A Moment of Truth

"They say peace, peace, when there is no peace."

           Jeremiah 6:14

Peace on earth. Goodwill to men. 

In the past four months since coming here, I have talked and thought about the concept of peace more than ever before in my life. Really, everyone here talks about peace, and strikingly often in tired tones, wistful, doubtful. "We have no peace here...There will never be peace here...Maybe one day we'll have peace, inshallah." We contemplate and talk about peace a lot, but as a wise person reminded us when we first arrived in Palestine: "'peace' is a cheap word." 

Consider then the Christmas message to the shepherds that reaches through the centuries to our ears as well: Peace on earth! I find myself within an interesting paradox this Christmas-never have I been in a place where I felt closer to the reality of that holy child in the manger. This year I followed in the footsteps of millions of pilgrims before me who have found their way to that Little Town of Bethlehem to celebrate the Word made flesh. I didn't follow a star, though, I just took the No. 21 Bus from Jerusalem. In quite the opposite way, though, never before have I been in a place that made me question the verity and possibility of the Angel's proclamation more. While visiting Beit Sahour, the traditional site of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, perhaps I should have found a field to stand in, and challenged the Angel, shouting, "Really? Well, where is it? I don't see it here!" 

Advent is traditionally considered a season of waiting and expectancy in the church, but last week I was reminded that the church is instructed and empowered to do much more than simply wait for Christmas, wait for the return of Christ, and wait for peace on earth. On Friday, December 11 I had the opportunity and privilege to witness the signing of the Kairos Palestine document, entitled "A Moment of Truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering." Kairos is a greek word meaning "the right or opportune moment," and this document is similar in nature to the Christian theological statement issued in 1985 by theologians in South Africa under the oppressive apartheid regime. Steeped in liberation theology (check out Sabeel http://sabeel.org/ for more on this) the document speaks from the perspective of the Christian faith to Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals alike. In the document, the church takes a stand against the occupation, calling it a sin, and stressing the inclusivity and universality of God's promises for ALL people. Challenging the claim that the land is only for one group of people, and rejecting the use of the Bible to "legitimize or support political options and positions that are based upon injustice, imposed by one person on another, or by one people on another" the Kairos Document is striking in its response to Jewish and Christian Zionism, and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people.

 I strongly encourage everyone to try and find time to read the Kairos document (http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos%20Palestine_En.pdf)

Listen to the voices of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Palestine who believe that the peace on earth announced by the angels is "Good News" for them, too. I believe the document speaks directly to a belief that I hold close to my heart: that the gifts and promises of God are not the exclusive right of one group-Muslim, Jew, Christian, or any other. And though, I may not see peace right now, especially in this troubled place, the Kairos Document echoes my own feelings about hope: "our hope remains strong, because it is from God." Without Him as the source of hope, I believe Christians in this region would have given up long ago on this conflict, but they remain, strong and faithful, because He who has promised is faithful. 

Right now especially, as we remember the one-year anniversary of the Israeli military invasion of the Gaza strip, which left 1400 Palestinians (including over 300 children), and 13 Israelis dead, and while the blockade of Gaza continues, I need to cling to the hope and promise found in the holy child in the manger. I'm believing, as hard as I can, that: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:5

Peace on earth. Goodwill toward men.

Amen.

Please Act for Gaza!

All I want for Christmas....

Is for you to send a letter or email to your congressional representatives today and ask them to sign the McDermott-Ellison letter on Gaza to President Obama. Please visit the Churches for Middle East Peace website at http://www.cmep.org/ to easily and quickly send word to your representatives supporting this letter. Gaza is effectively cut off and isolated at this point, unable to even rebuild homes destroyed in the war that happened this time last year. The hopelessness that is growing within the people of Gaza, who are essentially trapped in a large prison, unable to obtain jobs or even basic necessities for living, does little to improve the prospect of peace and security for Palestinians or Israelis in the region. The restrictions on movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza are counterproductive to peace in the Middle East, so please, please, write your representative and tell them that you support peace and justice!

And while you're at it, consider urging your representative to sign the Moran/Inglis "Dear Colleague" Letter to Support Higher Education Opportunities for Gazan Students in the West Bank. The case of Berlanty Azzam, has recently drawn attention to this issue. She is a Palestinian Christian from Gaza that the Israeli authorities forcibly deported to Gaza two months before she was due to complete her degree at Bethlehem University. Please support Gazan and West Bank students who simply want to be allowed to study at universities and in degree programs that will help them advance themselves. They are being permitted by harsh and restrictive policies that prevent them from traveling between the West Bank and Gaza, and I believe these policies should be challenged.

Thank you! Salaam and Love!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I know I'm a bit late for this message, but I'm in favor of thanksgiving all year long! This is turning out to be quite a busy Advent season, but don't worry, the Christmas update won't be two weeks, late, inshallah. 

"For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to whichthey have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie downsays the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I willdestroy. I will feed them with justice." -Ezekiel 34: 11-16

I included in this post a picture of what we worked on in school a few weeks ago, and what inspired me to write this post. We made sheep (خروف) for the Eid al Adha feast that was celebrated by Muslims worldwide a few weeks ago, when people from the US were celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving. Most of my students are Muslim, as well as the teachers that I work with, and so I am learning a great deal more about a religion that I had only a rudimentary understanding of before. The name of the holiday means "Festival of Sacrifice" and it is a commemoration of Abraham's obedience to God, and his willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael, in order that he might follow God's command. In Muslim, Jewish, and Christian holy texts, Abraham leaves his son Ishmael in the wilderness with his mother, Hagar, but God rescues and preserves them, promising that He will make a great nation of Ishmael (Genesis 21).  As a symbol of Abraham's sacrifice, families that can afford to do so commonly sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or camel to celebrate the Eid. 

I was fascinated to learn about this holiday, because of the parallel story we find in the scripture about Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac (Genesis 22). The story is quite important in Christian theology, as Christians have long paralleled the story of Isaac to that of Christ, where the Father does ultimately sacrifice the Son. The interconnectedness and intertwining between the faith stories of different religions here is one of the most interesting things about living in a place where you constantly seem to be celebrating one holiday or another. I really enjoyed making sheep in school, and as more and more of them amassed in the art classroom, I found that I couldn't help but ponder this little flock that we had made. Inside each toilet-paper tube was the name of a student, so effectively each little sheep represented one of my students- children of God that I have especially been called to love and care for during this year of service. I am then reminded of the words of Jesus, "Feed my flock," which reminds me that it isn't MY flock at all- it's His. And while sometimes I feel like a shepherd of children here, more often I feel like just another sheep in the flock- sometimes huddling close to the other sheep, sometimes straying and wandering off alone. I suppose there are really two parts to what I've been thinking about regarding sheep; one is that we are all God's sheep, and we can joyfully give thanks that as the Good Shepherd, He is constantly watching over us and gathering us in. The other is that we share in a responsibility to our fellow sheep; in other words, God places in our lives our own little flocks to love and tend to. During this holiday season (and always), may we thank Him for the care He gives us as members of His flock, and may we recognize and faithfully serve those little flocks He's placed in our lives. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give him thanks! Praise his name!

-Psalm 100:4

My Walk to Work

“Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path.” Psalm 119:105

I tug on the gate, gently at first, then begin to yank at it with force, since it sometimes gets stuck in the mornings- mornings which are increasingly growing brisk- sharp, cool, and bright, unmistakably familiar signs that autumn has come.  I walk quickly down the alley that leads from Antoinette’s flat, where Anna and I live, out towards the street. Ragtag neighborhood cats, curled up in people’s gardens or sitting on top of gates watch my passing with varying degrees of disinterest. When I reach the street, I begin to see other signs of life: children walking to school, people climbing in their cars for their drive to work, shopkeepers opening up.I pass the “Mini Market,” an impossibly small shop that Anna and I frequent. Although it is crowded with three people inside the shop, we are able to find inside it almost anything that we might want to buy, from phone cards to toothpaste, cereal to cookies. I might stop by the shop on my walk home from work to buy a diet coke and exchange a few words with one of the two brothers who run the shop. My first two months here I thought it was just one man who ran the shop; imagine my surprise when I went to the store one day and there were TWO, almost identical brothers standing there inside the Mini Market! The brother that I most frequently see has taken to asking me how things are going, and with a grin on his face, politely humoring my attempts at Arabic. 

I reach the main road that runs through Beit Hanina, Shouafat Road, and take a right, past the “Garden of Eden” fruit and vegetable shop, the pet shop with the squeaking birds, and the little girl with the pigtails who stands waiting for the bus. We smile conspiratorially at one another. If I’m on the other side of the street I pass Ikermawi Restaurant, the best place for hummous and falafel in our neighborhood and Freij grocery store, the only Christian owned grocery store in our area, and where rumor has it, there will be a Christmas tree come December! Walking to work can be a bit of an obstacle course, because the sidewalk is already crowded with trash dumpsters, parked cars, broken glass, and other debris. It’s quite interesting to compare the potholed, worn streets of Palestinian East Jerusalem with the neatly paved and manicured streets and sidewalks of West Jerusalem or settlement areas in East Jerusalem like those around Beit Hanina- Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Ze’ev. According to the NGO Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, “The Jerusalem municipality collects around 30 percent of the municipal taxes in East Jerusalem from Palestinian residents. However, less than 10 percent of its budget is returned back to them in the form of municipal services.” As I reach the end of Shouafat Road, I come to an intersection. Behind me, the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, to my right, a road heading towards the city center of Jerusalem, to my left the road to Ramallah, and straight ahead of me the Israeli settlement of Neve Yaakov. The regularity, orderliness, and general sameness of the buildings ahead of me stand in stark contrast to the sprawl of shops and homes behind me. While Arab people do live in Neve Yaakov, it is a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, and I frequently see one of the large green Israeli “Egged” buses turning out of the settlement and heading into Jerusalem. Those buses do not go down our street, and likewise the smaller Arab buses that we use to get into Jerusalem or into the West Bank do not turn down their street, but head down the road towards Ramallah. This segregation of bus systems is a constant reminder to me of how complicated the situation is here in Jerusalem. Some of the Jerusalem buses run very similar routes, stopping at some of the same stops even, but I ultimately feel that the bus system allows for the maintenance of a geographical separation of people. One in which people can go from their neighborhood on their bus to their areas of the city of Jerusalem, all with limited contact with the “Others”. It’s essentially the same concept as settler roads and Israeli-only roads, in which people can travel between settlements and cities, minimizing contact with the occupied population. It’s one of the ways in which people living side by side are making conscious decisions to separate themselves from one another. Although it is perhaps much more outwardly apparent here, I must say that it makes me acknowledge and examine how humans do this with alarming frequency, particularly in urban environments, with the geographical separation of people of different socio-economic situations being one of the most common forms of this.

