Midterm Orientation
Midterm Orientation is a week
away from our placements for further training and awareness building. We were involved in a number of activities
and exposed to a variety of perspectives.
Morning Reflections
Each morning the group gathers
for reflection. A different placement
team leads the reflections each day.
This time together gives us an opportunity to reflect on our experiences,
learn, and share from the reflections of others.
Training and Activities In Jerusalem
Parts of Jerusalem are beautiful. It is evident that the water shortage belongs to the Palestinians, caused by Israeli policy.
In between sessions I walked to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to pick up some maps.
On the way back I stopped in at a Christian book store. It is operated by a couple through Church School Service. Laura in the picture, is the grown child of missionaries to the Middle East.
Nader EAPPI’s Advocacy Officer
EAPPI provided an excellent
training on how to prepare for the next phase of our assignment, advocacy when
we get back to our countries.
Sergio Yahni
An Israeli, Sergio Yahni,
gave us an analysis of Israeli society.
He who works for the Alternative Information Center (AIC), an
organization jointly run by Israelis and Palestinians in Beit Sahour.
Yusef Daher
Yusef Daher is one of the Palestinians that are
promoting nonviolent actions. His office
is in the Christian Quarter of the old city.
He explained the background for the creation of Kairos Palestine document.
For him, Kairos Palestine was a defining moment, and one
that gave him hope for the future. In an
article by Paul Adrian Raymond he said, “I feel
that we are seeing a re-awakening among Palestinian Christians, and Western
Christians are starting to listen to us.”
United States Consulate
While in Jerusalem, I had the opportunity to meet with three
members of the US Consulate. A US citizen,
Palestinian was in the meeting with me.
It was an opportunity to tell what I have seen and heard.
I came away from these meetings knowing how each of us interacts
with our elected officials will determine the actions taken by our government
in Palestine-Israel.
We were transported via bus to many of the places of interest. Bob Lang of Efrat Settlement
Bob Lang, a
settler in the Efrat Settlement, hosted our group. In his home, we heard his
personal story. He is proud of his
settlement community with its lovely yards and flowers. His home is beautiful. He explained that the homes in this
settlement sell for $250,000 and up.
Pride of home, family and community were evident, unacknowledged was the
fact that all settlements are illegal under international law.
Sderot
Sderot is a community a wall away from the Gaza Strip.
Roni Keider
In Sderot we listened to Roni Keider who gave us an explanation of her life, and the history of her community.
She indicated that Sderot started as an
agriculture community each family receiving land to farm.
Not discussed, were the Palestinian farmers who in 1948 were
forced from this very land. They are now
living in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
She explained her individual work befriending individual
Palestinians through an organization she founded, The Other Voice. She assists Palestinians who are lucky enough
to get permits to cross over because of extreme health conditions. She said she also friends in Gaza that are
Palestinians.
On to Haifa
Two nights were spent in the beautiful Stella Maris Convent
in Haifa.
I enjoyed browsing in part of their library.
Having our morning reflections on their patio was a grand experience
Mossawa
In Haifa we listened to a representative of Mossawa, www.mossawacenter.org. It is an Israeli organization working on
behalf of the Arab citizens of Israel.
She told of the many acts of discrimination experienced by Arab Israeli
Citizens. This is one of the organizations
that the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries has open for
placement of Individual Volunteers in Missions.
Ruth Hiller
We also heard Ruth Hiller speak about the demilitarization
of Israel Society. She explained the
struggles and changes her family went through when one of her teenage sons
announced he was not going into the military.
She has established an organization, New Profile. New Profile has a web site, www.newprofile.org/english. An interesting interview with Ruth Hiller can
be found at www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org.
Lunch at the German Colony
We had lunch in the German Colony and enjoyed seeing a world
heritage site, the Baha’i Garden. This
terrace of the Baha’i faith, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, is
gardens around the Shrine of the Ba’b on Mount Carmel in Haifa.
Women in Black Israel
We arrived back in Jerusalem in time to attend the Women in
Black Demonstration. This is held every
Friday at 1: PM. This particular
afternoon was special because it was the 25th anniversary of the
first demonstration.
At Women in Black vigils, women carry placards saying, “End
the Occupation” and closely related messages.
These demonstrations are nonviolent.
This is the only demonstration in which EAPPI EA's can take an active
part. Usually at demonstrations, we are
only standing in solidarity.
During the course of the demonstration, I had a wonderful conversation with the Israeli women in black next to me.
She smiled, but did not want to be in the picture. Nice use of a hat. Our conversation continued and we will remain in contact.
Kehilat Yedidya Synagogue
In the evening, Dr. Debborah Weissman, a member of the congregation, introduced
us to aspects of the worship service that we were there to attend .
They provided a booklet in English of the words they were singing in
Hebrew. I enjoyed reading along; and recognized
many of the Psalms.
After the service, we went in groups of two for a Shabbat
Dinner with members of the congregation.
Because Shabbat had started, no mechanical items may be used, we had to
walk to the home of our host. Also, for that reason I do not have pictures of this experience.
