Blog for Monday, Oct 24, by DeDe Babcock

Our day began with the delightful sounds of happy children coming to school. I had been looking forward to visiting Mar Elias High School and the Miriam Bawardi Grade School. The high school students gathered outside to hear Bishop Chacour give a short talk. Before his talk we were able to visit with the students.  They were very friendly and wanted to take pictures of us with them.  Today they were going to take exams. The group of girls told me that their test was in Arabic grammar and were nervous.

After visiting with them, one girl approached me and gave me the heart sign. Next we visited Ms. Shosh’s design classroom. She shared samples of her students’ work. It truly was amazing! At one point in her presentation Siri interrupted saying: “I don’t understand that!” Siri usually hears the teacher speaking Arabic.  Students learn English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Although they come from diverse backgrounds, there are very few problems.  The students stay in the classrooms and they must complete some group projects. They learn to solve problems, work together completing big end-of-year projects speaking Hebrew and Arabic.  She loves teaching there because “It is much better than other schools, it is unique and like family.”

Next, we were divided into groups and visited English classes. Students were eager to ask us questions about America. In my group I had a variety of students. They choose majors in high school and take classes that support their major. They had a variety of majors such as:  environmental science, chemistry, electricity, and biology. Some students live close, but many come to school by bus. It takes some an hour and a half to come to school.

After lunch I was able to visit Elementary School Principal, Johaina Mattar. The grade school is about 1,000 students. Class sizes are forty students to a class.   She oversees first to eighth grade.  There is another assistant principal for 7th and 8th grade. Although it is very busy, she has a great staff that assists her.

After lunch, we went to the  Zippori National Park- “It is  a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Jerusalem Talmud). At one time, it was known for being the center for Jewish writings and thoughts. This is also the possible site where Jesus and Joseph worked. After 1948, Palestinians here were relocated.  Their homes were demolished and their crops were ruined. The southern route of escape was closed to them. Archaeologists later discovered “a magnificent city” dating from the Roman and Byzantine periods. They also found detailed mosaics, huge private homes, a theater, an ancient water reservoir and fortress at the top of the hill.  The views from the top were breath taking.

Before dinner, we met at the Mar Elias Church that Bishop Chacour had built. He gave us a wonderful tour explaining how he had raised money and built the church in about two years. After that we had devotions and shared meaningful reflections from our trip.

Blog for Sunday, October 23, submitted by Rev. Lynell M. Caudillo

This morning after a nourishing breakfast prepared by our hostess, Badeea, at the guest house in Ibillin, we ventured out to Bar’am National Park, which includes some ancient ruins of two synagogues that were built in the late fourth or early fifth century. Of greater interest to our group however, was seeing the remains of the town of Biram, the home of Abuna Elias Chacour. (The details of his story can be found in the book Blood Brothers.) We walked through the ruins as we listened to Nahida, whose family also is from the village of Kufor Biram. She now lives nearby in Gish. She recounted much of the history of families being removed from the village by the new state of Israel in 1948, to find refuge in nearby caves, confiscation of their land, and the later demolition of the village at the hands of the IDF. It is inaccurate and inadequate (in my opinion) to say that “Maronite Christians resided in Bar’am until their evacuation during the 1948 War of Independence”—the only reference to the events that occurred there during the 20th century, as noted the official brochure published by the National Park service.

Despite the sad and distressing story of this village, the Maronite Church still stands (though reconstructed) as a testimony of the resilience and perseverance of the faith of the people. There we experienced a meaningful worship service led by Rev. Charlie Lewis, Rev. Matt Paul, Rev. Don Dunn, Rev. Lynell Caudillo and Dana Wright, who brought a challenging message on “The Prophethood of All Believers”. Singing and praying for peace in this particular place was especially poignant. May God act in respond to our prayers!!

During our bus ride to the Sea of Galilee, “fast food” appeared! Our hostess had prepared manaeesh, served with cucumbers, tomatoes and apples. Delicious!