I turn left, starting down the hill on the road that leads towards Ramallah. Through a clearing of trees and buildings, the ugliest feature of our landscape comes into view- the drab grey, concrete face of the illegal separation wall, reminding me that Beit Hanina is a neighborhood divided. We live in the “new” part of the city, but with the completion of the wall in Beit Hanina in 2008, the “old” part of town has been effectively cut off from the urban center and easy access to Jerusalem, being absorbed instead into the Ramallah municipality.

   The separation wall dividing our neighborhood

By now I am almost at school. Perhaps some of the young boys, the shebab, on their own walk to school have teasingly said “Good morning” to me in thickly accented English, and have responded with surprised laughter when I respond in Arabic! I begin to see the signs,"Barrier Ahead," and “Prepare Your Documents,” the rusty remnants of barbed wire, boulders, and concrete blocks that line the median of the road. They are the ghosts, the silent memorial, of what I understand was a particularly difficult checkpoint that stood directly outside the Helen Keller School, up until a few months ago. Perhaps the graffiti spray painted across our school sign is a result of this checkpoint: “Free Palestine Now.” The checkpoint was such a disruption to the functioning of the school that a separate entrance to the school grounds had to be opened up. Of course, it’s certainly a positive that this checkpoint is no longer functional, but as I reach the school gate, I am also aware that if I were to keep walking down the road, within five minutes, I would quite literally hit a wall. The kind of wall that only belongs around a prison- tall, overbearing, with coiled rows of barbed wire along the top. And were I to walk beyond that, another twenty minutes would bring me to another, fully functional checkpoint, and one of the worst in the West Bank- Qalandiya checkpoint.

But I don’t keep walking. I turn left, hurrying quickly onto the school grounds, full of fruit bearing trees, flowers, and olive trees. Perhaps the first bell is ringing by this time, and I know that I will soon be greeting the teachers of the school. I will soon be surrounded by the smiling faces of my students. And I’m happy. Happy that my walk through a landscape of occupation and injustices, full of reminders that we are a still long way from peace and equal rights in this land, has ended here. At a place full of bright and shining lights- children who bear great potential and an even greater capacity for love, and teachers who believe in the value of each child, and work tirelessly and hopefully for them. Happy because my path, my walk, brings me each day to a place full of illuminating lights for my time here, where I learn simply by being with people, talking with them, sharing tea, or dancing with the kindergartners during music time. 

Thank you, Lord, for lighting the path that brought me here to Jerusalem, and for allowing my path to cross people whose love and lives inspire hope and encouragement, even in discouraging circumstances. May I bless their lives as they are blessing mine. I ask that you would guide my time here, leading me down not just the familiar roads, but also down new paths along which you would have me go. 

Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Listen to the voices of an American Jewish woman, and a Palestinian Muslim man as they call for equal rights, and nonviolent resolution to the conflict. Really well expressed. 

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-28-2009/anna-baltzer---mustafa-barghouti

Blindness

"Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way."    Mark 10:49-52

Blindness is an almost constant presence in my life here in Palestine/Israel, most obviously and physically apparent in my volunteer placement site at the Helen Keller School for the Visually Impaired in East Jerusalem. Serving around sixty Palestinian students with visual impairment, grades KG-7th grade, it is here at Helen Keller where I have begun to find community-- to truly feel that I have a place here in Palestine. Two months ago I was introduced to these wonderful and beautiful children, and as many of our totally blind children do when crossing an open space, I set out into open and uncertain territory, feeling my way along, grabbing on to what I could, and trying to orient myself in this new world. 

I split my time at the school between English classes, Drama/Music classes, working in the Kindergarten, and working one-on-one with students in Occupational Therapy. The occupational therapy work involves different programs for different kids--tactile activities to help prepare some children for learning Braille, visual stimulation activities, some mobility work, and occasionally daily living skills. Most of the students at the school have partial sight, but a good number of them also have other mental or physical disabilities. I am quite fortunate to get to work with every grade level in some capacity (except 2nd grade) at some point during my week. While it is always tricky to begin a new job, the language barrier, and the fact that I had limited experience working with special ed kids made this a new and complex sort of challenge for me. When I first started at the school, I spoke practically no Arabic, and joked to the kindergarten teachers that I needed to be in their class instead of helping with the class! I am happy to report now that I am building an entire collection of phrases appropriate to working at a primary school, such as "Stop that! Sit down! Read! Come on!" and the endlessly useful "Schway e schway," which translated, means "little by little" or "slowly, slowly." While I say this dozens of times everyday at school to the kids, I also say it to myself-- about the Arabic language, about life here, and about relationships. 

