Cornerstone, Winter/Spring, 2014, "The Life-Giving World"

8/12/2019 Cornerstone, Winter/Spring, 2014, "The Life-Giving World"

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IN THIS ISSUE

oday the Scripture is Fulfilled 01by Naim Ateek

Te Word of God Embedded in the Grassroots 05by Ann Hafften

Te Conference - Day to Day by Hans Nebel 07

Challenging Our Faith by Marie Krner 08

Sumud (Standing Fast) 10

Glimpses of Our Activities 12

Gods Promise to All by Ernest Reichert 14

PL 25 Years On by Mary Grey 16

Today the Scripture

is Fulfilledby Naim Ateek

Editors note: Te following sermon was given by Rev. NaimAteek on November 19th, 2013 at the opening of Sabeels9th International Conference, Te Bible and the Palestine-Israel Conflict. Te sermon introduced the theme of theconference and was a vivid illustration of how the Bible canaddress relevant every day issues of life; and the way modern-day biblical scholarship can critique the misuse of the Bibleand emphasize the importance of working for justice andpeace.

A tear gas canister shot by the Israeli military is used to grow a flower in the West bank village of Bilin.

A PUBLICAION BY SABEEL ECUMENICAL LIBERAION HEOLOGY CENER

ISSUE 68, WINER/SPRING 201

POST-CONFERENCE ISSUE

TheLife-GivingWord


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Te eyes of all in the synagogue were fixedon him. Ten he began to say to them,oday this scripture has been fulfilled in

your hearing (Luke 4:14-21).

On behalf of the Sabeel Center, Iwould like to welcome you all to our9th international conference. I thankGod for your safe arrival and for yourpresence with us. I hope and pray thatour time together will be blessed andfruitful. I pray that this conference will

energize us and renew our commitmentto continue the struggle for a just peacefor all the people of our land.

Although, it is my hope that thisconference will raise importantquestions about the Bible and the wayit has been used and abused in ourland, we will be giving special attentionto the importance of international lawand human rights for the resolution ofthe Palestine-Israel conflict.

Due to biblical abuse from Jewish andChristian Zionists and inadvertentlyfrom many well-intentioned ordinaryChristians, the Bible that can lead usto salvation has become itself in needof saving. In other words, many of ourpeople are being killed and oppressedby the way the Bible is being used

and interpreted. ragically this isnot new in the history of our faith.Te Bible has been used to justifyslavery, war, apartheid, silencing of

women and many other things andnow the oppression and killing of thePalestinians. How did Jesus use the

Bible? Can Jesus guide us? I believehe can. Let us look at Jesus encounterin his hometown Nazareth as recordedin Luke chapter 4.

We know from the Gospels that Jesuswas brought up in a small town calledNazareth in Galilee. What do we knowabout this town? Not much. But Newestament scholar, Kenneth Bailey, agood friend of some of us, has written,as a result of his research, something

very interesting.

It seems that the northern part ofPalestine after the Exile (6th centuryB.C.), including the Galilee, waslargely inhabited by non-Jews. Teprophet Isaiah writing several hundredyears before Christ refers to Galilee asthe Galilee of the Gentiles, i.e. non-

Jews.

Nazareth according to Dr. Bailey started

as a settlement for Jews, probably builtin the 2nd century B.C. by Aristobulusthe Maccabean who conquered Galileeand wanted to Judaize it. Nazareth,therefore, was a settlement town and it

was inhabited to begin with by settlers,many of whom were nationalists. Wealso know that there is no mention ofNazareth in the Old estament.

One of the theories of why Josephand Mary chose to come to Nazareth

after their return from Egypt was dueto employment availability in thatarea. About three miles northwest ofNazareth, King Herod Antipas wasbuilding and beautifying Sepphoris,(Saffouria in Arabic) as his first capital.Probably Joseph sought employmentthere so he chose to live close by. Ifthis is the case, then Jesus grew up in

a settlement.

We know from the Gospels that whenhe was 30 years old, he went to th

Jordan River and was baptized by Johnthe Baptist. Sometime later he returneto Nazareth and on the Sabbath h

went to the Synagogue to pray. Tkhazan, the attendant, handed himthe scroll of Isaiah. From the text wdeduce that it was Jesus who chose thpassage that he wanted to read:

Te Spirit of the Lord is upon mebecause he has anointed me to brin

good news to the poor. He has sent mto proclaim release to the captives anrecovery of sight to the blind, to let thoppressed go free, to proclaim the year o

the Lords favor (Luke 4:18-19).

He rolled up the scroll, gave it backto the attendant and sat down. Tenthe text reads: Te eyes of all in thsynagogue were fixed on him. Tenhe said, oday this scripture has bee

fulfilled in your hearing. Tere arseveral important points that we needto remember as we look at this event:

FIRS: Te Isaiah text in our Bibl

from which Jesus read is chapter 61Tis text has found fulfillment in thcoming of Christ. In his reading othe Isaiah passage, Jesus said, odathis scripture has been fulfilled in youhearing. As Christians we recognizthat Jesus Christ is the goal, center, andclimax of our biblical faith. In him thscriptures have been fulfilled.

SECOND: Te words which Jesuread in the Nazareth Synagogu

expressed Gods concern for the pooand oppressed. It talked about Godgood news to the poor, good news oliberation for the prisoners and thoppressed, and healing for the sicand the diseased. Te heart of thmessage, which the prophet Isaiah waconveying to the people in exile, waabout justice and that God is thei

Te Rev. Naim Ateek preaches at theGreek Catholic Church in Jerusalemduring the 9thInternational Conferenceopening worship.


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liberator. Tey were words of comfortand hope for people who were brokenby years of oppression; and it touchedtheir hearts and emotions.

HIRD:What is significant is the factthat Jesus did not read the Isaiah text

verbatim; he edited it. He omittedsome words and added others fromanother section of Isaiah. By doing so,he made it more relevant to his hearers.His hearers were not living in exile;they were now living under the Romanoccupation. He contextualized themessage and made it relevant. Is thisan important hint for those who use thetext literally? Jesus did not hesitate toedit the text. For him, the liberativemessage was more important than the

literal words.

FOURH: Moreover, Jesus didsomething more radical with the Isaiahtext. He stopped in midsentenceand did not finish the reading of thepassage. What did he leave out? Tewhole sentence reads,o proclaim the year of the Lords favor,

And the day of vengeance of our God.Te year of the Lords favor is the yearof jubilee when justice is restored to thepoor and oppressed in the community.Tis, Jesus read; but he left out, theday of vengeance of our God.

In one of my first visits to Hebron,years ago, I saw that the Palestinianshops were closed and that the settlershad written on the doors, the wordvengeance, revenge in HebrewNeqama, the same word as in ArabicNaqma. What the Hebron settlers

were calling for was vengeance againstthe Palestinians.

Jesus refused to read that sentence. Heleft it out. In other words he refused

to call for Gods vengeance on theirnon-Jewish enemies. He refused toread what for him was theologicallyoffensive and unacceptable. I realizethat some biblical scholars have givenvarious interpretations, but I believethat it was Jesus himself who, due tohis theology of God as a loving parent,could not call on Gods judgment on

their enemies. In my understandingof the text, Jesus felt free to critiqueIsaiahs words. Jesus refused to read

words that reflected racism and bigotry.Jesus hermeneutic of Gods love for allcaused him to stop in midsentence.Remember Jesus was speaking to a

settler community who would love tohear that their God was standing withthem and will pour out his wrath andvengeance on their enemies. Jesusrefused to give them that pleasure.Te lesson is clear for me: whateverdoes not agree with the hermeneuticof Gods love for all people has noauthority for us and must not be readeven if it is written in the Bible.

FIFH: Jesus showed great courage by

standing before a group of nationalistsand confronting their bigotry. When

we look at the rest of the chapter, wesee words that can only be describedas racist. What are some of the wordsthat Jesus did not read?

Strangers [that is non-Jews] shall standand feed your flocks, foreigners shall till

Sabeel co-founders Naim Ateek, Jonathan Kuttab, and Jean Zaru at the 25- year celebration of PL in Jericho



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your land and dress your vines; but youshall be called priests of the Lord, youshall be named ministers of our God; youshall enjoy the wealth of the nations, andin their riches you shall glory(Isaiah 61:5-6).

In October 2010, the late IsraeliSephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef,(He died a few weeks ago) the spiritualleader of the Shas Party and a formerchief Sephardic rabbi of Israel, said,Goyim [gentiles] were born only toserve us [Jews]. Without that, theyhave no place in the world; only toserve the People of IsraelWhy aregentiles needed? Tey will work, theywill plow, they will reap. We will sitlike an effendi (aristocrat) and eat.

I am certain he had the Isaiah text inmind. It is important to say that anumber of Jews condemned his words.But he was using the Hebrew Bible.Zionism made out of the Palestinianshewers of wood and drawers of water.Isaiah was describing a communityafter the Exile when societal roleswould be reversed. Te exiled Jewswould become masters and the gentileswould be their servants; and Jews willfeast on the wealth of nations and beproud that it is theirs. I believe thatJesus could not subscribe to such atheology.

Such words are found in the Bibleeven on the lips of Isaiah, but it reflectsbigotry and xenophobia. It is contraryto the spirit of a loving God who lovesand cares for all. Again the lesson isclear: when using the Bible, we cancritique those exclusive texts found inthe Bible because they do not reflectthe God of love. Some Christians tryto rationalize and justify them. Teyare best disregarded as it is difficult towhitewash them.

SIXH: In order to drive home hismessage, Jesus used two examples from

their Hebrew tradition.1. In order to care for the prophetElijah during a period of famine,God sent the prophet to a Phoenicianwidow from Lebanon, a gentile wholooked after Elijah for three years.Jesus was driving home a strong andclear theology of God. Te paganwidow had faith that the God of Elijahwill provide for her and her familyas well as the prophet. Jesus chose aforeign widow as a model of faith forthe Nazareth settler community.

2. Elisha the prophet healed Naamanthe Syrian general who was a gentile.Jesus struck at their racist nerve. Godchose pagan people as models of faith.Gods love and care is not restricted toone small ethnic community.

SEVENH: Jesus had a hermeneuticof Gods love for all people andIsaiahs words did not comply withthat criterion. Te people of Nazarethdid not like the preacher Jesus. Teywanted to hear words that wouldsatisfy their bigotry against foreigners.Jesus was not willing to play theirgame or give them that pleasure. Heconfronted them and gave them alesson in theology. Te God Jesustalked about is a liberator God. IfGod is biased, God shows bias towardthe poor and the oppressed. Jesusshattered their exclusive concept ofGod and critiqued their understandingof the scriptures. Just because it is inthe Bible does not mean it is correct orits theology is sound. By doing so, Ibelieve that Jesus gives us an importantlesson of how to relate to the Bible.

Brothers and sisters, imagine the scene.Jesus stands in the Nazareth synagogueand courageously confronts hisnationalist hometown folks. Jesus wasnot seeking popularity and admiration;he sought to be faithful to God.

I believe Jesus gave us an example of

how to read scripture. In conclusionwhat does it mean for us to say scripturis fulfilled?

Like Jesus Christ, we can only sascripture is fulfilled when we arproclaiming justice and liberation foall the people of the land regardlesof their ethnic, racial, or religioubackground.

We can only say scripture is fulllewhen we witness to Gods love for apeople; and for us Christians, Godlove as seen and exemplified in the lovof Jesus Christ.

To say scripture is fullled is to taka stand for justice and to struggle anconfront injustice, racism, violencediscrimination and everything thacorrupts and de-humanizes people.

To say scripture is fullled is tcritique any misuse of scripture thajustifies the theft of peoples land, thdemolition of peoples homes, thuprooting of peoples olive and fruitrees, and the oppression of the peoplof the land.

To say scripture is fullled is to believthat Gods word for us is always a worof life, peace, love and joy. It is a worof hope and strength for all people.

