tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45925730805627514502024-03-05T12:24:16.555-07:00A Pilgrim's TalesJan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-68740473919849775662014-07-24T22:41:00.002-06:002014-07-24T22:41:11.268-06:00A Pilgrim's Tales has Moved!Please go to: <a href="http://apilgrimstales.com/">http://apilgrimstales.com</a> to read more stories from Israel/Palestine.Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-41769306860779169182014-06-25T07:35:00.000-06:002014-06-25T07:35:00.563-06:00His Name Was Nadim NuwaraAnd he died at age 17, outside Ofer Prison near Beitunia in May, protesting imprisonment of Palestinians. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/humanrights/2014/05/video-shows-deadly-shooting-palestinians-201452184128571314.html" target="_blank">Video released by Defense for Children International</a> shows that he and another boy, Muhammad Abu Thahr, 16, were both shot without provocation. A third boy, 15-year-old Mohammed Azza, was seriously wounded by gunfire from Israeli soldiers.<br />
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While we in the US have heard much about the three Israeli teens kidnapped near Hebron, little has been reported about the deaths and injuries of these three Palestinian boys in May. Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz published <a href="http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20140622_his_name_was_nadim_nuwara" target="_blank">an opinion piece</a> by the director of B'Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Hagai El-Ad writes about one of the Palestinian boys, Nadim Nuwara.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nadim Nuwara, in a photo from<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/25/palestinian-territories-ramallah-nadeem-suwara" target="_blank"> an article about his killing </a> in <i>The Guardian</i></td></tr>
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<div>
By Hagai El-Ad | Jun. 23, 2014 | 3:20 AM | 15</div>
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[<a href="http://www.btselem.org/firearms/20140622_his_name_was_nadim_nuwara" target="_blank">To read this on B'Tselem's website</a>]</div>
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He was a premature baby when his mother was in the seventh month of pregnancy. When he was finally released from the hospital he still suffered from jaundice. In second grade, a passing car hit him after he played at the neighbors’ house. He was thrown in the air by the force of the blow from the car, and after two days in the hospital he was released. He loved to play on his Playstation and learned how to type quickly, and sometimes even typed in the dark. At 16 he began to feel grown up and rebel against his mother’s wishes. He loved her very much.</div>
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A month ago, when his father heard he was in the hospital, his legs collapsed. On the way to the hospital he said time after time: “O God, have mercy on us.”</div>
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I have hope that these days, when so many people’s hearts are filled with worry, love and identification with the fate of the three youths they never knew, in these days when our hearts go out to the suffering families, that these days will be a time of aspiration and not of hatred. A time of hope for the fate of the families and the young men we never knew; for families, some of whose loved ones no longer even have a tiny bit of hope.</div>
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The premature baby who was born to a Palestinian family in Ramallah, who knew how to type in the dark, who was shy and innocent, who would kiss his parents every time he returned home, who God did not have mercy on his parents, was Nadim Nuwara of blessed memory. He was 17 years old when a member of the Israeli security forces shot him at the Nakba Day demonstration in Beitunia. An hour later another youth was shot, Mohammad Salameh, at the very same place.</div>
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No Facebook campaign will return the youths Nadim and Mohammad to their parents, the Palestinians do not have an army to conduct house to house searches, and according to the Oslo Accords they don’t even have investigative authority.</div>
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These days Jews in Israel and in the territories are very attentive, in the great spirit of mutual responsibility, to the horrible suffering of three families hanging between despair and hope, and if only that hope could win. But what responsibility is this, what hope is this, and what humanity is this if it is so completely blind to the Palestinian suffering?</div>
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A great majority of the time, for most of the Jews here, the Palestinian suffering is completely denied. When it is not documented on video it interests almost no one, and when it is documented it is repressed as a conspiracy. What significance is there to the display of mutual responsibility of these days if when they see the Palestinian baby who survived a premature birth and a car accident, but did not survive a live bullet fired at his upper body, in light of the documentation of his death we do not become angry and give our hearts out to him and his family; and instead we ask with estranged cynicism and in arrogant contempt: “Why don’t they show us what happened earlier?”</div>
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What happened before is that Nadim Nawara was born a premature baby, and survived a premature birth and an automobile accident, but did not survive the occupation. What happened before is tens, hundreds and thousands of Palestinians that Israel has killed. It is the theft of property and the stealing of land. It is roadblocks and control and permits and searches and orders, and an entire mechanism that under the cover of the big lie of temporariness built an entire system in which the members of one people have determined for almost 50 years the fate of another people: They arrest them, steal from them, question them, judge them and sometimes kill them.</div>
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His name was Nadim Nawara and he grew up and had his own political opinion and went out to demonstrate and died in Beitunia in the Nakba Day protest on May 15, 2014. He survived a premature birth and a car accident, but did not survive the occupation.</div>
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Hagai El-Ad is the executive director of B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.</div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-45749591127060899162014-06-21T21:15:00.004-06:002014-06-21T22:23:04.866-06:00"How do you expect me to confess to something I didn't do?"<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm" target="_blank">Stone Cold Justice</a> —<br />
<ul>
<li>700 Palestinian children are jailed every year</li>
<li>at the end of April, 196 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons—some as young as 12 years old [<a href="http://www.btselem.org/statistics/minors_in_custody" target="_blank">http://www.btselem.org/statistics/minors_in_custody</a>] </li>
<li>in July, a five-year-old boy who lives in Hebron was taken into custody and held by Israeli soldiers for 2 hours…"I was playing and then a car came."</li>
<li>in Hebron, settlers attack Palestinian children on their way to school</li>
<li>"the Israeli military courts have a conviction rate of 99.74%"</li>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm" target="_blank">WATCH the Report - Stone Cold Justice</a></div>
<ul>
<li>Israeli military targets children in order to use them to gather military intelligence. The children are easily intimidated by the interrogation.</li>
<li>Israeli military regularly engages in "mapping"—raiding Palestinian homes at night to gather information on the residents, then returning to arrest children, sometimes as young as nine years old.</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIroIWw5uGQAmJv_cxPU4B_Oq-jm-G4EGgRE6PKHEn4IElFC7-Vbhba1A4WaejxsZdTd76QnAApLPfSVftqFAX5FpKXwfDpqINdq5nrZmO-vQLxsNTKSH5Ody8bkUtPv1GIE6GphrmciDO/s1600/Nader+Abu+Amsha+(YMCA)-Ayed+(DCI).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIroIWw5uGQAmJv_cxPU4B_Oq-jm-G4EGgRE6PKHEn4IElFC7-Vbhba1A4WaejxsZdTd76QnAApLPfSVftqFAX5FpKXwfDpqINdq5nrZmO-vQLxsNTKSH5Ody8bkUtPv1GIE6GphrmciDO/s1600/Nader+Abu+Amsha+(YMCA)-Ayed+(DCI).jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting with Nader Abu Amsha (YMCA) and Ayed <br />
(DCI-Defense for Children International)</td></tr>
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Every day, Palestinian children's lives are in danger and Israeli soldiers are ordered not to intervene. Watch this Australian news report on the arrest and detention of children in the West Bank and the Israelis who are working to end this horrendous practice. </div>
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One of the Palestinians featured, Basem Tamimi, a community leader in Nabi Saleh, is one of the non-violent activists we met in November. We also met with Nader Abu Amsha, from the YMCA Rehabilitation Project in Beit Sahour, which works to support Palestinian boys who have been arrested and detained. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/02/10/3939266.htm" target="_blank">Watch the report, Stone Cold Justice.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.unicef.org/oPt/UNICEF_oPt_Children_in_Israeli_Military_Detention_Observations_and_Recommendations_-_6_March_2013.pdf" target="_blank">Children in Israeli Military Detention</a> - UNICEF report</div>
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<a href="http://insidethelivingstones.com/blog/nader-abu-amsha/" target="_blank">YMCA rehabilitation project, Beit Sahour</a></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-77173414672992124692014-05-29T13:53:00.002-06:002014-05-29T13:56:30.218-06:00And you will be my witnesses….Ascension Day, May 29<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“And you will be my
witnesses<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in Jerusalen, in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Acts 1.8<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to the writer of Acts, these are Jesus’ last words
before he was taken to heaven. A friend in Taybeh wrote today to wish all of
her friends a blessed Holy Ascension, commemorated today, forty days after the
resurrection. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The descendants of these disciples, who stood watching as
Jesus was taken to heaven, still live in the Holy Land today. And they take
Jesus’ command very seriously. Today I share the witness of one of these
disciples, Dr. Maria Khoury, who lives in Taybeh, near Ramallah, in the West
Bank.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<h4>
What Does the Pope’s
Visit Mean to Me?</h4>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D. [<a href="http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/05/26/pope-francis-holy-land-visit-means/" target="_blank">Read this in the Arab Daily News</a>]<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Visit of Pope Francis to Israel/Palestine brought more
excitement than ever because anyone and everyone in news media came to Taybeh
to interview the local Christians. I am so very disappointed, however,
that one might spend five hours with a news team and it is not sure they will
use the two minutes they are planning since the producers always have the final
word. Either way, since the village is known for having people who are
“Taybeen,” meaning “good” or “pleasant,” we continue to welcome visitors and
news media with open arms. Although, on the ground we feel our situation
will stay the same no matter who visits.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Furthermore, when follow-up emails begin with such a
sentence: “…my apologies for the delay in responding to your email.
Indeed, I am deeply thankful for your time, consideration and gracious
hospitality. Our trip to Taybeh was as eye-opening as it was
heart-breaking…Your struggle is real and I applaud you for your courage…” most
likely they are not using the footage and they are not bringing the Holy Father
to visit you. So sad! But at least His Excellency the Consul General of
France expressed his solidarity and support and had a great tour of Taybeh this
last week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was a remarkable moment that Palestinians can say Pope
Francis came directly to Bethlehem when he finished his schedule in Jordan.
This was a very symbolic message since Israel controls everything and one
day Palestine wishes to have its own airport, seaport and its own
internationally recognized boarders. What was even more extraordinary is
that His Holiness stopped to pray at the wall that circles Bethlehem completely
in a huge prison. For me it was a way to validate that everything we
experience because of the wall was recognized by a world leader since it has
affected 80% of the Palestinian people in our daily life. Although, again,
the visit by Pope Francis will not change anything unless he asks Israel to end
the occupation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Maria Khoury</td></tr>
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The Pope’s visit will surely touch the lives of many.
