English December 5-2019

The Kumi Now Initiative

The Kumi Now Initiative was launched by Sabeel Jerusalem in 2018. Sabeel invited local and international individuals and organisations to join the initiative to strive for a lasting peace in Palestine/Israel. Forty two organisations were invited by Sabeel to join, based on their commitment to nonviolence, equal rights and respect for international law.

The initiative highlights a different organisation each week and explores its work to raise awareness about a particular aspect of injustice in Palestine/Israel. The initiative also gives information through stories of those affected and promotes a creative, nonviolent advocacy action. At the first Sabeel International Gathering to be held between the 2nd and the 7th of December in Bethlehem, discussions about the progress of the first year of this Initiative will take place, as well as plans for a new Kumi Now Global Initiative.

•    Dear Lord Jesus, when we are despairing you encourage us and tell us, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’(Mark 5:36). We thank you for the nonviolent advocacy actions of the Kumi Now Initiative which help us to channel into action our sense of  despair over the occupation of Palestine. We pray for worldwide support for the Kumi Now Initiative. We pray that it would help international decision makers to work towards a just and equitable peace in the Holy Land. Lord, in your mercy..

This week’s Kumi Now Initiative

This week’s Kumi Now Initiative focuses on the work of the Christian Peacemaker Team,(CPT), Palestine. The CPT Palestine is based in the West Bank city of Hebron. Palestinian residents in Hebron, particularly those living in the H2 area in the Old City of Hebron, are subjected to violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers. Their daily journeys to work or school are restricted by military checkpoints, ID and bag checks, detainments and arrests.

The CPT Palestine is a presence on the ground to witness and record human rights’ violations. They monitor checkpoints and support families when their children are detained or arrested. By invitation, the team also assists Palestinian families with the olive harvest when they are at risk from settler assaults and military activity. Each incident the team witnesses is documented and compiled into quarterly reports which are shared with the home community as well as the international community.

•    Lord, we pray for the CPT Palestine team which is made up of volunteers from all over the world. We pray for their protection as they live in the city of Hebron and monitor the violence and human rights’ abuses against the Palestinian people living under occupation there. We pray that those in positions of power and influence in the world will pay attention to their detailed reports of abuse and act to bring an end to the Israeli military occupation. Lord, in your mercy...

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year

Will be the time for Palestine.
Will be the time of justice for the Palestinians.

Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.
Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year
Will be the time to respect human lives in the land called holy.
Will be the time for healing to begin in wounded souls.
Will be the time to end more than 100 years of conflict, oppression, and fear.
Will be the time for freedom from occupation.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year

Will be the time for equal rights.
Will be the time to end discrimination, segregation and restriction on movement.
Will be the time for those who build walls and fences to put them up on their own property.
Will be the time to stop bulldozing homes and building homes for others on land that is not theirs.
Will be the to do away with double standards.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year

Will be the time for the international community to implement more than 70 years of United Nations resolutions.
Will be the time for people who have been refugees for more than 70 years to gain their right of return.
Will be the time for self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year

Will be a time for pilgrims to visit Bethlehem and other Palestinian towns imprisoned by the wall.
Will be the time to expose settlements in their comfort and refugee camps in their despair.
Will be the time for people living under occupation for more than 50 years to feel supported through solidarity from people around the world.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year

Will be the time to name the shame of collective punishment and to end it in all its forms.
Will be the time to voice rejection of violence against civilians and for civilians to be safe.
Will be the time for Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
Will be the time to reunite the people of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Will be the time for all parties to obey international humanitarian and human rights law.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year
Will be the time to share Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Will be the time for Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities to be free to visit their holy sites.
Will be the time for olive trees in this land to flourish and grow old.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.

Lord, we the participants of the Sabeel gathering cry out to you that this year
Will be a time to speak truth to power.
Will be a time to break the silence surrounding injustice.
Will be the year for peace, the year for Palestine.
Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayer.