We refuse to be enemies…

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“We refuse to be enemies.”  Today we had the privilege of visiting the Nassar family at their farm, Tent of Nations.  Again and again, they repeated their motto as they told their story, “we refuse to be enemies”…”we are not leaving our land and we are not reacting”…”if we react the circle of violence never ends”…”we refuse to be enemies”…”we are people who believe in justice”…”we continue our struggle with three basic things: faith, hope, and love”…”we refuse to be enemies.”

Hearing about all this family has been though during the last 33 years to protect their land, hearing this phrase, “we refuse to be enemies” was jarring, inspiring, and heartbreaking.  How could this be possible in the face of so much violence?  And yet, “we refuse to be enemies.”

A grape vine on the farm

I keep wondering what it would be like if we all refused to be enemies?  What is being asked of us with this phrase?  What might be possible if we really lived it?  I have no answers, but in the midst of a day filled with much polarization, side-taking, and stances pushing toward violence, the Nassar’s stance of refusing to be enemies felt like a revolution.

To learn more about Tent of Nations please go to https://tentofnations.com/about-us/.

One of the five illegal settlements that surround the Tent of Nations

~Celene Lillie

Bethlehem

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Looking down at playground playground at Wi’am, the separation wall behind, and Aida Refugee Camp in distance

We are in Bethlehem and experienced a powerful day starting with an orientation at Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center. The Director Zoughbi Al Zoubi is always so inspiring. His lifelong study and commitment to non-violence and restorative justice always impresses me. Wi’am helps the local community that is so stressed due to the occupation. There are women’s groups, youth groups, and children’s summer camps that support the locals and many internationals such as our group come to learn about the situation here. Some thoughts and ideas that caught my mind today included “there is no way out except to learn to live together (Israeli’s and Palestinians), all human life is holy, and we need to help the weak be strong and the strong to their sense’s… not their knees”.

A researcher at Wi’am talking to us about the museum at the Palestinian Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability at the Bethlehem University.

Another inspiring visit was the Palestinian Institute of Biodiversity. Their work is so important in this time of Climate Crisis to prevent the further loss of species. It’s disturbing how much habitat is being lost to the rapid settlement expansions.

We also visited Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel and museum and looked at the graffiti art on the separation wall. This graffiti art of Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian teenager who was imprisoned for 6 months for slapping a soldier who was arresting her cousin. She turned 17 in prison. I was so happy to learn she is currently studying to be a layer in London!

Brenda Mehos

We Are On Our Way

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Dr. Lillie at the Garden of Gethsemane in 2019

Our May 2023 Study Tour Pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine is just around the corner and we are excited! A couple of us have already arrived and the majority of us are putting final touches in our preparations to leave.

Twelve of us will be traveling with early Christian Historian Dr. Celene Lillie, and Wi’am Guide Usama Nicola. We look forward to learning about the past and listening and sitting in the present with the people on the ground, the “living stones”. We will meet many people who are working for a just and lasting peace. We anticipate many conversations about the current situation and the future of this place that so many people call “the Holy Land”.

As poet John O’Donohue put it in his poem For The Traveler, “may we travel in an awakened way, gathered wisely into our inner ground; that we may not waste the invitations which wait along the way to transform us. May we travel safely, arrive refreshed, and live our time away to its fullest.”

Brenda Mehos

 

Final Reflections -Arlene Makita- Acuña  Berkeley, California USA

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Cities of timeless histories…
Villages in rubble,
Refugee camps,
Checkpoints and never ending harassment
Walls that keep extending
And truly wail.
Young soldiers armed in obedience
Cloaked women quietly vending fruit
Little Palestinians on their bikes
Weaving through the crowds of tourists
And their lives
Carrying heavy weights from childhood.

But the Light has not let go.
The Tent of Nations farming under constant drone surveillance.
Wi’Am engaging who they can in working towards conflict resolution and transformation.
Parents’ Circle reaching across the chasm of tragedies to heal together as they share their grief and work together for peace.
Hope School rescuing children and growing them in skills for self sustainability .
Al Rowwad offering the gifts of the arts to nourish the spirit and encourage the creative soul.
Mar Elias excelling their students in academics while nurturing their identities for the good.

