English 18 August, 2022

 

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

18^th of August 2022

 

Next Tuesday Kumi Now will remember the Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism which was made on the 22nd of August, 2006. Palestinian Christians wrote this declaration to address the threat of Christian Zionism. Palestinians are seen as alien residents in Israel and Arab Christians are dismissed by Christian Zionists, who believe in the sovereignty of the Jews over the whole land.

 

•    Lord Jesus Christ, we remember your great commission to make disciples of all nations, as so many Arab Christians fulfilled in the days of the early church. Give us courage to challenge any attempts to distort your holy word to oppress other people. Lord, in your mercy…

 

A fire caused by an electrical fault swept through an Egyptian Coptic Church during mass on Sunday the 14th of August, causing a stampede and killing at least 41 people, most of them children and many suffering from smoke inhalation.

 

•           Lord, the news from Egypt is overwhelming and distressing. May your spirit comfort all who have lost loved ones. We pray for the speedy recovery of all who are injured. We pray that all places of worship are in-line with safety measures and in accordance with required standards.   Lord in your mercy…hear our prayers  

 

The Israeli District Court in Jerusalem has just ordered the immediate demolition of a school for the village of Ein Samiya and neighbouring nomadic communities, near Ramallah. The school opened in January 2022, after being funded by countries from the European Union. The court order requires the petitioners to demolish the school themselves or else to pay for Israeli bulldozers to come and destroy it.

 

•    Lord, we cry out to you over the Israeli policy of demolitions on occupied Palestinian land, including donor-funded buildings. We pray that governments and organisations around the world will challenge the Israeli authorities over their violations of international law. Lord, in your mercy…

 

An Israeli bus company, Tnufa has had to issue an apology after it was revealed that fifty Palestinian workers were forced to get off one of its buses. Last week three Jewish passengers had boarded the bus in a suburb of Tel Aviv and then complained that they would not travel with the Palestinians and that the driver must demand that they disembark. More than 100,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have permits to cross into Israel and West Bank settlements, where most of them are employed as construction workers and gardeners.

 

•    Lord, we pray that there will be no further attempts to segregate bus transport in Israel. Lord, in your mercy…

 

Israeli forces entered the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem to demolish the home of Hazem Abu Sneineh on Wednesday, the 4th of August. Israeli police and a crew of municipal workers with a bulldozer came to flatten his home on the pretext that he had no building permit. While extensive programmes of settler homes are built in the occupied

Palestinian territories, hardly any building permits are ever granted to Palestinians.

 

•    Lord, we pray for an end to the policy of home demolitions carried out by the Israeli authorities on Palestinians to try to force them to leave their land so that Israeli settlers can move in. Lord, in your mercy…

 

Shireen Abu Akleh’s memory has been honoured with a monument set up on the street in Ramallah which now bears her name. The Palestinian American journalist is depicted on the monument carrying out her work covering an Israeli military operation outside a refugee camp in Jenin. Despite the fact that she was wearing a vest clearly marked ‘Press’ and a helmet, she was shot and killed. Investigations carried out by the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations have established that the Al Jazeera journalist was shot by Israeli forces.

•    Lord, we pray for the family and friends of Shireen Abu Akleh as they grieve their loss and seek to establish the truth over her unlawful killing. We pray for all Palestinian journalists who risk their lives to expose the realities of life under Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy..

 

Mua’ns Dabbour, a Palestinian Israeli footballer has decided to quit the national team. The 30-year-old player was born in Nazareth and he now plays for the German Bundesliga team Hoffenheim. He has spoken out against the Israeli occupation and was forthright in his criticism of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces in May 2021. After these comments he became a target for booing by Israeli football fans.

 

•    Lord, we pray for Palestinian sportsmen and women and others in the public arena who have to pay a high price for criticising the oppressive policies of the Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy…

 

•    We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Lord in your mercy..