Tuesday October 4th

Today was an easier day as we toured Augusta Victoria Hospital (jerusalem.lutheranworld.org)in Jerusalem, OCHA- UN (ochaopt.org)and Taybeh Beer (taybehbeer.com) in the village of Taybeh.

However, on second and third examination, this only brought into clearer focus that we really do not know what we do not know and there is a lot of not knowing. Movement, identity, permissions, ownership, restrictions, and the ever increasing gnarl of crisscrossing roads, separation wall, checkpoints, Palestinian villages and illegal settlements. I could not possibly do all of this justice in a brief blog. So instead let me tell you a story.

Our presenter at OCHA shared slides and reams of data on Gaza and the West Bank and humanitarian concerns in both places. Anyone who knows me at all knows I begin to tune out in about 10 minutes into any stats and numbers presentation. Things only became interesting for me when we started to engage him in questions. I then asked him, given the nature and subject of his work and his identity as an Israeli Jew, if he experienced internal or peer pressures because of the work he does?  At first he hesitated and said sometimes he has to think whether he will answer a question like this. Then he said he did not receive threats but last weekend he had a minor medical procedure and a growth removed on his neck and was conscious and listening throughout. The doctors and staff were chatting and a woman shared that her father had founded Ariel, an illegal settlement. Early on there was an alleged murder by Palestinian and as a result a group of the settlers including her father went into Palestinian villages and bashed in car windshields. He said the woman said it with pride and was laughing. He was clearly uncomfortable and then he said the doctor asked him what he did for work. Our presenter concluded that since this man had a knife at his neck, he would be wise not to share his occupation and work place. The photo I took has a mask and the image of our presenter blurred as a background image. My lingering thoughts are that this insidious occupation has many victims and some refuse to BE victims, but many in all walks and ways and choices of life are paying a price. Some are punished for their identity. Others choose to hide it. But at some point each must look in a mirror and ask “who am I?”

Rev. Gail Doering

Monday October 3rd- Tent of Nations, Hebron, and The Wall

We started off today visiting a farm called Tent of Nations near Bethlehem. The Nassar recently celebrated 105 years on their land. Their 100 acres in the West Bank is now surrounded by 5 illegal settlements and in fact their farm is the only hilltop in the area without a settlement on it. They have olive and fruit trees, grapes, and they have chickens and goats as well. They have met incredible challenges to hold onto their land that are creative and non-violent. They have unfortunately had physical attacks, destroyed roads, and destroyed olive and fruit trees but they’ve persevered by inviting people to visit and volunteer for planting and harvesting. The dry climate makes it incredibly challenging to replace lost trees and they are denied water and electricity but they’ve thrived in spite of it by employing sustainable practices to preserve the environment. Daoud Nassar told us they refuse to hate, they refuse to be enemies, and the are challenged daily. He believes in standing up for what is unjust and their Christian faith is their center.  Pictures from left to right: Daoud in office cave with art from a children’s workshop on the farm and on right is painting titled “religion should bring people together”.

Hebron- Ibrahimi Mosque and Tomb of the Patriarchs (It is the burial site for Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah). This site is sacred to both Muslims, and Jews. Built by Herod there are 2,000 year old Herodian stones at base. of walls. There is a mosque on one 1/2 and a synagogue on the other half and unfortunately it’s a flash point between the Muslim population and Jewish settlers who now live within this West Bank city. There is a mosque one one side of the tomb and a synagogue on the other.

Hebron – Picture on left – Walking through a city checkpoint. ID’s must be shown and Palestinian children need to walk through to go to school. On right is a covered market for Palestinians. There is an illegal settlement right above and it must be covered for shopper to be protected from debris, rocks, and spit from above.

Walking on Shuhada Street. A half mile long road in Hebron that was once a thriving market frequented by Palestinians and Israelis. Today it’s like a ghost town. Over 1,000 Palestinian shops were closed here in 2000 and Palestinians are no longer even allowed to walk down it.