 Of all the fruits of the Spirit, I feel that patience is the one that is being tended the most within me right now. In my search to build relationships and trust with the kids and teachers, I am seeking to adopt a "schway e schway" attitude, and learning more and more to appreciate the small breakthroughs and positive changes with the children. While many of the kids are very open and eager to interact with me (I would be lying if I said that it didn't fill my heart with joy to hear a little excited chorus of "Miss Maa-ree" when I entered a class) most of the kids that I work with one-on-one have specialized health and emotional/mental challenges, and have been much slower in accepting me.  One of the totally blind kindergartners that I work with on tactile activities refused at first to even come with me to work; and when he would come, he grabbed at things haphazardly, and threw things on the floor. Amazingly, though, in the past two weeks, we've had three good sessions; not only has he been more focused, he has also laughed and smiled, and been proud of his own accomplishments and victories. Also, for two days in a row, another child in KG who has extremely fragile health combined with serious challenges trusting new people, has smiled at me. I know it seems small, and simple, but from this child who usually sits sullenly and silently, too tired to hold up his own head, it felt huge- a breakthrough, a gift, a blessing. I must give credit here to the wonderful teachers at Helen Keller for their work with the kids, and who are helping bridge the gap between the kids and this strange American lady who doesn't speak enough Arabic. 

Biblically speaking, blindness not only refers to a physical condition, but also to kinds of spiritual blindness and lack of wisdom. The movement from darkness to light, blindness to sight, is not only a literal miracle of Jesus here in the Holy Lands- it is one of the metaphors through which we as humans describe spiritual awakening, as well as transformational experiences of dawning knowledge. Vision as a metaphor for our mental and spiritual lives runs deep in western culture, to the extent that we have phrases like, "Do you see what I mean?" We are talking about meaning here, ideas, and we use a language of "sight" to express this.  My own desire to come and serve in Palestine had a lot to do with the fact that I had my "eyes opened" to the fact that, to be perfectly honest, my own understanding of the situation in the Middle East was dim, at best. I began to feel pulled to move out of this darkness, and try to adapt a multi-sided, multi-sighted, way of looking at the region.  

So when I say I encounter blindness in my daily life, I am not even primarily referring to my work at a school for the blind. I am talking about the blindness of prejudice and hatred that refuses to practice empathy for the other side, or people willingly remaining in a state of blindness and ignorance to the ugly realities of life here. And before you remind me to remove the beam from my eye before passing judgment on the speck in my brother's, understand that I also implicate myself here. I, like every human, have my own personal blindnesses that cloud my ability to see and comprehend. The beautiful thing about the story of Jesus and the blind man, though, is that it is the faith of the blind man that helps him see. His blindness does not prevent him from calling on the name of the Lord, nor does it prevent him from receiving the call of Jesus, which tells me that I can approach the Lord in spite of my own weaknesses, and lack of ability to "see." From a place of limited vision, I am able to pray for the Lord's help in expanding my perspective, and discerning truth and wisdom when I encounter it. The healing of the faithful man is a story that not only chronicles a miracle, I believe it also echoes of a wider promise God makes to us about moving from blindness into sight, darkness into light: it is enough that we call out to Him, that we ask, that we believe in His faithfulness to awaken us to new truths within our world and within ourselves. 

My teacher, let me see! Help me discern truth, and let me not be afraid to stare directly at it, even when it is unpleasant, or when I am forced to look at things from a different perspective, with a new set of eyes. Let all of us working for peace in this region and in the world search for truth and justice with our whole hearts, guided by you into awareness and light, lest we work fruitlessly in the dark. Amen. 

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16 

The Much Too Promised Land

"Even if America did not have critically important interests in this region, there is a compelling argument to be made for our continued involvement. Unlike many other nations or organizations, what we do or don't do counts. Others may have the luxury or right to sit on the sidelines. We don't. America doesn't have the right or authority to abandon commitments we've made or to mortgage the future to unending violence and confrontation by giving up on the present or living as if we were some kind of helpless prisoner of the past."

-Aaron David Miller

American Jew, US Public policy advisor, who has been involved in the Arab-Israeli peace process for over two decades

Taybeh and Sukkot

"But be happy and rejoice forevermore over what I am about to create! For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem  to be a source of joy, and her people to be a source of happiness."

Isaiah 65:18

"So I am coming  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups;  they will come and witness my splendor."

Isaiah 66:18

While I often write about the more difficult aspects of life here in Israel/Palestine, it is time to tell all of you about some of the joy that I've experienced here. The time has come to write about celebration and about the gathering of people! Last weekend was one full of activity and festivity for me and the other YAGM. On Saturday we had the opportunity to celebrate with Palestinians in the West Bank town of Taybeh at the 5th annual Taybeh Oktoberfest, and on Sunday, we celebrated a Sukkot dinner with a wonderful Jewish family in the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. 

