English 23, June 2022

 

Sabeel Wave of Prayer
23^rd of June 2022

 

Kumi Now focused on the plight of the Palestinian refugees this week. Next Tuesday, Kumi Now will mark the anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, (NPT),on the 1st of July, by considering Israel’s position on nuclear weapons. Israel built the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Centre near Dimona in the 1950’s, but has not yet openly admitted to owning nuclear weapons and is one of only five other countries in the world which is not party to the NPT treaty.

 

•    Lord, we know the devastating power of nuclear weapons and yet Israel remains secretive about its development and distribution of these weapons. We pray that the government of Israel will declare how it is deploying its weapons and will sign up to the NPT treaty to limit their use. Lord, in your mercy…

 

Nadine Bitar will lead the prayers and Bible study at the Sabeel Online Service on Thursday, the 23rd of June. Nadine is the General Secretary for the Youth of Jesus’ Homeland. This is a volunteer-based mission administered by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, serving more than 3,500 young people between the ages of 7-35 years.

 

•    Lord, we give thanks for Nadine Bitar as she leads the worship this week at the Sabeel Online Service while the Rev. Naim Ateek is away. Lord, in your mercy..

 

On Wednesday, the 15th of June, the global Christian charity, World Vision, expressed its disappointment over the decision of the Israeli District Court to convict Mohammed El Halabi .The court stated that El Halabi was guilty of diverting huge sums of charitable funds to armed groups in Gaza. World Vision stated that,’there have been irregularities in the trial process and a lack of substantive publicly available evidence’.

 

•    Lord, we pray for Mohammed El Halabi as he has already been imprisoned for six years on a charge of diverting charitable funds. We pray that his case may be appealed and that he is not convicted on the basis of secret evidence or coerced confession. Lord, in your mercy..

 

An Israeli police investigation into officers’ attacks on the mourners at Shireen Abu Aqleh’s funeral concluded that it was a case of police misconduct. However, before the investigation started, it had been agreed that none of the officers involved in the incident would face any disciplinary action.

 

•    Lord, people around the world were deeply shocked when they saw on their screens the violent assaults carried out by Israeli police on the Palestinian mourners and pallbearers at Shireen Abu Aqleh’s funeral. Such irreverent and violating images are difficult to erase from the memory, even if the Israeli police authorities plan to cover them over. Lord, in your mercy…

 

Matan Kahana, a senior member of Israel’s coalition, caused anger on Tuesday when a recording of a remark he made at a boys school in Efrat on the previous day was broadcast. He said, ‘If there was a button I could press that would take all the Arabs and put them on a train to Switzerland, I would.’ He is the Deputy Religious Affairs Minister in Naftali Bennett’s right-wing Yamina Party.

 

•    Lord, we pray for the end of racism of any kind. May all politicians work towards equality and justice for all the peoples of this land. Lord, in your mercy..

 

On Tuesday, the 14th of June, security guards employed by the Palestinian Authority violently dispersed a student rally at An Najah University, Nablus. The students had been protesting over the university administration’s decision to expel ten students. Five members of the Islamic bloc and five members of its rival Shabiba group were expelled after getting involved in a brawl the previous week.

 

•    Lord, we pray that the violence among the student body and with the security guards will calm down at the university in Nablus. We pray that student grievances will be expressed and that the administration will do all in its power to meet reasonable requests. Lord, in your mercy..

 

The Palestinian Prisoner Society stated on Wednesday, the 15th of June, that there are now six Palestinians in Israeli prisons who have gone on hunger strike in protest at their conditions of imprisonment. Among the prisoners are Khalil Awawdeh from Dora town in the south of the West Bank, who has been on hunger strike for 105 days and Raed Rayyan from Beit Duqqo near Jerusalem, who has been on hunger strike for 70 days.

 

•    Lord, we pray for Khalil and Raed and the other prisoners in their suffering as they protest their prolonged administrative detention and their harsh prison conditions. We pray for an end to the Israeli policy of using administrative detention orders to hold Palestinian prisoners for undefined periods on secret charges without hope of a trial or release. Lord, in your mercy..

 

•    We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of  Malawi and Zambia. Lord, in your mercy..