On Sunday families visiting relatives
in Israel’s Remon prison were assaulted by the guards after some of the women protested
the way they were disrespectfully searched, injuring one wife and one mother of
the prisoners. We pray for an end to this system of oppression and humiliation
that has resulted in the detention of approximately 40% of the male Palestinian
population in the West Bank and Gaza since 1967, not to mention women and
children. We remember the families of prisoners who fear for their relatives’
safety and the possibility of future arrests, and pray for their safety as they
become targets of violence.
We pray for the “unrecognized villages,”
Palestinian communities in Israel not recognized by the government who thereby do
not receive any social services such as roads, water, education, etc. On
Monday, the Bedouin village Al-Arakib was violently demolished for the 7th time
in three months, while the Prime Minister’s Office blocked Tel Arad and Atir-Um
al-Hiran from receiving official recognition in court. May this violence
against the 76,000 people of the 45 unrecognized villages in the Negev come to
an end and may they find justice in their non-violent struggle to stay on their
land.
As the Advent Season begins this Sunday
we pray for the world-wide church, that all who work for the Kingdom of God
this new church year be filled with the joy of Christ that cannot be taken away
and find strength to continue the journey of seeking peace with justice.
We pray for Sabeel’s Clergy Retreat
this weekend in Taybeh. As priests come together from all over Israel and
Palestine for this ecumenical gathering, we pray for the Holy Spirit to enable all attendees to translate discussion
of how to be a humble and hospitable disciple of Christ into action to best
serve the community.
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