9th of February 2023

 

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

 9^th of February 2023

 

Next Tuesday, Kumi Now will focus on the ways in which the Israeli government denies Palestinians their human rights and fundamental freedoms. We will remember the World Day of Social Justice on February 20th and consider the UN statement that ‘social development and social justice are indispensable for the achievement and maintenance of peace and security within and among nations’. We will consider how peace can be achieved for Israelis and for Palestinians living under occupation.

 

•    Lord, we pray for an end to the Israeli occupation with the restrictions on the human rights of Palestinians. We pray for the Palestinians who suffer citizenship denial and discrimination and are severely restricted in where they can travel, where they can work or live and even who they can marry. Lord, in your mercy..

 

The Church of England has imposed a twelve year ban on the Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer from fulfilling any priestly role. Dr Sizer has spoken out against Zionist policies used by the Israeli government against Palestinians. A case was brought against him by the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, accusing him of antisemitism. He was acquitted of all the charges in the case except one, for which he had already issued an apology to the Jewish community.

 

•    Lord, we pray for Stephen Sizer as he comes to terms with the formal ban on his priestly role. We are thankful for his long witness to the injustices suffered by Palestinians living in Israel. Lord, in your mercy..

 

An American Jewish tourist was arrested for pulling over a large statue of Jesus in the Church of the Flagellation, along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem on Thursday, the 2nd of February. This incident took place amid high tension in the city and region following a week of violence.

 

•    Lord, we pray that the Israeli police will hold to account all those who commit acts of violence and vandalism at the holy sites in Palestine/Israel. Lord, in your mercy…

 

B’Tselem has documented 48 incidents of settler violence against Palestinian farmers and their properties during the last olive harvest in the West Bank which took place from September to November 2022. The attacks were carried out with full state support and sometimes Israeli soldiers also took part in them. Many farmers were left without an expected income or even enough olive oil for their own domestic use.

 

•    Lord, we bring Palestinian farmers before you as they try to look after their olive groves and support their families. We pray for an end to the violence from illegal settlers which is threatening the livelihoods of the farmers. Lord, in your mercy…

 

Israeli prison authorities assaulted Palestinian women prisoners in Damon jail on Tuesday, the 31st of January. Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security, has enforced new measures in Naqab and Damon jails by imposing more raids and punitive measures, as well as solitary confinement for a week on more than one hundred prisoners.

 

•    Lord, we pray for the Palestinian prisoners currently enduring harsh conditions in Israeli jails. We remember especially the 34 Palestinian women and 150 Palestinian children in prison and pray for the 835 Palestinians living under administrative detention. Lord in your mercy...

 

Khan al Ahmar, on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, is under threat of imminent demolition by the Israeli authorities. It is located between two major illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli government plans to expand those settlements and link them with the Jordan Valley. Over two hundred residents of Khan al Ahmar are determined to stay in their village despite constant harassment and surveillance and demolition threats from the Israeli authorities.

 

•    Lord, we pray that international governments and organisations will challenge the Israeli government over its plans to break international law by forcibly transferring the villagers of Khan al Ahmar. Lord, in your mercy…

 

•    We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City. Lord, in your mercy..