I think most people will be surprised to learn that there is a Palestinian beer company, making "The Best in the Middle East" right here in the West Bank. Appropriately the name of the town (Taybeh) means "delicious," and as good Lutherans we were excited to learn that there is an annual Oktoberfest in the town, complete with music, dancing, food, and of, course, tasty Taybeh beer. We were fortunate enough to be there for the opening festivities and hear a series of speeches from the mayor, the Palestinian finance minister, and a representative of the Palestinian Authority. While I was thinking more simply of the festival as a time to have fun, it became increasingly clear that Taybeh Oktoberfest was a symbol of nation-building for the people involved. They saw the festival as a step towards building up the Palestinian economy, with local products like Taybeh beer, olive oil, honey, soap, and tourism; they saw a growing independent Palestinian economy as a peaceful and constructive step towards having a Palestinian nation. They were rightfully proud of their town, their beer, and their festival, and I had a great time just relaxing and enjoying the lighthearted atmosphere. We toured the brewery, and saw many great performances, both local and international, like the local Latin school Dubkeh group (Palestinian folk dance) as well as an awesome band from Brazil called Clube de Choro. Great music, great Palestinian food (I had shwarema, which is shaved meat in a wrap or pita), and of course, great beer. 

The next day we headed to a place that I had mixed feelings about. After all, Ma'ale Adumim is one of the largest settlements in the West Bank, and is consequently viewed as one of the most critical obstacles in the search for peace and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Our country coordinator, Martin, met Leah, the woman who invited us to her home, at a MEPEACE (Middle East Peace) dinner for Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals that we attended several weeks ago. I was quite interested in learning how she reconciled the idea of being pro-peace with the reality of living in a settlement in the occupied territory of the West Bank. Though these questions weighed heavily on my mind, I was also very excited to have the privilege to participate in some of the traditions of the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Sukkot, also known as the Feast of the Tabernacles, or the Feast of the Booths, is a weeklong holiday that follows on the heels of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is one of reflection and self-examination, and Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and prayers for forgiveness of sins. Similar to the transition from Ramadan to Eid al Fitr in the Muslim faith, or the transition from Lent to Easter in the Christian calendar, the period of fasting and introspection in the Jewish calendar is followed by a time of celebration in the festival of Sukkot. Observant Jews build a sukkah, or hut, decorate it on the inside, and eat all of their meals in it during the week; some orthodox Jews even sleep in the sukkah during this time. The sukkah relates to the time of harvest and is also meant to be reminiscent of the structures the ancient Israelites lived in during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. 

Leah explained to us about some of the beautiful symbolism and significance of Sukkot while we sat in the family sukkah, located quite creatively on the balcony of their apartment. Her husband Aaron blessed the space of the sukkah with a lulav- a bundle of a palm frond, myrtle bough, willow branch, and a citron fruit- collectively these things are referred to as the "Four Species," and derive from the book of Leviticus. He explained how the four items represent four different kinds of Jews, and how the practice of bringing them together symbolized unity and the ingathering of all these people. Another aspect of Sukkot for many people is the invitation of the Ushpizin, or exalted guests, into the sacred space of the sukkah. Each night one of these Biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David) is invited, and Leah laughingly told us that in this day and age people like her believe these guests bring their wives with them, of course. Besides extending invitations to these guests from the past, it is customary to invite literal guests, and we were quite happy to be those flesh and blood guests at Leah's house. 

As we shared a wonderful meal together, my roommate Anna and I had the opportunity to hear from two extremely kind and intelligent Israeli women (Leah and her friend Esther) about their lives, ideas, and viewpoints. The experience was so valuable partly because we got to hear Leah's story of transformation; she went from being extremely right wing, believing that Palestinians hated Jews and were out to harm them, to being someone who attends peace meetings and has even started her own interfaith group. Her transformation came when she actually met Palestinian people for the first time at an interfaith weekend encounter. She told us that she was so nervous that she was shaking, but when she actually began to talk to the Palestinians, she could not stop crying, because she realized that they were nice, open, welcoming-- in effect, she saw their humanity for the first time. Believing fervently that a great deal of the problem is that ignorance of the Other creates fear of the Other, she has made it her mission to facilitate encounters between Israelis and Palestinians- Jews, Muslims, and Christians- in the hopes that people will begin working with one another instead of against one another. 

I have to say that I was really inspired by Leah and her passionate desire to gather people together in positive and respectful ways. I gained a new appreciation for the difficult position of courageous Israelis like her who are not afraid to face rejection and ridicule within their own society because of what they believe. In spite of resistance from her neighbors and hesitance from her own children, she is not afraid to stand up and say that the Palestinians are her neighbors as well, and she wants to work with them and treat them as such. I really enjoyed meeting her, Aaron, and Esther, and I hope to have the chance to talk to many more Israelis during my time here. More gatherings, more joy. 

As-Salaam Alaykum 

The Right to Refuse

I really enjoyed reading this Al Jazeera article about a recent batch of "refuseniks," young Israelis who refuse to do their obligatory service in the military because they have moral objections to the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank, and the handling of the Gaza conflict. For these teens, it was about opening their eyes, educating themselves about the true situation here, and then having the courage to hold on to the strength of their convictions. I have a great deal of respect for these recent high school graduates; they risk going to jail for their beliefs, and will likely find it difficult to find a job because they have not done their army service. 

Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience.

-James Freeman Clarke

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/10/2009101373851115553.html

Home Demolition in Beit Hanina

A BBC news article about the demolition of a home in my neighborhood of Beit Hanina. I thought it was strange when I saw a police vehicle full of soldiers, and a trailer with two police horses pulling over to the side of the road as I walked to school this morning. I looked at one of the soldiers as he climbed out of the vehicle; he looked back at me. And now I know that he was probably off to support the demolition and eviction of a Palestinian family right in the neighborhood. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8303355.stm

Occupation 101

Another extremely helpful and very powerful documentary about the conflict. Hear from Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals about the history of the conflict, and why we have a direct responsibility as United States citizens and as human beings to care about what is going on in the region. This award-winning film is only about 90 minutes long, and I would highly recommend it as an introduction to the conflict and the situation on the ground here. 

 

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=occupation+101&emb=0&aq=0&oq=occupation#

ICAHD

"Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant to with you; You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name by Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come of you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan for a perpetual holding, and I will be their God." Genesis 17:3-8

I am now going to finally write about an experience I had during my first week here in Israel-Palestine, and which I have given a great deal of thought to in the past three weeks. The other YAGMS and I went on a tour with an organization called ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, which is "an Israeli peace and human rights organization dedicated to ending the Occupation and achieving a just peace between Israeli's and Palestinians." A major focus of their program is to educate and expose people to the realities on the ground regarding home demolitions, evictions, the Separation Wall, and the development of Settlement Blocs. These are all policies of Israel that take land from Palestinians, leaving the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in discontinuous, disconnected enclaves, cut off from one another and from resources, making the hope for a viable Palestinian state more and more difficult to realize. 

      The first stop on our tour was the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where the residents are systematically being evicted from their homes. Because it practically impossible for Palestinians in East Jerusalem to get building permits, many refugees built without permits.  We went and talked to three brothers who were sitting vigil under an olive tree on a street corner, only a few yards away from the homes in which they raised their families. The Hannoun family was a refugee family in East Jerusalem from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and had built their homes during the period of Jordanian control of the region through UN permission. On August 2, 2009 they were forcibly evicted from their home at 5:30 in the morning by Israeli police. The women were forced to leave the house before they could cover their heads with hijab, which is a clear and obvious disrespect of the Muslim faith of the family. Internationals and activists who were staying at the house to support the family were arrested by the police, and some people were even beaten. A checkpoint sealed off the area around the house almost immediately so that the

new families of Israeli settlers could move into the homes. I would highly recommend reading this article about this particular home eviction, and how home evictions are permitted to happen. (http://www.imemc.org/article/61265). There is also a brief  Al Jazeera news video at this website that includes the brothers that we spoke to from the family.  http://ramallahonline.com/component/content/article/72-human-rights/3387-israeli-forces-evict-the-hanoun-and-al-ghawe-families-from-their-sheikh-jarrah-homes. 

      As I sat under the olive tree, leaning in as close as I could to hear the words of the one brother who was quite fluent in English, I could see the three doors marking the three houses of the brothers. And I could see the new settlers behind the fences, inhabiting the homes that were forcibly acquired for them only a few weeks prior. And the security cameras that they were being installed outside the homes. And I could see and hear the strength and hope with which this man spoke about the situation in which he and his family were in. He told us that although there seemed to be no justice for them in the courts, that they would keep fighting through the legal system, because that was their only option at the moment. What I witnessed was a man struggling to keep his dignity, but acting in peace, with a clear hope that through words and peaceful demonstration there would be some justice for his family. What was more, he asked us to tell his story- to let people know what was happening to Palestinian refugee families like his. Their homes can be demolished with bulldozers, or taken from them with no recompense. The Hannoun family was offered a tent, which they refused, because they rejected the idea of returning to the tent like after 1948, being displaced again and again, endlessly refugees. When asked how long they would sit vigil outside their homes, one of the brothers told us that he wasn't sure, because they had children returning to school, and that homework was meant to be done "...in the home- not on the streets." I can attest to the fact, though, that every time I've ridden by Sheikh Jarrah on the bus in the past weeks, there they are, sitting under the olive tree, waiting.  

The next stop on the tour was to a gate in the Separation Barrier next to the Palestinian neighborhood of Anata.  The gate is the only point of entry to Jerusalem for a Beduin community that lives on the other side of the Separation Barrier, since the road that the community was promised has yet to be built. These beduins are actually Muslim Arabs with full Israeli citizenship, and they have a key to the gate so they have access in and out. When we arrived at the Wall, though, there were IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) border control and security guards at the gate. 

We were trying to visit a beduin friend of our Israeli tour guide, but these gatekeepers refused to let us through to the other side of the Wall. There was much discussion and arguing in Hebrew and Arabic, so I'm not sure exactly what was said, but what became clear was that we were not going to be allowed through. Abu Jamal, the beduin man, was told that he could come to the other side of the Wall and speak to us, but we could not go through the gate and access his community. It is important to remember that the Separation Wall does not follow any kind of legitimate international border, and is considered illegal by the International Court of Justice. The Wall next to Anata divides East Jerusalem from East Jerusalem. Also, the man we were trying to visit was a full Israeli citizen who was inviting us to his home, and yet we were denied entry to the only point of access to that home, since there is no other road. There was no legitimate legal basis for these soldiers to keep us out, or prevent us from going through. Here we witnessed a glimpse of what it actually means to live under military occupation; whether or not you can have visitors to your home is dependent upon the whims and decisions of a few soldiers with automatic weapons. On a different day, with different soldiers, with fewer people, at a different time of day, things might have been different, but on that day, we were kept out. 

Our final stop on the tour was an Israeli settlement in the West Bank- the largest settlement in the West Bank, in fact, and home to 35,000 Israeli settlers. Ma'ale Adumim is a very large, modern, hilltop settlement, complete with a large industrial zone, homes, schools, stores, swimming pools, greenery, flowers, parks...you get the idea. In many ways it seemed to me like a planned or gated community in the United States, self-contained, with a guard at the entry, and in a secure place on the top of a hill. The settlers that live in settlements do so for economic reasons, ideological reasons, and sometimes both. Tax breaks, affordable housing, and subsidies for education and healthcare are just some of the incentives for moving to a settlement. Just looking around you can see that the settlements are pleasant looking, clean, organized places to live and raise a family; being inside a settlement made it somewhat easier for me to understand why an Israeli would move to the Occupied Territories. On the other hand there are the ideological settlers, though, that believe that the entirety of the region, including the occupied Palestinian territories is their God-given right, and this permits them to take land and resources in the West Bank and East Jerusalem away from Palestinians. 

The day was truly an eye-opening experience, as I began to actually see the physical and human effects of an Occupation that I had only read about before. Understanding what a home eviction is, and looking into the eyes of someone who has been evicted from their home are two very different things. Another thing that ICAHD emphasized to me is that peace is not about belonging to a certain ethnic, national, or religious identity. It is not an Israeli thing. It is not a Palestinian thing. It is not about criticizing or attacking groups of people. It is about recognizing that certain political, military, and economic policies, as well as personal attitudes and habits stall and prevent peace and the preservation of human rights from being a reality. One you recognize those things, then you work to change those policies and attitudes. 

"...it is crucial to understand Abraham's response to so gracious a gift, of which he and his descendants were to be caretakers. He did not plow through the land, driving out its inhabitants, wielding power to establish ownership by "right." Though he was to become the father of the faith for both Jews and Christians, he knew he was not the first inhabitant of Canaan to worship the one true God by any means...Never did Abraham try to wrest Melchizedek's throne from him, nor did he take over anyone's land. He lived as a nomad. In fact, when his wife Sarah died, he very meekly purchased a cave in Hebron for her tomb."   

 -Elias Chacour, Blood Brothers

Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land

A documentary that I enjoyed, and which you might find interesting. Which news stories get told, and how those stories are told drastically effects how world events are understood by the international community. 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6604775898578139565#

And now, some history

Israel-Palestine: A Brief Timeline

I think it might be useful before I go any further with my blog to give a VERY abbreviated history of some of the root and underlying causes of conflict here in the region. Some of you probably know all this (and more), but hopefully it can prove helpful to those a little less aware of the situation. I offer this to allow a better understanding of some of the history and struggles of the people that I am living and serving among. 

So hasn’t there always been fighting in the Middle East? Isn’t it just a problem of clashing religions?

While there certainly has been conflict between different groups of people in the Middle East for thousands of years, this particular conflict can be traced very specifically to 20th century events relating to post-colonialism, the formation of the Jewish nation of Israel in Palestine, and the Arab response to this development.

1896: Theodore Herzl publishes Der Judenstaat (“The State of the Jews”), one of the foundational texts of the Zionist movement. The Zionist movement championed the settlement of Jewish people in the region of Palestine, and the establishment of a Jewish nation in the Biblical “Land of Israel.” Starting in the late 1900s, increasing “Aliyah” (waves) of Jewish people began immigrating to Palestine, many fleeing anti-Semitism in Europe.

1917: With the end of WWI and the defeat of the Ottomans, Palestine comes under the control of the British, beginning the period of the British Mandate.

1948: In the aftermath of WWII, the British Mandate ends, and the region is handed over to the United Nations. The UN declares the Partition Plan to divide Palestine into two states, including the establishment of a Jewish nation. This plan results in the outbreak of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in many deaths on both sides, and over 700,000 Arab refugees. The area of Palestine is divided between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Essentially the area that is now the West Bank was under Jordanian control. Israel celebrates this as their independence. Palestinians refer to this event as the Naqba, or “catastrophe.”

June 1967: The 6-Day War. Israel defeats many neighboring Arab countries and the areas of the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem come under Israeli military control.

November 1967: The United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 passed, calling for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from areas occupied as a result of the 1967 War. Israel does not comply.

1987:The first Palestinian “Intifada” or uprising. Violence, riots, and strikes by Palestinians break out in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and are met with resistance by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). It is estimated that over a 1000 Palestinians and 160 Israelis were killed in the conflict.

1993: Oslo Accords signed by Yasser Arafat (president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization or PLO) and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. These accords were intended to grant interim self-government to Palestinians in phases. In most places, military occupation continues to some degree.

2000: The Second Intifada, or Al-Aqsa Intifada breaks out, not long after the peace process breaks down at the Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David. Violence continues on both sides until 2006. By the end of the Intifada, over 5000 Palestinians and 1000 Israelis were dead.

2002: Israel begins construction on the Israel-West Bank Separation Wall, a measure designed to decrease the instance of suicide bombings in Israel. The result of the wall and the checkpoints that have been set up all over the West Bank has been severe restriction of movement for Palestinians, along with serious human rights violations.

2004: The International Court of Justice declares the separation wall to be illegal, and calls for the removal of the wall. Israel has not complied, and continues to construct the wall today.

2005: Israel withdraws its military and settlers from the Gaza Strip, but continues to control its airspace, coastline, and most of its borders.

2007-Present: The situation is Gaza is dire, following a continued blockade of the region, along with the recent 22-day war between December 2008 and January 2009, in which over 1300 Palestinians were killed.

The situation is so much more complex than this very brief outline, and I encourage you to read more and understand more. Some useful, very readable resources that I highly recommend:

Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer
                                Phyllis Bennis

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East        Sandy Tolan 

A Recent Victim of the Conflict

An article about the death of a 15-year old boy from a West Bank refugee camp at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Just something to think about...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8231130.stm

And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

—2 Samuel 12:15-23

WCC Statement on Settlements

A statement released by the World Council of Churches, calling for the freezing and dismantling of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/wcc-calls-to-freeze-and-d.html 

Beyond Babel

"'Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so they will not understand one another's speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."  Genesis 11:7-9

Salaam Aleikum! I have arrived at last in Jerusalem/West Bank to begin my year of international service through the Young Adults in Global Mission Program and ELCA. We had a great week of orientation in Chicago with all 50 of the YAGMs who are headed to locations throughout the world, then the six J-Crew (Jerusalem Crew) girls headed off to the Holy Lands! We had a week of in-country orientation, during which we stayed at a guest house called Talitha Kumi in Beit Jala. Now we have moved into housing near our placement sites for the coming year. I am very excited to tell you that I will be living in a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem called Beit Hanina, and will be serving at the Helen Keller Center for the Visually Impaired also located in Beit Hanina. I live with another volunteer (Anna) at the home of a Palestinian Christian woman who works at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City. Many of you have asked me where I would be living, and what I would be doing, so I am very happy to finally be able to tell you! 

While I have been here only a week so far, I am beginning to see what an eye opening experience it will be to live here for a year.  The situation in Palestine-Israel is utterly complex and multifaceted--politically, socially, and emotionally. I will never pretend to be an expert on the conflict; rather I can only communicate the stories that are told to me, the experiences I have, and the acts of oppression or reconciliation that I witness. I humbly and timidly ask you to learn with me, though, to share your thoughts and questions, and to not be afraid to challenge your own assumptions. I know that I am daily trying to challenge mine and grow in the process. 

Arabic, Hebrew, English, German, Italian...A multitude of languages enter my eyes and ears when I walk down the narrow, uneven streets of the Old City in Jerusalem. When I used to think about the story of the Tower of Babel, I admit that I was mostly perplexed about what God was doing- I mean, why mess with perfect communication? There are certainly many times in this past week since I arrived in the West Bank/Jerusalem when I have already felt the "effects of Babel." Any time you go to a new place you can more or less feel the effects of our having being scattered across the earth. I do not yet understand the Arabic language, nor do I read its elegant script, and I am frequently reminded of my inability to speak to the many wonderful Palestinians I am meeting in their own language.  I happily attempt to wrap my tongue around the new sounds, but at the same time often find myself smiling docilely because I do not know what is being said around me. 

But is Babel actually a story about God wanting to divide, confuse, and even frustrate us? I think not. Can we look at Babel instead as showing us how God wanted humans to be multifarious- different and unique within His creation? To come from different lands, to create different traditions, speak different languages, eat different foods, sing different songs? And then, what I find myself thinking now: how do we move beyond Babel? Beyond the differences that arise from the scattering of humankind? While it perhaps sounds cliche to say that I am talking about seeking our commonality, our shared humanity, I think it is vitally important to think this way within a context such as this one. There are great divides between groups of people here, but I am searching for the moments in which we look at one another and realize that we are each of us blessed, flawed, unique, connected- we are utterly and exquisitely human. So while we are scattered, while our tongues are confused, I look at this year as a time to focus on recognizing the beauty and holiness within the differences along with the similarities.