Especially the thirty young people from the Latin Church Choir who participated
in the mass in Bethlehem. Although very tired…it was an amazing
experience. Sister Leonie, the choir director who accompanied the group
said the visit of the Holy Father was “very important to the Christians of the
Holy Land. It inspired Christians to maintain their faith and promote
harmony among the denominations. Pope Francis reminded all Christians that they
are one in Christ. The visit inspires love, peace and co-existence among
Christians, Muslims and Jews.” Abu Johnny, the music teacher, also recognized
that Pope Francis simply had a “peace sign” on his face and his visit was very
important in supporting Christianity in the Holy Land. Many students said
that the Pope’s visit was a great comfort to the Christians in this region and
his message of peace was critical.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am so very grateful that Pope Francis helped me believe in
miracles since he invited both the Israeli and Palestinian president to come to
the Vatican. In my thinking he should have possibly invited them to pray on the
moon since our resolution seriously needs an out of the box solution. And
I wish he can invite some female leaders from both sides to join the prayer
session since I am thinking women can contribute creative solutions. But again,
I wish the Holy Father asked Israel to allow all people to enter Jerusalem
freely if in fact they support religious freedom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My husband David Khoury, former mayor of Taybeh and
co-founder of the Taybeh Brewing Company said that “the visit of Pope Francis
expressed great solidarity with the people of Palestine and very symbolic of
the shepherd looking over his flock. His visit means Christians are
not forgotten and since he is a man of peace it will hopefully bring peace to
the Holy Land. Although his visit was announced as a spiritual pilgrimage
only, it was important that he called for a just peace.” However, on a
personal level, I wish I heard Pope Francis or Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
ask Israel to end the occupation right now today because it has been one day
too many already. I wish they visited me in Taybeh so I would have
mentioned it personally after explaining that every week water is turned off 5
days per week and in September, I did not have running water for 17 days.
Last July no running water for 21 days. While the settlements all around [us] get
water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.</div>
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May we keep our hope for a better future so such Apostolic
visits allow us to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It is the True
Light of Christ that I will keep seeing no matter who visits me. <o:p></o:p></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-79978977106077252212014-05-27T10:17:00.000-06:002014-05-27T10:17:30.449-06:00Will the Holy Fathers Bear True Witness?<div class="MsoNormal">
This post comes from Dr. Maria Khoury, who lives in Taybeh, a Christian village in the West Bank near Ramallah. Maria was raised in Denver and now lives in the West Bank with her husband, whose family owns the Taybeh Brewery there. They returned to Palestine after the Oslo Accords, filled with hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and freedom for Palestinians. They are sti</div>
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Dear Friends of Saint George Taybeh,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wishing all of you a blessed early Holy Ascension,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
truly the Lord is Risen, maria<o:p></o:p></div>
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Will the Holy Fathers Bear True Witness?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/05/25/pope-francis-visit-will-holy-fathers-bear-true-witness/">Read
this where it originally appears in the Arab Daily News</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is a special day in the Holy Land where His Holiness Pope
Francis will meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre to commemorate the historic meeting of their predecessors in
Jerusalem fifty years ago that began a new era of Church relations. The motto
for the Apostolic Pilgrimage is "So that they may be one" (John
17:20-23). Also scheduled to arrive in Jerusalem is Maronite Patriarch Bechara
Rai of Lebanon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Although the Holy Fathers will not make it to Taybeh, many
newspapers came to report on the Christian community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wish to be for the world the light and the
hope needed under Israeli occupation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are locked up behind a wall in an open prison and settlements continue to go up
all around us while Israel continues to control all of the boarders, the roads,
the natural resources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a hassle
and harassment not to have the freedom to enter Jerusalem without permits.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Will the Holy Fathers speak against the atrocities we
experience and see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does it have to take
a miracle to hold Israel responsible for the death of two Palestinian children
gunned down by the Israeli soldiers during Nakba Day protest (May 15th) near
Ramallah? Will the Holy Fathers even have time to see the video released by
Defense for Children Palestine which reveals that the sixteen year old Mohammad
Mahmoud Odeh Salameh and the seventeen year old Nadeem Siam Nawara were not
holding any rocks or weapons, nor were they posing any security threat when the
Israeli soldiers shot them assassination style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does the world know about this brutal killing that goes on daily in
Palestine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, Palestine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am sorry to say that some of the press
releases refuse to even include the word “Palestine” and mention the visit only
to Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So sad! We do exist in 22% of
the historic land of Palestine; over 4 million people although less than 1.6%
Christian, we are united as Christians and Muslims with the hope for a free
Palestine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As Pope Francis is celebrating Mass in Manger Square in
Bethlehem which we are so honored that the Taybeh Latin Church choir will sing
for him, will he say anything about the destruction by the Israeli military
this past week, May 19th of 1500 fruit trees at the Tent of Nations Peace Farm
near where he is praying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so
shocked and outraged of the damage at the Daoud Nassar farm because many of the
trees were ready for harvest this June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But will His Holiness say anything to Israel?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our local Latin priest Father Aziz Halaweh has written a
letter more than once to the Holy Father about the twenty Palestinian priests
of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem who do not have the right to enter
Jerusalem without a permit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they get
this permit, increasingly unlikely, however they cannot enter Jerusalem with
their own car. They must use public transportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must cross the checkpoint on foot (not
drive through with other priests who have a visa). They must be inserted into a
queue and wait many hours as Palestinians to cross without<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>being sure they enter Jerusalem. Even when
the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem which is an official Vatican
Representative has tried to facilitate their pastoral mission and provide a
pass for priests to show at the checkpoint the Israeli military authorities
refuse it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One priest said: "Every time I show it to pass, the
Israeli soldiers refuse it, and they always ask for a visa. Recently, a soldier
told me, in view of this pass: " Throw it away; here it’s
worthless."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another priest also
said: "Israeli soldiers accused us in an arrogant way of being
liars," You Catholic priests, you are liars, you have a document without a
visa and you pretend to enter Jerusalem. "<o:p></o:p></div>
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Will any of the Holy Fathers this weekend be a loud voice to
speak against military occupation and the discriminatory laws? Or will the
Christian community be like a museum where the media simply comes to see how we
are keeping the Christian values and traditions for two thousand years here in
the very land where Christ was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
of the commandments is “Thou shall not bear false witness.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope everyone who comes to visit
Israel/Palestine will have their eyes open and speak the truth for justice and
peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will Pope Francis and Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew have the courage to speak against the injustices
happening in the very land where Christ was crucified and Resurrected? Will
they see the crimes against humanity like we see them with our eyes?<o:p></o:p></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-87794817548058088292014-05-23T22:04:00.001-06:002014-05-24T08:16:22.552-06:00Wondering what has happened to my treeOn an evening in early November, our group of Interfaith Peacebuilders got off our tour bus and trudged up the hill toward our next destination—Tent of Nations, a farm in the West Bank, just outside Bethlehem. We had to walk around large boulders on the road, which blocked our bus from driving up to the farm. The boulders had been placed there by Israeli soldiers some time ago, to prevent the farm from bringing in any equipment—like trucks, tractors, or other heavy equipment.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjEQLpy9uFcTHvLRJV258rUty_W4te9uAiopR12QfHIZoXWETivOmYqfbF-r8eGjO8iMDENXvePi3sYGWl5gh5ino6o8rYe22RdvdZjwbeNU46x7fcn0EnITL5wwBysC7lb05yvB6KmPK/s1600/Tent-entry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjEQLpy9uFcTHvLRJV258rUty_W4te9uAiopR12QfHIZoXWETivOmYqfbF-r8eGjO8iMDENXvePi3sYGWl5gh5ino6o8rYe22RdvdZjwbeNU46x7fcn0EnITL5wwBysC7lb05yvB6KmPK/s1600/Tent-entry.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are squeezing through the boulders blocking the road.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Daher Nassar met us and told us the story of his family's farm—he welcomed us into his grandfather's cave, which he built in 1916 when he purchased the land and registered it with the Ottoman government. Things changed for the Nassar family in 1991, when the Israeli settlements were being built and they started being harassed by the settlers. Settlements are built on hilltops, to command the surrounding countryside. The Nassar farm is on a hilltop.<br />
<br />
Today the farm produces carob products, figs, almonds, apricots and apples. The farm has also begun developing solar energy and recycling wastewater—a necessity, since Israel has cut off their access to electricity and water. Israel has ordered them not dig cisterns or collect rainwater. Since their road was blocked they have been forced to farm without equipment.<br />
<br />
In the summer, they host peace camps for Muslim, Jewish and Christian children. This year they had 65 children and 25 volunteers. They also host international volunteers who want to gain experience in sustainable farming, or simply help this family stay on their land.<br />
<br />
Then his sister Amal spoke to us. She is a psychotherapist, working in Bethlehem. She tells us, "This land is precious to us like a mother." She also tells a story about meeting a woman from a nearby settlement, who can't believe there are Palestinians living in the area (in addition to the Nassar farm, there is also a Palestinian village in the valley). She explains that they use her grandfather's cave, rather than building more buildings, so as not to destroy nature.<br />
<br />
The farm used to produce wheat and grapes for wine, which they cannot raise now, without machinery. Although they have four sets of documents proving their ownership of the land, this West Bank family has spent thousands of dollars and the last twelve years in Israeli court, fighting to keep their land. They could choose to leave, she says, but "my father said 'Always keep hope alive.'" Their father was a lay evangelist at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, where the family still worships. She continues, "we have a task to do on this land."<br />
<br />
So the Nassars have chosen not to be enemies. The sign for their farm shows their motto, "We refuse to be enemies." She tells us, "Christians have a duty to make peace and share the land."<br />
<br />
Amal also tells us that international pressure has helped save their land—in spite of all the demolition orders.<br />
<br />
This week Israeli soldiers came with bulldozers and uprooted one of their orchards—1500 apricot and apple trees were destroyed and the terraces where they were planted were leveled by the bulldozers. The valley looks like a wasteland.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFr_cbc76OPVYY1RGiTGt07prJYN6ZoPqaKMprthqH-SolW0dbKPyCv3U7RZBUiabvGWoGAJN6ZmsF49-cC3weS55bTZatsWBJ32GPsxMW7h0UulngCIZHDjIC6pFNpmZ_fhvSbyrWoss/s1600/TentofNations-treesdestroyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFr_cbc76OPVYY1RGiTGt07prJYN6ZoPqaKMprthqH-SolW0dbKPyCv3U7RZBUiabvGWoGAJN6ZmsF49-cC3weS55bTZatsWBJ32GPsxMW7h0UulngCIZHDjIC6pFNpmZ_fhvSbyrWoss/s1600/TentofNations-treesdestroyed.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before and After—Tent of Nations orchard (left) and the valley after Israeli's military bulldozed and uprooted the trees (right).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'm wondering whether the tree I gave them was one of the destroyed trees. Amal's name means "hope." That night, when I gave the tree, I, too, had so much hope for the project. Tonight I'm angry—at the waste, the meanness, the hard-heartedness. But I'm also inspired by the hope the Nassar family maintains—the hope of their father Daher, whose vision of a farm bringing people together still preaches hope in these dark days.<br />
<br />
Please be part of that hope—sign a petition to Secretary of State John Kerry asking for his help in rebuilding the destroyed orchards and getting compensation for the Nassar family, and an end to the Israeli effort to take their land.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://action.cmep.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=17591">http://action.cmep.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=17591</a><br />
<br />
Read more about Tent of Nations: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tentofnations">https://www.facebook.com/tentofnations</a><br />
<a href="http://www.oregonsynod.org/peace-not-walls/love-your-enemies">Watch "Love Your Enemies"</a>—Daoud Nassar tells about how their faith supports them in their peacebuilding work.Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-45085770226093345902014-05-20T14:17:00.002-06:002014-05-20T14:30:47.402-06:00Two Narratives—Independence Day and Nakba "Catastrophe"May 15 marks two anniversaries in Israel/Palestine. the day Israelis celebrate as Independence Day is also a commemoration by Palestinians of the Nakba. While many Americans are aware of Israel's statehood, few of us ever heard about the Nakba. In conflict, the winners' story is usually the one that is told.<br />
<br />
Nakba means "catastrophe" in Arabic and May 15 marks the 66th anniversary of the Jewish militias' campaign to remove Palestinians from lands it wished to make into a state. I say "Jewish militias" because the removal of Palestinians from their villages in what is now Israel began in 1947—before the UN vote for partition, before the British withdrew from Palestine, before any "Arab War" began, before the formation of the state of Israel. Before May 15, almost a quarter-million Palestinians had already been forced from their homes by Jewish militias. (Ilan Pappe, <i>The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine</i>, 2006, p. xv)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem—this key looks like the keys many Palestinian families will show you, the keys the refugees grabbed as they hurriedly left their homes in nearby villages in 1947-48. It reminds us of their intention to return to their homes when the fighting stopped.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Palestinians fleeing from their homes was not an accident of war. It was a systematic plan to remove as many Arabs as possible from the land Israel claimed for their state (thoroughly documented, from Israeli archives, in Pappe's book). The Nakba continued through 1948, eventually displacing about 800,000 people.<br />
<br />
The Middle East Children's Association has compiled a short narrative with photos, telling the story of the Nakba, which I encourage you to read: <br />
<a href="http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4850389ae3e2d55804103e6af&id=42f3150476&e=cd373b94c0" target="_blank">http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4850389ae3e2d55804103e6af&id=42f3150476&e=cd373b94c0</a>Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-79813737897559354512014-05-19T09:30:00.002-06:002014-05-19T13:42:45.509-06:00Make new friends, but keep the old...From Barbara Hanst, teaching English in Nablus:<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do you know that song from your childhood? I learned it as a Girl Scout and its message has stuck with me through the years. <br />
<br />
On Wed I traveled to Jenin to make some new friends, the parents of Ayman Alawneh. Ayman is a Palestinian studying for his PhD at CU. He and his wife, Nancy, have become good friends in Boulder and Ayman wanted me to meet his parents and deliver a phone to them. I was happy to do so and enjoyed meeting not only his parents but also several of his siblings. What a LOVELY family!! Now I know why Ayman is so special!! His mother not only prepared a feast for me, but also sent me home with her homemade za'atar. <br />
<br />
On Thursday I went to Beit Jala, a suburb of Bethlehem, to see old friends, Kamal Mukarker and his family. Kamal had been my tour guide both in 2010 when I traveled on a Sabeel tour and again in 2012 when I ret'd to Bethlehem on my own. Normally I would have taken a service (pronounced ser-veeese; a van holding 7 people) first from Nablus to Ramallah, and then from Ramallah to Bethlehem, but Kamal was going to be in Ramallah with a group so offered to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way. Lovely idea, I thought, but it ended up being a bit unsettling.<br />
<br />
I was traveling on the anniversary of the Nakba ("catastrophe" in Arabic), the time in 1948 when about 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and made refugees as a result of Israel's War of Independence. There are observances of the Nakba all over the country and, for sure, in Ramallah where Yasser Arafat is buried and Palestinian governmental offices are now found. I was to meet Kamal in the City Centre. Hah! No way!~! It was packed with people, so I was relieved when he suggested an alternative spot about a 10 minute walk away.<br />
<br />
I finally found it and was enjoying an ice cream cone when suddenly the proprietor ran into the street and then lowered the steel rolling door that closed his shop. "What's going on?" I asked. Two Palestinians had been killed as they were demonstrating outside a near-by Israeli prison, and when news of it came to the City Centre, the people there were enraged and began marching and shouting. The ice cream shop as well as other businesses were closed to protect their property, I suppose. Other customers left by a rear door and I was there alone until Kamal came to get me. Fortunately by that time the shop had opened up again. <br />
<br />
The ride to Beit Jala was filled with lively conversation during which Kamal told me of his plans to be married, the development of his tourism business, and recent time he had spent with Rick Steves. He is also in the process of building a 3 story home attached to his parents', which home I got to see during my full and somewhat tumultuous visit with his family. <br />
<br />
The next day, not long after breakfast, Kamal's father was rushed to the hospital, fearing a heart attack, as his mother prepared to host a group of Swiss tourists, providing lunch and lecturing on Palestinian history. She, too, is a tourist guide. I ended up on kitchen duty, not that I was asked to do that, but because I wanted to do something to make myself useful!<br />
<br />
Returning to Nablus late that afternoon via 2 service rides was also eventful, probably because of the Nakba observance and the killing of the two Palestinians by the Israeli military the day before. First we encountered the remnants of tear gas which, even though the driver quickly rolled up all windows, made it uncomfortable for both lungs and eyes. Since I feel sure that was from the previous day, I can't imagine the impact of it "freshly sprayed".<br />
<br />
On the 2nd service we passed through two checkpoints, but only at the 1st did we have to show our IDs. At both checkpoints the lines were long and slow, inching forward, unless you had a yellow license plate, indicating yours was an Israeli car, which enabled you to zoom right by.<br />
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When I finally got back to Nablus, I was feeling tired and dejected as I trudged toward my Project Hope apt, backpack weighing me down. (This time I was carrying apricot jam made by my host from their trees.) What a surprise to be accosted by shouts of "Barbara! Barbara!" There were two of my students pleased to see me........but not nearly as pleased as I was to see them!! It was a joyous "Welcome Home!"</div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-25423542009497169522014-05-11T10:41:00.001-06:002014-05-11T10:48:18.412-06:00Stung by a QuestionBarbara Hanst, a friend who lives in Boulder, is currently in Nablus, volunteering as an English teacher with Project Hope. <a href="http://projecthope.ps/nablus/" target="_blank">Project Hope</a> "works in the refugee camps, cities, and villages of the Nablus region of the northern West Bank, teaching English and delivering other essential education, arts and sports programs to Palestinian children and youth.<br />
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The largest volunteer organization of its kind in Palestine, Project Hope fosters dialogue and cooperation between local and international volunteers, while encouraging its volunteer alumni to remain involved with the issue of Palestine afterward."<br />
<br />
Barbara posts her encounters and thoughts on regular emails to friends and family. I'm sharing her post yesterday—a poignant reminder about why it is so important for us to keep working to change the US role in the conflict.<br />
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She writes—<br />
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Dear friends and family,<br />
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I've spent much of the past several days "playing hooky" from Project Hope in order to spend time with fellow Boulderite and Sister City Project Board member, Carl Tintsman, who is passing through Nablus and has been interested in meeting some of our contacts here. <br />
<br />
Last night we had dinner with a recent An-Najah graduate who is now the Community Participating Governance Coordinator for Global Communities. We were soliciting his input for ways to make the Sister City relationship effective, i.e. what projects we might undertake.<br />
<br />
Inevitably the conversation strayed to the difficult conditions under which Palestinians live. "Do you think life would be like this for us if the United States were not giving Israel 8 1/2 million dollars a day and exercising veto power at the UN?"<br />
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We responded with silence.</div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-10010696233631371712014-04-23T09:31:00.004-06:002014-04-23T09:31:50.413-06:00Easter in Palestine—Stories from the West Bank and GazaThe Electronic Intifada compiles news stories from Palestine. Here are a four of the stories from the West Bank and Gaza in this Easter week. These are all in the Nablus area, in the middle of the West Bank, in an area where Israeli settlers are increasing their numbers and Israel is closing roads to "protect" them. (<a href="http://palsolidarity.org/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=52&wysijap=subscriptions&user_id=6415">read this on the Electronic Intifada</a>):<br /><br /><b>Israeli Forces Shoot Tear Gas into Houses in Awarta Village</b><br /><br />On the 20th of April, five Israeli jeeps entered the village of Awarta. The Israeli forces broke into four houses and shot several tear gas and stun grenades inside the houses, leaving several families with no other alternative than to sleep elsewhere until the tear gas clouds dispersed, which could take weeks.<br /><br />The Israeli soldiers beat several people and broke furniture during this event. A 26-year-old Palestinian was violently arrested and detained for two hours with no reason given.<div>
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<br />Two days later, Israeli soldiers once again entered houses in Awarta and shot several tear gas grenades..<a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/israeli-forces-shoot-tear-gas-into-houses-in-awarta-village/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">read more</a><br /><br /><b>Khan-al-Luban: Israeli Army Attack</b> <a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/khan-al-luban-israeli-army-attack/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">Read the whole story</a><br /><br />From an ISM volunteer at the scene….At 6:45pm an Israeli army jeep pulled in front of a building across the street from the family house, then backed out of the driveway and drove along the road towards the back of the house. We all went into the center area and shut the doors, but went outside to photograph what they were doing as the three Israeli soldiers got out of the jeep and started coming over the fence and onto the roof. We climbed to the roof area where they had come onto the property. They asked one of the human rights volunteers to show her passport but she refused.<br /><br />Jimmy stayed inside because he thought they might be looking for him. One of the young sons talked to the soldiers on the roof and the army called for back up.<br /><br />After the soldiers began shouting at the mother and her child, Jimmy came out to the roof area, no longer able to stay hidden. He told the soldiers that they were on his family’s property and that they should stop yelling at his mother and younger brothers.<br /><br />The soldiers became belligerent and hit him with their hands. They then attempted to handcuff Jimmy, and dragged him partway across the roof; by that time the cuffs were fully on. At that point they knocked him down and hit him on the head with the back of a rifle. Jimmy was unconscious from that time on and appeared to convulse slightly. They continued to beat him after he collapsed. [He was later taken to hospital in Nablus] <a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/khan-al-luban-israeli-army-attack/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">Read more</a><br /><br /><b>Settlers Set Fire to Palestinian Chicken Farm </b><br />On Friday 18th April, during the night in the village of Madama, settlers from a nearby illegal settlement entered a Palestinian farm and sat fire to a newly built chicken house. The damage totaled $12,500 for the 3,500 chickens and their food, as well as $100,000 for the building itself. The Palestinian owner of the chicken house sold his car and some of his land in order to buy this costly farm, it is now completely destroyed.<br /><br />The farmer described the day this incident occurred, stating how he finished his work and went home, passing two Israeli military jeeps on the road. When he returned to the farm at 4am on Friday, he found his chicken farm burnt to the ground, all 3,500 chicks dead. The fire was started near a window of the farm, most likely started with gasoline. <a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/settlers-set-fire-to-palestinian-chicken-farm/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">More…</a><br /><br /><b>"A Message of Peace" from the Village of Qaryut Met with Violence from the Israeli Army</b><br />The people of Qaryut began weekly demonstrations three weeks ago, due to the Israeli military’s decision to close the main road near to the village.<br /><br />Yesterday, the 18th April, approximately 300 from the village, of which 100 were children, decided to come to the hill to pray rather than to march. Israeli soldiers arrived immediately, with one soldier yelling: “Go back home!” A resident of Qaryut responded; “Insh’allah [If God wills it], this is our home.”<br /><br />The prayer began despite the provocative military presence on the hill, during the prayers Israeli soldiers surrounded the gathering, one solider removed a Palestinian flag from its place in the ground.<br /><br />As prayers finished, one of the villagers declared to the army that it was their intention to leave the area, repeating over and over that they brought “a message of peace”.<br /><br />However, within a few steps of the people’s return to the village, Israeli soldiers started shooting tear gas at their backs. Due to the rocky terrain, many were unable to get away from the tear gas that the soldiers continued to fire. 15 people had to be treated by paramedics due to several tear gas inhalation, however it was difficult to access those in need because of the difficult conditions underfoot. Stun grenades were also used extensively by the Israeli forces. <a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/a-message-of-peace-from-the-village-of-qaryut-met-with-violence-from-the-israeli-army/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">More…</a></div>
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Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-48745277798264850322014-04-20T19:12:00.000-06:002014-04-20T19:12:02.784-06:00ResurrectionIf Jesus’ resurrection teaches us anything, it teaches us that death is not the final word. Death, imprisonment, torture—these are not the end of the story.<br />
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Safe in our fairy-tale country, we struggle to understand the message of the resurrection, but it is a powerful message of hope that Palestinians—Christian and Muslim—live every day. <br />
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“No oppression, no denial of rights can continue forever.” Dr. Saeb Erekat quoted Nelson Mandela in his recent <a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/prisoners/7385-erekat-the-release-of-palestinian-prisoners-is-a-signal-for-freedom">message on Palestinian Prisoner Day</a>: <br />
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[From Palestine News Network, April 17] The PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Saeb Erekat issued a press statement marking the Palestinian Prisoner Day, as follows: <br />
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"For Palestinians, having loved ones in prison is not the exception: it is something which has affected every Palestinian family. In the context of prolonged occupation, Israel- a foreign military power- has unlawfully imposed itself on the land of another people and has oppressed millions, in many varying ways. The plight of the prisoners reflects the plight of the Palestinian people as a whole.<br />
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A staggering 800,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces since 1967. 5224 remain incarcerated today, including administrative, sick, female and children detainees. These numbers reflect one of the worst experiences of imprisonment in contemporary history, designed to break the will of an entire nation seeking freedom. <br />
<br />
Israel has criminalized all forms of resistance, both armed and peaceful, and even political and civic engagement. The Palestinian leadership has chosen to resist through diplomatic and peaceful means, in order to achieve the Palestinian people's inalienable rights, as enshrined in international law. We now need to demonstrate to our people that this path leads to freedom and justice in an independent and democratic State of Palestine. Exist so that we can coexist. <br />
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The release of the Palestinian prisoners will be the first signal that freedom is on the way. <br />
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Now, we await the release of the remaining 30 Pre-Oslo prisoners still captive in occupation prisons. These are people who have been incarcerated for over 20 years. Karim Younes, the longest serving of these prisoners, has spent over 32 years of his life in Israeli jails. <br />
<br />
Israel committed to releasing these prisoners as part of the Oslo Agreement in 1993, again in 1999 through the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, and a third time in July 2013. In July last year, we agreed to postpone our accession to multilateral treaties and conventions for nine months in order to finally release the 104 Pre-Oslo prisoners. We fulfilled our commitment. Israel, yet again, did not. <br />
<br />
Where else in the world could a State imprison the elected representatives of another country with such impunity? The national leader Marwan Barghouthi was the first Member of Parliament to be detained. April 15th 2014 marked the 12th anniversary of his abduction. There has been a total of 50 Palestinian parliamentarians in Israeli jails at one time or another, equivalent to over one third of the Palestinian Parliament. Eleven remain detained today, including the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Saadat. <br />
<br />
The level of support gathered by the International campaign for the freedom of Marwan Barghouthi and all Palestinian prisoners, and the signing of the Robben Island Declaration by prominent international figures, including six Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, church leaders, artists, parliamentarians, human rights figures, trade unions, and thousands of citizens, sends a clear message that must be heard: freedom of the Palestinian prisoners and freedom of the Palestinian people will pave the way to peace. <i>Photo: “Free Marwan” grafitti on the wall near Ramallah. </i><br />
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<i><br /></i>Israel must choose between the pursuit of occupation and the pursuit of peace. Each settlement, each arrest, each violation, each refusal to abide by its commitments and obligations, shows that Israel is heading in the wrong direction. But history teaches us that justice prevails. We follow the example of Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa. No oppression, no denial of rights can continue forever." <br />
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<i>Gracious God, keep us strong in hope and steadfast in our struggle to set the prisoners free. Amen. </i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/28/release-marwan-barghouti-palestines-nelson-mandela">Read an interesting editorial</a> about how Marwan Barghouti’s release could lead to peace and a stable Palestinian state alongside Israel.
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Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-21165569712546047602014-04-19T10:52:00.000-06:002014-04-19T10:52:15.761-06:00The Resurrection of our Lord, Vigil of Easter—Hebron<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264925880">Exodus
14.10-31; 15.20-21</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Tonight, at the Easter Vigil, we read the stories of our
heritage—remembering where we have come from on this long spiritual journey.
The Fourth Reading is from Exodus, and the story is one that Jewish faithful
are also celebrating this week—their Passover, which began on Monday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Jewish homes across America, families sit down to the
traditional Seder supper and recall how God rescued them from the Egyptians and
reflect on those who are less fortunate, those who are still slaves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Hebron, a Palestinian city in the West Bank, however, the
holiday is a call to political protest, as an estimated 7000 settlers come for
“tours”, led by Israeli soldiers and border police. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On Thursday afternoon, Israeli soldiers closed the main road
into Hebron to allow settlers access to the Tomb of Othniel Ben Knaz, which is
located in the H1 (Palestinian) sector of Hebron. Residents of Hebron had their
daily routines disrupted as settlers, guarded by Israeli troops, paraded
through the Palestinian suq, harassing the shop owners and preventing any
sales.<o:p></o:p></div>
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the suq and the Mosque has been closed since Wednesday, preventing Muslim
worshipers from entering and forcing schoolchildren to walk a long way around.
Schools have closed earlier and the children are forced to walk through large
groups of soldiers. Many children stayed home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCmsunQjKeGUCJ6T6rYeusMdPOlmoFj9SrE7ZaQaa0ybh3troAv_s5lmWBLCRDS5TGtTdA9onteYfR6uVbM8ZK6Qe97ZgAI5W_RZ5ytk39A9fB3xB7wcSMtgI9arQnztiyImDBn5lEMqI/s1600/Hebron-childrenP4170465-400x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCmsunQjKeGUCJ6T6rYeusMdPOlmoFj9SrE7ZaQaa0ybh3troAv_s5lmWBLCRDS5TGtTdA9onteYfR6uVbM8ZK6Qe97ZgAI5W_RZ5ytk39A9fB3xB7wcSMtgI9arQnztiyImDBn5lEMqI/s1600/Hebron-childrenP4170465-400x300.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Photo shows schoolchildren in Hebron this week, passing
the Israeli soldiers.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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April 17 is also Prisoners’ Day for Palestinians, when they
remember all the prisoners held in Israeli prisons. In Hebron families gathered
outside the stadium to pray for imprisoned loved ones. <a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/jewish-holiday-increases-violence-in-hebron/">The
International Solidarity Movement reports</a>, “Many brought pictures of their
family members and friends, and the people of al-Khalil (Hebron), together with
many organisations and political parties, were there to show their support for
the prisoners.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Israeli soldiers have fired stun grenades and rubber-coated
steel bullets, and tear-gassed the crowds. Young Palestinians have been
throwing stones and some have been injured. You can read the whole story on the
ISM website link above.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Savior God, you hear
the cries of the oppressed and you set them free. Be with all who are oppressed
and in bondage today. As you brought the Israelites out of slavery, give these
people courage to resist their oppression and hope for their future. And give
us courage and steadfastness to loosen the chains we hold. Amen.</i> </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-12832338843273571802014-04-18T17:00:00.000-06:002014-04-19T08:21:07.694-06:00Good Friday—Stations of the Cross 10-14Good Friday<br />
Stations of the Cross<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">10</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>Jesus is stripped<br />
<i>They took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier</i>. Jn19.23<br />
<br />
This week, Israeli Defense Ministry Moshe Ya’alon sized control of 984 dunams of Bethlehem land for the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, declaring it “state land.” This piece of land surrounds private Palestinian land, which will now be inaccessible to its owners. The land includes the illegal outpost of Netiv Ha’avot.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">11</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>Jesus is nailed to the cross</div>
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Reading Ha’aretz, the Israeli newspaper today, I found <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.586126">the story of Fuad Shehadeh</a>, who has been hospitalized for six weeks, following an attack by Israeli settlers. Shehadeh lives in a village near Nablus, in the West Bank. He went with his friend to prune some olive trees and they were attacked as they were leaving. They ran, but one of the settlers threw a metal rod and broke Shehadeh’s leg, which immobilized him. After being beaten further, the Israeli soldier standing watching called to the settlers, “Enough,” and they left. He has ten fractures, eight on his right leg and two in his left arm. He has bruises on his head and right arm. The police have not even interviewed him, even though he is now in a hospital in Tel Aviv, being treated for his injuries. His assault was not reported in Israeli media.</div>
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<i>Photo: Fuad Shehadeh and his son Mohammed at Ichilov Hospital. The police haven't shown up to investigate.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">12</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>Jesus dies on the cross<br />
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Jesus died, refusing to cooperate in his trial or answer to his accusers. He also rejected violence, even healing the ear of the high priest’s slave injured by Peter. In the account in Luke, Jesus forgives the criminal hanging next to him.<br />
<br />
In Kairos Palestine, Palestinian Christians “call on the people of Israel to be our partners in peace and not in the cycle of interminable violence. Let us resist evil together, the evil of occupation and the infernal cycle of violence.” (<a href="http://kairospalestine.ps/">Kairos Palestine</a>, 4.3)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">13</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>Jesus is taken down from the cross<br />
<br />
<i>…when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. </i>(Jn19.33)<br />
<br />
Take a moment for prayer.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">14</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>Jesus is laid in the tomb<br />
<br />
Now there was a Garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. (Jn 19.41)<br />
<br />
This entire narrative of Jesus’ passion takes place within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the early years of the fourth century, the Emperor Constantine sent his mother Helena to find the holy sites and build churches. She investigated the places where pilgrims had been coming since the first century and chose the site for the Holy Sepulchre. Constantine built a church there to celebrate the resurrection. Geographically, it’s a very small space for such a large narrative. Visiting pilgrimage groups usually spend 30 minutes or so visiting the five stations that are located inside the church.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-80596226694311081422014-04-18T12:30:00.006-06:002014-04-18T12:33:09.213-06:00Good Friday—Stations of the Cross, 5-9Good Friday<br />
Stations of the Cross<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">5</span>—Simon helps carry the cross<br />
<i>Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases… Is 53.4</i><br />
<br />
Who are the people today who help suffering people bear their burdens?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3INLgju1w2cortOSmxKtMJcN_pi4j1Qk7cNe43tyagcaErIY0oQii3fMwIqXJ_GGmxo4RtkM8pZWaOPfjytghTyf5VEXN66LwsD5NUm-sgIj1JXXDT9oys6p71O_SaNO6Fe_Ij-7o4OmA/s1600/Farhan+and+son-BeitUmmar2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3INLgju1w2cortOSmxKtMJcN_pi4j1Qk7cNe43tyagcaErIY0oQii3fMwIqXJ_GGmxo4RtkM8pZWaOPfjytghTyf5VEXN66LwsD5NUm-sgIj1JXXDT9oys6p71O_SaNO6Fe_Ij-7o4OmA/s1600/Farhan+and+son-BeitUmmar2010.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGPxLRE32hFDunlVg06y14Df2m4ncl7LyRdmHTK3Nj_GBRon1278po7MCVA7yOku18N86-k5LN1FXZmb1OwZpuyfcGiCHcEg66hN1c3qw2TKUqCzNzcPxrYzpkB3BX9brksZAn-lYA20Q/s1600/Farhan+and+son-BeitUmmar2010.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGPxLRE32hFDunlVg06y14Df2m4ncl7LyRdmHTK3Nj_GBRon1278po7MCVA7yOku18N86-k5LN1FXZmb1OwZpuyfcGiCHcEg66hN1c3qw2TKUqCzNzcPxrYzpkB3BX9brksZAn-lYA20Q/s1600/Farhan+and+son-BeitUmmar2010.jpg" width="0" /></a><span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">6</span>—Veronica offers her veil to Jesus<br />
<br />
Who are the bearers of the image of Jesus today?<br />
I think of a Muslim—Farhan, elected mayor of Beit Ummar in 2006, in the first elections under the Palestinian Authority. Upon election he was immediately arrested by Israeli soldiers and imprisoned for being affiliated with Hamas. Sitting in his mother’s home, with his youngest son, Salah Ad-Din, on his lap, he told us, “Every good action, even if very small, gives me more hope—a hole for the light to pass through.” This Hamas leader told us, “I teach my sons and daughters to love, not hate; I give them the courage of love, not to hate. Love needs courage; hate does not.” But, he says, “love is stronger than hate.” He tells us this is what the prophet Mohammad taught: “Hate is very dangerous for the human being. War is easy; peace is hard.”<br />
<br />
<i>Photo: Farhan and Salah Ad-Din</i><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Copperplate Gothic Bold'; font-size: 18pt;">7</span>—Jesus falls the second time<br />
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<i>He learned obedience through what he suffered</i> Heb 5.8<br />
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Almost every young Palestinian man I have met has been arrested and served time in prison. Usually it is for throwing stones in a demonstration against the Israeli soldiers and tanks in their villages. They tell about the network of Palestinian elders in prison who taught them about non-violent resistance. In prison they have studied Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., so that when they are released, they are equipped to continue the resistance.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjfXsm9k4KyUHHcRcF1flXBgykgJXNcHHGooN00bahBwNSKo-BytEitl36UhnAIKw7LHU0Jj0qlT18mxP3OWV8yIC6oDvgQgGRhDCtZKApt7tH_npw1l5NP5umkuRRdxIqN_jZw7SuiTq/s1600/febr-24-2013-family-mourns-arafat-jaradat-photo-by-wafa-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjfXsm9k4KyUHHcRcF1flXBgykgJXNcHHGooN00bahBwNSKo-BytEitl36UhnAIKw7LHU0Jj0qlT18mxP3OWV8yIC6oDvgQgGRhDCtZKApt7tH_npw1l5NP5umkuRRdxIqN_jZw7SuiTq/s1600/febr-24-2013-family-mourns-arafat-jaradat-photo-by-wafa-4.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">8</span>—Jesus meets the weeping women<br />
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I think of Eran Efrati, the former Israeli soldier who was in Denver in February. He told the story of his gradual awakening to what Israel was really doing in the West Bank. One pivotal moment was in Hebron, when he heard a mother’s cry as she mourned her son’s death. The night before, in the confusion and darkness, her son had been killed by some19-year-old soldiers. When he heard her cry, he realized it was the cry of his grandmother, waking in the night with nightmares about her time in Auschwitz.<br />
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<i>Photo of women weeping at the death of Arafat Jaradat, killed in Israeli custody, February, 2013.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">9</span>—Jesus falls the third time<br />
<i>All we like sheep have gone astray<br />We have all turned to our own way…</i>(Is 53.6)<br />
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By Station nine, I am despairing. Will Jesus’ suffering never end? Will the Palestinians’ suffering never end? The US supports Israel’s human rights violations with our tax dollars. As a country, we have lost our way. All we like sheep… It’s not like the swelling choruses of the Christmas oratorio. It is like carrying the cross and falling under its weight.</div>
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<br />
In writing these meditations, I am coming from a particular perspective on Jesus’ life. Jesus took a path of non-violent resistance to oppression and tyranny—the tyranny of the Roman Empire and the enforcement of Roman law by the Judean political and religious leaders. Jesus’ life was a message of hope for the Judeans living under Roman military rule and he died because he spoke up for those who were suffering and challenged the system of oppression. <br />
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Many Palestinians are living their lives on this same path Jesus took, and the Stations of the Cross reflect their suffering too. The texts are taken from the lessons for Good Friday—Isaiah 52.13-53.12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 4.14-16, 5.7-9 and10.26-25; John 18.1-19.42.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Apple Chancery";">1</span>—Jesus is condemned<br />
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<i>“We have no king but the emperor”</i> (Jn 19. 16)<br />
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Today there are 183 children in the Israeli Prison System, according to their own statistics, as recorded on <a href="http://www.btselem.org/statistics/minors_in_custody">B’Tselem’s website</a>. Children are usually arrested for throwing stones. They are in the military court system; their parents are not allowed to see them; they do not have a lawyer. When they are being questioned, they are often told they can see their mothers when they give names of people in their village who are conspiring against Israel. This is a horrible choice for children to have to make.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">2</span>—Christ receives his cross<br />
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<i>Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. </i>(Jn19.17)<br />
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built over the site where Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are believed to have taken place. The location is considered likely because Christians have venerated this site since 66 AD. Golgotha is a large rock that lies under the church and is visible in several places inside. Long lines of pilgrims wait to touch the rock in one of the chapels. As you can imagine, the crowds in the holy places are immense during Holy Week and Easter—pilgrims come from all over the world, but Christians who live in Bethlehem, a distance of about six miles, are unable to get permits to visit and Israeli soldiers block many of the entrances to the Old City, so it is difficult for anyone to be there on this holy day.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">3</span>—Jesus falls for the first time<br />
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I<i>n the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears…</i> (Heb 5.7)<br />
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In Palestine news media, stories like this one happen every day…<br />
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Ramallah, April 10, 2014—A four-month-old baby was injured when an Israeli air strike hit meters away from his home in central Gaza.</div>
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Photo: Mohammad al-Tatar, with his father Tamer. The four-month-old baby received a head wound When an Israeli airstrike hit nearby.<br />
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Mohammad al-Tater from Al-Meghraqa was left “bleeding profusely” after the force of the explosion smashed windows in the house and scattered shrapnel throughout the bedrooms.<br />
<br />
The attack came at 1:45 am on April 4 and struck a piece of farmland approximately 100 meters (328 feet) from the house. <a href="http://www.dci-palestine.org/documents/four-month-old-gaza-baby-wounded-air-strike">Full story…</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold"; font-size: 18.0pt;">4</span>—Jesus meets his mother<br />
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<i>When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”</i> Jn 19.26-27</div>
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When children are arrested by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, the soldiers ride into the village in armored jeeps around 2 am, pile out of the vehicle and bang on the door of the home. I have heard and read this same story many times. They sometimes break down the door. They order the whole family outside, including even the babies. They beat the child right there, in front of his younger siblings and his father and his mother. Then they put him in one of the vehicles, often in his sleepwear, no jacket or shoes. And they take him to a nearby police station, which is usually in an Israeli settlement. And his mother cannot see him. She spends long hours, sometimes days, finding out where they have taken him.<br />
<div>
<i>Photo: Fourteen-year-old Ibrahim's parents, Mohammad and Sulha (right and center), tells us the story of his arrest when we visited Beit Ummar in 2010.</i></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-6966752111921687162014-04-17T08:16:00.003-06:002014-04-17T08:21:59.020-06:00Maundy Thursday, John—With Love as Its Logic<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264743497">John
13.1-17, 31b-35</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“By this everyone will
know that you are my disciples,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If you have love for
one another.” </i>Jn13.35<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that if I endured the daily oppression that is part
of every Palestinian’s life, I would be bitter and angry, depressed and hopeless.
