3/3/11 - English

We pray for all the lives touched by the Sabeel 8^th International Conference that drew to a close this past week, including safety for travelers and strength and encouragement for everyone to use the insight and experiences from the conference to challenge empire in all its forms and places.  Our prayers continue through the Conference Statement:

Sabeel 8th International Conference Statement

To Our Friends and All People of Conscience

As the margins of Empire began to crumble in the Arab world, Sabeel's Eighth International Conference convened in Bethlehem inside the prison walls of imperial rule. We, the participants,300 people from 15 countries, met from 23rd to 28th February, 2011, to discuss “Challenging Empire: God, Faithfulness and Resistance,” surrounded by the unavoidable and cruel effects of empire's rule on the Palestinian people and their land.

We heard how Jesus resisted the arrogance, violence and repression of Empire and became a model for us when he drove out the money changers and confirmed the people's independence from Caesar. Jesus helps us overcome fear and stand in solidarity against Empire. We must follow his example and pray for his courage to resist imperial power, aligning ourselves with the poorest and most oppressed.

We met the victims of Empire in refugee camps, at check-points and in their homes, where they courageously persist in the face of unrelenting oppression. We saw them resist the theft of their homes, fields and water, challenging us to confront Empire in our own countries and in the Holy Land.

We support the Kairos Palestine document and encourage all Christians to read it and act on it (www.kairospalestine.ps). Confronting the root causes of the conflict, this document urges all Christians and people of conscience to help end the military occupation that deprives Palestinians of their rights and condemns both peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, to a distortion of their humanity. We see boycott and divestment as non-violent tools for justice, peace and security for all. We say to the churches: come and see. You will know the facts and the people of this land, Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Our word to the international community is to stop the double standards, and insist on the enforcement of international law and U.N. resolutions regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict.

As we depart this conference we hold the United States responsible for the obstacles it has placed in the path of peace, including its veto of a U.N. resolution that condemned Israeli settlement building in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, contrary to U.S. policy stating that settlements are illegal.

We will carry all that we have seen and learned here to our homes and families, our churches and governments, along with the challenges we have accepted for ourselves and our communities.

Bethlehem, Palestine
28 February, 2011 

17/2/11 - English

We give thanks for the example of successful nonviolent resistance the people of Egypt give to the world with the stepping down of President Mubarak on Friday and pray for a smooth and meaningful transition to democracy. Our prayers are also with the people who continue in their struggles for more freedom in Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and other places around the world.

As the new PA Cabinet is being formed, we pray for Palestinian unity and a democratic government to govern a future Palestinian state when the occupation ends.

Our prayers for safety and wellbeing are with the international and local travelers and pilgrims to Bethlehem for Sabeel’s 8^th International Conference, Challenging Empire: God, Faithfulness and Resistance. We continue to pray for the participants, speakers, organizers, staff and volunteers as everyone prepares in the last days before the conference.

Please continue to pray next week for the Conference, which takes place in Bethlehem from February 23-28, 2011: for open hearts and minds for the participants, wisdom and clarity for the speakers, and strength and patience for the organizers, staff and volunteers.

With the Prayer Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for: Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain

10/2/11 - English

We pray for all those affected by the recent increase of illegal settlement construction in East Jerusalem. Last week several Israeli Knesset members, Jerusalem councilmen, and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony for settler housing units on the Mount of Olives, with intentions for further expansion. This week the Jerusalem City Council approved the plans for settler apartments in Sheikh Jarrah whose construction will cause the eviction of a number of Palestinian families. We pray that the national and international community will not let this settlement construction that is illegal under international law and destructive for peace go unheeded.

Prices of essential items such as food, water and gas are steadily increasing in Israel and Palestine, the Middle East, and all over the world. We pray for everyone for whom this is a hardship, especially for those who already struggle to make ends meet and for whom this is an additional burden.

Our prayers remain with the people of Egypt; we especially give thanks for the Christians and Muslims working together for a better nation and protecting each other during Muslim prayers and Christian services. May they be encouraged and strengthened, and continue to give inspiration and hope across the Middle East.

We pray for the upcoming Sabeel conference, Challenging Empire: God, Faithfulness, and Resistance, that is now less than two weeks away. We remember the people from Africa and Latin America who were unable to get visas to join us for the conference. We also give thanks for the international volunteers who have arrived in Jerusalem and for the affirming atmosphere of teamwork among all the staff preparing for the conference.

With the Prayer Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands

3/2/11 - English

We pray for the wellbeing, safety and fulfillment of all people everywhere who seek social justice, freedom and truth. We pray that rulers will listen to the just cries of their people.

Our prayers are with the family, friends, and community of Yousef Fakhri Ikhlayl, a 17-year-old youth from Beit Ommar who was very involved in community building and non-violent initiatives with Palestine Solidarity Project. Last Friday he was shot in the head by illegal Israeli settlers while in his family vineyard; at his funeral procession the next day Israeli soldiers fired tear gas, sound grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets. As violent settler attacks in the West Bank increased this past week, we pray for the security of all and an end to this occupation that encourages such violence.

We give thanks for Israelis who are willing to stand up against injustice as they protest outside the Jerusalem offices of the Jewish National Fund, who is responsible for the 11^th demolition of the Bedouin village Al-Arakib. We pray for the dozens of people who were shot with sponge bullets, brutally beaten and arrested during the demolition and for the dozens of families who lost their homes in the middle of winter.

As we enter the month of February, Sabeel’s 8^th International Conference, Challenging Empire: God, Faithfulness and Resistance, to be held in Bethlehem from February 23-28, draws ever closer. We pray for the over 160 participants coming from 10 different countries, the speakers, and the conference organizers as they enter the last few weeks of preparation for what appears to be a more timely gathering than ever on this topic.

With the Prayer Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for: Ireland; United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales

27/1/11 - English

We pray that this week’s release of the “Palestine Papers,” un-verified leaked documents from the past ten years of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations concerning East Jerusalem, refugees and the right of return, and more, do not distract attention away from what is really needed: a restart to serious peace talks based on justice and international law.

We pray for leaders all around the world to actively support a just peace in Israel and Palestine. We give thanks for Peru’s recognition of a “free and sovereign" Palestinian state and especially we pray for President Obama with the State of the Union Address this week, that this year the United States will take a bolder and more even-handed approach in their role resolving this conflict.

Our prayers are with the people of the many countries in the region who are experiencing political, social and economic upheaval, especially Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Yemen. May human rights and the representation of all peoples in the world be upheld without resorting to violence.

We hold in prayer two of Sabeel’s programs on Friday: women from Jericho, Jerusalem, Nazareth and Ramallah will join together for a day visiting the different churches, the YMCA and the refugee camp in Jericho, among other activities; while the Nazareth young adult group will visit Cana of Galilee with a bible study in the church. We pray that all participants will be spiritually, emotionally and physically nourished from these gatherings.

With the Prayer Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden