Sabeel Wave of Prayer
12th of
May 2022
After more than twenty years of legal
proceedings, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled, on Wednesday the 4th of May,
that the area of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills is now a closed
military zone. This ruling means that the Israeli army can forcibly transfer
1,200 Palestinians living in the area and take away their land.
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Merciful Lord, we cry out to you as we see more and more
Palestinians made homeless as the Israeli authorities use their justice system
to contravene international humanitarian law. Lord, in your mercy..
B’Tselem, the Israel Information
Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has looked into the
circumstances under which the Israeli border police shot and killed Nader Rayan
in Nablus on the 15th of March this year. Their investigation showed that Nader
and his friend were on their scooter behind the police vehicles. When the
scooter broke down, they ran down a side alley. As they run, the police shot
Nader in the back. Then the police left their vehicles, tracked down the
injured Nader, shot him repeatedly and killed him.
•
Lord, we pray for the family of Nader as they grieve over
his violent death. We pray that the Israeli military will put a stop to this
open fire policy, which contravenes international humanitarian law and has cost
the lives of thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Lord, in
your mercy…
On Thursday, the 5th of May, more than
six hundred Israeli settlers resumed their incursions, under police protection,
into the Al Aqsa compound, after the ten day pause for the end of Ramadan.
Israeli police arrested fifty Palestinians, including elderly men and young boys,
and injured sixteen others during clashes at the compound. Tensions have
heightened following a series of attacks inside Israel and police raids in
occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
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Lord, we pray for calm as the violence in Jerusalem and the
occupied Palestinian Territories is rising. We pray that the Israeli
authorities will take responsibility to ease the tensions and not enflame the
situation, particularly at the Al Aqsa compound. Lord, in your mercy…
Sabeel Jerusalem held an ecumenical
meeting for more than fifty clergy on Monday, the 9th of May. Clergy were also
invited to visit Father Raji Khoury, a Greek Orthodox priest, who is now over
ninety years old and suffers from a medical condition which prevents him from
attending the Sabeel meetings.
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Lord, we give thanks for the encouragement and support
Sabeel Jerusalem provides to local clergy as they continue to experience
challenges and persecution. Lord, in your mercy…
Eight Republican and Democrat
Congressmen sent a joint letter to the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken,
at the end of April. They wished to express their deep concern over the
disturbing rise in recent Israeli extremist attacks against Jerusalem’s
Christian community. The lawmakers stressed that the protection of religious
freedom abroad must be a critical element of US foreign policy.
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Lord, we pray that the US government will listen to the
concerns of the congressmen over what is happening to the Christian community
in Israel. We pray that the US State Department will work with the Israeli
government to uphold its stated commitment to the freedom of religion and
worship of all religions. Lord, in your mercy..
For Palestinians, Sunday, the 15th of
May will be the time they commemorate the Nakba, when thousands of Palestinians
were forced to flee their homes in 1948.
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Lord, we lament as
we see that even today many Palestinians have to leave their land and
communities, forced out by the oppressive policies of the Israeli occupation.
Lord, in your mercy…
The Rev. Canon Richard ‘Dick’ Toll
will be the next recipient of the Cotton Fite Award given by the Palestine Israel
Network of the US Episcopalian Church. Since meeting the Rev. Naim Ateek in the
early 1960’s, Dick has been committed to advocacy for Palestinian human rights.
He has served as the Director for FOSNA and helped to organise 35 regional
conferences on Palestine.
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Lord, we give thanks for the years of devoted service given
by Dick Toll to Palestinian advocacy and we rejoice with him over the
recognition of his abiding commitment to justice and peace. Lord, in your
mercy…
The Taizé Community, together with the
Ecumenical Institute of Tantur and the Churches of the Holy Land, have been
welcoming more than three hundred young Christians from Europe and other
countries for a time of worship and prayer in the Holy Land. They have met up
with young believers from the Holy Land to reflect on the theme of ‘Journeying
Together to Sources of Hope’.
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Lord Jesus, our Risen Lord, we remember how the appearances
to the disciples after your resurrection turned their fear and despair into joy
and a living hope. We pray that the Taizé gathering is a blessing and
encouragement to all the young people as they have learnt of the different
challenges they face in their lives. Lord, in your mercy…
•
We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers
for the countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Lord, in your mercy….
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