But the Palestinians I have met have instead chosen to be resourceful (like the
firemen in yesterday’s post), creative and non-judgmental. They are resigned to
things as they are, but also hopeful, knowing for certain that the occupation
of their land and lives will not go on forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether Christian or Muslim, their faith in God’s promise of
abundant life sustains them, gives them courage and hope. When I first went to
Palestine and saw the harsh reality of the wall and the way Israel is
continuing to take everything from them, I thought they would hate me for supporting
Israel with my taxes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I have never experienced any hatred—only love. This
looks like discipleship to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2009, Palestinian Christians wrote a letter to the world,
telling of their situation, their suffering and the injustice still being done
to them. They called it “Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth.” They stated
their situation boldly and honestly and asked the world to take notice and
change the situation, especially the US, which supports Israel with $3B per
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They expose the occupation—the theft of land, the arrests
without charges, the brutal treatment of prisoners, the violence against
peaceful protesters, the permit system that does not allow them to leave their
towns—and they call this an evil and a sin. They say Christians are called to
resist these evils—a resistance “with love as its logic.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They also speak to Muslims and Jews—with love. Their message
to the Muslims is “a message of love and living together and a call to reject
fanaticism and extremism.” Their message to Jews is, “Even though we have
fought one another in the recent past and still struggle today, we are able to
love and live together. We can organize our political life, with all its
complexity, according to the logic of this love and its power.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then they add a caveat: “…after ending the occupation and
establishing justice.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week, as we remember Jesus’ last days and hear the
stories, showing all the reasons why he was killed, I think of these
Palestinians, struggling to end their oppression, resisting the evil they are
enduring. Bringing love to their situation is truly a sign of God’s presence
and the work of the Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7h_SMgZJKMtnpU9o5AspGfvDjyZA_PRhPzCLiFG92lFydoOhfD9YOAmFL1Gj-EAJJgDnKHPhbwWrjeq6npGiLxHsoasgpvLKLvxkL7KRCXco71gIKCLdAt8aSxlgaleNyS3ifcs_laMm/s1600/MaundyThurs-Holy+Sepulchre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7h_SMgZJKMtnpU9o5AspGfvDjyZA_PRhPzCLiFG92lFydoOhfD9YOAmFL1Gj-EAJJgDnKHPhbwWrjeq6npGiLxHsoasgpvLKLvxkL7KRCXco71gIKCLdAt8aSxlgaleNyS3ifcs_laMm/s1600/MaundyThurs-Holy+Sepulchre.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They call on us to, “stand alongside the oppressed and
preserve the word of God as good news for all rather than to turn it into a
weapon with which to slay the oppressed.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not everyone can travel to Palestine or become totally
immersed in the Palestinian narrative as I have, but we can all look around us
and see the injustice in our own towns, in our own country, and do what they
ask, “stand alongside the oppressed and preserve the word of God as good news
for all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God of love, in these
days we have come to know you through your son Jesus. As we wash one another's feet tonight and remember his ministry
of love and his sacrifice, help us to be his disciples. Amen.</i></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-15844963087839894262014-04-16T11:39:00.002-06:002014-04-16T11:39:31.717-06:00Wednesday in Holy Week, Hebrews - Running the race<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264669904" target="_blank">Hebrews 12.1-3</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…</i> Heb 12.1</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“We leave without expecting to return” – meeting the
firefighters of Gaza<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each day during Lent, I read the texts for the day and I
read news from Israel/Palestine. It is truly terrifying how the stories are
linked. God certainly knows our frailties. Today I’d like you to read a story
from Gaza—a place we often think is beyond hope. These emergency workers
restore my hope.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you read, please remember that Gaza’s problems are caused
by Israel’s occupation—Israeli soldiers have total control over everything that
is brought into or take out of Gaza. It’s not a problem of money, but of
military action, that prevents Gaza from functioning. And your tax dollars
provide $3B in US foreign aid to Israel, which funds its military.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the International Solidarity Movement Gaza: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Yesterday I visited the Civil Defence Directorate, which
provides the fire and rescue service in Gaza, as well as some emergency
ambulances and marine rescue. These guys have a reputation as being fearless,
as well as being the most vulnerable to attack during times of war. In the
2008-9 war, 13 Civil Defence workers were killed in the line of duty, with 31
injured. This includes medics killed in their ambulances by snipers and
firefighters injured by secondary drone attacks while rescuing victims of the
initial strikes. These risks are additional to jobs which are considered
dangerous even in peaceful countries like the UK and USA….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s start with a familiar theme in Gazan emergency
services: shortages. After meeting with the Red Crescent and Department of
Health, looking around a few dozen ambulances, an Emergency Department and
interviewing a variety of health care workers, I’ve seen the same issues
occurring endlessly. No equipment, limited or no drugs, no electricity,
expensive fuel, training problems and unacceptable risk in times of conflict.
The impact of each issue varies according to the service (for example, the
electricity cuts are a huge problem for Al-Shifa hospital, whereas the fuel
crisis has more of an impact on the emergency services) but the end result is
the same – hamstrung services and an impossible situation for managers and
workers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvupWKDH6iiI7jLpdse9dA41ol1n4UqBwZT_Awfp_N__hHw3yvk490yH1JOHet3uCuc8bkDJK7HGTDTfVWOJ2jWoVBNFcNyhvS5z_zA6A33IGHyavHJzGY8TGcdwdl9igjXQXEwFvdHAp/s1600/GazaFirefighters-dscf4169-600x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvupWKDH6iiI7jLpdse9dA41ol1n4UqBwZT_Awfp_N__hHw3yvk490yH1JOHet3uCuc8bkDJK7HGTDTfVWOJ2jWoVBNFcNyhvS5z_zA6A33IGHyavHJzGY8TGcdwdl9igjXQXEwFvdHAp/s1600/GazaFirefighters-dscf4169-600x450.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/we-leave-without-expecting-to-return-meeting-the-firefighters-of-gaza/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Digest">Read
more….</a>The article goes on to describe the imaginative and creative ways the
emergency workers cope with the situation in Gaza. It is an amazing story of
hope. </div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-35268810942821038502014-04-14T11:39:00.000-06:002014-04-16T11:40:30.642-06:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264569863">1
Corinthians 1.18-31</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God chose what is weak
in the world to shame the strong;<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God chose what is low
and despised in the world,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Things that are not<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To reduce to nothing
things that are. </i>1 Cor 1.27-28<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Non-violent resistance has proven to be an effective tool
for the weak—no expensive tanks or weapons are needed. And when the world sees
helmeted, M-16-toting soldiers in combat boots piling out of tanks to attack
unarmed marchers carrying protest banners, we are all ashamed. It worked for
Gandhi and for the Civil Rights Movement.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Palestinians study Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Nelson
Mandela—some do this in prison, where the older prisoners teach the younger
ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The non-violent movement is strong in Palestinian towns and
villages in the West Bank. In November, our group of Interfaith Peacebuilders
visited with leaders of the weekly Bi’lin and Nabi Saleh demonstrations. We saw
the wall where it is built on their olive groves and farmland. And we saw the
towering apartment blocks built on their land, which the wall supposedly
protects.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I like to check with local news sources to find out what is
happening in Palestine. The Middle East Media Center works to present news from
the point of view of Palestinians. Their report for last week:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the
International Middle East Media Center, <a href="http://www.imemc.org/">www.imemc.org</a>,
for April 5th to the 11th, 2014. While Israeli attacks targeting the West Bank
and Gaza leave four injure this week, the Palestinian President formally signed
up to the Geneva Conventions this week. These stories and more, coming up, stay
tuned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Nonviolence
Report <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent
activities organized in the West Bank. Three civilians were injured and seven
were kidnapped on Friday, as Israeli soldiers attacked the non-violent protests
organized in West Bank villages. IMEMC’s Anna Ferensowicz has more: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Protests were organized on Friday in the village of Kufer
Qadoum in the northern West Bank, the villages of al Nabi Saleh, Bil’in,
Nil’in, both in the central West Bank, and Al Ma’ssara village in southern west
Bank. Two civilians were kidnapped and many others suffered effects of tear gas
inhalation when troops attacked the weekly anti-wall and anti-settlements
protest at the village of Kufer Qadoum. Local residents said that troops
attacked protesters before leaving the village and fired tear gas into nearby
residents’ homes causing damage. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the central West Bank, Israeli troops used tear gas and
sound bombs as well as chemical water to attack the weekly anti-wall and
anti-settlements protests at villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin, and the nearby
village of al Nabi Saleh. In Bil’in and Ni’lin, Israeli soldiers attacked the
protesters as soon as they reached the gate of the wall that separates local
farmers from their lands. Many protesters were treated for the effects of tear
gas inhalation at both locations. Meanwhile seven residents were kidnapped and
one international supporter was injured at the village of Al Nabi Saleh. Troops
attacked the unarmed protesters before even leaving the village. Later soldiers
stormed the village and fired tear gas into residents’ homes causing damage. Meanwhile
Israeli troops attacked the villagers of al Ma’ssara and their supporters at
the village entrance. The soldiers then forced them back using rifle butts and
batons. No injuries were reported.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
—For IMEMC News this is Anna Ferensowicz. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Read more of the report: <a href="http://imemc.org/">http://imemc.org</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwx2Vhd337x-KMkqE9_VWjuwMIvN6PVkZHJXUUsqs50PryAw0vao82bs4hNv25L342WUwqk9s4Oy4BaTJ3f-ftB56Kq9wMFfYuqEsxt8UZPBx05RkUbSrQdAeip2L6UkF_OSfVs4LAle/s1600/palmsunday2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwx2Vhd337x-KMkqE9_VWjuwMIvN6PVkZHJXUUsqs50PryAw0vao82bs4hNv25L342WUwqk9s4Oy4BaTJ3f-ftB56Kq9wMFfYuqEsxt8UZPBx05RkUbSrQdAeip2L6UkF_OSfVs4LAle/s1600/palmsunday2014.jpg" height="188" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Israeli occupation
authorities hindered a Palm Sunday procession, on Sunday, led by Palestinian
Christians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, by failing to give
all the necessary permits, depriving permit owners of full access, and
knowingly distributing permits in such an order as to cause participants to
miss the event.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Gracious God, in this holiest of weeks,
we are reminded that you have stood firmly with the weak and with those who
suffer. Help us to use our strength to stand with the weak, to end violence and
bring peace, in the Middle East and wherever we find ourselves. Amen.</span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-10641275428407363422014-04-10T21:13:00.001-06:002014-04-11T08:00:45.928-06:00Processing to Jerusalem<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=264186259" target="_blank">Matthew 21.9-11</a></span></div>
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While many of us will have processions this Sunday, none will compare with the pilgrims who walk the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, the Holy City, Zion on the hill. </div>
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This year thousands of pilgrims will again walk Jesus’ path to Jerusalem. Pilgrims from all over the world, in brightly colored dress or black or white clerical garb, waving palm branches, accompanied by trumpets and drums and troops of Scouts, will walk the narrow, winding road from the top of the Mount of Olives, past churches commemorating the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Dominus Flevit); Pater Noster (Our Father), the church of the Lord’s Prayer; the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. At the very bottom of the hill is the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane, with its 2000-year-old olive trees. Augusta Victoria Lutheran Hospital is at the very top of the Mount of Olives.</div>
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Today, Jesus could not even make this journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. The road is blocked by Israel’s separation wall. The wall carves out a space in East Jerusalem for the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, which is built on Palestinian land. </div>
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And, although pilgrims from all over the world—from Ghana, Russia, Greece, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Poland, the US—can process down the Mount of Olives, most local Christians cannot. They are Palestinian and they must get permits from the Israeli government to travel from the West Bank, even though the Mount of Olives and East Jerusalem are also in the West Bank. </div>
