatah or Hamas. The borders on the ground of the occupation based on the Apartheid Wall are valid in the prison demographic policy of distribution. It is the nature of imposed fragmentation in order to undermine the struggle against one of the biggest systematic colonial crimes and to weaken the collective struggle by destructing its structure of continuity and interaction.

I am doing a lot of efforts to bring hope and steadfastness to freedom prisoners. It is one of my missions inside prison. I have to keep in contact with Ittijah and the community and all solidarity movements, groups and persons, but most of all I have to correspond intensively as much as possible with my daughters Hind and Huda, who have become mature fighters for freedom, justice and dignity and mostly bringing back the happiness of life which was highjacked on 6 May at 2:30am. My wife Janan is leading in a heroic way the whole campaign as well as facing huge tasks at home.

Your letters are needed; the taste of solidarity is different in prison than being outside. The taste reflects the great solidarity, support and empowering acts.

Each of Us Has a Part

2010-10-06T13:06:00.004-06:00

On Monday, I saw news of the settler attack on a mosque in Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem. As usual, I looked up Beit Fajjar on my Israel map and discovered that it is next to Beit Ummar and the al Arroub refugee camp, two places I visited with the Compassionate Listening Project in May.

Palestine News Network reported some details of the attack: “Mahmoud Taqataqa, a witness, said that he awoke in the early morning, approximately 2:45 am, when he heard the settlers taking off the door of the mosque. He approached them asking the settlers to leave the area, but they forced him away at gunpoint at which time he went to other houses to awaken the other citizens of Beit Fajar.

Mahmoud, also said that the settlers had the protection of the Israeli occupation forces. They did not intervene nor did they try to stop the settlers form doing this heinous crime. He indicated that the Israeli occupation forces only stepped in when the citizens of the village approached the mosque and started clashing with the settlers who had collected copies of the Quran and started to burn them in the center of the mosque.”

This is a story I have heard from many of the people I’ve met in Palestine. On Monday I remembered the story told to our Compasionate Listening delegation by Ibrahim’s parents, Mohammad and Sulha who live in Beit Ummar, only a few kilometers from the now-burned-out mosque.

Our delegation had been invited to meet with a group of Israelis and Palestinians who had been meeting to get to know one another. Their organization is called Wounded Crossing Borders, made up of people who have been wounded in the conflict and who are now reaching out to “cross borders,” and meet people on the other side. One of the leaders (an Israeli) told us they are not a political group, but they are friends. “It is not easy,” he said, but they want to get to know one another across the divide of the conflict and the wounding. They are working on a paper which will state the principles they share.

We were all sitting outside late in the afternoon on a beautiful Palestinian summer day, sipping cool drinks. It had been a hot day, but Palestinian families make the dry, arid climate cool and inviting by planting shade trees, fruit orchards and grape arbors. So we were sitting comfortably in the shade on Jammal and Saddiya’s patio.

Jammal’s brother Mohammad and his wife Sulha were part of the group, and, as we sat in the cool shade, Mohammad told us about Ibrahim’s arrest. (Sulha and Mohammad are the couple at the right in the photo-thanks to Ellen Greene, our photographer on the trip)

Shortly after midnight a few days earlier, they were awakened when soldiers surrounded their house. The soldiers woke up the whole family, including all of their ten children, ages 1-18, and made everyone go outside. Ibrahim was wearing only his shorts and a shirt; they blindfolded him and tied his hands behind him. The soldiers beat Ibrahim in front of the whole family, including his little brothers and sisters. They arrested him and took him to jail at the nearby settlement, accusing him of throwing stones. Mohammad went to the Red Cross and then heard that his son would be in court the next day. Mohammad waited from 5:30 am to 2 pm, but Ibrahim’s case was not ready. Mohammad returned the next day and when they brought Ibrahim in, Mohammad could see his hands tied, his legs bruised from the shackles. They had used electric shock on his hands. Mohammad was sad that he could not talk to his son, could not hug him. Ibrahim had confessed to stone-throwing, but when his lawyer told him to tell the judge what happened, he said, “I didn’t throw stones. I said it because they threatened me.”

The family asked the Israelis in the group, “Can anyone come to the court with us next week?” The Israelis responded that it is “complicated.” They said, “We will do our best…but the macro and micro levels are complicated.”

I was skeptical—the Israelis in the group seemed mostly interested in maintaining their powerlessness, their victimhood…they seemed to be saying, we have no choice…this is simply what happens when children throw stones….after all, we must protect ourselves.

But I was wrong—sort of. A few days later Jammal emailed that the Israelis had written a letter to the court and that Ibrahim had been freed. He still faces a trial for the charges, but he is out of prison (after his uncle paid the $400 bail money). And we heard that his family and the whole village threw a big party to welcome him home.

This is not all I would have wished for Ibrahim, but it is a start—a way to begin to merge the micro and macro levels.

People often say to me, “the Israeli/Palestinian situation is so complicated.” I disagree. It is simple. Each of us needs to figure out what our part is……and do it.

Read more about Ibrahim from Leah Green, our Compassionate Listening leader, on her blog.

Read more about the burning of the mosque here…and here]

Not All Jews Support Israeli Policies Toward Palestinians

2010-10-04T10:43:00.005-06:00

Not all Jews support Israeli policies toward Palestinians…..on the last week in September, nine people on the Irene, a 40-year-old, 32-foot boat were hoping to raise awareness of the ongoing blockade of Gaza by attempting to break Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian supplies, including medicines, therapeutic toys, water purifiers and outboard engines, to the people of Gaza.

As IDF soldiers boarded their boat, the group appealed to the consciences of the soldiers, urging them to disobey orders and allow the boat to land in Gaza: “The blockade as well as the occupation is inhumane and contradicts universal and Jewish moral values. Use your conscience. Remember our own painful history. Refuse to enforce the blockade. Refuse to occupy Palestine.”

Nine Israelis, standing against their government’s occupation of Gaza—

Reuven Moskovitz, from Israel, was a founding member of the Jewish-Arab village Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salaam (Oasis of Peace) and a holocaust survivor
Rami Elhanan, from Israel, lost his daughter Smadar to a suicide bombing in 1997 and is a founding member of the Bereaved Families Circle of Israelis and Palestinians who lost their loved ones to the conflict
Lilian Rosengarten, from the US, is a peace activist and psychotherapist. She was a refugee from Nazi Germany
Yonatan Shapira, from Israel, is an ex-IDF pilot and now an activist for Combatants for Peace
Glyn Secker, from the UK, is the boat’s captain and a member of Jews for Justice for Palestinians Executive Commitee
Dr. Edith Lutz, from Germany, is a peace activist and a nurse. She was on the first boat to Gaza in 2008
Itamar Shapira, from Israel, is Yonatan’s brother, and a member of the boat’s crew
Eli Osherov, Israeli reporter from Israel Channel 10 News
Vish Vishvanath, Freelance photographer and reporter

A news release from the Israeli Defense Forces reported that Israeli naval commandos “peacefully boarded” the ship, the Irene. This is what we heard on our news in the US as well. But participants’ accounts offer us another story.

It is September 28…. The Irene is 20 miles off the coast of Gaza, naval vessels speeding toward them, and the passengers know that two Gaza fishermen have been killed in these waters during the past week by the Israeli Navy.

Captain Glyn Secker reports: “with the frigate in the background, two gunboats, two landing craft and four high powered ribs [rigid inflatable boats] spread out in a semi-circle speeding towards us at perhaps 35 knots, with their bow waves and wakes flashing in the sunshine. It was surreal, it was like an action movie….this overwhelming force for a 9.7 metre 40 yr. old boat, the majority of its Jewish occupants over 60 years old, with no weapons and a publicized policy of passive resistance.”

When the Irene approached Gaza, 20 miles offshore, the Navy responded with the exact declaration they made before attacking the Mavi Marmara in May:
“You are entering an area which is under military blockade and is closed under international law.”

Itamar, who was in charge of communicating with the Navy, responded by reading a declaration from the group in English and Hebrew:

“We are a boat of the European organization Jews For Justice For Palestinians. We are unarmed and non-violent and determined to proceed to the port of Gaza. You are enforcing an illegal blockade and we do not recognize your right to do this. On this Jews For Justice for Palestinians boat are peace activists of all ages among us holocaust survivors, bereaved parents and Israelis who refuse to collaborate with the illegal occupation of Palestine.”

“We call on you IDF soldiers and officers to disobey the illegal orders of your superior officers. For your information, the occupation of Gaza and the Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law; therefore your risk being tried in the international courts. The blockade as well as the occupation is inhumane and contradicts universal and Jewish moral values. Use your conscience. Remember our own painful history. Refuse to enforce the blockade. Refuse to occupy Palestine.”

As the passengers were holding hands, hugging one another and singing “We Shall Overcome,”
the soldiers continued with their planned takeover of the boat, roughing up passengers, using a tazer on Itamar, placing the tazer over his heart and firing it. Itamar reports: “The officer came towards us, pulling out his taser ordered us to stop holding on to each other. The soldier threatened if I did not let go they would hurt me, then tasered me on my right shoulder and shot twice – it was very painful – but not as painful as the next shot where he pulled aside my life jacket, put gun on my chest and fired. My whole body lost control and I convulsed like a fit, I let out a high pitched scream. Then they took me to one of their boats.”

As he goes on to say, “And that was the ‘non-violent’ take over of the Jewish boat to Gaza.” Read more of his and others’ accounts of the event: "What Really Happened When the Jewish Boat to Gaza was Boarded."

Read the Ha-aretz report

Blessed are the peacemakers

2010-09-23T11:23:00.006-06:00

[Come hear Pastor Mitri for his last presentation in Denver, tonight, Thursday, 7 pm, at the Doubletree Hotel in the Denver Tech Center, 7801 E Orchard Rd, Greenwood Village.]

While many Americans are encouraged by the the resumption of talks between President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mitri Raheb, pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, is not optimistic.

There are now 635 checkpoints in the West Bank.

Before the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, there were no checkpoints in Bethlehem.

Although there has been a lot of talking about peace, there is no peace on the ground. “Talking peace will change nothing at home,” Pastor Mitri tells us in Denver.

Then he reminds us that Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Not, “Blessed are the peaceTALKERS.”

So, while Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Americans are talking peace at a resort on the Red Sea, Pastor Mitri is making peace—creating institutions in Bethlehem that train young people to lead. This week he is in Denver, meeting with Bright Stars of Bethlehem volunteers to raise funds for a Lutheran college in Bethlehem.

Pastor Mitri believes that God is calling his people, not to engage in the politics, but to care for the polis, the city, the people. The Diyar Consortium, the umbrella organization for all the ministries, now includes a K-12 school (with half Christian, Half Muslim students); a senior center; a wellness center with a swimming pool for the community; a community center with an auditorium for music, theater, film and dance performances—and now Dar al-Kalima College, a two-year college which has graduated three classes of students and will dedicate its building in November. This is the first Lutheran college in the Middle East, and offers degrees in the arts and communication. Diyar is the third largest employer in Bethlehem, employing more than 100 people, supporting the economic development of the region. Watch a short video about the college.

Describing the West Bank as a Swiss cheese, Pastor Mitri describes Israel as the cheese and Palestine as the holes (see map). He sees nothing in the peace process to make him optimistic, but he notes that the Messiah came 2000 years ago, “as we know because he came to our town.” He is not waiting for a new messiah to fix what is broken. Instead, Pastor Mitri follows in the tradition of Martin Luther, who said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” So Pastor Mitri plants olive trees in his land, the Holy Land, knowing that these trees will provide shade for the children to play in, branches to wave when Jesus comes again, and oil to heal the wounds of the conflict.

What can we do to join in?