Having arrived at the Sea of Galilee, it was a short walk to the dock where David and his partner had moored two wooden boats, linked together and holding 12 passengers each. They are designed to represent those similar to the ones that the Zebedee brothers used when fishing on the Sea in Jesus’ day. Made of oak and pine, these weigh 6 tons, and are fully electric!

Once out on the water, David our captain was very congenial, explaining about the history of the area and where Jesus ministry took place along the shores of this beautiful lake. In spite of the heat and humidity, dangling our feet in the water was fun and refreshing. In reflecting on the trip so far, this was one of my personal favorite experiences!

Back on the shore we drove a short distance to three historic sites that commemorate particular events in the life of Jesus and the disciples. The first was Tabgha—the Church of Loaves and Fishes. The miracle of feeding 5,000 plus(!) from the sack lunch of a child, is remembered here through a beautiful mosaic, that one in particular is below the communion table featuring five loaves of bread and two fish. Elsewhere in the sanctuary are many more mosaics on the floors, featuring birds and plants which date to the Byzantine era. In 2015 this church was fire-bombed by settlers, inflicting significant damage to the church compound (which has now been repaired).

A short walk up the road is the Primacy of Peter Church (Catholic) that recalls –see John 21 and Matthew 16—two events:  The Risen Lord’s ‘reinstatement’ of Peter, and the statement of Jesus that the church would be “built on the rock”– Peter’s name means “rock”.  What was most impressive here were the ancient “steps” that in Jesus’ and Peter’s day led to the water’s edge where fishermen would bring in their catch, and pay taxes.  This brought us very near to the “real” place where Jesus and his disciples likely walked!

The third and final stop of the day was Capernaum—the ruins of the town have been preserved by a branch of the Catholic church.  This was most impressive—the remains of a synagogue, homes, and more. Given their age, there are “ruins upon ruins”.  For instance, under the synagogue are the remains of one built by a Roman centurion.  The Gospel of John relates the speech of Jesus on the Bread of Life (John 6:59) to that synagogue. Whether that is accurate, it is probably safe to say that we walked in Jesus’ and the disciples’ footsteps today!

There is more that could be added about each place we visited today, but this will have to suffice.  We were most honored this evening to experience more holy moments as Abuna Elias Chacour graced us with his presence!  We listened and were inspired by his deeply spiritual presence and personhood as he recounted some of his personal story. 

How blessed we are to share this journey of faith in this holy place!

Blog for Friday, Oct 21, by Heidi Saikaly (pictures will be added ASAP)

Palestinians are living in a system that limits their human, civil, and political rights. Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) recently stated that “Israel has, with impunity, intimidated, confused, humiliated, bullied, imprisoned, tortured and killed Palestinians since 1967…”

Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb saw the crushing effects of this system on his family, friends, and parishioners. Out of that came a holy determination to create a place of learning about the arts and culture for young Palestinians. We visited the Dar Al Kalima University and College in Bethlehem which provides diploma, bachelor’s, and master’s degree programs of study in the arts and culture. Raheb presented the vision, mission, and success stories of students:

Raheb related the healing power of art that he witnessed in his own family. During a siege of Bethlehem by the IDF, the community was locked down under a curfew. On the 14 th day, there was a 3 hour lift of the curfew, so that families could go out to shop for food and take care of other errands. The lift was suddenly shortened to 2 hours. As his family rushed to get back to the safety of their home, a soldier shot at his little daughter and she heard the bullet whiz by her. For hours, she was unable to speak, and could not be cajoled to do so. Finally, she picked up crayons and began drawing; in the resulting image, the bullet was as large as herself—this activity calmed and restored her. Raheb is convinced that the arts are vitally important for the nourishment of the soul and can create opportunities for Palestinians.

He shared the news of Dar El Kalima student Haneen Wahsh from the West Bank Bedouin village of Jubbet Adh Dhib, where electricity was not available until the gift of solar panels from the Netherlands—a gift enabling Haneen and other students to continue studying at night.  However, those panels were stolen by Israeli soldiers.  Haneen and the women’s council of her village took action against this theft–they hired a lawyer to take their case to the Israeli justice system and prevailed.  The panels were replaced.