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Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jala—these are the largest Christian towns in the West Bank and these Palestinian Christians must get permits to participate in the ritual processions. </div>
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Israeli authorities grant very few permits, so the people who are left behind march through Bethlehem, with a donkey and palms, to the checkpoint, where they will again be stopped by Israeli soldiers. And they pray that next year it will be different. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-kcH9FWMhbt-d9LTCk5sqAqfUzh7SqIA2U12pne24OLI-YI0-uGboRKRkGEf76kCxyNZDCLycLXuAlgRYxi-M7qPBfxXnR21BPjExzaZcpgzq6p75Huehyphenhyphen9TdXiHIcKcsUSOsALG5vfc/s1600/PalmSun-Beth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-kcH9FWMhbt-d9LTCk5sqAqfUzh7SqIA2U12pne24OLI-YI0-uGboRKRkGEf76kCxyNZDCLycLXuAlgRYxi-M7qPBfxXnR21BPjExzaZcpgzq6p75Huehyphenhyphen9TdXiHIcKcsUSOsALG5vfc/s1600/PalmSun-Beth.png" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>In the photo, the procession is stopped at the wall by Israeli soldiers at the Bethlehem checkpoint in 2010.</i></div>
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<i>Gracious God, we long to follow in the footsteps of your son. On this Sunday of the Palms, help us remember those who are denied the freedom to walk. Amen.</i></div>
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Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-53655224031163425722014-04-07T22:38:00.003-06:002014-04-07T22:39:29.152-06:00Blessed is the one….<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=263928496">Matthew
21.1-11</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Matt
21.9<o:p></o:p></div>
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In their book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Last Week</i>, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan explore what the gospels
tell us about Jesus’ final days. This Sunday we will hear the story or maybe
even reenact the biblical procession—Jesus riding on a donkey, the shouting
crowds, the waving palms—the procession from Bethany, down the Mount of Olives
to Jerusalem. This is the beginning of the week of Passover, when Judeans
travel to Jerusalem to celebrate and thank God for their deliverance from
Pharaoh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Borg and Crossan also describe a second procession—the one
with Pilate and his Roman legions, traveling from their home base in Caesarea
Maritima to Jerusalem. Not to worship in the temple, but to ensure that the
crowds do not get out of hand, with this freedom celebration—for the Judeans
are once again under domination.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So this second procession—the army with the horses and
chariots, the armor, the weapons on display—is planned to show the Judeans who
is in charge, to showcase the massive power of the Rome….just in case a
new Moses is in Jerusalem for Passover.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Showing off weapons and armies is a time-honored way of discouraging dissenters. Think of those film clips of May Day parades in the Soviet Union—hundreds of thousands of soldiers with thousands of tanks and big guns—or think of July 4th parades with Air Force flyovers. <div class="MsoNormal">
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Empires must constantly remind us who is in charge. If you are in
the ruling majority, these displays make you feel safe. If you want to
challenge the empire, these displays are designed to make you think twice about
staging your protest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Reading about these processions makes me think about Eran
Eftati’s visit to Denver, when he told us that as an Israeli soldier in Hebron,
he was ordered to raid the homes of Palestinians in the middle of the night—not
because there was a dangerous suspect to apprehend—but, in the words of his
commander, to show who is in charge. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And I think of Eyad Burnat, one of the leaders in the
non-violent protests in Bil’in—weekly processions to the wall Israel has built
on their olive groves and sheep grazing land to protect the settlement that is
also built on their land.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHdqbcWzVrJ-T04ZnpLmaeVJQkHmCQr3SLHu8hJHJpChyUSVlaNKKjdPTW-cPaaGpdOLerE34Tj8Nv3sIwcNPdmwCHkHiUeJtaOBNFHBSe5pX0DbfBaC3TDU1v1LGNhDZxkbrdzXEQl_V/s1600/mazin-qumsiyeh-flickr-com-activestills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHdqbcWzVrJ-T04ZnpLmaeVJQkHmCQr3SLHu8hJHJpChyUSVlaNKKjdPTW-cPaaGpdOLerE34Tj8Nv3sIwcNPdmwCHkHiUeJtaOBNFHBSe5pX0DbfBaC3TDU1v1LGNhDZxkbrdzXEQl_V/s1600/mazin-qumsiyeh-flickr-com-activestills.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mazin Qumsiyeh being arrested in Al-Walaja, 2011- he was later released</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And I think of Mazin Qumsiyeh, who protests with the
villagers in Al-Walaja, near Bethlehem, where the wall is being finished so
that it forms a noose around the village, totally cutting it off from the rest
of the West Bank, so that now every time anyone wants to leave the village—to
see a doctor, to go to the market, to visit children or grandparents, or friends, to transact business with the
Palestinian Authority in Ramallah……..—they must go through a checkpoint, with
maybe a long line. So every Friday they process from their village to where the
bulldozers are working to finish the wall. They shout, wave flags, protesting
the occupation. <a href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/4673-israeli-soldiers-palestinian-protestors-clash-in-walaja">Watch
one of their processions</a> (Mazin is the one in the black and red baseball
cap).<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gracious God, show us
the Palm Sunday processions that are happening today, not the ones in our
churches this coming Sunday, but the ones in the streets of our own towns and
cities where people are protesting injustice. Give us courage to pick up a palm
branch, a banner or a poster and join them. Amen.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-63614482295629246212014-04-03T22:05:00.002-06:002014-04-03T22:08:26.001-06:00Lent 5, John—Peacemaking is Dangerous Work<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=263581640">John 11.1-45</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The disciples said to
him, </i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Rabbi, the Judeans were just now trying to stone you,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And are you going
there again?” </i>John 11.8<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The more time I spend in Palestine, or listening to Israelis
and Palestinians who are working bring peace to the land, the more I hear
familiar bible stories in a new way. We hear these same texts every three
years, but today, the words that struck me were words I’d never paid attention
to before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People who work to bring peace always put themselves in
great danger, because the powerful do not want peace. They want
power/money/land. Jesus, the peacemaker, was crucified because he was a greater
threat to the Roman Empire and their Judean collaborators than armed terrorists
like Barabbas.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every Friday in the West Bank village of Bil’in, after
noontime prayers, the residents—fathers, mothers, children, babies, young men
and women, old men and women—take to the streets to protest the Israeli wall
that is still being built around their homes, a wall built on their farmland. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They carry Palestinian flags and chant, “Free, free,
Palestine!” and other rallying cries. They wear keffiyehs, as a sign of
solidarity with all the Palestinians who have lost their lands. They also wear the keffiyeh to protect themselves from the tear gas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRWockAfrdPncL3WpBM25Qr21QxOBeerVLg1uA5mPgE7N29Ko6wEdgm3wXLzPtwbsuYTyaNqZGgjDhJ34GXjTkdr8Sj6ask2TDSH0-KjMNjvKk4wtz5q8j5fQ2TWvCvUFamQ1H2mBmJYP/s1600/Bilin-children-lightbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRWockAfrdPncL3WpBM25Qr21QxOBeerVLg1uA5mPgE7N29Ko6wEdgm3wXLzPtwbsuYTyaNqZGgjDhJ34GXjTkdr8Sj6ask2TDSH0-KjMNjvKk4wtz5q8j5fQ2TWvCvUFamQ1H2mBmJYP/s1600/Bilin-children-lightbox.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children protesting the wall, Bi'lin, 2014</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqVad9LR_m9hGQ-wkfYss4DQCX0YxrHEy5ggFNGPu-QST8dKKTaL5b6ZND4jm3RkTh_0XRqzHDbZ17AVCpv7AzEZeFrnFjgqEYENZV-E3ExCn12KQ0sqgOns-fnpQWJHu7pywQKozxXjG/s1600/Bilin-treeplanting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqVad9LR_m9hGQ-wkfYss4DQCX0YxrHEy5ggFNGPu-QST8dKKTaL5b6ZND4jm3RkTh_0XRqzHDbZ17AVCpv7AzEZeFrnFjgqEYENZV-E3ExCn12KQ0sqgOns-fnpQWJHu7pywQKozxXjG/s1600/Bilin-treeplanting.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree-planting on Land Day, 2014, Bi'lin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Israeli soldiers are always patrolling the wall—day and
night, every day. But on Fridays, the soldiers drive into the village in their
armored jeeps, AK-47s in hand. They set off percussion bombs, which make a
powerful, ear-splitting noise, designed to disperse crowds. They throw tear gas
canisters, or shoot them from launchers/guns. They fire live ammunition,
killing and wounding protesters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Almost five years ago, on April 17, 2009, Bassem Abu Rahma
was killed by a tear gas canister projectile, which hit him in the chest. The
tear gas canister was manufactured in Pennsylvania.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bassem, age 30 when he died, was a kind and gentle man,
beloved by his friends and family. He knew the danger of joining in the
demonstrations every week, but he was not deterred. He flew kites and
participated in theater that showed the absurdity of the wall. He marched in
the weekly protests, knowing that the soldiers would try to injure or maybe
arrest and torture him. But he went anyway.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/different-look/His-name-was-Bassem">Read
a memorial tribute</a> to Bassem.<br />
<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gracious God, your son
taught us the way of peace, a path fraught with danger. Give us courage to be
your peacemakers wherever we find ourselves today. Amen. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-49852580850884995572014-04-01T22:21:00.000-06:002014-04-02T07:44:17.001-06:00Lent 5, Romans—The Spirit of God dwells in us<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Lent 5, Romans—The Spirit of God dwelling in you<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=263411852">Romans
8.6-11</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>You are in the Spirit,
since the Spirit of God dwells in you…<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Rom 8.9<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As Christians, we naturally wonder what God would want from
us in a given situation. What would be pleasing to God? We often think we have
to create something new, but sometimes it’s important to look around us and see
where God is already at work in the world and join in. Pause—Where have you seen <o:p></o:p></div>
God’s spirit
alive in your own world today?<br />
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<br /></div>
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One of the sure signs of God’s spirit at work is where people
seek reconciliation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Palestine/Israel, in the midst of such troubles and
suffering, mighty acts of reconciliation are happening every day. Suffering
people—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Israelis and Palestinians—are building
bridges, listening to one another’s stories, and forging deep bonds of
understanding, symbolically tearing down the wall that is being built to divide
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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One such family lost their daughter, granddaughter, niece,
in a suicide attack in Jerusalem in 1997. This family had long been peace
activists, from the early days of the country, when the mother refused to live
in a Palestinian home that was offered to them. The Peled family has along
history of Zionist commitment and sacrifice for the building up of Israel, and also
a strong tradition of getting to know the Arabs who lived on the land before
them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPz6iWr2poGNeORZddO4xeY1WI1roTRyhFxUSJQXpS9HcV37Ln1dEjh7VZns48nGyWTOjA5ZVB4QNWjRM1SES-LOE5LLHm_dd1CmoAfpbwD_jLLPcIGXYXqOJOQ6sQtuqhXudQcPHtcXD/s1600/Miko-Nurit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvPz6iWr2poGNeORZddO4xeY1WI1roTRyhFxUSJQXpS9HcV37Ln1dEjh7VZns48nGyWTOjA5ZVB4QNWjRM1SES-LOE5LLHm_dd1CmoAfpbwD_jLLPcIGXYXqOJOQ6sQtuqhXudQcPHtcXD/s1600/Miko-Nurit.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miko and Nurit</td></tr>
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When Nurit Peled-Elhanan lost her daughter Smadar to the suicide
bomber, she consoled herself by speaking out against the occupation and the
violence it creates. She and her husband Rami reached out to Palestinians who
had also lost loved ones. Her brother Miko, living in California, saw their
devotion to reconciliation had helped to heal their wounded hearts, and he
began his own journey of getting to know Palestinians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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His book, <i>The Generals
Son</i>, tells their family’s story and his own transformation into a peace
activist.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Miko Peled will be in Denver this weekend:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<ul>
<li>Sunday, April 6, 3:30 pm</li>
<li>at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E Alameda, Denver</li>
</ul>
Come hear his story and witness the Spirit of God at work, transforming
grief into reconciliation, peace and hope. <a href="http://sabeelcolorado.org/">http://sabeelcolorado.org</a> <o:p></o:p><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Watch Nurit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkWmeebn2w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkWmeebn2w</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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And Miko: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9-dEs9HIM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI9-dEs9HIM</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Gracious God, we thank
you for your son, who showed us the world you desire for us. Lead us to those
places where you are at work in the world, bringing peace and reconciliation.