Pray for the ministries
Make a personal visit to the Holy Land, visit Bethlehem, meet the people who are planting trees for the future
Pick a project and support the “tree-planting”
Read more about these ministries: http://www.diyar-consortium.org/

[ed. Note: In fact, the Oslo Accords, by dividing the West Bank into three areas of conrol—Israel, Palestinian and joint control—legitimized Israel’s illegal occupation and encouraged an explosion of settlement-building that continues today. While you read this, cranes tower over the settlements in the West Bank, workers are digging foundations, pouring concrete, hanging drywall and building sewage systems for more housing for Israelis. Bethlehem is now surrounded on three sides by Israeli settlements, cutting it off from other Arab towns and villages—and workers are extending Israel’s security wall around Bethlehem to “protect” these settlements. watch a 2-minute video of how the land became Swiss cheese]

Soaking Up Hope in Palestine

2010-09-17T13:21:00.004-06:00

At the end of May I traveled to Israel and Palestine for the fifth time….in as many years. Having heard about the region on the nightly news, people might assume that I go to help people who are suffering. Now, make no mistake—there is great suffering behind Israel’s security wall, but I cannot fix what is broken there (or anywhere).

I keep returning to this troubled part of the planet because I want to soak up some of the radical hospitality, reconciliation and hope I experience every time I visit. If you know me well, you know that I love the sun! When everyone else is standing under the trees, I’m fidgeting toward the edge of the shade to let the warmth soak into my muscles and down to my bones. Now, in Israel/Palestine I get plenty of this physical comfort, sometimes way too much! But, like the soothing warmth of the sun, easing tired muscles, the hope I soak up while I hang out with these courageous Palestinians feeds my spirit.

In a world groaning with pain and suffering, I need to rub shoulders with the hope of the Palestinian people. Their joy and hope for the future in contagious; they have something I desperately need. It is not a hope that depends on the success of the peace talks between Prime Minister Abbas and President Netanyahu in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Their hope does not depend on ending the occupation, lifting travel restrictions or keeping Israeli soldiers out of their towns.

For both Christians and Muslim Palestinians, the hope they carry is grounded in their faith—in a good and gracious God who cares about their suffering. Children may be dying of gunshot wounds, brothers may be languishing in Israeli prisons; there may be no permits for visits to the hospital……but Palestinians know God’s promises. In God’s Holy Land, they trust that God, who has promised good things, will be faithful to them. Photos are from the wall in Bethlehem

Next week, September 21-24, Pastor Mitri Raheb will be in Denver and there will be three opportunities to hear his story of hope from behind the 24-foot high wall that surrounds Bethlehem, stories of a people who resist their occupation by living rich and fruitful lives in the lands of their ancestors. I hope you can come hear him and catch some of the hope:
• Tuesday evening, September 21, 7:00 pm - community and interfaith gathering, open to the public, at Montview Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St (at Montview Blvd).
• Thursday evening, September 23, 7:00 pm - presentation of all the ministries of the Dyar Consortium, including the building of Dar al-Kalima College, the first Lutheran College in Palestine at the Doubletree Hotel DTC, 7801 E Orchard Rd, Greenwood Village.
On Wednesday morning September 22, 9 am, he will lead a discussion of a letter from Palestinian Christians to the churches, “Kairos Palestine, A Moment of Truth.” The letter calls on churches in the international community to address the suffering of Palestinians. The discussion, especially significant for pastors and other church leaders, will be at Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave., Cherry Hills Village.

If you’ve read this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 16.1-13—read it!), you know it is quite a puzzlement and a challenge. This is no gospel of good and evil, dividing holy from unholy. Pastor Mitri has learned well the lesson Jesus teaches. He does not let battles between “good” and “evil,” “Us” vs. “Them,” stand in the way of God’s good news for all the people of the earth. Jesus came to break down walls of separation, and the work of the Lutherans in Bethlehem carries on Jesus’ work—dismantling barriers of religion, nationalism and political loyalties. Come hear Pastor Mitri’s witness to the gospel!

Rabbis for Human Rights Help Palestinian Farmers

2010-09-15T08:50:00.003-06:00

There are courageous and dedicated Israelis who are working for justice for Palestinians. Rabbis for Human Rights works for human rights for all, “giving voice to the Zionist ideal and the Jewish religious tradition of human rights.” I cringe when I hear people refer to the situation as “so complicated.” What is complicated about the situation in Israel/Palestine is not how to create justice for all parties—there have been many good plans offered for this—what is complicated is understanding the people and what is happening on the ground. What is complicated is that we Americans want to put everyone in categories, label them good or evil, and be done with it (or, worse, send in the guns and tanks). In Israel/Palestine, like everywhere, the actions of individuals are as diverse as the people

In the Palestinian village of Awarta near Nablus in the northern West Bank, Rabbis for Human Rights has been working to make life easier for farmers—showing up to accompany the farmers, who are subject to attack by settlers living in the Palestinian area. IDF soldiers are inclined to protect settlers and often disregard the rights of the farmers to work their land. in yesterday’s New York Times, Nicholas Kristoff does a good story on one such encounter: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/09/14/opinion/1248068929638/rabbis-for-human-rights.html

This is one action by one Jewish Israeli organization—there are many more stories like this one……hope for peace in these days of negotiations at Sharm el Sheikh.

Healing Our Ignorance

2010-09-10T10:00:00.005-06:00

The convergence taking place in these early days of September, 2010, is making my head spin! 1.5 billion Muslims around the world are ending their month of fasting, Ramadan, with a three-day feast, Eid al-Fiter. Americans are remembering our dead in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and pondering our own vulnerability. A group of American Muslims are planning an Islamic center for the people of New York near the site of the attacks. A Christian pastor in Gainesville, Florida, has captured the attention of the American media and our government officials with his plan to burn a Qu’ran tomorrow, on the anniversary of the attacks. Not to mention the thousands of people evacuated from their homes in the foothills a few miles from where I am sitting, and the young man I met last night who lost all his possessions when the house he was renting in Four-Mile Canyon was burned to the ground.

No wonder our hearts are a jumble of emotions—this is a lot to take in for one week. Unbelievable. Too much for our poor, tired brains to make sense of.

Tragedy, natural and human; loss and grief; terror and rising above it; faithfulness and catastrophic foolishness. The best and the worst of “religion,” snuggling together.

One of my new-found favorite places in the Holy Land is the Educational Bookshop on Salah Eddin Street in East Jerusalem, next to the chocolate shop. In June I bought a gift there for my husband Gale for our anniversary, which we were celebrating on opposite sides of the globe. It’s a book of Arab poetry, The Wisdom of the Arabs, complied by Suheil Bushrui. Here are two gems from the book for us to ponder in today’s confusion, to ground us in the cacophany:

For Ramadan, Eid, and to help heal my ignorance of Islam—

Fasting is an armour with which one protects oneself; so let not him (who fasts) utter immodest (or foul) speech, nor let him act in an ignorant manner; and if a man quarrels with him or abuses him, he should say twice, I am fasting.
—from the Hadith (a collection of writings on the life and words of the prophet Muhammad, assembled in the 8th and 9th centuries)

Those who believe (in the Qur’an),
Those who follow the Jewish (scriptures),
And the Sabians and the Christians, —
Any who believe in God
And the Last Day,
And work righteousness, —
On them shall be no fear,
Nor shall they grieve.
—Qur’an 5:72

Falsehood hath so corrupted all the world
That wrangling sects each other’s gospel chide;
But were not hate Man’s natural element,
Churches and mosques had risen side by side.
—a poem by Al-Ma’arri

Photo: drummers at the weekly demonstration against evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem

Compassionate Listening in Bethlehem

2010-08-20T08:27:00.004-06:00

A typical website has a bar across the top of the page with tabs you click on to find out what you need to know—often these look like the tabs on a file folder, familiar to most Americans. On the website for the Holy Land Trust, these tabs are the sections of Israel’s security wall. Take a look: http://www.holylandtrust.org/index.php

It’s really quite creative and it illustrates a Palestinian attitude toward the wall, an attitude we found everywhere we went in the West Bank. It seems to be a fundamental tenet of Palestinian nonviolence that compells the people to transform the wall—from prison to liberation for the Palestinian people.

Returning from my trip to Israel/Palestine with the Compassionate Listening Project in June, I found it hard not to be depressed about the possibilities for peace and justice for the Palestinian people. It’s been difficult to write about the experiences because, although we met well-meaning Israelis and hopeful, energetic Palestinians getting to know one another throughout Israel and the West Bank, the progress toward change in the daily lives of Palestinians is very slow. In the five years I have been visiting the area, I have seen only increasing restrictions on travel. While peace talks meander on, the daily lives of Palestinians are filled with problems getting permits, humiliation at the checkpoints, and the stress of dealing with Israeli soldiers who are still uprooting olive trees for the building of the wall today. For example, every activity dealing with the world outside Palestine requires an Israeli permit because, although the Palestinian Authority has nominal control in metropolitan areas like Bethlehem, Israel controls its borders and everything that comes in or goes out.(This is also the problem in Gaza.)

The Palestinians we met—in Hebron, Al-Aroub refugee camp, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and everywhere—do not let checkpoint humiliation and fear control their lives. They live as if there is a future of peace and justice. They live their lives as if one day there will be justice for them. They live their lives as if the world will one day turn their mourning into laughter.

And they live each day busily turning their sorrow into a brighter future for their people, especially the young people. So, they form oganizations like the Holy Land Trust (and the Diyar Consortium of the Lutherans in Bethlehem) to make that future a reality. Photo is Sami Awad, Executive Director of the Holy Land Trust, speaking to our delegation.

Over the past five years, I have watched Bethlehem become a walled enclave. In 2005, only small sections of the wall had been completed. One afternoon we walked through a gap in the wall, over a small hill, and caught the bus to Jerusalem without ever encountering a soldier. If we tried that in June, we would have put our lives in danger. The settlements, like Gilo and Har Homa, that were built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem on lands that were taken from Palestinian olive growers, now demand security—they fear the people whose land they have stolen.

If they met these Palestinians, they would learn that most Palestinians bear them no ill will. The Palestinians we met simply want an end to the confiscation of land and the building of the wall. They want Israeli troops out of the West Bank and Gaza and they want to live without fear that soldiers will shoot them for doing ????? (whatever—they never know) at the checkpoint. They want to live in a country where Israel does not control everything they do. Rafat, who spoke to us at the Holy Land Trust said something we heard over and over again from Palestinians everywhere: “Everyone is welcome here, but everyone must have equal rights. Face to face encounter is what will lead to peace.” He told us he was happy to have the settlers stay. The Palestinians I have met are amazing in their hospitality—they welcome even the people who oppress them, certain that if they get to know one another, life will be better.

This is a snapshot of the hope of the gospel—the good news that Jesus brought to this land two millenia ago is still being preached today.

Why Building a Mosque is Good for America

2010-08-17T08:11:00.005-06:00

This article was sent to me by Ellen Clark Greene, one of the people on our Compassionate Listening delegation in May (view her blog: http://www.globalpeacetravels.blogspot.com/ ). The piece below was written for the Huffington Post by Dean Obeidallah, a comedian and friend of hers.

My travels to Israel and Palestine have made me more aware of injustice in our own communities – the building of the mosque in Manhattan exposes American ignorance about Islam and our passion for rushing to condemn things we don’t understand. This political trend is, quite frankly, frightening. The post below expresses what I'd like to hear President Obama and our other elected officials say this to the American people – to call us back to our founding roots. Since this is not likely, please forward this to everyone you know so that we can safeguard the basic principle upon which the United States was founded.

WHY BUILDING THE MOSQUE IS GOOD FOR AMERICA
Where can the Muslim community center be built in NYC?

To me, the answer is the same as if you asked me where a church, a synagogue, a Sikh temple or any place of worship in the US can be built. To paraphrase Dr. Seuss: I say you can build it here or there, by a house or a mouse, in Tribeca by Robert DeNiro or further down by Ground Zero. It's that simple.

It's alarming and disheartening to see the angry, hate-filled rhetoric by some in response to the building of the Muslim community center. Some people truly appear to hate Muslims more than they love the ideals of our country.

I don't subscribe to the view that everyone who is opposing the Muslim community center is a bigot. But to those who really have no issues with Muslims but simply object to its proposed location, I say: You might want to take a quick look to your left and right; I'm going to bet that at least one of the people protesting alongside you is a bigot, such as the "Christian" Pastor from Florida who is threatening to burn Korans on September 11 -- the way the Nazis burned Torahs -- and those who are protesting mosques being built in other parts of the country hundreds of miles from Ground Zero and threatening to release pigs on the property to keep the Muslims away. These aren't people I really want to hang with.