Eight Dar El Kalima gradute students produced “The Present,” a Netflix film about the hurdles faced by a father who’s taken his daughter on an outing to buy a present for his wife—a simple errand made monumentally difficult by the occupation’s restrictions. This film has won prestigious film awards and created opportunities for these students.

We invite you to find Dar al-Kalima on their website

• at http://www.daralkalima.edu.ps/en/. Or find it on Facebook
• at https://www.facebook.com/daralkalimaUniversity or YouTube
• at https://www.youtube.com/user/DiyarProductions.

Israel/Palestine Blog 10/21/22, Elie Saikaly

We started the day heading to the Palestine  Museum of Natural History of Bethlehem University.  There we met Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh, Director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability. Prof. Qumsiyeh, previously at Duke and Yale University, now teaches at Bethlehem University.  He had just finished teaching a master’s level course on advanced molecular biology before joining us. You wouldn’t normally expect to find a museum of natural history at a university in a place as economically stressed as Palestine.  His lecture with us connected the dots between the Israeli occupation, settler colonialism, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and environmental degradation.  His focus is not just educational, but to empower the Palestinian people to use environmental knowledge to improve their lives.

“The Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) and the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) were established to research, educate about, and conserve our natural world, culture and heritage. We use this knowledge to promote responsible human interactions with our environment.”

Palestine  Museum of Natural History has a diverse collection of Palestinian plants and animals.  The site also includes projects in agriculture with limited water supplies, projects to promote biodiversity and sustainability, and cultural heritage.

We then visited the Cremisan Winery.   The Cremisan Monastery stands on a hilltop between the village of Al-Walajah and the city of Bethlehem. It was started in the nineteenth century. The winery funds the work of the Monastery.  It produces a variety of red and white wines as well as other spirits. 

Thursday, October 20, 2022
by Janae Novotny
 
We began our day with a new bus and a new driver.  A discussion of itinerary changes was the first order of business. Zoughbi updated us on overnight developments.  A Palestinian sought by the Israeli Defense Forces for killing an Israeli was apprehended and killed.  This provoked a wave of violence throughout the West Bank last night and a call for a general strike today. After some discussion, Joan and Zoughbi concurred that our planned trip to Hebron this morning was too risky. So, in another exercise of the flexibility required for this trip, we headed off to Herodium, an Israeli National Park.
 
Just outside the visitor center we paused for a thought-provoking devotional led by Lynell Caudillo on the meaning of “home”.  Jesus says in John 14:1-3 that home is in His presence.

Herodium is an impressive and beautiful archaeological site, an enormous complex of palaces built at the direction of Herod in the third decade BCE, after he was crowned King of Judea by Rome. Remaining for visitors to explore are ruins of the mountain palace-fortress repurposed late in Herod’s life as a monument to house his tomb (and presumably assure the immortality of his imprint on the land and history). We explored the ruins, enjoyed the amazing views from the mountain top, and walked down through the tunnel network to the tomb. Finally, we marveled at the excavated royal theater and admired the uncovered paintings of imaginary windows framing landscapes, buildings, and animals.

Our next morning stop was Solomon’s Pools (the Turkish Suluman’s Pools), three huge reservoirs built to store water for Jerusalem. The first pool was built in the Roman era; the next two were constructed by Suluman the Great. Jerusalem received water from these pools until 1967 when the aqueducts were destroyed. We were touched by an unplanned encounter with the head of the local Palestinian village council, who asked us to “tell Americans that we are oppressed and Americans don’t like injustice.”  He continued, “We Palestinians love all people-Christians, Muslims, Jews. We want to live peacefully. We all believe in God; we are all sons and daughters of Adam. God created all of us to love each other.”

In 1991 Israel declared the area “state land” and the family began their legal fight to prove keep ownership of the farm. The decades-long legal fight continues to this day. Their legal case has been marked by too many court-imposed delays to count, often unannounced until, for example, they appeared in court with the 50 witnesses required by the court to establish the  fact that the Nassars indeed own the land. For decades, the courts, both military and the Supreme Court, have imposed hurdles for the Nassars to clear, without a final recognition of the Nassar’s ownership of the land.

