Posts
I had all the intentions of ending my blogging with my last post, but God always has a way of surprising me and changing my plans. As if the experience of immersing myself into the communities and stories of the Palestinian people weren't enough, God wanted me to feel even more of the pain and struggle of the Israeli occupation.
This morning, after worshipping at the Church of the Redeemer, our group met with Mordecai. Now a little caveat is needed. I have only used first names throughout my blogs, because frankly we have been inundated with so much information and new people that last names never really came up, including the last names of many of my co-delegates. It truly has been a whirlwind journey, but the good thing is i will get to spend the rest of my life rehearsing and learning more about my sisters and brothers in this, "most recent" delegation.
Back to Mordecai. Anyway. He grew up as an Israeli citizen and Jew who found himself working in a nuclear plant, as a physicist. He planned on using his degree and education to further humankind and do "good" things, but the Israeli government had alternative plans. They had not divulged the "fullness" of what he was doing, and he soon learned that he was part of the nuclear armament of the Israeli Government, even though the government denied trying to build up nuclear weapons.
So from around 1976-1984, he worked at this plant, witnessing the build up of nuclear bombs. He had had enough. He snuck in a camera, took 60 pictures, so that the lies that the Israeli government were telling, could be revealed and the truth illuminated. He had to leave Israel/Palestine for his own saftey after this, but he also had to find someone to tell his story. After seeking refuge in Australia, the London Times agreed. It took years, and he had to go to London to see what was happening.
While there, the Israeli Secret Police, he beleived, was trying to get to him, so he fled to Italy, with an American woman, who turned out to be a spy. She led him the secret police and they beat him, kidnapped him, drug him, and returned him to Israel, where he faced trial. Now. During this time, he found that he no longer was Jewish, but that his faith rested in the person of Jesus. This is key.
Because as he stood before the judge, no longer Jewish, he had to go to prison for 18 years, for disclosing the truth. He spoke the truth, that's it, and he had to go to prison. Prison in itself was too much punishment, but for the next 18 years he was in solitary confinement, as one guilty of treason. No contact with another human being for 18 years, in small cell, he somehow survived with his sanity and a stronger faith in Jesus. It should be noted, that during this entire time, the Israeli government was trying to brainwash him and torture him psychologically, which didn't work. By his own admission, he was too stubborn.
He got out, after 18 years, which was just four years ago, and he was banned from speaking to western media. Of course he refused to honor this ban, and he is now facing three more months in prison for violating that ban. He believes the story must get out, and it will. He may not have a voice, per se, to reach the world, but we will, we must be his voice. Google him. Read about him. Tell your congressmen and congresswomen about him. It is time that we do something about this incredible injustice. No person should have to have their life stolen from them, simply because they spoke the truth. His has already been stolen, why don't we give him part of it back?
So let's do it. Let's put pressure on our government and the Israeli government to get Mordecai free from his prison, which is East Jerusalem. He wants to come to the states, and we can get him there. We have helped others with less credentials, why not help him? It is more of a challenge that i simply cannot let go of. He deserves to tell his story, but more than that, we need to hear it, each one of us. Amen.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
return?
Friends,
Now that our experience is reaching its final hours, the question remains, "Now what?" What will I do with the information i have gained? How will i honor the stories of the courageous people that have blessed my life in ways words will never do justice? Why did i go? I sense many questions face most people as they come down from the mountain, and all too often the mountaintop experience just becomes a memory. One which we rehearse at dinner parties and get together, but if that happens, i have dishonored these people. And i dare not do that.
So now what? I must return to work, yes. I must return to driving my car, eating my food, watching my son grow up and become someone i am proud of, and i must remember. If i am to honor these stories, i must not only remember, i must rehearse time and time again, so that their stories are always fresh and on the fore front of everyone's mind. That is the only way i can do justice to what i have experienced.
I have grown a lot. I have learned more than i figured i would. Old prejudices and stereotypes have fallen like a bad memory, never to return. And i want change. I want to see change in our lives as Americans. I want to see community simliar to what i had, time and time again, throughout this entire journey. I want to know that justice and peace are possible, but only if each of us do our duty and push for change. We want peace, and it is an ideal, but without justice, peace, true peace, is a pipe dream, a farce.
Will you join me? Will you join me in promising to never let the stories of the Palestinian people melt away? Will you educate youselves by seeking truth and not the propaganda that flows from our news stations nightly? And will you, dare you, take the risk of joining a future delegation? Because i can tell you all about my experience, but to truly get the feel of what is happening, each of you must take the risk of coming here yourselves. So that you will feel what i feel and return home with the same determination to end the sorrow and occupation.
I thank you for joining me on this journey, and i pray that somewhere down the road we have a chance to sit down, have some tea, maybe some falafels and just share our stories. But more than that, i hope that one day soon, all of God's children whether they be white, black, Israeli, Palestinian, Christian, or Muslim, one day, may we all join together and sing the words of that amazing song, "Free at Last, Free at Last, thank God almighty, we are free at last."