So here are my simple responses to the main arguments I have heard in my effort to balance the avalanche of hate coming from the other side:

1. Should a sushi restaurant be allowed to open near Pearl Harbor? It's important to emphasize that the Founding Fathers of America did not flee England to the New World because they wanted to make California rolls or sashimi. It was for freedom of religion. You can't compare the sacred right of freedom of religion with the right to sell raw fish.

2. The location is the issue. This is frankly the toughest one. I understand fully the visceral opposition by some to the location. I stood about 20 blocks from the World Trade Center on 9/11 and watched the towers crumble before my eyes. I lived in Manhattan then and continue to live there today. But let's also keep in mind that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who will be leading the Muslim community center, is the long-time leader of a mosque that is located 12 blocks from Ground Zero and has been there since 1983. That is where his congregation is located. Should he have to move his congregation because terrorists happen to share the same religion? And how far is "enough" of a move: Is six blocks okay? Twenty blocks? Two miles? And who decides how far is enough: Sarah Palin? Newt Gingrich? Do any of you trust these people to decide the scope of our fundamental Constitutional rights? Can we allow the very right that inspired the creation of our nation to be decided by a popularity contest? If that were the case, do you think in certain parts of the South they would have agreed to allow synagogues or churches that serve African-American communities to be built?

3. American Muslims should not build a Muslim center near Ground Zero because the twenty 9/11 terrorists were Muslim. This is like saying that because a handful of Catholic priests molested young boys, Catholic Churches should not be allowed to be built near elementary schools. Or because Bernie Madoff and several others in the recent Wall Street scandals were Jewish, no synagogues can be built near Wall Street. I know these men didn't kill people, but they destroyed many, many lives; however, we would never punish everyone in their religion because of the sins of a few. Even more importantly, the people who are building this mosque and will worship in it will be American Muslims, not members of Al Qaeda.

4. This is a "victory mosque" because Muslims build mosques to symbolize military victories. There are approximately 1900 mosques in the US already. Somebody please list the military victories against America that each of these mosques represents. Seriously, I'm all ears.

5. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who will be leading this mosque, is connected to terrorist activity. He has been the imam of a mosque located 12 blocks from Ground Zero for 27 years. If he had been involved in terrorist activity, I think by now he would have been arrested. In fact, he has publicly condemned terrorism, worked to build bridges between the US and Muslim world, and spearheaded extensive Interfaith work bringing people of different religions together to foster understanding. But if you have any evidence whatsoever that he is involved with terrorism -- not "he likes falafel and terrorists like falafel" but credible evidence -- I implore you to turn it over to the FBI or US Attorney's Office. If you don't, then please stop the character assassinations and blood libel against him.

6. The Mosque will encourage terrorism. Actually, I believe strongly that the opposite is true. As a comedian, I have performed in the Middle East frequently over the past few years. There are many there who truly believed that during President Bush's term the US was waging a war against all Muslims, not just terrorists. One of the best arguments we had against this assertion was to say look how the American Muslims are treated -- they are free to worship and have the same rights as people from any other religion. Banning this Muslim community center will change that forever and, to be brutally honest, will be used as a tool to recruit terrorists against us by simply saying, "Look how America treats their Muslims!"
So why is the Mosque good for America?

Allowing the Muslim community center to be built where it is being proposed represents the best of America, the idea that the United States is a special place in the world, a beacon of fairness that welcomes and protects the rights of all its people. Too many have sacrificed their lives for these sacred rights to say that certain Americans should not enjoy them simply because of their religion.

As our Declaration of Independence famously states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," and it is my belief that they should be treated equally, as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-obeidallah/why-building-the-mosque-i_b_683060.html

Israel--"creating forests"

2010-08-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

In the summer Gale and I try to get away for trips to our Rocky Mountains to enjoy the pine forests—hiking, biking, or just sitting by a lake. So how could anyone find fault with Israel for creating forests?

The Jewish National Fund calling itself “a global environmental leader,” has been creating forests in Israel for 107 years. They have planted 240 million trees and created more than 1000 parks. According to their website (http://www.jnf.org/about-jnf/), they are “bringing life to the Negev Desert.”

A story written by Max Blumenthal tells us about the most recent forestation effort (http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/07/the-summer-camp-of-destruction-israeli-high-schoolers-join-in-the-destruction-of-a-bedouin-town/ ):

“On July 26, Israeli police demolished 45 buildings in the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Arakib, razing the entire village to the ground to make way for a Jewish National Fund forest. The destruction was part of a larger project to force the Bedouin community of the Negev away from their ancestral lands and into seven Indian reservation-style communities the Israeli government has constructed for them. The land will then be open for Jewish settlers, including young couples in the army and those who may someday be evacuated from the West Bank after a peace treaty is signed. For now, the Israeli government intends to uproot as many villages as possible and erase them from the map by establishing “facts on the ground” in the form of JNF forests. (See video of of al-Arakib’s demolition here).

One of the most troubling aspects of the destruction of al-Arakib was a report by CNN that the hundreds of Israeli riot police who stormed the village were accompanied by “busloads of cheering civilians.” Who were these civilians and why didn’t CNN or any outlet investigate further?

I traveled to al-Arakib yesterday with a delegation from Ta’ayush, an Israeli group that promotes a joint Arab-Jewish struggle against the occupation. The activists spent the day preparing games and activities for the village’s traumatized children, helping the villagers replace their uprooted olive groves, and assisting in the reconstruction of their demolished homes. In a massive makeshift tent where many of al-Arakib’s residents now sleep, I interviewed village leaders about the identity of the cheering civilians. Each one confirmed the presence of the civilians, describing how they celebrated the demolitions. As I compiled details, the story grew increasingly horrific. After interviewing more than a half dozen elders of the village, I was able to finally identify the civilians in question. What I discovered was more disturbing than I had imagined.

Arab Negev News publisher Ata Abu Madyam supplied me with a series of photos he took of the civilians in action. They depicted Israeli high school students who appeared to have volunteered as members of the Israeli police civilian guard (I am working on identifying some participants by name). Prior to the demolitions, the student volunteers were sent into the villagers’ homes to extract their furniture and belongings. A number of villagers including Abu Madyam told me the volunteers smashed windows and mirrors in their homes and defaced family photographs with crude drawings. Then they lounged around on the furniture of al-Arakib residents in plain site of the owners. Finally, according to Abu Matyam, the volunteers celebrated while bulldozers destroyed the homes.”

Read more: http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/07/the-summer-camp-of-destruction-israeli-high-schoolers-join-in-the-destruction-of-a-bedouin-town/

If you have ever doubted that Israel is engaging in ethnic cleansing, please read more and watch the video: http://wallwritings.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/karsh-dissembles-truman-escapes-a-village-disappears/

Israel May Drag U.S. into Another War

2010-08-05T22:05:00.002-06:00

This is significant and timely. Be sure to read the “analysis” (click on the word) --it is an interesting analysis of the problems inherent in US and Israel policy and inaction with regard to the rights of Palestinians.

Also of interest is a video (referred to in the analysis) of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talking with an Israeli family, bragging about how he is manipulating and taking advantage of US aid. It’s very disturbing. If you have not seen it on YouTube yet, it is well worth watching. This article from Ma’an News Agency includes both the video and a transcript of what Netanyahu is saying: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=300732

From the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, forwarding the information from the Council for the National Interest Foundation-----
.
Dear Friends,
We have disturbing and urgent news. Our new executive director, Philip Giraldi, and other former U.S. intelligence officers have just published an extremely important analysis warning that Israel may plan to attack Iran as early as this month (full-length article below).
They detail the evidence for this possibility and warn that such an action would quite likely drag the United States into yet another tragic, needless, and disastrous quagmire. It would be a war that Israel would begin and the United States would have to finish.

Fortunately, they also describe actions that President Obama could take to prevent this.

1. We urge you to circulate this information widely.

2. Also, please contact the White House and your Congressional representatives to tell them that you do not want another costly and profoundly tragic war. Explain that you desire that the U.S. issue a clear demand that Israel NOT attack Iran and instead allow the various excellent diplomatic initiatives to defuse the situation to move forward.

Our radio program “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” will discuss this topic TODAY at noon eastern time. CNI President Alison Weir will be the host with Executive Director Philip Giraldi and CIA intelligence officer Raymond McGovern as the guests. Mr. McGovern served as an intelligence officer in the CIA for almost thirty years and prepared the President’s Daily Brief during both the Reagan administration and the first Bush administration. He has also published a number of articles and is one of the founding members of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), a group of former and current officials in the intelligence community that got together in 2003 to protest the use of faulty intelligence leading up to the Iraq War.

To listen: go to the show’s homepage and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left.

Below is the article, by Ray McGovern:
MEMORANDUM FOR: The President
FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)
SUBJECT: War With Iran

We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month. This would likely lead to a wider war. Israel’s leaders would calculate that once the battle is joined, it will be politically untenable for you to give anything less than unstinting support to Israel, no matter how the war started, and that U.S. troops and weaponry would flow freely. Wider war could eventually result in destruction of the state of Israel. This can be stopped, but only if you move quickly to preempt an Israeli attack by publicly condemning such a move before it happens.

We believe that comments by senior American officials, you included, reflect misplaced trust in Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Actually, the phrasing itself can be revealing, as when CIA Director Panetta implied cavalierly that Washington leaves it up to the Israelis to decide whether and when to attack Iran, and how much “room” to give to the diplomatic effort. On June 27, Panetta casually told ABC’s Jake Tapper, “I think they are willing to give us the the room to be able to try to change Iran diplomatically … as opposed to changing them militarily.”

Similarly, the tone you struck referring to Netanyahu and yourself in your July 7 interview with Israeli TV was distinctly out of tune with decades of unfortunate history with Israeli leaders. “Neither of us try to surprise each other,” you said, “and that approach is one that I think Prime Minister Netanyahu is committed to.” You may wish to ask Vice President Biden to remind you of the kind of surprises he has encountered in Israel.

Blindsiding has long been an arrow in Israel’s quiver. During the emerging Middle East crisis in the spring of 1967, some of us witnessed closely a flood of Israeli surprises and deception, as Netanyahu’s predecessors feigned fear of an imminent Arab attack as justification for starting a war to seize and occupy Arab territories. We had long since concluded that Israel had been exaggerating the Arab “threat” – well before 1982 when former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin publicly confessed: (read more.....)

Almost Forgotten

2010-07-28T09:25:00.004-06:00

One of the really frustrating things about working for justice for Palestinians is the way our U.S. mainstream news covers Palestinian stories so poorly. One little-known story from the attack on the Free Gaza flotilla is that one of the nine victims was a U.S. citizen. Furkan Dogan was born in the U.S.; when he was two, his family returned to Turkey, where he grew up. He was nineteen; he had just graduated from high school and planned to become a doctor. He responded to an online invitation and won a lottery to join the flotilla, which was bringing humanitarian aid to Gazans (photo is Furkan's picture).

If he had been white, would we have heard more about him in our news? If his family had been British, living briefly in the U.S. when he was born, would our news media have covered the story? I can imagine that our local Denver news channels would have headlined his story if he had lived in Denver—and if he were white. I wonder if his being Muslim and Turkish had an effect on the lack of information about him in U.S. news?

Roger Cohen, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times, introduces us to Furkan in his Monday column:

TROY, New York — The Dogans were a quiet family little noticed by their neighbors here in upstate New York. Ahmet Dogan had come to the area from Turkey to study accounting at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He was a serious student; the Dogans did little entertaining. But when their younger son, Furkan, was born in 1991, the family threw a party and a neighbor recalled a toast “to the first U.S. citizen in the family.”

Furkan Dogan would live just two years in Troy, returning to Turkey with his family in 1993. But he was proud of his American passport and dreamt of coming back after completing medical school. Five Israeli bullets — at least two of them to the head — ended that dream on May 31. Dogan was 19.

See photos of the other victims of the attack: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza/

Bishop Munib Younan Elected President of Lutheran World Federation

2010-07-28T07:27:00.002-06:00

Bishop Younan is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). His work in building relationships among religious leaders of varied faith traditions - in Palestine and Israel - is cited in the announcement of his election. His election affirms the important leadership role of Palestinian Christians in peacemaking and reconciliation work. Be sure to click on the full news release to read more about his work.