Meanwhile, the Nassars have faced other obstacles and dangers: they been physically threatened and assaulted by armed settlers; their vines and orchards repeatedly burned or bulldozed by settlers or the military, in addition to enduring severe beatings. Although these actions are illegal, no action is every taken against the perpetrators. 

Throughout this ordeal, the Nassars purposefully refuse to be enemies or victims. They have creatively persevered. When Israel blocked the road to the farm, they used a longer, back road through the village below. When they are denied permits to build a house, they move to caves. When they were denied access to water, they dug cisterns to collect rainwater. When they were denied access to electricity, with the help of friends, they installed solar panels to generate their own electricity. Their creative responses to Israeli obstacles is inspiring.

Daoud explained to us that their Christian faith informs their non-violent, creative and constructive response to their situation.  “We refuse to hate. All people were created in God’s image and not to hate.”  They open the farm to visitors to learn about their story and go home and tell others. Volunteers from around the world come for short stays to help with farm work. The Nassars also invest their energy in projects helping the nearby Palestinian village of Nahalin. Learn more about their thought-provoking story at www.tentofnations.org.

The ride home was an adventure as we traveled past evidence of the day’s demonstrations and encountered a world-class traffic jam of vehicles trying to navigate surprise road blocks. Thanks to Johnny’s incredible driving skills and the help of a stranger who ran in front of the bus directing traffic, we successfully navigated the jam and arrived home safely. 

October 19, 2022, by Daren and Joann Barstad

We started the morning traveling to the old city of Jerusalem, picking up our guide Mike after going through check point for security at the entrance to the city. Being a bit early for our meeting with our Al Aqsa host Aouni Bazbaz at the mosque compound, we first visited the Crusade era church of St. Ann, a church with wonderful acoustics. Our group sang a couple of hymns there. 

Aouni met us and guided us on the Al Aqsa Mosque property which contains two mosques.  The first he took us into (after we all removed our shoes and ladies donned hair covering scarves and ankle length skirts, which were provided for those who wore pants), was the Dome of the Rock featuring a beautiful golden Dome  with amazing mosaics covering the high walls inside and out. We got to touch the rock beneath it that some say is the same rock Abraham  was about to sacrifice Isaac on. It was also thought to be a place of Jebusite sacrifices prior to being conquered by the Israelites and site of Jewish temple. Having significance to Muslims as the place where Muhammad ascended to heaven, to Jews as site of original temple and to Christians as place Jesus worshipped at creates a contentious rivalry between these groups for possession. An inside mosaic depicted Mary’s Palm which represented the palm that legend has it dropped dates when Mary was hungry. Muslims also revere Mary it turns out. We went next to the other mosque which had carpeted room for 60,000 worshippers downstairs and a sad history of ambush and mass murder upstairs.

After leaving Al Aqsa property, we began walking toward the Via Dolorosa following  the road Jesus took after His condemnation at the Praetorium. We visited the stations of the cross  from Christ’s condemnation to His Crucifixtion on Golgotha which is thought to be contained within The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This site also holds the anointing stone and what is thought to be His tomb. Our journey was interrupted twice – once for lunch at Ecce Homo in a private stone room. The second was stop at Wailing Wall ( what remains of the temple of Jesus day). Those of our group who could make it to the wall and back to our overlook in 10 minutes did so to say a quick prayer.