All these. Truly Living Stones .
Giving us Hope for Peace and Reconciliation in the true spirit of Wi’Am, Agape, Unconditional Love.

“ And now abide Faith, Hope and Love,
But the greatest of these is Love”
I Cor 13:13.

Thank you, Living Stones, for feeding us and indulging us with your amazing dates, delicious fresh pomegranates, and mint lemonade. Thank you for your upside down chicken (Maqluba), and local specialities like the sweet dessert Knafeh. And thank you especially for teaching us through your examples of living a life that embraces resilience, strength, and hope, as you care for the ancient stones, all those around you, and the ones yet to be born.

Visiting a Destroyed Village

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Picture of our guide Nahida Zahra showing us where her grandparents home once sat in the destroyed village, Kafar Bire’m in Northern Israel.
On Monday October 10 we visited Kafar Bire’m, the birth home of Elias Chacour. We were reminded of the deep identity of Palestinians with the land. Palestinians who were uprooted fro the small village of Kafar Bire’m in 1948, still have an emotional attachment to the land. The land and memories of the location of each house destroyed by bombing are ever present in the refugee and displaced Palestinian mind. Although Palestinians of Kafar Bire’m have lost the land, it is not completely lost. Refugee and non-refugee memories of village life are strong. Identity passed on from parent and grandparents of life before the Nakba is an expression of their nationalism. For Palestinians, Land is an integral part of life and identity and more precious than gold. This is why they remain. This is why they struggle. This is why they hope.
Rev. James Thomas

History, Art, Food, Families

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Friday morning, both our bus driver, George, and our guide, Usama, came to the hotel to see us off as we checked out of the Holy Land Hotel and headed north for history, winding our way up and down through an agricultural area of olive and fig trees, even an occasional flock of sheep.
Samaritan High Priest with 2 Torahs (left) Salwa’s hospitality (right)
The Samaritan Museum at Mount Gerizim is not about The Good Samaritan! From museum founder and Samaritan priest Hosni Wasif we learned about the language and history of the Samaritan people, and why they worship on Mount Gerizim. https://samaritanmuseum.com/about/
Salwa, a friend of Brenda, met us there, bringing coffee and a wonderfully tasty homemade spice cake, heblah. She told us about her parent’s and her own story of living in refugee camps, including having Israeli soldiers spending 12 hours a day on their roof, using the water tank for the home as a trash can and urinal in 2000 during the 2nd Intifada. She earned degrees in education and taught elementary students in the camps until a few years ago.
Jacob’s Well from above (left) and Jacob’s Well with Father Justin (right)
With an elevation drop of about a thousand feet, our ears popped on the way down from a scenic overlook to the Greek Orthodox at Jacob’s Well. The well is very deep and is considered to be the well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman and talked about Living Water. Father Justin is a 90+ year-old fount of information and the artist of all the stunning icons and mosaics in the church!
Icons in Jacob’s Well Church in Nablus (left) and Zoughbi of Pilgrims of Ibillin Peace Partner Wi’am with Father Justin (right)
Last Supper mosaic made by Father Justin (left) and mosaic detail (right
Now a few words and photos of food today…
Heblah, morning hospitality (left) and Knafeh special dessert of Nablus (right) afternoon treat
salads (left) and lunch plate at Tangee restaurant in Nablus (right)
Father Firas Khoury Diab of the Melkite Orthodox Church in Zababdeh told of how he became a priest and of the difficulties in rebuilding the church and school in Zababdeh. He is not permitted to go the monthly meetings in Jerusalem. He is thankful for the support of international partners.
Birthday cake for Abuna Firas’s son. He used church candles!
Along with eating much and well today, we also saw how tahini is made from sesame seeds. Meals often begin with a variety of salads, hummus, yogurt, soft cheese, baba ghanoush, then comes the entree. A favorite entree to serve a large group is Maqluba “Upside-down” of seasoned rice with roasted carrots or cauliflower and chicken with a yogurt accompaniment. Dessert has not been served often after the meal but tonight we had birthday cake in honor of Elias, the son of Father Firas, our host. Then we went to our Palestinian host families, where we were offered coffee and desserts!
Mary Buchele