Here is the press release about the election, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

STUTTGART, Germany (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), has been elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 24 at the LWF Assembly here. Younan received 300 votes affirming his election, 23 against and 37 abstentions. There were no other nominees.

More http://www.elca.org/News/Releases.asp?a=4594

From Jerusalem - Today 20,000 people marched for Gilad Shalit's release

2010-07-08T15:12:00.008-06:00

This news comes from Yael Pettreti, who was one of the leaders of our Compassionate Listening delegation in May-June. Our delegation stood with the demonstrators at Sheikh Jarrah at their regular Friday demonstration. We watched the families as they walked, accompanied by an exquisite drumming group--very lively and contagious. We also heard from Nasser Ghawi, who talked about the weekly demonstrations and the problems the families are facing as they are being evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem so that Jewish settlers can move in. Nasser's father made an agreement with the government of Jordan and with the UN--in 1952, Jordan provided the land and the United Nations built 28 houses. Nasser's father exchanged his refugee card for the house and the government promised to convert the title. After many years of court appearances, he is still fighting for his home. The photo shows the Palestinian families marching in Sheikh Jarrah, with Israelis and international volunteers, when we were there in May.

Yael reports from Jerusalem today that these families are supporting the demonstrations for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit:

"This evening, about 20,000 people marched for Gilad Shalit's release from Hamas captivity. They marched into Jerusalem to be met by thousands more in Independence Park. Among the marchers were the Palestinian families evicted from their Sheikh Jarrah homes. Nasser Ghawi persuaded them to join the marchers as a way of "reaching out in peace." I told him what a beautiful and very smart thing to do it was.

As people were gathering in Independence Park, I spotted Noam Shalit, Gilad's father, behind the stage. I went to him and told him about the Palestinian families. He said that he and the rest of the family did not distinguish between different religions or ethnic groups. He asked me to thank them for him.

Now the family is settling in just across from Netanyahu's house, vowing that they will not leave without Gilad. We are all praying that it will be soon.

Blessings,
Yael
"Mitakuya oyasin." ("All beings are my relatives.") - Lakota

From Israel—just north of the Gaza Border, June, 2010

2010-07-06T16:23:00.009-06:00

Last week the US Senate passed Sen Res 548, a resolution supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and condemning the “destabilizing actions by extremists aboard the Mavi Marmara.” Both Colorado senators, Bennett and Udall, voted for it. The resolution contains much language about Israel’s “inherent and undeniable right to defend itself,” and calls Hamas a terrorist group—pursuing foreign policy by name-calling.

One of the “Whereases” of the resolution mentions the “approximately 860,000 Israeli civilians [who] reside within range of rockets fired from Gaza and live in fear of attacks.” Fortunately, some of these Israelis are not satisfied with name-calling.

Roni Keider and Julia Chaitin, met with our Compassionate Listening Project delegation in June. Roni and Julia live in Moshav Netiv-haAsara (a moshav is like a kibbutz, but the families do not pool all their money). They live on Israeli land, given to Israel in the armistice of 1949. Israel’s security wall, separating Israel from Gaza, forms the boundary of one of the neighborhoods. The moshav has decorated the wall on their side. (see picture)

Roni and Julia are part of a group called Other Voice, meeting with Palestinians from Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, just on the other side of the wall. The moshav was founded in 1982, as a buffer between Israel and the Gaza Strip. As we sat in their community room, having cold drinks and cookies, the women told us what to do if the sirens sounded. Basically, we would follow them to the shelter. The warning sirens give them fifteen seconds to get to shelter before the rockets land.

They told us that ten years ago life became more difficult here—before that Palestinians had worked at the moshav and Jewish and Palestinian families knew one another and celebrated together. They thought that when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, they would have peace. But the day after withdrawal, a rocket fired from Gaza killed Roni’s daughter’s best friend, Dana Galkowicz.

Roni also told us about living in Egypt, where her daughter became best friends with a Palestinian girl. It took three years, but finally, because the girls, Heba and Imbaa, were persistent, their families, too, became friends. (photo shows buffer zone between Netiv-haAsara and Gaza)

Julia, a professor at Sabir College near Sderot, told us about the two students who were killed two years ago in the parking lot, while other students watched. The effect of the rocket attacks on these Israelis is devastating. She told us that 75-80% of Israelis have PTSD, a result of living with the constant fear of the rocket attacks and seeing or knowing people who have been injured or killed.

Her story is like so many I have heard from Israelis. At one time she believed that Israel only wanted peace. She believed that the land was empty when the state of Israel was formed in 1948. She also believed that the Arabs hated the Jews. Then she learned about the history—the forced removals of Arabs from their villages in 1948, and the massacres of Palestinians. And she realized that the Palestinians and the Jews need one another in this arid part of the world. So she joined Other Voice (http://www.othervoice.org/welcome-eng.htm ), a group that builds friendships between Israelis and Palestinians. She stays in touch with friends in Gaza by email and speakerphone these days. They put the cell phone on the floor in the middle of the group and talk with their friends in Gaza. They have not seen one another since Operation Cast Lead in 2009.

While they used to get together in person, now she plays Farmville with her friends on Facebook. She was opposed to Israel’s attack on Gaza and she is opposed to the security wall, which is supposedly being built for her protection (read Other Voice’s statement). When one of her friends from another moshav protested the killings of the nine people on the Free Gaza flotilla, she was threatened by one of her neighbors who called her on the phone and told her to apologize or she would be forced out of the moshav—a frightening prospect for a single mother. (photo shows Julia and Roni)

Julia told us they won’t give up “because there is no other way” to live. She told us to support peacebuilding groups in Israel because this is really what it means to be pro-Israel. Regarding comparisons between the Holocaust and the Occupation, she says, “I don’t have to compare. I cannot because we know what this (occupation) is doing to us as a people.” She said it is easier to talk to Palestinians than it is to have a dialogue about Israel’s policies with other Israelis. She said it is easier for Israelis see themselves as the victims because then they are not responsible. “Both peoples are entitled to land and life; both have a right not to be bombed….We know what we have to do; we just have to do it; we need to know how to listen and talk to one another.” She does this for her thirteen grandchildren, “so they will have a good life.”

Read Julia’s article about the Israeli attack on the Free Gaza flotilla in the Berkeley Daily Planet.

People killed in Gaza, January 91, 2009 (the date of the Operation Cast Lead ceasefire) to May 31, 2010 (from B’Tselem):
As in most stories from Israel and Palestine, there is suffering on both sides of the wall. For the past sixty years, the suffering of the Palestinians, however, always seems to be greater. While there have been deaths from the rocket attacks on Israelis living just north of Gaza, there have been many more deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. During the past year and a half, while 4 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in ALL of Israel (2 in Israel and 2 in the West Bank), 56 Palestinians were killed in Gaza by Israelis; an additional 24 were killed in the West Bank.

Human Rights Activist Held by Israeli Police, then Released

2010-06-10T18:13:00.010-06:00

I have frequently used the postings of Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh to tell the story of what is happening in the West Bank, as Israel continues to confiscate land, building the wall ever closer to Palestinian towns in the West Bank to “protect” the Israeli settlements that have been built to colonize the Palestinian areas. For example, see my May 10 posting about Israel’s confiscation of land in Al-Walaja.

On my May trip, as we traveled from Beit Jala (one of the towns in the Bethlehem region, where the wall was being built directly in front of our hotel--see picture) back to Jerusalem, our bus headed for the nearest checkpoint. When we arrived, we were told that it was not a checkpoint for tourists. We had to turn around and drive for about 45 minutes back through Bethlehem and the main checkpoint there. The checkpoint where we tried to cross was Al-Walaja. You can see the town on the map—it’s just northwest of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. It’s the town with the red dotted line around it—showing the wall being constructed in a circle around the town, cutting it off from its olive groves, which are being uprooted for the construction of the wall. All to protect the large Israeli settlement of Gilo and the tiny Har Gilo, built on Beit Jala’s orchards.

On the map, the green line is the Green Line, the 1949 armistice line after the war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It was drawn as a tentative boundary between Israel and the West Bank. The solid red lines are where the wall has already been built. The dotted red lines are where the wall is currently being built and the purple lines are where the wall is planned.

When we toured Gilo with a guide from Ir Amim, he told us that in the early 70s, the site for Gilo had been chosen because they were looking for a place where people were not already living—he said there were “only 100 Palestinians living here, with a few olive and fruit trees.” So Gilo was built—on Palestinian land. And now the settlements are expanding and wanting to create a buffer between themselves and the Palestinian towns, so they are digging up more olive trees to make way for the 24-foot high security wall.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh has been organizing non-violent demonstrations against the wall and yesterday he was arrested, but this morning he was released.

He writes (you can also read his posting on his blog: http://www.qumsiyeh.org/ )

I was released from detention after investigation only with minor bruises, threats and warnings but both Israeli activists Shy and Yotam were brought in front of a judge on some false charges and judged to stay away from the wall for 30 days (last time for me it was 15 days) with hefty fines if they violate the order. I was honored to share a few hours with them in detention.

The past two days have not been easy (videos below). Yesterday (Tuesday June 8th), we witnessed how the land of Al-Walaja was being destroyed. Abu Nidal watched as Israeli colonizers uprooted olive trees that his family has planted decades ago and trees donated by Europeans 8 years ago. After the devastation, activists were determined to do something and this morning some even chained themselves to a bulldozer. The 'Border police' are known for being ruthless and mean. In this case, there was also the added complication of the Israeli army deciding to put a unit headed by a Druze officer named Asa'ad that included a mix of Ashkenazim and Druze and a token black soldier. One of the Ashkenazi soldiers was particularly aggressive. The Druze soldiers appeared out of place. Some soldiers confided that they are merely forced to serve. But Captain Asa'ad was clearly in command and interested in action. He was busy ordering his soldiers to push us around, instructing them to not talk to us, telling them to arrest us etc. After Yotam was arrested for chaining himself to the bulldozer, we were pushed up the hill toward the paved village road past the old destroyed fig tree that Zakhariya used to sit under every day for decades. We had a sit-in for over an hour at the side of the street.

Towards the end of it, it was clear that this commander had it in for us.

At two times as I was trying to talk to him and his soldiers, he came to tell me that I would be arrested. As we finally ended our sit-in and were moving away from the soldiers, the commander called for me and took my ID card and told me I was being detained. As his soldier led me away, other activists rushed to talk to the soldiers including the commander. I was thus not surprised to see Shy also arrested even though he did not do anything other than trying to talk to the occupation soldiers about why they detained me. I was released without charges four hours later with a strong warning and threat from Asa'ad that he would shackle me, hurt me, 'and worse' if he caught me near the wall work areas again. Shy and Yotam were given a suspended sentence but they must stay away from the wall areas for 30 days. If you know any Druze, I urge you to write to them. It is a shame what they are doing serving in an army of occupation. But it is also a shame for any human being to serve in such a sadistic brutalizing colonization force.
Heartbreaking video of devastation Tuesday June 8th at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrbMP9hRNeo
And the action and arrests on Wednesday June 9th http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9rdBX0pvv0
And here is a report from Palestine monitor with great photos
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1442

This destruction is carried on while the US administration bribes Mahmoud Abbas with more millions in aid for more streets and government buildings and security forces to ensure we do not have any demonstrations against the occupation. This is done as the US shields Israel from International law and sends more arms shipments to Israel in violation of US law (which demands weapons not be used to violate human rights) http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/c/o/colindale/2010/06/explosive-document-that-needs.php

Kidnapped by Israel--eyewitness account

2010-06-07T17:50:00.002-06:00

From what I have read since I returned from Israel/Palestine yesterday and what I read in the Israeli media, it has been difficult to find information from eyewitnesses who were passengers on the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara. This one is written by Al Jazeera journalist Jamal Elshayyal. His bio precedes his report.

Jamal Elshayyal is a news producer for Al Jazeera English. He joined the network in 2006 as one of the founding members of its specialized Middle East Desk, later serving as the channels Middle East editor. Jamal has studied, lived and worked across Europe and the Middle East, with particular focus on Arab politics and Western/Arab relations. He has worked on some of the region's biggest stories including Israel's war in Lebanon in 2006, the Qatari-sponsored Darfur peace talks, Egypt's role during Israel's war on Gaza and the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj in Mecca.

