Thursday, May 7, 2009

7/5/06 - English



After several months of discernment, evaluation and prayer, Christian Peacemaker Teams have chosen to restart their Hebron team. We thank God for CPT’s presence in the midst of violence and settlement expansion. We pray that they may remain safe and resolute in their work of “getting in the way.”

Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in Israel and Palestine on Saturday. We pray that he will have opportunity to see and comprehend the realities of life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. May his pilgrimage offer encouragement to the shrinking Palestinian Christian community who are leaving because of the brutality of living under occupation.

This weekend, Sabeel will host a dialogue event for young adults from Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Nazareth. The participants will spend two days together enjoying cultural events, sharing meals, and cleaning a Muslim cemetery and a church in Ma’lul, a mixed Christian/Muslim village that was depopulated during the Palestinian Nakba of 1948. We pray that these young adults will develop new relationships and learn from the story of Ma’lul.

Last Friday, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a report  highlighting the issues of house demolitions and evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the increase in Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem. The UN called on Israel to uphold the Geneva Convention. We pray that Israel will follow this path and seek to act legally and justly.

No comments:

Post a Comment