Amen and Salaam Meleikum..(i cant spell sorry)
jerry
Now that our experience is reaching its final hours, the question remains, "Now what?" What will I do with the information i have gained? How will i honor the stories of the courageous people that have blessed my life in ways words will never do justice? Why did i go? I sense many questions face most people as they come down from the mountain, and all too often the mountaintop experience just becomes a memory. One which we rehearse at dinner parties and get together, but if that happens, i have dishonored these people. And i dare not do that.
So now what? I must return to work, yes. I must return to driving my car, eating my food, watching my son grow up and become someone i am proud of, and i must remember. If i am to honor these stories, i must not only remember, i must rehearse time and time again, so that their stories are always fresh and on the fore front of everyone's mind. That is the only way i can do justice to what i have experienced.
I have grown a lot. I have learned more than i figured i would. Old prejudices and stereotypes have fallen like a bad memory, never to return. And i want change. I want to see change in our lives as Americans. I want to see community simliar to what i had, time and time again, throughout this entire journey. I want to know that justice and peace are possible, but only if each of us do our duty and push for change. We want peace, and it is an ideal, but without justice, peace, true peace, is a pipe dream, a farce.
Will you join me? Will you join me in promising to never let the stories of the Palestinian people melt away? Will you educate youselves by seeking truth and not the propaganda that flows from our news stations nightly? And will you, dare you, take the risk of joining a future delegation? Because i can tell you all about my experience, but to truly get the feel of what is happening, each of you must take the risk of coming here yourselves. So that you will feel what i feel and return home with the same determination to end the sorrow and occupation.
I thank you for joining me on this journey, and i pray that somewhere down the road we have a chance to sit down, have some tea, maybe some falafels and just share our stories. But more than that, i hope that one day soon, all of God's children whether they be white, black, Israeli, Palestinian, Christian, or Muslim, one day, may we all join together and sing the words of that amazing song, "Free at Last, Free at Last, thank God almighty, we are free at last."
Amen and Salaam Meleikum..(i cant spell sorry)
jerry
Friday, January 16, 2009
Impressions from Hebron, January 14 and 16, 2009
On our delegation in Palestine we see the same news that you do – TV pictures of bomb attacks on the cities of Gaza and newspaper photos of distraught men carrying their bloodied and wounded children into hospitals. What is different for us? Daily we eat Palestinian food, we sleep in Palestinian beds, we laugh and play with Palestinian children.
What an odd perception: living “normally” while yet being so near to the war that we can hear the thudding of the bombs and talking to people whose relatives are become the casualties of war. Peacefulness in the West Bank; terror in the houses and schools of Gaza. But what do I mean by peacefulness? Yesterday we were supposed to spend the night with a family in Idna, a village west of Hebron in the vicinity of that unspeakable Security Wall which brings no security. On the way we receive a phone call: the visit must be cancelled. A near relative of our host had been ploughing his land that day and had come too near the Wall. The farmer was arrested by the Israeli defence forces and interrogated. What happened then? Who can say? All that we know is that several hours later he died in an ambulance. And our hosts in the “peaceful” West Bank once again have cause to believe that the Israelis do not want peace.
Of course there is the same mistrust on both sides of the conflict. Both sides say: “We want peace, but they don’t.” And so, when I tell the story of encounters with Palestinians, that is the one side of the story. Nevertheless I tell these stories, because they come from the side that has hardly ever been heard in the media. Is it balanced treatment by the TV stations to show one dying Palestinian child and then one terrified Israeli child after another rocket has been launched from Gaza? Hardly. We only need to visit the site: www.rememberthesechildren.org, to know that this kind of balanced reporting is actually a lie that makes it seem as if both sides suffer equally. The truth is that Palestinians live under an occupying, hostile, military force.
I can give a personal example. Our team is living among Palestinians and therefore needs to save every drop of dirty water that we use to wash our dishes, while just across the road Israeli settlers water their green lawns as much as they please. There’s a reason for that. Since the occupation of Palestine by the Israeli Defence Forces, Palestinian water aquifers (the chief source of water in these lands) have been reallocated. 50 percent of the water goes directly over the border to Israel, 32 percent is taken by the 300,000 illegal Israeli settlers living in Palestine and the 3 million Palestinians are left with the remaining 18 percent of their own water.
In Cairo the diplomats are talking sporadically. The soldiers continue killing civilians in Gaza. The medical personel tries to heal the wounded. And our neighbours in Hebron go to the market. … When we ask the locals about their suggestions for improving the situation, when we ask them about their hopes, they are usually not very optimistic (other than to say that things can’t get worse). Many of them have told us that they are skeptical as to whether a one-state or two-state political solution would bring any improvement. Most of them wish for something else: to have the same rights as their Israeli neighbours.