Firstly I must apologise for taking so long to update my blog. The events of the past few days have been hectic to say the least, and I am still trying to come to grips with many of the things that have happened.

It was this time last week that I was on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara, and first spotted Israeli warships at a distance, as they approached the humanitarian flotilla. Little did I know how deadly and bloody the events that soon unfolded would be.

What I will write in this entry is fact, every letter of it, none of it is opinion, none of it is analysis, I will leave that to you, the reader.

After spotting the warships at a distance, (at roughly 11pm) the organisers called for passengers to wear their life vests and remain indoors as they monitored the situation. The naval warships together with helicopters remained at a distance for several hours.

At 2am local time the organisers informed me that they had re-routed the ship, as far away from Israel as possible, as deep into international waters as they could. They did not want a confrontation with the Israeli military, at least not by night.

Just after 4am local time, the Israeli military attacked the ship, in international waters. It was an unprovoked attack. Tear gas was used, sound grenades were launched, and rubber coated steel bullets were fired from almost every direction.

Dozens of speed boats carrying about 15-20 masked Israeli soldiers, armed to the teeth surrounded the Mavi Marmara which was carrying 600 or so unarmed civilians. Two helicopters at a time hovered above the vessel. Commandos on board the choppers joined the firing, using live ammunition, before any of the soldiers had descended onto the ship.

Two unarmed civilians were killed just metres away from me. Dozens of unarmed civilians were injured right before my eyes.

One Israeli soldier, armed with a large automatic gun and a side pistol, was overpowered by several passengers. They disarmed him. They did not use his weapons or fire them; instead they threw his weapons over board and into the sea.

After what seemed at the time as roughly 30 minutes, passengers on board the ship raised a white flag. The Israeli army continued to fire live ammunition. The ships organisers made a loud speaker announcement saying they have surrendered the ship. The Israeli army continued to fire live ammunition. Read more....

Returning

2010-06-07T07:15:00.002-06:00

Yes, I’m back in Denver. For those of you who have asked if I’m OK—physically, yes, but the rest is more complicated, of course. My heart is especially with those who remain in the land, working for change. The lives of peace activists who want to change their country’s policies are truly in danger. We met with many of these courageous people. Israel’s government sees peacemaking as the greatest threat to their existence.

It looks to me like there has not been much news in the US from the peace activists who were killed aboard the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara. To read about the event from the perspective of the participants in the Free Gaza flotilla, please read their press release describing what happened: http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/56-news/1201 -did-israel-deliberately-murder-civilians-aboard-freedom-flotilla

A report from The Guardian newspaper illustrates the way many in the Israeli leadership, as well as ordinary citizens, view the deaths of the Mavi Marmara victims: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/06/israel-youtube-gaza-flotilla

Especially important: Please read who these victims were: http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/news/2010/06/putting-names-to-faces.html

Below is a photo of Turkish passengers attending to wounded IDF soldiers who attacked their ship. You can see more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza/4678042853/in/set-72157624098328099/

Peace is the Road That Takes You Somewhere

2010-05-28T04:44:00.006-06:00

He says he wanted to talk to someone about his trouble with the Jewish soldiers. The young man next to him wants to make peace--he lives where Jews and Arabs live together and he believes "Peace is the road that takes you somewhere." Then one of the young women spoke up--when she came, she discovered that she was not alone; there are others who want peace. She was shocked by how easy it was, making friends across the cultural divide between Arab and Jew.

Some of them have families that support what they are doing. Others talk about how their families are divided--some aunts, uncles, cousins, think that peace is possible; others think it is not possible. Most of them said their hopes rise and fall--sometimes they are hopeful; other times they despair that anything will ever change here in Israel/Palestine. Some of their families support peace; others do not think it will change anything.

We are sitting in a meeting room at the Ecce Homo convent in the Old City of Jerusalem and the young people we are meeting all have found a home by being part of Sulhita, the youth outreach of the Sulha Peace Project, a grassroots organization that "aims to rebuild trust, restore dignity and move beyond the political agenda." "Sulha" means mediation.

It is our first night in Jerusalem and, miraculously, we are beginning with the hope here on the ground in a part of the world where conflict is usually what makes the news.

They all believe that change will come if everyone gets to know one another at a young age. But they don't just sit around and talk. One young woman wants to make this dream a reality. She is setting up a peace camp this summer for Bedouin and Jewish children. They will come together to play and learn for a week of day camp. She is doing a year of voluntary service, between graduating from high school and before her mandatory service in the army. She is living and working this year in Beer-sheva, in the south of Israel.

Sulhita trains young people to be leaders, to empower them. They tell us it is easy to control people who are afraid. But these young leaders believe there is another way. They want the world to know that Israel is doing something good. 12,000 young people have participated in Sulhita since its beginnings. And they want us to come home and "Tell the truth."

They all shared their favorite part of what they are doing:

looking into the eyes of the other and knowing them
knowing that others share feelings of peace
having friends, singing

A Palestinian young man tells us, "When I see how the soldiers treat people, I don't believe in peace. When I see what is happening, I can't believe in peace." But when he comes to Sulhita, he finds others who share his desire for peace and he has hope.

So do I.

If you would like to share in their hope, take a look at their website: http://www.sulha.org/ There is even a way to donate to their work online! (click on "donate" and then look for the page for donors from the U.S.). When I get home (or find a computer with a USB port) I'll upload a picture of these amazing young people.

This is Compassionate Listening in Palestine/Israel.

Shalom....Salaam....Peace be with us all.

"You Are Not Alone" --Leaving for Israel/Palestine

2010-05-23T07:57:00.005-06:00

We are sailing away, with hope in our soul
Sailing to say, “You are not alone.”
Sailing today, “Salam, Shalom,”
For peace on the shores of Gaza.

These are the words of Irish singer, Tommy Sands, who wrote the song 'The Shores of Gaza," a theme song for the Free Gaza Movement’s current voyage from Ireland to Gaza. The cargo ship, MV Rachel Corrie, and the rest of flotilla of eight ships has set sail and is bringing humanitarian supplies—among other things, medical supplies, children’s school materials, and cement—to the people of Gaza, who are still living under Israel’s blockade of their port and land routes. [See Thursday’s blog to hear the song and find out more about Free Gaza.]

These words express my feelings too, as I prepare to leave on Monday for a Compassionate Listening delegation to Israel and the West Bank. It’s what the people there—both Palestinian and Israeli—who are working for a just peace, have asked of me on previous trips. They say “Come and See,” “Bring others”—and “Tell our story.”

I, indeed, have “hope in my soul”—this injustice and fear cannot go on forever. And I am going there to tell them that they are not alone. Although American tax dollars are spent every day ($7m each day) to supply and maintain the soldiers stationed in the West Bank, there are Americans who are working for a just peace too.

Compassionate Listening has the power to bring about understanding and reconciliation. It is a way of listening deeply that transforms both speaker and listener, and in so doing, is a seed of hope for an embattled world.

So, please hold all of us in your prayers. I will write on my blog when I can find internet access: http://www.apilgrimstales.blogspot.com/ . I’ll be gone May 24-June 5.

An update on the Free Gaza flotilla from Greta Berlin:
We will soon have a new page added to our website called www.witnessgaza.org . You will be able to follow us as we journey to Gaza over the next two weeks. You can watch our own 'video reports' twice a day, reports from the boats and from Gaza. Everything on the page is connected to make it easier for you to access TWITTER, Facebook, YouTube and FLICKR. Watch for it in the next day or so.

For the update on the boats, the Turkish passenger ship left yesterday from Istanbul to the next port to pick up more passengers. The Irish/Malaysian ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, is on her way to the Mediterranean. The Greek/Swedish cargo ship, the passenger boat from the European Campaign and the Free Gaza passenger boats are ready to leave Greece this week.

We will all meet in international waters off the coast of Gaza, turn and steam into Gaza City port sometime between May 28 and June 1 depending on the weather.

The Israelis are nervous.
The Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to Gaza to the diaspora are ecstatic.
The internationals are determined.
The boats are ready.
The world waits.

“Sailing to say you are not alone” -MV Rachel Corrie sets sail for Gaza with humanitarian aid

2010-05-20T08:55:00.004-06:00

On May 14, 2010, the MV Rachel Corrie pulled out of the docks in Ireland and began her long journey down the coast of Europe to the Mediterranean. She is named after the 23 year old American, Rachel Corrie, who was killed in Gaza by an Israeli bulldozer as she was protecting the home of a Palestinian doctor. She will join seven other vessels in the Mediterranean and sail to Gaza to deliver vitally needed construction, medical and school supplies to the imprisoned population of Gaza.

“Sailing to say….. you are not alone”

• Take two minutes to watch a video telling about the purpose of their trip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKaAWwgo8BY&feature=related

• And another three minutes to watch a video of the launch and the material aid they are taking to Gaza: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkNmwohwSeE

• And a four-minute video of an interview with Rachel Corrie, on March 14, 2003, two days before Israeli Defense Forces killed her with a bulldozer that was demolishing another Palestinian home. The really sad part of watching this interview is that NOTHING HAS CHANGED in the seven years since her death: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JI-axaRF4&feature=related

Another three and a half minutes to see what materials are being denied under Israel's blockade of Gaza: http://www.youtube.com/gazafriends#p/a/u/0/o2s_v-DHv0Y

Check out their web site to follow the progress – Israel apparently is planning to prevent the ship from breaking the blockade with these supplies. http://www.freegaza.org/

Independence Day/Al-Nakba

2010-05-17T19:00:00.005-06:00

May 14 is celebrated in Israel as Independence Day—the day in 1948, when the British removed all their troops from the areas of the Mandate and Israel declared their independence and the formation of the State of Israel.

May 15 is commemorated by Palestinians as Al-Nakba, “the catastrophe,” because Israeli independence meant the removal of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes and their lands as Jewish militias attacked villages and forced families out of their homes—or, families fled in terror, hearing of massacres in nearby towns and villages. Like all people fleeing violence, they assumed that they would return to their homes in days or weeks, when the fighting was over. However, they were prevented from returning to the homes; Jewish soldiers guarded their villages and farms. Many of their homes were destroyed by shelling; many of their lands were declared parks or simply given to Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe. Palestinian olive orchards were burned to remove any trace of the former landowners. Bank accounts were confiscated and village names were changed to Hebrew names on the road signs.

(for stories of these families, read The Olive Grove, by Deborah Rohan; or Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour, or, for the story of both a Palestinian and an Israeli family who at different times lived in the same house, read The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan.)

Click on the picture to view a 10-minute video describing the history and documenting the removals of Palestinians in 1948.

Free Ameer Makhoul—on May 7, I sent out information about the arrest of Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian Israeli leader in the movement for Palestinian political rights, director of Ittijah, which works to promote the development of Palestinian civil society, advocating for political change, economic and social development. See the information below to advocate for his release.

Write to the US consulates in Israel:
In Jerusalem-- Email: UsConGenJerusalem@state.gov
In Tel Aviv-- Email: nivtelaviv@state.gov
In Haifa—(where Ameer Makhoul lives) E-mail: consage@netvision.net.il

The US Canmpaign to End the Occupation provides more information on his case:

In yet another disturbing sign of its increasing repression against Palestinians working to defend their civil and human rights, Israel has arbitrarily arrested and detained one of its most porminent citizens working for civil equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, Ameer Makhoul, the General Director of Ittijah-The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations.

The following is adapted from an action alert on Makhoul's arrest issued by Addameer:

Ameer Makhoul was arrested on 6 May 2010 at 3:10 a.m. when Israeli Security Agency (ISA) agents accompanied by Israeli police raided his family home in Haifa. According to his wife, Janan, the police confiscated items including documents, maps, the family's four mobile phones, Ameer and Jana's laptops, the hard drives from the girls' two desktop computers, a camera and a small tape recorder containing not-yet transcribed oral histories Janan collects as part of her work.

Approximately 40 minutes after their arrival, a group of the security forces left with Mr. Makhoul in custody. Makhoul was transported to Petah Tikva interrogation center, where he remains. At around the same time, the Israeli authorities raided the office of Ittijah - The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations and confiscated documents and the hard drives from all of the organization's computers.

Ameer Makhoul's arrest, detention and a previously imposed travel ban are based on emergency regulations and "secret" information that is never disclosed to the defense. They are a flagrant violation of the UN Declaration and the EU guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. Palestinian human rights of freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association as well as the right to protection from arbitrary arrest are daily violated.

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Palestine urges the international community to take action to help Ameer Makhoul:

- Write to your own elected and diplomatic representatives urging them to pressure Israel to release Mr. Makhoul and to put an end to the ongoing harassment against Palestinian human rights defenders.
- Write to the International Bar Association to protest Israel's use of arbitrary detention and the use of 'secret information' and incommunicado detentions; and,
- Write to the Israeli government, military and legal authorities and demand that: Mr. Makhoul be released immediately, and the travel ban against him be lifted; Israeli security authorities immediately cease their unlawful arrest and detention policies of Palestinian human rights defenders; and, Israeli authorities end the practice of arbitrary detention, the use of "secret information", and incommunicado detention. For more information, click here.

NON-VIOLENT Popular Resistance Continues in the West Bank

2010-05-10T10:54:00.006-06:00

This is an entry from the blog of Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, currently living in the Bethlehem area. Follow the news on his blog: http://www.qumsiyeh.org/ See ACTION ideas at the bottom

A poll reveals that a majority of Israeli's are willing to see the banning of human rights organization in the 'Jewish state' and a bill was introduced in the Knesset to outlaw any Israeli human rights organization which exposes Israeli war crimes. Yesterday, one peaceful protester hurt and 6 detained in Bilin weekly protest against the apartheid wall (itself declared a war crime in violation of the 4th Geneva convention). Those arrested include our friends Ashraf Abu Rahma (28, who was videotaped at another event as he was blindfolded and shot, brother of martyr Bassem killed at peaceful protest), Abed Al-Fattah Burnat (Committee member, 53), Haitham Al-Khatib (34, Photographer), Roy Vackner, and Uri Baytman (Israelis), and a 27 year old US citizen Stormy.

And Israeli secret agents arrested a Palestinian leader in Haifa (head of Ittijah organization, Ameer Makhoul) on secret evidence and puts a gag order on the media (read more about his arrest on this blog--May 7 posting).

And the Israeli government will 'legalize' outposts in the West Bank (that is how most of settlements came to get Israeli government recognition even if they are illegal per International law). And settlers continue to harass Palestinians.

Thus, we descend further into fascism in this apartheid racist state even as the Israeli propaganda machine still babbles about 'the only democracy in the Middle East'. But the demonstrations yesterday in Bil'in, Ni'lin, and elsewhere went on successfully. In Al-Ma'sara demonstration, something unusual happened. As always, village people walked towards their lands and the soldiers blocked the road with razor wire and armed jeeps. But after a while and some negotiations, the officers allowed the marchers to march along the main road to their lands. Something new happens here every day.

Better and shorter videos of our arrests in Al-Walaja
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEFwlD4ToF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfglnJeNUUk
and pictures of popular resistance including in Al-Walaja http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills

Israeli military shoot dead a Gaza farmer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSECq3kxT4I
and attack fishermen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAUzugKX1AE&feature=related

Inspiring event showing how isolated Israel is becoming (except by spineless government officials who need to be challenged). Activists disrupt "Israel Technology" event at Boston Museum of Science (a propaganda effort). Report on event here http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/210522/index.php
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPLhtRA45Ac

ACTION: We need to act in a last push to stop Israel's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development . Read this OECD Bends Rules for Israel http://www.agenceglobal.com/Article.asp?Id=2317
Then act here http://holdisraelaccountable.net/

ACTION: Join Palestinians in peaceful expression and commemoration of Nakba in Washington DC, Saturday May 15th, 2010 3:30 - 6:00 PM. The boat leaves at 4:00 PM, we will start meeting at 3:30 PM. Washington Harbour, 3000 Mass Ave., NW. at the bottom of 31st St in Georgetown. Additional Information:
The boat ride is 1 hour, we will regroup afterwards around our digital billboard truck that will be displaying documentary video and pictures of the Nakba 1948 and the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians today. Bring posters that read: Free Palestine, End the Occupation, Nakba...62 years is enough, Stop U.S. tax Dollars to Israel, End the siege of Gaza. Please do not deviate from this theme. If you have a boat, please join our flotilla on the Potomac. If you do not wish to ride the boat, we need supporters cheering the boat from the Key Bridge; we also need photographers and videographers to document this event and help us submit a video to the Gaza Freedom March Nakba competition. The first prize will be $100 donated to the Free Gaza Flotilla. This is a Family Friendly Event, bring your children for a beautiful ride on the Potomac.
We'll be singing songs from the 60's. Sponsored by: Washington Peace Center, Gaza Freedom March, Free Gaza Movement, US Campaign To End The Occupation. RSVP and more info: dkennedy@freegaza.org , noraburgan@aol.com

Mazin Qumsiyeh
http://qumsiyeh.org

Israel Increases Repression of Palestinian Leaders

2010-05-07T11:41:00.004-06:00

In a week when the University of Denver announced a lecture by Israeli Defense Force Colonel Bentzi Gruber, who is free to travel the world and present his justification of Israeli military actions, we receive news that these same soldiers are carrying out a crackdown on Palestinian leaders who want to tell the world how Israel is using weaponry, arrests and denial of travel papers to deny Palestinians the same rights. Israeli Palestinian human rights activist Ameer Makhoul was arrested this week and detained without charges.

Israel's repression of its Palestinian citizens unites us in struggle
Ameer Makhoul, The Electronic Intifada, 6 May 2010

Israel is increasingly oppressing Palestinian leaders in Israel.

Ameer Makhoul, director of Ittijah and chairman of the Popular Committee for the Defense of the Political Freedoms, was arrested by Israeli forces during a raid of his home, two weeks after a travel ban was imposed on him by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. Police have also raided the offices of Ittijah and confiscated equipment and documents.

Makhoul, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, submitted the following op-ed to The Electronic Intifada prior to his arrest:

Last month, when I traveled from Haifa to the land border between Jordan and Israel, the Israeli border police prevented me from leaving my country. The police handed me an order issued by the Israeli Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai prohibiting me to leave Israel for two months. The travel ban imposed on me is part of an increased campaign to intimidate and to spread fear among Palestinian civil society. The repression is meant to divide us, but it has had the opposite effect. We Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and the diaspora are only more determined and united to claim our rights and to build a nation where we can live in freedom and have equal rights.

The Israeli minister of the interior holds the opinion that my travel outside the country "poses a serious threat to the security of the state," according to article 6 of the 1948 emergency regulations. I am the director of Ittijah, Union of Arab Community-Based Associations and the chairman of the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms, which is a sub-committee of the High Monitoring Committee of Arabs in Israel. All three bodies unite Palestinian Arabs in Israel and we jointly decided not to appeal my travel ban at the Israeli high court.

Any meeting in the Arab world or with any Arab person anywhere in the world arouses the suspicion of the authorities. The accusations against me are made on the basis of secret evidence that I am not allowed to see, and the high court merely acts as an extension of the Israeli General Security Services (GSS), or the Shin Bet. Israel does not need to prove that there is reason for suspicion; instead, I have to prove that there is no need for their suspicion. The Israeli legal system is far from fair for Palestinians.

Israel is intimidating Ittijah and the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms because we are reasserting our community's stake in the Palestinian struggle. Twenty years ago few considered the Palestinians in Israel as a part of the Palestinian people or the Palestinian cause. During the Oslo process of the 1990s, we were considered an internal problem for Israel to deal with, but our networking, advocacy and lobbying has changed this. Israel is increasingly repressing us to divide Palestinians from each other and isolate us from the outside world.

The repression and persecution of Palestinians in Israel is not new. Since 1948 Israel imposed a policy of control under the guise of security. In 2007, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin introduced a new policy targeting the whole Palestinian community as a security risk to thwart democratic efforts such as the issuing by Palestinian civil society in Israel visions of a state for all its citizens.

Repression has increased dramatically since then and more than 1,000 Palestinian youths in Israel were interrogated by the Shin Bet after the Gaza massacre of winter 2008-09. Leaders of the Palestinian civil society, like myself, are under attack. Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic movement, is being persecuted for his involvement in the protection of Jerusalem from ongoing Israeli colonization and extremist settlers. Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) Mohammed Barakeh was shot in the leg with a sound bomb when he tried to protect protesters from the aggression of Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Bilin. MK Said Nafa was stripped of parliamentary immunity because of his visit to Syria, while former MK Azmi Bishara found himself in an imposed exile since three years for the same reason. One year ago, the Shin Bet ordered me to come to their offices and they interrogated me for one day in an attempt to silence my protest of the Israeli massacre in Gaza.

Israel applies a multi-track approach to attack our struggle: the authorities repress and persecute Palestinians while they prohibit foreign solidarity activists, organizations and journalists from visiting the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Additionally, right-wing groups within Israel commit public violence against Palestinian families in places like Acre and Jaffa, with total impunity. One week ago the right-wing group Im Tirtzu published posters inciting violence against individual members of Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights.

Palestinian civil society protests Israel's repressive policies of intimidation but at the same time resolves to continue our struggle. We have achieved unity, and it is important for us to protect this. We will not allow Israel to isolate members or parts of our community. We have become more influential in the Arab media and we will use this influence. We have built our international networks and we call on them to support us. The attacks that are meant to divide us have had the complete opposite effect. Injustice unites us; we are all together in this struggle.

Action Alert - Urge Your Representative to sign letter to President Obama

2010-05-07T11:28:00.004-06:00

This action alert from Churches for Middle East Peace comes to us through the ELCA Peace Not Walls campaign.

Send an email to your representative urging him/her to sign on to a letter to Pres Obama, supporting the views of Gen Petraeus and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is essential to both US and Israeli security. Representatives need to sign the letter by Monday, May 10. So please read and respond TODAY.

Ask your Representative to Sign Letter Urging the President to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict to advance U.S. National Security Interests

A new letter to President Obama led by Representatives Kind (WI-3), Delahunt (MA-10), Price (NC-4), and Synder (AR-2) highlights the views of General David H. Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the national security interest of both the United States and Israel.

Both senior national security leaders share similar views about the risks inherent in continuing conflict without achieving a negotiated resolution. Gen. Petraeus has said, "The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance [U.S.] interests in the [region]...The conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients, Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas."

Defense Minister Barak has said, "The lack of a solution to the problem of border demarcation within the historic Land of Israel...is the most serious threat to Israel's future."

Click here to email your Representative, asking him or her to sign the letter to President Obama highlighting the security benefits of a negotiated two-state agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

*The deadline for Congressional sign on is Monday, May 10, 2010.

Click here to read the full text of the letter.

Non-Violent Resistance to the Wall - some interesting partners?

2010-04-30T12:59:00.005-06:00

An interesting development in the struggle to stop the building of the Israeli separation wall.....

Residents of Al Walaja, a Palestinian village of about 2000, just northwest of Bethlehem, are using nonviolent protest in an attempt to stop the building of the wall. Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who lives, organizes and writes in the town of Beit Sahour in the Bethlehem district, writes of many successful non-violent protests against the wall this past week.

Ever wonder what they mean by “non-violent” resistance? Take 8 minutes to watch a video he forwarded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOfSeEjbJ8Y

The Jerusalem Post reports that settlers in the nearby Israeli settlements of Gilo and Har Giol (built on Palestinian land between Bethlehem and Jerusalem) are trying to organize joint protests against the wall. Understandably, Palestinians are skeptical of the settlers’ motivations: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=174204

Read some history of the struggles of the villagers of Al Walaja:
http://www.countercurrents.org/nieuwhof300410.htm

Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem Receives USAID Grant for Linear Accelerator

2010-04-23T08:33:00.002-06:00

Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem serves Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. It is the only hospital providing pediatric kidney dialysis and some types of cancer treatment. As Dr. Tawfig Nasser explains below, the linear accelerator provided by the USAID will greatly improve treatment options for Palestinian cancer patients. Augusta Victoria Hospital is supported by the international Lutheran community through the Lutheran World Federation. Locally, members of Sabeel-Colorado lobbied our senators (Michael Bennett and Mark Udall) and representative (Diana DeGette) for this grant, and their staffs offered to support the grant.

Read more about the work of Augusta Victoria Hospital http://www.avh.org/ the work of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem http://lwfjerusalem.org/projects/ and the Mount of Olives Housing Project http://lwfjerusalem.org/projects/mohp/ being built on their land in overcrowded East Jerusalem, where Palestinians are not allowed to build (even adding on to their homes).

[In the picture, left to right: Mark Brown, LWF representative in Jerusalem; Dr. Jill Biden; Dr. Tawfig Nasser]

"Success is a powerful way to overcome human oppression, even under economic, political and societal failure."

USAID to Purchase Cancer Equipment for Jerusalem Lutheran Hospital
10-102-JD/MRC

WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced this month it will purchase a second linear accelerator for Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), a project of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in East Jerusalem. The equipment, valued at about $5.5 million, will be used to treat cancer patients.

In an interview with the News Service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) while visiting here, Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, AVH chief executive officer, said the U.S. government's support is "diplomacy language that speaks to people right away. The American people are donating such high-tech equipment to care" for patients at the hospital.

Nasser said Lutheran bishops and others from the ELCA expressed support to members of Congress for the work of Augusta Victoria Hospital, including its cancer program.

The linear accelerator is an instrument that emits very high energy radiation to treat cancer patients, particularly those with breast cancer. One machine can treat tens of thousands of patients, said Nasser.

"Since we are the only cancer center, it is very important for us that we don't stop. We can help more people and provide more services for people in Gaza and the West Bank (with a second linear accelerator)," he said.

"When the machine breaks down or needs preventive maintenance, we have no way to continue treatment. We really have the only machine for the whole Palestinian nation, which is operated at the LWF AVH program in Jerusalem," said Nasser.

Dr. Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, visited Augusta Victoria Hospital at the time of the USAID funding announcement.

"It was a very good visit," said Nasser. "U.S. politics is very difficult when it comes to Israel and Palestine. The Bidens themselves are a bit more engaged historically with the Israeli narrative, and she got to hear the Palestinian narrative through this health story."

Nasser said the current U.S. administration is being "heavily challenged, and it is important that we continue to keep the White House engaged in the Middle East and secure fair diplomacy."
Nasser said economic, political and social conditions in the Middle East are near complete failure.

"We are living in a hopeless situation," said Nasser, with no current peace process and the breakdown of political efforts. He said turmoil in the region hampers the hospital's ability to focus on providing the best medical care.

Movement and access into Jerusalem from the West Bank and Gaza is also a concern, said Nasser.

"This is paramount to us, because Palestinians cannot get to the hospital. We have to work on advocacy to secure the rights of patients and to secure that the environment is conducive to quality patient care," he said.

"People are invested in Augusta Victoria Hospital from all over the world," said Nasser. "Augusta Victoria Hospital is a beacon of hope," he said. It represents a much larger story than just being a place that delivers medical care. It represents a successful Christian presence in the Middle East, an institution that is experiencing success and growth there, and it is a place where interfaith dialogue occurs, he said.

"Success is a powerful way to overcome human oppression, even under economic, political and societal failure. We can still produce stories of human success, something every Lutheran should be proud of," said Nasser.

While in the United States, Nasser visited with USAID and members of Congress to express thanks for the purchase and to "convey the importance of development and diplomacy, and how it should speak to the people and not just the government."
- - -
Information about Augusta Victoria Hospital and the LWF Jerusalem program is at http://lwfjerusalem.org/ on the Web.

Remembering Gaza

2010-04-21T09:33:00.002-06:00

No, I don’t mean the December, 2008 attack by Israeli bombers and ground troops. The exploding buildings, bombed-out homes, the dead and wounded piled in hospital corridors—those horrific scenes, thankfully, are history.

But Gazans are still suffering, and our tax dollars support the soldiers who stand at the checkpoints, deciding who and what can enter or leave Gaza.

I often hear people lament the lack of Palestinian leadership. They wonder why the Palestinians can’t create a healthier economy. The worst scenario is in Gaza, but the problems of Gaza are similar to the barriers to business development throughout the West Bank as well.

Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in June 2007, following the election of a Hamas-majority government (in elections, by the way, cited this week by former President Jimmy Carter: “The three most perfect elections that we have monitored have been in Palestine.”). For three years the people of Gaza have endured a blockade of their port and all the entry points into Gaza—from Egypt and from Israel.

Last week, there was news of a lifting of the blockade, but the report of Paltrade, the Palestine Trade Center, published on April 12, shows that the news we heard was not the whole story…..

Israel granted entry for only two categories of products: clothes and shoes. The containers that arrived, however, having been held at Israeli ports for three years, were badly damaged, much of the clothing and shoes ruined. Losses were estimated at 30%. The stories of two Gazan businessmen illustrate what happened. http://www.aim-palestine.com/reports/impact_of_gaza_closure_on_clothes_and_shoes_imports.pdf

One merchant received delivery of one of ten containers the Israelis have been holding. Another received one of nine containers. In both cases the merchandise was badly damaged, the packages were ripped open, the goods dirty and not fit for sale. They estimate that, in addition to losing the goods for the past three years, 30% of the merchandise they have now finally received is a total loss. Pictures of the goods can be seen on the above web page.

No wonder the economy is so bad in Gaza. Even though Israeli troops have officially withdrawn from Gaza, troops at the checkpoints at the border continue to block, not only clothing, but food and school supplies, building materials and many other items. They, not the elected officials of the Palestinian Authority, have total control of what comes into or goes out of Gaza.

Hope Rising from the Despair in East Jerusalem

2010-04-12T22:18:00.004-06:00

Sheikh Jarrah is an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem where Israeli settlers are taking over land and houses whose residents are being removed by Israeli soldiers. Many Israelis are increasingly troubled by the way such actions are changing the values for which many Jews migrated to Israel, as Israeli author David Grossman's speech at a recent demonstration explains. The text of his speech follows the introductory paragraph below, with a link to a video of his speech (in Hebrew) at the bottom. Click on the title to read it where it originally appeared, the blog for JustJerusalem.org:

David Grossman's speech in Sheikh Jarrah

Before Friday's demo, a delegation of some 30 public figures and intellectuals visited Sheikh Jarrah. Among the participants were former Speaker of the Knesset Avrum Burg, author David Grossman, Prof. Ze'ev Sternhal, and former MK's Naomi Hazan and Zehava Galon. Following the visit with the families the delegation held a peaceful vigil next to the occupied houses. The police quickly ordered the vigil to disperse, and escorted the delegation out of the neighborhood. The police could not forbear from arresting four people - although they did not have the guts to arrest any of the dignitaries.

When the delegation joined the main demonstration up the street, the famous Israeli author David Grossman decided to address the crowd. Here is the full text of the speech:

"[...] what took place during the last few hours. We came early, a group of people, and visited one of the homes here in Sheikh Jarrah... at 1 P.M. The owner told us about the long history of abuse by the settlers, the police, and the army that has been going on for years, about how they are being effectively forced out, about how their lives are being made intolerable day and night, that they are being told how to live, harrassed incessantly, violently attacked. Then we went out, the same group, about 30 people, and stood quietly with signs protesting what is happening in Sheikh Jarrah, condemning the persistent, planned takeover of this place and other places by settlers, by right-wing elements. After all, what's happening here is only the tip of the iceberg. It's only one example of what has been happening in the Occupied Territories for more than 40 years. I think that we are all beginning to grasp - even those who maybe don't really want to - how 43 years ago, by turning a blind eye, by actively or passively cooperating, we actually cultivated a kind of carnivorous plant that is slowly devouring us, consuming every good part within us, making the country we live in a place that is not good to live in. Not good not only if you are an Arab citizen of Israel, and certainly not if you are a Palestinian resident of the Territories - but not good as well for every Jewish Israeli person who wants to live here, who cherishes some hope to be in a place where human beings are respected as humans beings, where your rights are treated as a given, where humanity, morality,and civil rights are not dirty words, not something from the bleeding-heart Left. No. These are the bread and water, the butter and milk of our lives, the stuff from which we will make our lives, and really make them lives worth living here.

We stood with the signs for two or three minutes and then the commander of the police announced aggresively - even violently, I would say - he said: 'You have two minutes to disperse.' I think that even before those two minutes were up, they began pushing us away from there, shoving, knocking people over with unreasonable force. The people here did not come to create a confrontation, they came to express solidarity, to make their cry heard. The police lost its head, behaved in a way that actually proves a lack of confidence, an inability to control itself and the situation. Four of our people were arrested, four people who didn't come here to get arrested, didn't make any provocation and certainly not one that justifies arrest. Of course, all of us here protest that.

I'll finish by saying that I wish that next week, there will be many many more people here. People who perhaps don't understand [stops because of applause] that because of lack of action, of indifference, and maybe out of fear and comfort, are allowing our future to be stolen away from us. They are stealing the country we want to live in, stealing every chance that we will ever have peace based on equality and mutual respect with our neighbours. Making any peace agreement almost impossible because of the places where the settlements are sneaking in, taking root, which really make any future agreement almost impossible, and certainly make the peace that will be attained much more fragile. We have something to fight for and something to struggle for. [People] have to understand this and come here, because this is the place, more than any other place today, to protest and confront the root of the occupation, where you can identify with the motives and with a just cause that can hardly be questioned. You have to be totally blind to not see what is happening here, and through that, perhaps, understand what is happening in all the areas of the occupation, and what is happening in all areas of our lives in Israel. Thank you, and Shabbat Shalom."

The video, in Hebrew, can be watched here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OWEQbK-rzA

Palm Sunday in Bethlehem, 2010

2010-03-28T20:32:00.008-06:00

Today, as we lifted our palms and shouted "Hosanna!" Christians in Bethlehem were denied travel permits to join the Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem, to mark the beginning of Holy Week--a long-standing tradition for all the Christians of the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who lives in Beit Sahour, one of the towns in the Bethlehem district, writes of his experience:

"Wow, what a day: over 100 native Palestinian Christians and Muslims and internationals including Israelis, breached the tight security separating the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem from the occupied city of Jerusalem.

Donkeys and people arrested!

We were initially some 150 strong and started from the Church of Nativity at 11:45 AM carrying palm leaves an banners asking for freedom of worship and movement (as demanded by international law). The demonstration included individuals riding 2 donkeys and a horse. Appropriate since Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Like him, we knew this was not going to be an easy entry but we did believe in the goodness of humanity. We arrived at the main gate used for tourist buses at around 12:30 and decided to just keep going. The few soldiers and police at the gate tried to close it but we managed to get in and the huge 8 meter high metal gate stopped half way perhaps as a safety mechanisms since there were dozens of people passing and they could be crushed if it continued.

The Israeli security forces tried to close other fences but we kept going. As word reached their offices, the Israeli army was mobilizing its forces and soon several army jeeps arrived and blocked the road half way between the gate and Deir Mar Elias (the monastery at the edge of the city). They blocked our way. (photo shows Palm Sunday marcher being arrested)

Ibrahim Salah riding his donkey was speaking to them in Hebrew and saying why can't we go to Jerusalem. It is our right to travel. He was the first to be violently knocked down off his donkey and arrested. The next

was an American girl, then some Palestinians. All violently wrestled to the ground when even many were just peacefully walking back to the gates. It seemed like a calculated move to punish some of us so that others get the message not to try this again.

Some 60 of us ended up being rounded up in between a wall, a hill, a gate, and a cordon of police officers. We expected to be all arrested......."read more of his story

See more photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills/

Read a news report of the protest in the Ma'an news: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=272253

Kairos Palestine Calls for Support for Residents of Beith Sahour

2010-02-22T12:45:00.001-07:00

(Jerusalem 19.02.2010) - As described by town residents, Ha’aretz, Ma’an News, and other sources in recent days, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers arrived on February 10 at a family recreation park in Beit Sahour – a town slightly east of Bethlehem in the West Bank, and the site of the former army base Osh Grab, which was abandoned by the IDF in 2006 – and declared it a closed military zone.

Kairos Palestine condemns this action and calls upon churches worldwide to advocate for the Christians and all residents of Beit Sahour and intervene in the damage, present and projected, wrought upon their home.

Since 1967, Beit Sahour, one of the last Christian majority towns in the West Bank, has repeatedly lost land to the Jerusalem municipality and to the nearby settlement of Har Homa. Much of the remaining land was occupied by an Israeli military base, Osh Grab. After the army evacuated the base in 2006, the Beit Sahour municipality regained control of the land (although it has remained part of what Israel calls Area C, keeping it under harsh regulation by the Israeli State), renovated it, and built a recreational park and playground – the “Peace Park.”

Over time, fanatical Jewish settler groups have often threatened to take over the site, protested there as part of their aggressive claim as its “true” owners, and even physically vandalized the park, as they did last month. As it stands, Israel’s stated intention is to build a new watchtower: a troubling reassertion of a military presence in Beit Sahour. The other worry is that this could pave the way for a new settlement, which nearby settlers have been demanding for years. As Amira Hass writes in Ha’aretz, “The Beit Sahour residents have no reason to doubt either the settlers or the Har Homa neighborhood committee chairman, who declared that ‘This could become a reality, just as Har Homa spilled beyond what was planned and expected.’”

Either way, this new display of control on the part of the State – arriving with bulldozers, excavating the site around the park, prohibiting the entry of the Beit Sahour residents and various internationals who came to protest, declaring the land a closed military zone – is a grave affront. It is painful and unjust for some reasons of specific import to Christians (who form 80% of Beit Sahour); others are simply questions of humanity and legality, crucial for both Christians and Muslims.

First, the park area lies between two sacred sites: “Shepherds Field” and the place, as told in the Bible, where Boaz fell in love with Ruth. These are places of immense spiritual significance, and the State’s commandeering of the land is profoundly distressing. (As we wrote in the Kairos Document, “freedom of access to the holy places is denied under the pretext of security.”) Second, the takeover is yet another example of the way Israeli occupation displaces us, divorces us from our basic rights of mobility and autonomy, and enforces a divisive view of human interaction that perverts the Word of God and the love and compassion it calls us to.
We request the solidarity of churches in the international community: to support us, to intervene in this latest encroachment on Beit Sahour and prevent it from continuing, and to speak out against the occupation in all such instances. We ask individuals and communities worldwide to contact Israeli officials and condemn their actions, to write the mayor of Beit Sahour and express support, and engage in other such forms of outreach and network-building. As we make these requests, we quote again from the Kairos Document itself to remind ourselves and each other of what is at stake and what we must call for:

“Our connectedness to this land is a natural right. It is not an ideological or theological question only…[w]e suffer from the occupation of our land because we are Palestinians.”

And finally: “We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God…and distort[s] the divine image in the human beings living under both political and theological injustice.”

Please join Kairos Palestine in condemning these shameful events in Beit Sahour and working to restore the justice that is both our calling and our right.

We ask you to call and write to Israeli officials in order to protest this action, call upon them to stop the construction of the watchtower, prevent settlers from attacking the park, and cease any idea of building a settlement in the site.

Please make appeals to:
[Ehud Barak] Minister of Defence, Ministry of Defence,
37 Kaplan Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv 61909, Israel
Fax: +972 3 691 6940
Email: minister@mod.gov.il
Salutation: Dear Minister

Israeli Ambassador in your respective country

Copy to the
[Mr. Hani Alhayik], Mayor of Beit Sahour
Email: bsmuni@p-ol.com
Kairos Palestine: www.kairospalestine.ps
Email: Kalimatuna@gmail.com

Kairos Palestine is a group of Palestine Christians who authored “A Moment of Truth” – Christian Palestinian’s word to the world about the occupation of Palestine, an expression of hope and faith in God, and a call for solidarity in ending over six decades of oppression – and published it in 2009.

A Lenten Geography--Reflections on Israel and Palestine

2010-02-22T08:34:00.002-07:00

As we prepare for Holy Week and Easter, join me in listening to the Lenten texts through the stories of the "living stones" -- the Christians, Jews and Muslims living in the ancient land of Palestine who are working to bring the good news of peace to that land today. The lessons are from the Revised Common Lectionary: www.alentengeography.blogspot.com

Lutheran Volunteer Held in Israeli Custody, Deported

2010-01-18T11:47:00.004-07:00

Lutheran Volunteer Held in Israeli Custody for 48 Hours, Deported

Faith Rowold (Polson High School '00, Washington University ‘04, University College of Dublin, ‘07), daughter of Pastor Paul and Donna Rowold of Polson, is in Prague after being denied entry to Israel, where she had been a volunteer with the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem for the past two years.

Ms. Rowold, 27, was returning to Israel from the Czech Republic with her partner, Jared Malsin, 25, who is the chief English editor at the Ma'an News Agency. They were detained at the Prague airport by agents of Israel's El Al airline after going through preliminary screening, but were eventually allowed on their flight back to Tel Aviv after they were interrogated and given full body searches.
They were detained again by Israeli airport security when they presented their passports at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, and held and interrogated in the airport for 8 hours before being transferred to the Immigration Detention Center on the airport grounds. There, they were placed in separate cells and were unable to communicate with each other until just hours before Ms. Rowold was deported back to Prague on Thursday morning.

A lawyer for Ma'an had filed an injunction against the deportation order for Mr. Malsin, who is still in detention, awaiting a court hearing on Sunday.
This is the latest incident in what appears to be an escalation of Israeli government activity against foreign church and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has recently been reported that approximately 100 church and NGO workers who had previously held work visas from Israel have been denied renewals.

Ms. Rowold commented from Prague that the reason Israel denied her entry was because of her connections to Palestinians.

"Of course I'm connected to Palestinians," she said. "I work for a church body that includes hundreds of Palestinian Lutherans. There are 172,000 Palestinian Christians in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The Israelis are making it really difficult now for church and NGO workers who work with Palestinians or in the Palestinian Territories. It's so hard to get proper visas these days. Lots of us are on tourist visas, leaving every three months and praying to get let back in so we can do our jobs."

"Israel knows these people have proper jobs with registered organizations, and you can't legally work on a tourist visa, so Israel is making illegal workers out of a whole class of people, including some senior staff people. Anyone who looks at this situation can see that Israel is discriminating against organizations that work with Palestinians or in the Palestinian Territories," she continued.

Ms. Rowold has been a volunteer with the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem, where the offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) are located. The ELCJHL has six member congregations in the Palestinian Territories and Jordan. Palestinian Christians, who made up 20 to 30 percent of the population of Israel and the Palestinian Territories before 1967, now make up less than two percent of the population. Outside observers are quick to blame Christian-Muslim tension for the high emigration rates that caused this dramatic demographic shift, but Palestinian Christians themselves blame the increasing restrictions and hardship of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

Ms. Rowold first went to the Holy Land in 1992, at the age of 10. She says her father leads trips there nearly every year, and she and her two younger sisters, Katie and Stephanie, occasionally traveled with their parents to visit the holy sites and meet with Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem.

"It really opened my eyes, traveling at such a young age and learning about people living in such a different place. Also, I think a lot of people don't realize that there are Palestinian Christians, and that they are among the original Christians of Pentecost Day, not recent converts from Islam. When I got older I knew I wanted to support the ministries of these local congregations, and I'm really blessed to have gotten that opportunity. Insha'Allah, which means 'God willing' in Arabic, I will be able to go back soon."

For more information please contact Faith Rowold at faith.rowold@gmail.com

Israeli Attacks on Gaza Continue -- International Protests Draw the World's Attention to Continuing Gaza Suffering

2010-01-08T09:03:00.006-07:00

From Gaza, Thursday, January 7—Israeli attacks against residents of Gaza continue. Al-Jezeera reported yesterday on several Israeli F16s attacking areas of Gaza, and soldiers attacking Palestinian families in Hebron in the West Bank: http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2010/January/7%20n/Israeli%20Occupation%20Army%20Carries%20A%20Series%20Of%20Airstrikes%20on%20Gaza,%20%20Attacks%20Raba'ey%20Palestinian%20family%20in%20Hebron.htm .

Over the past week, you may have seen news reports of two international efforts to draw the world’s attention to and support the people who are still suffering in Gaza. The Gaza Freedom March and the Viva Palestina aid convoy, planned for the end of December, both met with roadblocks from the Egyptian government, which blocked their entrance to Gaza through Egypt. Two updates:

• AAPER provides a good summary of what happened as more than 1300 international protesters (almost as many as were killed in the attack on Gaza a year ago) gathered in Cairo to make the trip across the desert to Gaza, and the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy: http://www.aaper.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=quIXL8MPJpE&b=5492577&content_id=%7bC8DDC9E1-EB5B-4DD3-8B35-829C707C1F5C%7d¬oc=1

• A 6-minute video from the Free Gaza movement shows how people around the world demonstrated their concern for the suffering that continues in Gaza. The famous song you hear, "Va pensiero" by Giuseppe Verdi was first performed in 1842 when the Northern part of Italy was under the thumb of the Austrian empire, occupied as Palestine is today. It is a song about the plight of the Jews as they are assaulted, conquered, and subsequently exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian King Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar). The song has become a plaintive cry for freedom for all occupied people and is dedicated to the Palestinian fight for justice, from the Occupied West Bank to besieged Gaza. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8osR2BtQZs

Life in Bethlehem, Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

From Mazin Qumsiyeh in Bethlehem…..a video of Christmas in Bethlehem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTTx6T54mM He describes the video and some other sources of information below.

9 Minute Video I just put out on life in Bethlehem area during Christmas. It starts with a Jewish guy who joined the demonstration in Al-Masara asking that the soldiers disobey orders and not join in oppressing the Palestinians. Picture attached is of me in my red Christmas sweater speaking to the same soldiers explaining how they are committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. In addition to the usual struggles against the occupation, we did have celebrations. The video shows the lighting of the Christmas Tree, home parties, and 3 nights of activities for everyone (Muslims, Christians, Internationals, locals, children adults) and with a theme of support for Jerusalem. We called it the Shepherds' Nights.
Watch video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbTTx6T54mM

Video from AlJazeera: Bethlehem in Christmas: Many tourists but no economic boom http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009122461113232638.html

UN Report: Only 13% of the land in Bethlehem available to local use, more than 85% has been swallowed by colonial settlements, space for their future use, their infrastructure, and the apartheid barriers. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30731&Cr=palestin&Cr1

UN expert urges pressure on Israel to end blockade of Gaza, and the implementation of the Goldstone Report
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-7YZRCX?OpenDocument

Steps to create an Israel-Palestine by Jonathan Kuttub
Los Angeles Times December 20, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-kuttab20-2009dec20,0,3289579.story

Jerusalem – An Inexorable Trajectory by Anat Biletzki | Fri, 11/27/2009 http://www.envisioningpeace.org/discussion/featured/jerusalem-%E2%80%93-inexorable-trajectory

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org
http://www.pcr.ps

Journey to Bethlehem in Advent, 2009

2009-11-25T07:46:00.002-07:00

Journey to Bethlehem in Advent, Meditations on a Pilgrimage

When I have visited Israel and Palestine and heard the stories of the people there - both Israeli and Palestinian - who are working for peace and reconciliation, I have asked what I can do as an American to support their work. They always tell me, "Tell our story." One person told me that surely, if Americans knew what was really happening, our government's policies would change and there would be a more balanced approach, honoring both Israel's needs and Palestinians' needs.

So, again this year I am writing about these amazing people. Reading the texts for Advent, I remember the land I have walked on my travels to Bethlehem and the amazing people I met who have shown me what it really means to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to bring good news to the widow and orphan, to the prisoner and those held captive. The ones imprisoned behind the 24-foot high security barrier Israel is building in the middle of the city in Bethlehem.

The meditation are some of the stories I heard on my visits to Israel and Palestine in 2008 and 2009--stories of desperation and stories of amazing gospel-good-news-hope from the Christians, Jews and Muslims living today on the holy land of Jesus' birth. Read the meditations for your Advent devotions: http://adventjourneybethlehem.blogspot.com/