Sabeel Wave of Prayer
2nd September 2021
This week’s Kumi Now online gathering
focused on how different Palestinian artists express their non-violent
resistance to the Israeli occupation. Next week’s Kumi Now on Tuesday, the 7th of September will
consider Education Funding and Policy in Palestine/Israel. Israel runs a separate and unequal
school system for Jewish Israeli pupils and for Palestinians. While all Israeli
schools receive tax support, the government schools for Israel’s Christians,
Muslims, and Druze receive a lower subsidy than the Jewish schools. The Israeli
government has also made drastic reductions to subsidies to non-Jewish private
schools in the last decade.
•
Lord, we pray that the Israeli government will be
challenged over its inequitable funding of schools. We pray that every school
pupil in Palestine/Israel would be given the opportunity to achieve their
potential, no matter their religion or ethnicity. Lord, in your mercy…hear
our prayers.
Nadia Habash has been elected as the
first female union leader in Palestine. She will head up the Palestinian
Engineers’ Union. She has taught architecture as a professor at Birzeit
University and set up an award-winning practice, Habash Consulting Engineers,
with her brother in 1998.
•
Lord, we give thanks for the outstanding gifts of Nadia
Habash and recognise her courage and sense of duty to serve as a union leader
in a male dominated profession. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
Iyad Shalabi is deaf and has been a
wheelchair user since the age of thirteen and yet he has overcome his
disabilities to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. On Wednesday, the 25th of
August, he became the first Arab Israeli to be awarded a gold medal at the
Paralympics, winning the 100-metre backstroke final.
•
Lord, we give thanks for the determination of Iyad to
overcome his disabilities and to compete successfully in the Paralympics. We
pray that he will inspire other young people facing physical challenges to
persevere and improve their strength and fitness. Lord, in your mercy…hear our
prayers.
The village of Tabgha lies on the
shores of Lake Galilee. Tradition holds that this is the site where Jesus
multiplied the loaves and fishes. There is a monastery at this site which is
run by German Benedictines. On Wednesday, the 18th of August, vandals removed a
wrought iron cross which was anchored to an outdoor stone altar on the same
site.
•
Lord Jesus, we pray for those seeking to tear down the
symbols that others hold dear. We ask Lord that you would guide them on the
path of love and respect for the faith of other people. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
A protest tent was set up in the
Sarona Market in Tel Aviv from Wednesday, the 25th of August until Friday, the
27th of August. The protest organisers were calling on the Israeli public to
recognise the abuse faced by Palestinians from settlers and Israeli soldiers
who are trying to force them from their land.
•
Lord, we pray that more and more people in Israel and
around the world will see that the Palestinians suffer oppression under the
Israeli occupation. We pray that many will have the courage to challenge the
Israeli government over its apartheid policies. Lord, in your mercy…hear our
prayers.
Ahmed Salima, a young Palestinian from
East Jerusalem, had just finished his shift at a restaurant in Jerusalem’s
Mahane Yehuda market when he was attacked on the night of Thursday, the 19th of
August. A group of five young Israelis set upon him and stabbed him.
He was taken to hospital with multiple
stab wounds.
•
Lord, we pray for Ahmed’s full recovery from this brutal
attack. We pray that his assailants will be brought to justice. We pray for a
halt to the frequent outbreaks of inter-racial violence and hatred breaking out
across Israel/ Palestine. Lord in your mercy…hear our prayers.
The new school year for students in
the West Bank and Gaza started in August and for schools in occupied East
Jerusalem and Israel, schools started on 1st September
·
Lord,
we pray that young Palestinian students will begin and persist with their
studies, even though many face disruption and turmoil caused by the Israeli
occupation and Covid-19. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
•
We join with the World Council of Churches in their
prayers for the countries of
Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, and Senegal. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