At the same time, they are thankful that we have come here. When they see us in our red hats, they call out “CPT!” and welcome us. They have also noticed that there are demonstrations all over the world in their favour and there are thankful for this support.
As I write these words, I hear that some among our delegation out in the streets have just encountered a demonstration of West Bankers and that tear gas has been fired. What to do? We work for peace. We have not yet found it, attained it, embraced it. But we work for it. We live for peace. No, we live peace and address those who would harm harmless men and women with the words of our Lord, who calls us to stand with the oppressed, in the name of the God of shalom/salaam:
“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” (Acts 4,29)
James
What an odd perception: living “normally” while yet being so near to the war that we can hear the thudding of the bombs and talking to people whose relatives are become the casualties of war. Peacefulness in the West Bank; terror in the houses and schools of Gaza. But what do I mean by peacefulness? Yesterday we were supposed to spend the night with a family in Idna, a village west of Hebron in the vicinity of that unspeakable Security Wall which brings no security. On the way we receive a phone call: the visit must be cancelled. A near relative of our host had been ploughing his land that day and had come too near the Wall. The farmer was arrested by the Israeli defence forces and interrogated. What happened then? Who can say? All that we know is that several hours later he died in an ambulance. And our hosts in the “peaceful” West Bank once again have cause to believe that the Israelis do not want peace.
Of course there is the same mistrust on both sides of the conflict. Both sides say: “We want peace, but they don’t.” And so, when I tell the story of encounters with Palestinians, that is the one side of the story. Nevertheless I tell these stories, because they come from the side that has hardly ever been heard in the media. Is it balanced treatment by the TV stations to show one dying Palestinian child and then one terrified Israeli child after another rocket has been launched from Gaza? Hardly. We only need to visit the site: www.rememberthesechildren.org, to know that this kind of balanced reporting is actually a lie that makes it seem as if both sides suffer equally. The truth is that Palestinians live under an occupying, hostile, military force.
I can give a personal example. Our team is living among Palestinians and therefore needs to save every drop of dirty water that we use to wash our dishes, while just across the road Israeli settlers water their green lawns as much as they please. There’s a reason for that. Since the occupation of Palestine by the Israeli Defence Forces, Palestinian water aquifers (the chief source of water in these lands) have been reallocated. 50 percent of the water goes directly over the border to Israel, 32 percent is taken by the 300,000 illegal Israeli settlers living in Palestine and the 3 million Palestinians are left with the remaining 18 percent of their own water.
In Cairo the diplomats are talking sporadically. The soldiers continue killing civilians in Gaza. The medical personel tries to heal the wounded. And our neighbours in Hebron go to the market. … When we ask the locals about their suggestions for improving the situation, when we ask them about their hopes, they are usually not very optimistic (other than to say that things can’t get worse). Many of them have told us that they are skeptical as to whether a one-state or two-state political solution would bring any improvement. Most of them wish for something else: to have the same rights as their Israeli neighbours.
At the same time, they are thankful that we have come here. When they see us in our red hats, they call out “CPT!” and welcome us. They have also noticed that there are demonstrations all over the world in their favour and there are thankful for this support.
As I write these words, I hear that some among our delegation out in the streets have just encountered a demonstration of West Bankers and that tear gas has been fired. What to do? We work for peace. We have not yet found it, attained it, embraced it. But we work for it. We live for peace. No, we live peace and address those who would harm harmless men and women with the words of our Lord, who calls us to stand with the oppressed, in the name of the God of shalom/salaam:
“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” (Acts 4,29)
James
apologies
My apologies. I misspelled the village of At-Tuwani. I spelled it Al-Tawani, and the correct spelling is At-Tuwani. Please forgive me this oversight.
thanks,
jerry
thanks,
jerry
No Shower
I am a fan of humor. I think, often times, many stressful situations could be calmed by all of us laughing together. So. To begin this blog, i want to say that for the first time, in my memory, i haven't showered for a week. I feel no shame in saying that. I do not care that i may smell as bad as a wrestling locker room. I do not care that my hair does what it wants. I have spent the last week in areas that "running" water simply isn't a given.
Sure. In Hebron we have most amenities that westerners are used to, well except for what have named the "squatty potty" and warm water, but the last two nights we have spent in the village of Al-Tawani and then we traveled further into the "wilderness" to spend a night with a village that truly seems to have taken many steps back in time. It is the stories of these two villages that i want to bring to light, now.
We have a CPT team in Al-Tawani, and they spend their days walking with school children and being a presence for the shepherds as they "tend their flocks." But why do we need to be there? Well the Jewish settlers, in their attempt to "purify" Israel have attacked the kids and the shepherds. Here's the sickening part. There are stories of 8 year old and younger children, being attacked and beaten by masked men, who claim these children are "terrorists." For me, it brings back images of the Civil Rights Movement and what so many African-Americans went through, while so many just let it happen. CPT is there to give voice to the children and the shepherds, we are there to offer a buffer and a space for the peace of Christ to enter and calm the situation. Does it always happen? No.
As Art shared story after story of team members being attacked, only because they wanted to protect the children, in a nonviolent manner. What has happened to our world when children, the most beautiful and innocent of our society, are attacked and dehumanized by a group of people? May God forgive us.
I could go on and on about the work in Al-Tawani, but i also want to illuminate the stories of the people in the other village we visited. This was truly a step back in time. No toilets. No showers. Water came from a well. And many of the people lived in caves. Now i had some preconceived notions of what cave living might be like, but i got to tell you. They were nice places. Clean. Warm. Comfortable. We didn't get to sleep in the caves, but i assure you it would have been akin to sleeping in the Marriot. This step back opened my eyes to how much we miss in the States, but more than that, it illuminated how much we need to be aware of the world around us.
With the internet and other media sources, it is simply inexcusable to not eduate ourselves on what is happeing in the world around us. Sure we have our "issues" in the states, many face job losses, foreclosures, loss of income, health, and even violence, but compared to many in this world, we are incredibly blessed. However, if we hold to that blessing, or we share it only with family, than that makes us no different than those who do not know the teachings of Jesus. So why can't we, the followers of Jesus, step up and share the blessings with a world crying, loudly. Let's dry the tears of this world, and let us show this world that the Jesus who called the children to him, still does today. Amen.
jerry
Sure. In Hebron we have most amenities that westerners are used to, well except for what have named the "squatty potty" and warm water, but the last two nights we have spent in the village of Al-Tawani and then we traveled further into the "wilderness" to spend a night with a village that truly seems to have taken many steps back in time. It is the stories of these two villages that i want to bring to light, now.
We have a CPT team in Al-Tawani, and they spend their days walking with school children and being a presence for the shepherds as they "tend their flocks." But why do we need to be there? Well the Jewish settlers, in their attempt to "purify" Israel have attacked the kids and the shepherds. Here's the sickening part. There are stories of 8 year old and younger children, being attacked and beaten by masked men, who claim these children are "terrorists." For me, it brings back images of the Civil Rights Movement and what so many African-Americans went through, while so many just let it happen. CPT is there to give voice to the children and the shepherds, we are there to offer a buffer and a space for the peace of Christ to enter and calm the situation. Does it always happen? No.
As Art shared story after story of team members being attacked, only because they wanted to protect the children, in a nonviolent manner. What has happened to our world when children, the most beautiful and innocent of our society, are attacked and dehumanized by a group of people? May God forgive us.
I could go on and on about the work in Al-Tawani, but i also want to illuminate the stories of the people in the other village we visited. This was truly a step back in time. No toilets. No showers. Water came from a well. And many of the people lived in caves. Now i had some preconceived notions of what cave living might be like, but i got to tell you. They were nice places. Clean. Warm. Comfortable. We didn't get to sleep in the caves, but i assure you it would have been akin to sleeping in the Marriot. This step back opened my eyes to how much we miss in the States, but more than that, it illuminated how much we need to be aware of the world around us.
With the internet and other media sources, it is simply inexcusable to not eduate ourselves on what is happeing in the world around us. Sure we have our "issues" in the states, many face job losses, foreclosures, loss of income, health, and even violence, but compared to many in this world, we are incredibly blessed. However, if we hold to that blessing, or we share it only with family, than that makes us no different than those who do not know the teachings of Jesus. So why can't we, the followers of Jesus, step up and share the blessings with a world crying, loudly. Let's dry the tears of this world, and let us show this world that the Jesus who called the children to him, still does today. Amen.
jerry
Monday, January 12, 2009
Hebron
We spent our first night in Hebron, and i have never experienced such amazing hospitality. It is humbling to me, as a westerner, to have these beautiful people offer me so much. As the news reports more and more casualities in Gaza, knowing that the United States supports Israel, blindly, makes me incredibly self-conscietious. And though the people here do not like what the United States government has done, continues to do, and unless something drastic changes, will do in the future, they open their homes and their lives to us, as if we were long lost family members. We could learn a lot from them.
I have always assumed the best way to understand Scripture is by purchasing a good commentary and dissecting the text with the aid of "experts." I now know there is another way. We are commanded to welcome guests into our homes and treat them incredibly well. In the states, we may invite you over, but we expect you to bring something. Here that is not the case. Even in the refugee camp, we were given the best. The best food. The best hospitality. And the best welcome. We were treated like royalty, and i couldn't help but think how much it must have cost this family. But they wouldn't have it any other way.
Scripture doesn't matter or have any relevance unless it is real and put into action. I came here expecting to do something amazing, knowing that i would be a student as well, but that i was the (a little bit of sarcasm) high mighty Christian with education and good intentions, but from day one, i have been the student. I have learned so much from the people through their stories and through their joy in the midst of struggle. I knew this experience would change me, but i had no idea how much or in what way. Now all that remains is what happens when i return.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day. We are going to stay in homes with different Palestinian families, so we will be a part, for the first time. But more challenging and exciting, some of us will be without Rick. We will be alone, with the family, and i have no anxiety. Why? Because i have learned that no matter where i come from, the family i stay with will welcome me with open arms. They will treat me like family. And that will take away any anxiety i might have. I realize this blog is about "social justice" and reporting injustices and policies that are inhumane, and i have witnessed those things, but more than that, i have experienced abundant love and warm welcome, which i believe will help tear down walls of prejudice not only in my life but in all that i have the chance to tell the stories of these beautiful people.
Shalom,
jerry
I have always assumed the best way to understand Scripture is by purchasing a good commentary and dissecting the text with the aid of "experts." I now know there is another way. We are commanded to welcome guests into our homes and treat them incredibly well. In the states, we may invite you over, but we expect you to bring something. Here that is not the case. Even in the refugee camp, we were given the best. The best food. The best hospitality. And the best welcome. We were treated like royalty, and i couldn't help but think how much it must have cost this family. But they wouldn't have it any other way.
Scripture doesn't matter or have any relevance unless it is real and put into action. I came here expecting to do something amazing, knowing that i would be a student as well, but that i was the (a little bit of sarcasm) high mighty Christian with education and good intentions, but from day one, i have been the student. I have learned so much from the people through their stories and through their joy in the midst of struggle. I knew this experience would change me, but i had no idea how much or in what way. Now all that remains is what happens when i return.
Tomorrow will be an exciting day. We are going to stay in homes with different Palestinian families, so we will be a part, for the first time. But more challenging and exciting, some of us will be without Rick. We will be alone, with the family, and i have no anxiety. Why? Because i have learned that no matter where i come from, the family i stay with will welcome me with open arms. They will treat me like family. And that will take away any anxiety i might have. I realize this blog is about "social justice" and reporting injustices and policies that are inhumane, and i have witnessed those things, but more than that, i have experienced abundant love and warm welcome, which i believe will help tear down walls of prejudice not only in my life but in all that i have the chance to tell the stories of these beautiful people.
Shalom,
jerry
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Ignorance is not bliss
Peacemakers Unite!
I have spent most of my life assuming that i had all the information i needed about the world. But after watching the movie, "Hotel Rwanda," i realized i had missed a lot of things. Sure i knew our media wasn't telling the whole truth, but i was naive enough and ignorant enough to assume that the media wouldn't be so shallow as to slant the news towards one group or another. After spending time at the refugee camp, near Bethlehem, i realized how much wool had been pulled over my eyes.
I am not proud of the fact that i jumped to believe many things about Hamas and the Gaza situation, as well as much of the "news" that enters our homes most nights about the Israeli occupation. I found myself, on many nights, siding with the "Israeli's" pronouncing, like so many i hope, that the Palestinians were full of terrorists. I am embarrassed that i have ever had those thoughts. So before i begin to talk about my experience, in depth, i want to begin by offering a public apology. My ignorance is gross and negligible, more than that, it justified a prejudice and racism that i am not proud of. To my Palestinian brothers and sisters, i apologize. I hope you can forgive me for my ignorance and prejudice. To my fellow peacemakers, i pray that you can forgive me for my arrogance in thinking that i had had all the information, when i didn't even have half the story. And to God, forgive me for not shutting up and listening when so many times i should have.
So back to the refugee camp and our experience in Bethlehem. The beautiful people in that camp not only told me their stories, but they invited me in, a complete stranger, and fed me, let me sleep on a nice bed, and made sure i was taken care of. They laughed with me. They showed me more hospitality and love than any experience that i can remember in the states. It hits me like a lead balloon that i ever had preconceived notions about these beautiful people. But perhaps the greatest illustration of their love and welcome came this afteroon.
While i was trying to find an internet cafe, so i could update you all on our adventures, i ran into a young man, whose name i will not attempt to spell, but his name sounds like allen and Allah mixed. Anyway. His shop was on our journey to meet the rest of the team, and he invited us in to hear his story. Over the next thirty minutes he told one of the most heart wrenching stories i have ever heard. This beautiful man, only 23, with so much life, has had to give up on his dreams of a college education, seeing the world, and so much more. Why? Because he is Palestinian and the Israeli government has done so much to silence him.
His father lost a leg in the first "shrugging off" of the occupation, and that first "shrugging off" was a peaceful movement. That left my friend with the task of caring for his family, even at a young age. As if that wasn't enough. During the seige on Bethlehem in 2002, he was trying to enter his house when Israeli soldiers grabbed him and beat him, for no reason. More than that, they threatened to kill him if they saw him on the street again. I felt his pain in his voice, and yet, he was right. I can never know what that feels like. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of his story was that he, at times, feels like killing himself, because there is no reason to have hope.
He doens't believe peace will ever come. He feels so strongly that the Israeli government will never relent from their "terrorist" activities that hope has long left him. For the Palestinians, who are being moved from their homes, bombed in Gaza without limits, and being abused and oppressed because of their race, hope seems irrational. And yet i believe it is possible. It has to be. If Jesus is real, if the gospel is real, if God is real, than peace, hope, and love, to paraphrase Paul in Corinthians, has to be real.
Perhaps the question isn't, "Is Jesus real?" But maybe the question is for those who follow Jesus, "Is our faith real?" I sense this has to be the question, because i feel we might be the link that could bring peace to an area long ripped apart by war, injustice, hatred, and abuse. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? We cannot and must not wait. There are too many lives dependent on us. On top of that, there are too many beautiful children, who were playing in the streets, laughing, posing for the cameras, and acting like children that should never have to know the sorrow and pain that my brother in that shop has had to carry.
Let the faces of joy and excitement that i found on those children be the image and hope for tomorrow. And may we be the vessels that ensure this is the case. Amen.
I have spent most of my life assuming that i had all the information i needed about the world. But after watching the movie, "Hotel Rwanda," i realized i had missed a lot of things. Sure i knew our media wasn't telling the whole truth, but i was naive enough and ignorant enough to assume that the media wouldn't be so shallow as to slant the news towards one group or another. After spending time at the refugee camp, near Bethlehem, i realized how much wool had been pulled over my eyes.
I am not proud of the fact that i jumped to believe many things about Hamas and the Gaza situation, as well as much of the "news" that enters our homes most nights about the Israeli occupation. I found myself, on many nights, siding with the "Israeli's" pronouncing, like so many i hope, that the Palestinians were full of terrorists. I am embarrassed that i have ever had those thoughts. So before i begin to talk about my experience, in depth, i want to begin by offering a public apology. My ignorance is gross and negligible, more than that, it justified a prejudice and racism that i am not proud of. To my Palestinian brothers and sisters, i apologize. I hope you can forgive me for my ignorance and prejudice. To my fellow peacemakers, i pray that you can forgive me for my arrogance in thinking that i had had all the information, when i didn't even have half the story. And to God, forgive me for not shutting up and listening when so many times i should have.
So back to the refugee camp and our experience in Bethlehem. The beautiful people in that camp not only told me their stories, but they invited me in, a complete stranger, and fed me, let me sleep on a nice bed, and made sure i was taken care of. They laughed with me. They showed me more hospitality and love than any experience that i can remember in the states. It hits me like a lead balloon that i ever had preconceived notions about these beautiful people. But perhaps the greatest illustration of their love and welcome came this afteroon.
While i was trying to find an internet cafe, so i could update you all on our adventures, i ran into a young man, whose name i will not attempt to spell, but his name sounds like allen and Allah mixed. Anyway. His shop was on our journey to meet the rest of the team, and he invited us in to hear his story. Over the next thirty minutes he told one of the most heart wrenching stories i have ever heard. This beautiful man, only 23, with so much life, has had to give up on his dreams of a college education, seeing the world, and so much more. Why? Because he is Palestinian and the Israeli government has done so much to silence him.
His father lost a leg in the first "shrugging off" of the occupation, and that first "shrugging off" was a peaceful movement. That left my friend with the task of caring for his family, even at a young age. As if that wasn't enough. During the seige on Bethlehem in 2002, he was trying to enter his house when Israeli soldiers grabbed him and beat him, for no reason. More than that, they threatened to kill him if they saw him on the street again. I felt his pain in his voice, and yet, he was right. I can never know what that feels like. Perhaps the most depressing aspect of his story was that he, at times, feels like killing himself, because there is no reason to have hope.
He doens't believe peace will ever come. He feels so strongly that the Israeli government will never relent from their "terrorist" activities that hope has long left him. For the Palestinians, who are being moved from their homes, bombed in Gaza without limits, and being abused and oppressed because of their race, hope seems irrational. And yet i believe it is possible. It has to be. If Jesus is real, if the gospel is real, if God is real, than peace, hope, and love, to paraphrase Paul in Corinthians, has to be real.
Perhaps the question isn't, "Is Jesus real?" But maybe the question is for those who follow Jesus, "Is our faith real?" I sense this has to be the question, because i feel we might be the link that could bring peace to an area long ripped apart by war, injustice, hatred, and abuse. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? We cannot and must not wait. There are too many lives dependent on us. On top of that, there are too many beautiful children, who were playing in the streets, laughing, posing for the cameras, and acting like children that should never have to know the sorrow and pain that my brother in that shop has had to carry.
Let the faces of joy and excitement that i found on those children be the image and hope for tomorrow. And may we be the vessels that ensure this is the case. Amen.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Saleh
Fellow Pilgrims,
It has been two days since i have found time to relay our happenings in Palestine/Israel, but i feel i have much to share. First of all, we all arrived safely and without issue last night, and we shared our first meal, as a team, breaking bread and sharing stories. As we broke the pita and shoved some hummus inside and dabbed some spice as well, i couldn't help but smile. Two thousand years ago, not far from where we were eating our first meal, Jesus shared a meal with his close friends. Even now, as i reflect back on last night's emotions and revelations, i shake my head. God is so good. And God has blessed and humbled me with this call.
Ironically, though, the feelings of blessings and joy turned to anger and disbelief as CPT's good friend, Saleh, shared his story. This beautiful man, who opens his doors and cares for most CPT delegations, has had to face things i will never understand. I could never know the pain of not being able to spend time with family, just because they weren't born in the right place. I don't know the pain of being profiled and harassed, simply because i look "suspicious." And i will sense the fear of wondering if today would be the day that i might get arrested and thrown in prison, for no valid reason. Nope. I will never know those feelings, and yet Saleh's story reminded me of other periods of apartheid and segregation.
To think that in any culture, someone could be denied freedom to move, to get a job, to visit family, to travel, to see the world, to fly home, or to simply vote, is beyond my comprehension. And yet, the Palestinians face this reality. We think we have come so far, but Martin Luther King made it clear that injustice anywhere is perverse and unacceptable. It doesn't have to exist within the borders of the United States to have an impact on us. The more and more i rehearse Saleh's story, the more i sense we have to do something. But what? I don't know.
You see, friends, we have a lot of questions, but the struggle here is so mired in politics that there are simply no easy solutions. So what can we do? We can stand up and stand beside our sisters and brothers from any part of the world that faces oppression and systemic racism. We can offer love and a real presence. We can become buffers that refuse to let violence and hatred have the last say. We can take Markie and put Markie on our shoulders, just to break the tension of a volatile situation. In short. We can be Jesus to each other, and it may not happen over night, but i believe if we are authentic with our motivations, peace will come, change will come, justice will come.
But there is so much to face and learn about. We need to educate ourselves about the Israeli government that finds loop holes and dishonest means to demolish Palestinian homes. We need to open our eyes and hearts to the settlers that move more and more onto Palestinian land, taking more land from the people. And we need to pressure our government, the United States, with its close ties to Israel, to say enough is enough. Our government, our story, with its racism and segregation should know better. More than that, with our story of Civil Rights and struggles for justice and truth, we know that change can come.
In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr spoke from the Washington Monument about a dream. Now 46 years later, in less than two weeks, we welcome a person of color to the most powerful position in America. If we can make strides beyond racism, not that the fight is done, it isn't, but we have proven that change can come, peacefully, if and when people rally together, stand beside each other, and pressure the government to act. Our country has done it before, and i feel it is time, once again, to stand up for justice. To honor King's legacy and call, but also to ensure that we never return to the apathetic faith that King addressed in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
We can make a difference, sisters and brothers, and we must. Saleh's story is one of thousands that are all over this landscape, but even if Saleh's story was the only one that is reason enough to stand up. May God's peace and presence surround you all...amen
Jerry Bowen
It has been two days since i have found time to relay our happenings in Palestine/Israel, but i feel i have much to share. First of all, we all arrived safely and without issue last night, and we shared our first meal, as a team, breaking bread and sharing stories. As we broke the pita and shoved some hummus inside and dabbed some spice as well, i couldn't help but smile. Two thousand years ago, not far from where we were eating our first meal, Jesus shared a meal with his close friends. Even now, as i reflect back on last night's emotions and revelations, i shake my head. God is so good. And God has blessed and humbled me with this call.
Ironically, though, the feelings of blessings and joy turned to anger and disbelief as CPT's good friend, Saleh, shared his story. This beautiful man, who opens his doors and cares for most CPT delegations, has had to face things i will never understand. I could never know the pain of not being able to spend time with family, just because they weren't born in the right place. I don't know the pain of being profiled and harassed, simply because i look "suspicious." And i will sense the fear of wondering if today would be the day that i might get arrested and thrown in prison, for no valid reason. Nope. I will never know those feelings, and yet Saleh's story reminded me of other periods of apartheid and segregation.
To think that in any culture, someone could be denied freedom to move, to get a job, to visit family, to travel, to see the world, to fly home, or to simply vote, is beyond my comprehension. And yet, the Palestinians face this reality. We think we have come so far, but Martin Luther King made it clear that injustice anywhere is perverse and unacceptable. It doesn't have to exist within the borders of the United States to have an impact on us. The more and more i rehearse Saleh's story, the more i sense we have to do something. But what? I don't know.
You see, friends, we have a lot of questions, but the struggle here is so mired in politics that there are simply no easy solutions. So what can we do? We can stand up and stand beside our sisters and brothers from any part of the world that faces oppression and systemic racism. We can offer love and a real presence. We can become buffers that refuse to let violence and hatred have the last say. We can take Markie and put Markie on our shoulders, just to break the tension of a volatile situation. In short. We can be Jesus to each other, and it may not happen over night, but i believe if we are authentic with our motivations, peace will come, change will come, justice will come.
But there is so much to face and learn about. We need to educate ourselves about the Israeli government that finds loop holes and dishonest means to demolish Palestinian homes. We need to open our eyes and hearts to the settlers that move more and more onto Palestinian land, taking more land from the people. And we need to pressure our government, the United States, with its close ties to Israel, to say enough is enough. Our government, our story, with its racism and segregation should know better. More than that, with our story of Civil Rights and struggles for justice and truth, we know that change can come.
In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr spoke from the Washington Monument about a dream. Now 46 years later, in less than two weeks, we welcome a person of color to the most powerful position in America. If we can make strides beyond racism, not that the fight is done, it isn't, but we have proven that change can come, peacefully, if and when people rally together, stand beside each other, and pressure the government to act. Our country has done it before, and i feel it is time, once again, to stand up for justice. To honor King's legacy and call, but also to ensure that we never return to the apathetic faith that King addressed in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
We can make a difference, sisters and brothers, and we must. Saleh's story is one of thousands that are all over this landscape, but even if Saleh's story was the only one that is reason enough to stand up. May God's peace and presence surround you all...amen
Jerry Bowen
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Here
Friends,
I sit in a small cubicle, in an internet cafe, amazed and humbled by God and humanity. It is ironic, i feel, that i have the safety and comfort of this warm room, when not too far from us, in a small area, people are facing bombs and the reality of death. As we ate a great meal, the five of us that are here, Rick shared that yesterday's news reported that after one of the bombings, there were only two survivors from a large family. A family gone. Their story changed forever. And people wonder why we have to be here.
For me, it is not an option. If the Gospel is to be "good news," than those that claim to follow Jesus must embody "good news." We have to be light when it is dark. We have to be justice when injustice rains. We have to be truth when lies overwhelm. We have to be love when hate seems to overcome. And yes, we have to be peace when war is ripping apart any of God's children. It is not an option for us. It is a commandment.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer would say that Jesus was man of the other. That is more true now than ever. My brother is not just a blue eyed, blonde hair westener. No. My brother is a victim of war and oppression and ethnic violence. My sister is no longer just a fair skinned American. Not anymore. My sister runs in fear from attacks and raids. The time is now, friends, for the church to "be the church."
We have come here to continue not only the work of those CPT delegation members that have gone before us, no. We are here, also, to walk the steps of Jesus, and to do it peacefully. I sense a strong group of sisters and brothers that will walk with me over the next two weeks, and i believe that God truly brought us together. For this time. For this moment. For this call. We simply cannot wait anymore. I pray that just as our work stands on the shoulders of those giants that walked before us, i pray that we, too, can become foundations for more to follow. Maybe some of you who will read these words will feel a pull, a sense of uneasiness, and you will answer the call to go. We need you. The world needs you. God needs you. Amen.
I sit in a small cubicle, in an internet cafe, amazed and humbled by God and humanity. It is ironic, i feel, that i have the safety and comfort of this warm room, when not too far from us, in a small area, people are facing bombs and the reality of death. As we ate a great meal, the five of us that are here, Rick shared that yesterday's news reported that after one of the bombings, there were only two survivors from a large family. A family gone. Their story changed forever. And people wonder why we have to be here.
For me, it is not an option. If the Gospel is to be "good news," than those that claim to follow Jesus must embody "good news." We have to be light when it is dark. We have to be justice when injustice rains. We have to be truth when lies overwhelm. We have to be love when hate seems to overcome. And yes, we have to be peace when war is ripping apart any of God's children. It is not an option for us. It is a commandment.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer would say that Jesus was man of the other. That is more true now than ever. My brother is not just a blue eyed, blonde hair westener. No. My brother is a victim of war and oppression and ethnic violence. My sister is no longer just a fair skinned American. Not anymore. My sister runs in fear from attacks and raids. The time is now, friends, for the church to "be the church."
We have come here to continue not only the work of those CPT delegation members that have gone before us, no. We are here, also, to walk the steps of Jesus, and to do it peacefully. I sense a strong group of sisters and brothers that will walk with me over the next two weeks, and i believe that God truly brought us together. For this time. For this moment. For this call. We simply cannot wait anymore. I pray that just as our work stands on the shoulders of those giants that walked before us, i pray that we, too, can become foundations for more to follow. Maybe some of you who will read these words will feel a pull, a sense of uneasiness, and you will answer the call to go. We need you. The world needs you. God needs you. Amen.
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