We finished off the day back in Bethlehem at the Banksy Walled Off Hotel. Inside there is a wonderful small but powerful Nakba (Palestinian catastrophe) Museum about the Palestinian diaspora after 1948. The hotel lobby is filled with Banksy art. These two are just a sample…

Just a sample of some of graffiti art on the separation wall that caught my eye. What’s going on here is dark but art and human ingenuity lightens us. From a prayer from the Community Peacemaker Teams “Beautiful Al Khalil (Hebron), I long for your freedom and your peace. May the dreams of your children- that they may walk your streets freely, that they may be safe from bullets and tear gas, searches and detention, that they may build fine schools, and hospitals, and prosper like citizens of any other city- may these dreams be realized in their lifetimes – or better- in mine”.

Brenda Mehos

Talking with Zoughbi in the garden at Wi’am

We’ve arrived! We went to the heart of it first thing today by visiting Wi’am , the Palestinian Conflict Resolution/Transformation Center in Bethlehem and one of Pilgrims of Ibillins peace partners. Wi’am means agape, unconditional love and was founded by Zoughbi Al Zoughbi as a way to help his community. Zoughbi said his hero’s and models for giving back included his strong and faithful mother, MLK Jr, and Mother Theresa. He believes that everyone is capable of being evil or good and he believes that a method to bring change is using what he calls beautiful creative resistance.

Zoughbi talked to us about the situation today under occupation and how this grass-roots organization practices restorative justice and mediation. They practice Sulha mediation here using a 3rd party mediator for conflicts (Wi’am staff and volunteers). With current challenges of the occupation, economic depression (as a result of occupation and the pandemic), high unemployment in their community, land confiscation, and economic deterioration their programs offer some hope and help for anxiety, depression, and conflicts that are exacerbated by the current situation in Palestine. Programs include children’s programs, nonviolent resistance workshops, women’s groups and youth groups for local youth. Zoughbi gave us background of the history of the present situation as we sat in the beautiful garden next to the staggering ugly wall next door that is twice the height of the Berlin Wall. I was really impressed by our groups thoughtful questions, insight and compassion.

The morning also included a tour of the Aida Refugee camp that was established in 1950 as a temporary solution (tents) which now contains small cramped permanent dwellings for over 6,000 people in a 10 acre area. This camp was also considered the most tear gased area in the world and sadly the camp where a 7 year old boy collapsed and died of a heart attack just a few days ago after he and his brother were chased and detained by soldiers for allegedly throwing stones.

Within the camp there were several bright and hopefully places. One is another Pilgrims Peace Partner, a Seraj Library that provides a beautiful calm space for children to read, play games, and gather after school (photo below on left).

Another is the Alrowwad (Pioneers for Life) Cultural and Arts Society within the camp that provides beautiful and peaceful ways through performing and visual arts such as theater.

Our deep dive day also included seeing some sites! We toured the ancient Nativity Church in Bethlehem where it’s believed that Jesus was born (photo above right). We were pleased we missed the crowds later in the afternoon and were awed by the newly cleaned mosaics from the 12th century and the newly restored columns.

Brenda Mehos

Pilgrims visiting Bi’ram in 2019

After three long years we’re back on the road on a Living Stones Pilgrimage! Nine of us will meet on Friday September 30th at our hotel in Bethlehem to travel together through October 11th. We are from Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. We all travel for different reasons including curiosity, love of travel, a longing for connection to the biblical geography, a desire to hear from peace makers, interest in history, and a wish to learn what the reality is on the ground for those living in this part of the world a third of humanity calls the Holy Land. We are “spiritual beings on a human journey” as The Camino de Santiago travel guide writer John Brierley puts it when he describes the modern pilgrims on The Way in Spain. I think that is also so true for our pilgrimage and why the living stones, those living here today, are so important!

We invite you to read our daily reflections as we journey on a listening tour to visit not only the holy sites but visit with Pilgrims of Ibillin’s Peace Partners in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ibillin, and Zababdeh. Through our reflections experience the incredible Palestinian hospitality when we stay with a host family. With our pictures you may ride with us as we take a boat tour on the Sea of Galilee with Mar Elias students. Through our meditations you can listen with us to Bedouins living in the desert as they describe their challenges. Sit and listen with Abuna Chacour as he tells us more about the wonderfully successful Mar Elias Educational Institution that he founded and Pilgrims of Ibillin helps support and about why he’s dedicated his life to education and peace.

We hope to listen to and learn first hand from people who are working to promote justice and foster a peaceful co-existence among the diverse cultural and religious groups here in Israel and Palestine.

Join us! We will be posting daily starting October 1st!

Brenda Mehos
Pilgrimage Coordinator
October 2022