Give us the courage to join in and the strength to endure. Amen.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-41083459208862506512014-03-30T22:01:00.004-06:002014-03-30T22:14:33.496-06:00Lent 5, Ezekiel—Hope for the Exiles<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></span><br />
Lent 5, Ezekiel<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
</span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=263112185" style="color: blue;">Ezekiel 37.1-14</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
</span></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>‘I will put my spirit with in you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil…’<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Ez 37.14 </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;">It is likely that Ezekiel was one of the elite of Jerusalem, brought captive to Babylon in 597, BCE, King Nebuchadrezzar II’s attempt to end the rebellion of his vassal state. Ezekiel saw the exile and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 as God’s judgment on Judah for failing to honor its obligations under its covenant with Yahweh. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;">Although Ezekiel had harshly warned of Jerusalem’s destruction, his tone changed after the defeat of Judah. In exile in Babylon he preaches comfort—that Israel does have a future. But this future is in God’s hands, not theirs (chapters 33-48). Ezekiel’s message from God in 37.14 assures the exiles that God will redeem them because they are still God’s people. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;">The exiles I have met in the land today are the Palestinians in the refugee camps and in towns and villages surrounded by Israel’s wall. And the Ezekiel’s words brought to my mind a particular section of the wall in Bethlehem. The wall there is covered with artwork expressing the Palestinians’ sadness and frustration and the sympathy of international visitors. It looks like everyone who visits, leaves a message on the wall. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;">Like Ezekiel the exiles in Palestine today have not given up on God’s promises. They cling to these promises and put their faith and trust in God. </span><br /></span></span>I invite you to take five minutes to ponder this particular section of the wall, and the prophet God sent to bring hope to the exiles in Babylon.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9rbeAJgpDdd65cyS_NKDBQx22JzL2ylo4kRzmLqm1ULE2R0-xyrVON8hNnBucsVp_TMSAf_yXcXv9H00EcJgUjX-l7TIBTtAp7r3rDy4PFSkWn7ZxYZFAdXYz5Wnt6yJGamrVCZ6_oi9/s1600/Ladder-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9rbeAJgpDdd65cyS_NKDBQx22JzL2ylo4kRzmLqm1ULE2R0-xyrVON8hNnBucsVp_TMSAf_yXcXv9H00EcJgUjX-l7TIBTtAp7r3rDy4PFSkWn7ZxYZFAdXYz5Wnt6yJGamrVCZ6_oi9/s1600/Ladder-sm.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a></div>
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</span></span>Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4592573080562751450.post-23440620173855304182014-03-28T15:47:00.000-06:002014-03-30T22:13:07.684-06:00Lent 4, John—Prophetic Sight<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=263041574">John 9:1-41</a><br /><br />‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ John 9.17<br /><br />The dialogue between the blind man and the Pharisees reminds me of a Marx brothers’ routine—it is certainly farce. “It is he.” “No it’s not.” With each telling of his story—the mud, the washing, the restored sight—he grows more impatient. Isn’t anyone LISTENING?!?!<br /><br />The blind man sees, but the rest clearly do not. And the man born blind shows us that “seeing” is not just about the eyes. <br /><br />The man born blind is the only one in the story who sees—and when he sees, he declares that Jesus is a prophet. His sight involves his eyes, which have been healed; his ears, which have heard Jesus proclaim God’s mercy; and his heart, which recognizes that Jesus has come from God. The blind man is not only the recipient of God’s love and mercy. He is the mystic who discerns God’s presence in this prophet. And the theologian who defines a prophet: one who opens people’s eyes.<br /><br />In my travels to Palestine and Israel, I have met many prophets in Jesus’ line. Courageous people who dare to proclaim what they have seen, opening my eyes to God’s works. <br /><br />You see, before I visited the Holy Land, I was blind. I had only paid attention to half the story—the Israeli government’s version of events. In my travels I saw another story—that of the Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers, people of the land, who, like prophets, opened my eyes.<br /><br />These are some of the prophets I have met who are shining a light in the darkness that surrounds them.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPL0uQFqGHLsMWMuIILK0yE8DbdhbGnCMr1MOYFPBxoqmxwSEhDxxGCwykHywNW9tnLz-yL0gw7psltAaxMsRoQEtMyJZV8AAqcFj4VwJiJnD9YOTbaXsNrw_v5hp64IW3PBc3A8qwKhg/s1600/HannahBaraq-sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPL0uQFqGHLsMWMuIILK0yE8DbdhbGnCMr1MOYFPBxoqmxwSEhDxxGCwykHywNW9tnLz-yL0gw7psltAaxMsRoQEtMyJZV8AAqcFj4VwJiJnD9YOTbaXsNrw_v5hp64IW3PBc3A8qwKhg/s1600/HannahBaraq-sm.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
Hannah, a grandmother who volunteers with Machsom Watch, resisting her country’s occupation or Palestine by standing at the checkpoints and recording what happens there. She told us that the occupation is rotting the soul of Israel. She laments that Israel has strayed so far from the ideals expressed in its declaration of independence. She laments the way the army is destroying the humanity of the19-year-old soldiers who stand at the checkpoints and are ordered to treat the Palestinians like animals and to celebrate when one is accidentally shot. <br /><br /><br />Maya, who, as a high school senior, decided that she could not serve in an army that required such brutalization of the Palestinians. She formed an organization of students, the Shministim, who resisted the draft and served time in Israeli prisons to protest Israel’s occupation. She is now in the US, telling audiences what she has seen.<br /><br />Jamal, who lives in the West Bank village of Beit Ummar, and meets with Israelis to build bridges of understanding. Because he patiently listens to the voices of the "other" who have also been wounded by the conflict, he has earned their trust and they are able to listen to his experience of the occupation--the arrests, beating and detention of children; the high rate of unemployment because of the isolation of the village behind Israel's wall; and the stress caused by the constant presence of Israeli soldiers in their village. Jamal's eyes have been opened to the suffering and loss of the Israelis; and their eyes are now opened to the suffering caused by the occupation.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHNUQbRDI7Gc-WIPDfYjcwylajKK5B94NwFqLkNT4ieGPbmZk39r6mecxZ2q7xPRBCrJpJChY8jo9fL2vS2ptI5pkWz7Njed2e5buyZb1Xi4BJUz55nXepySE2aVsAsWWWEfcWkEL7wc4/s1600/Jamal-Margee.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHNUQbRDI7Gc-WIPDfYjcwylajKK5B94NwFqLkNT4ieGPbmZk39r6mecxZ2q7xPRBCrJpJChY8jo9fL2vS2ptI5pkWz7Njed2e5buyZb1Xi4BJUz55nXepySE2aVsAsWWWEfcWkEL7wc4/s1600/Jamal-Margee.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margee and Jamal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I am still blind--there is much I still do not see. But the way these prophets have opened my eyes helps me be awake to injustice and to question other things I think I know.<br /><br /><i>Gracious God, you came among us to be a light in our darkness. Open our eyes; heal our blindness. Help us follow in your way of peacemaking--to shine your light wherever we find ourselves in darkness. Amen.</i></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=262851871" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #cc3139;">Ephesians 5.8-14</a></div>
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<i>Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them….for everything that becomes visible is light.</i></div>
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Many of the people I have traveled with to Palestine and Israel look out the windows of the bus, listen to a Palestinian tell their story or walk the streets of Bethlehem and they express their anguish over what they see - "How can this be happening?" "Why isn't someone (the UN maybe) doing something about this injustice?"</div>
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These are moments of light—when the injustices being done to Palestinians are exposed in the glaring light of our first-hand witness. When these same injustices are talked about by governments or in the media, they are clothed in benign-sounding language. Justified in the name of security or reported as accidental and rare aberrations in Israel's efforts to protect itself.</div>
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Today's meditation shines a light on some recent events in Palestine. I invite you to read one of the stories below and allow yourself to be exposed. The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is one of the beacons exposing Israel's actions. Volunteers for ISM put their own bodies in danger as they stand with the non-violent protesters in villages all over the West Bank and Gaza, bearing witness to Israel's violence. Jo Ann Wacker-Farrand and I were in Bi'lin in November, meeting with the non-violent resisters to the wall surrounding their village.</div>
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<strong><a href="http://palsolidarity.org/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=48&wysijap=subscriptions&user_id=6415" target="_blank">On the Ground in Occupied Palestine</a></strong></h4>
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For over ten years, the International Solidarity Movement has supported grassroots<br />
Palestinian communities engaging in nonviolent resistance to the Israeli Occupation.</div>
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<a href="http://palsolidarity.org/?wysija-page=1&controller=email&action=view&email_id=48&wysijap=subscriptions&user_id=6415" target="_blank">Read a story from ISM </a>and then share with a friend. Sign up to receive these weekly updates from ISM.</div>
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<i>Gracious God, we thank you for all your servants who put their personal safety at risk to stand against injustice. Embolden us to be bearers of your light, to reveal injustice wherever we are. Amen.</i></div>
Jan Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12573798745977697165noreply@blogger.com0