We were given 20 minutes free time in the market before meeting  our bus. However bus did not come as driver had some problem with police. We pray for him this evening. We all squished into a replacement bus and returned to hotel just in time to hear presentation about Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) by Kevin Vollrath.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022, by Phil and Lori Prins

Tuesday was a very eventful day.  We started the day by visiting Yad Vashem.  It is Israel’s official memorial to the six million Jews that died in the Nazi’s design to implement their “final solution” to exterminate the Jewish people. Going through the main building which houses the Holocaust History Museum is an emotional and haunting experience.  The galleries not only explain the history of antisemitism from the Jewish perspective but also tell the story of the Nazi’s efforts to dehumanize and kill off people of that religion.  The story is told chronologically and is made more effective and disturbing by focusing on telling the stories of specific families and individuals through videos, photographs, and displays of the personal effects of victims.  In the Hall of Names, you are surrounded by the photographs and names of the known victims.  In a separate building, the Children’s Memorial is dedicated to the 1.5 million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust.  The whole experience gives the visitor a perspective on the Jewish narrative and an understanding of their thoughts from a historical view.  You cannot leave this memorial unaffected.

From there, we headed down to the Dead Sea for a break.  On the way, we stopped at a ‘sea level’ marker where several members of our group experienced their first camel ride.  Then we stopped at Qumran to learn more about the Essene (“Sons of Light”) community that wrote the Dead Sea scrolls.  Walking through the archaeological dig of their community buildings and also looking up at the caves in which the scrolls were found in 1947, gave an insight into what their life was like for 100 years until the community was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE.  Even though it was hot (low 90s), the experience of floating in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea was a very welcome respite.

We arrived back at the hotel just in time for an excellent and educational talk by Ben Kfir and George Sa’adeh of the Parent’s Circle.  The Parent’s Circle is comprised of 120 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost their children due to the conflict.  Ben, an Israeli, lost his daughter on September 9, 2003, when a teenage Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself at a bus station and George, a Palestinian, lost his 12 year old daughter on March 25, 2003, when members of a special Israeli Defense task force shot at a car in which he was driving his family.  Both of the men thought about, but then rejected, the idea of revenge and instead decided that the better path was to work for peace and reconciliation together with other parents whose children had been killed by “the other side”.  Ben made the excellent point that peace normally comes from the top leaders down while the process of reconciliation goes from the bottom up.  Each man made statements that stuck with us, George said “The wall in the head is the problem, not the cement wall” (referring to the wall constructed between Israel and Palestine) while Ben urged us to be “pro-peace, not pro-Israel or pro-Palestine”.
 
Well, all that was quite a bit to handle but fortunately we ended the day with a special Palestinian dinner including a birthday cake dessert in honor of Charlie Lewis’s birthday.

Monday, October 17, 2022, by Charlie Lewis

It was another very educational and inspiring day among those of us traveling to meet the peacemakers.  We began our day by meeting with the Anglican Bishop at St. George Cathedral, Hosam Naoum, who serves two families faithfully, his own wife and children in his own home and the 28 Anglican congregations spread throughout Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.   That’s a lot of ground to cover but he does so with a sense of pastoral sensitivity, compassion and urgency knowing that “Christians numbers are dwindling.”   With Christians now making up only 1% – 1.5% of the population in the West Bank – and many leaving or having left due to the hardship of the Israeli occupation – no one wants to see Christians become extinct in the land of where Jesus lived and ministered nor see the only Christians left being those who come from afar to see ancient holy sites.   The vital Christian presence here is needed and reflected in what Bishop Naoum points to in services provided through Christian hospitals, schools, social programs, guest houses, etc., as well as the all-important role of being a reconciling presence with people of the Muslim and Jewish faith traditions who are also seeking a just peace in the region.     

We spent time in the OCHA office (UN Office of Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs) which is responsible for humanitarian efforts at providing relief in emergencies and assure that all parties contribute to the overall relief effort.   While it was pointed out that Israel, as an occupying power, has certain obligations to those it occupies, it was difficult to see from the presentation just how much those obligations were being followed when confiscation of Palestinian land, settlement expansion, housing demolitions, limited water rights, check points and daily harassment are ongoing realities. 

Our last stop, in Ramallah, was the hardest, listening to a representative of Defense of Children International share about the violations that Palestinian children face on a daily basis and the trauma that 500-700 children (ages 12-18) go through each year who are arrested and detained under harsh conditions (often without merit).  With a 99% conviction rate and no adequate legal representation, this is “no way to treat a child.”   A video on a boy named “Obaida” who went through this trauma awakened us all to the psychological impact this has on young people for years. Obaida did not have that long term impact because he didn’t live long enough to suffer it – he was shot and killed when peacefully protesting against home confiscations in East Jerusalem (Sheikh Jarrah).

In the midst of our day, among meeting with these various peacemakers and hearing the challenges and the hope, we spent time on the Mount of Olives where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus willingly chose to face what was coming – when he would absorb all the evil of the world into himself on a cross and cry out “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  Hearing these stories today and being in these sacred sites seemed fitting for our day.  Together they remind us that Jesus still weeps over Jerusalem when it does not know or follow the way of peace.  And Jesus still cries out from the cross to forgive those who don’t know what they are doing that causes so much suffering – out of ignorance or out of ignoring it.  

The Christian witness of being reconciling agents, working for human rights and a just peace remains an urgent need.

Sunday, October 16th, by Judy Wright

This Sunday afternoon’s experience was a highlight for me for two main reasons: the majestic barrenness of the desert and the gracious hospitality of the Bedouin community.

I grew up in the west Texas desert of El Paso and looking out of the window of our bus that was taking us into the stark Judean desert to the Bedouin camp was as if I were coming home.  At this time of year, there was nothing green anywhere yet I knew that there was life in that desert.  Somehow, camels and goats and sheep and people were able to survive with clever adaptations. The traditional lifestyle of the Bedouin is nomadic, moving from place to place so they had to develop ways to prepare cheese, salt meat, purify water and even wash their hair using a shrub called adhuo. If the washing process is repeated the hair becomes blond.  Successive Israeli administrations have tried to demolish Bedouin villages and move them into settlements that would supposedly provide basic services and infrastructure.  In 2015, two agencies of the United Nations combined forces and have called on Israel to stop its plans to relocate Bedouin communities currently living in the West Bank stating that a “forcible transfer” of over 7000 Bedouin people would “destroy their culture and livelihood”

I also grew up in the Southern tradition of going to church in the morning on Sunday and then spending the afternoon resting after a big Sunday dinner with family.  Sunday was set aside to reset after a busy week, to enjoy great food and to enjoy family. 

So here we were traveling on a Sunday afternoon to be treated to the hospitality of a Bedouin community which included sharing a beautifully prepared meal in the company of our new friends. Our meal, called the zarb, was a traditional meal of chicken cooked underground for 3-5 hours.  The men were in charge of the outdoor cooking and removing the heavy stone cover of the “cooking” hole while the women made rice, vegetables and a bread that peeled off in thin layers.  Afterward, we sat on the floor on cushions in a circle in Arabic tradition where we could ask questions about their life and customs.

Special memories: the 3 km uphill hike in the dry desert afternoon heat  with my hiking buddies, new appreciation of what harsh conditions Jesus experienced while He was in the wilderness, the wide, curious, beautiful eyes of little Mohammed aged 4, the rock wall of the central room where we ate which was made of small smooth stones all the same size and collected from the Wadi’s, my granddaughter Angelina who had no problem being first in line for our delicious meal.

Sunday Oct.16, 2022, by Daren Barstad

Began day hearing call to worship early, then ringing of church bells – another reminder we are in the holy city. Holy to many people in many ways. We had the as usual delicious breakfast buffet and bit more leisurely start to day, allowing more time to visit. We left for Christmas Lutheran Church, a beautiful church also associated with a K- 12 school. The church was built by Germans in 1864 and contained beautiful stained glass windows with German translation of scriptures on them. High domed ceiling was decorated with Arabic Calligraphy. We and another American group were given bulletins with English translation of couple songs and liturgy. W e were encouraged to join along. The service was conducted in Arabic but we felt very welcome. After church Pastor Isaac invited us downstairs for coffee. We celebrated a 10 year old boys birthday by singing Happy Birthday in English as rest of people sang it in Arabic. It is the unexpected events that have made our trip so special and yet so common world over. We hurried off to change for trip to Bedouin camp.