To say scripture is fullled impliea challenge for us. It challengeour narrow and exclusive theologyIt challenges us to become morcompassionate and Christ-like people

May God give us the strength anthe wisdom not only to challenge thpowers that be, but to remain faithfuin our work and witness for justice anpeace! Amen

Te Rev. Ateek is Director of Sabeel.


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The Word

of God

Embedded in

the

Grassrootsby Ann Hafften

When Dr. Nancy Cardoso Pereira said,Holy land is about tomatoes, my heartlaughed and I felt a happy surge of myold enthusiasm for liberation theology.At the ninth Sabeel InternationalConference, she said, Holy land isabout tomatoes and potatoes and beansand rice. Tere is a dialogue between usand light and water, and then food, andthis is holy.

My first contact with Palestinianliberation theology, around 1990, wasthrough Rev. Naim Ateek and Sabeel.As a Christian who had witnessedmassive changes in the occupied WestBank and Jerusalem, I was inspired withthe imperative for justice and peace. Iwas grateful for a theological foundationupon which to build an understandingof the occupation and its implicationsfor the people. I needed a method for

looking at the realities of this particularoppression.

At the ninth conference, almost 25 yearslater, we looked at the bible throughthe lens of occupation. We experiencedthe joy of Christian community andthe task at hand digesting some verychallenging academic presentations.

Te bible has been used as a toolfor archeology and as a partner forhistorical study. It has authority, but isthat authority absolute or flexible? Wasthere really a synagogue at Nazareth?

We must understand the bible inhistorical context, but what does it sayto the people of todays churches?

Nancy, the Brazilian, threw open a

window. Te crisp early-winter air wasrich with images, even smells: earth andsoil, vegetables and animals, the poorand the people crowded into check-points, living under oppression, theeveryday blessings of life when peopleare free.

Nancy told us how the reading ofbible in Latin America is so at home

with Palestinian liberation theology.Te bible in Latin America is a lot of

things at the same time. Te bible iseverywhere; its all around, importantand unimportant, always present.

How like the Holy Land, I thought,where it seems that everyone includ-ing tourists and pilgrims thinks theirown reading of the bible is all in all andultimately true.

When Nancy said that the challenge forus is to transform a text imposed by thecolonial project into a received text, Ithought how true of this place wherethe imposition has occurred probablyten times over. Its not that easy totransform, Nancy said, and I nodded.

Nancy told us about the paradoxi-cal different ways to live without the

bible but to live with the bible. Sheshared some of what Latin America hadlearned and why we really under-stand about occupation.

In the 60s liberation theologyaddressed a continent exhausted bypoverty and oppression, Nancy said.Liberation theology grew in a networkof local communities and pastoralorganizations and it soon became muchmore than a church issue. Tat story,

familiar to me, reminded me too of thebirth of Sabeel 25 years ago and thehope it planted in me.

Nancy said, It is about praxis,intellectual and spiritual expression ofa vast social movement in a complexnetwork of peasants, workers,indigenous people, marginalized

Conference participants read scripture passages at the Jordan River during the 9th

International Conference.



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women, youth from the periphery, anda church program, and it is about thepreferential option for the poor.

She said, When I talk about grassroots

reading of the bible, Im talking aboutthese people reading the bible, and agreat deal more about imperialism andthe destruction of dreams. Trough itall we feel so close to the situation ofthe Palestinian people. We know whatoccupation is about, she said.

Tis is the theme that we supportersof Sabeel, we workers for justice andprayers for peace, must never forget.Te Word of God is embedded in themud and water and air of creation,in the poorest children of God, theweak and the strong, the funny ones,the angry ones, the weeping ones, thestriving ones. Jesus came into the worldto be part of all this, and in the middleof all this is where we will find him.We each look for God out of our own

occupation, and we have to rememberthat we will find him with the poor andoppressed.

Nancy named the oppressors: biblical

fundamentalism and Christian Zion-ism, defenders of western politicaldomination of the world. She said,Biblical authority provides reinforce-ment of the capitalistic, imperialistictactic and works against any searchingfor another possible world outside ofcapitalism.

In this sense, biblical authority, likecapitalism, supports what is notnormal, not necessary, for example,

war, global warming, degradation ofthe environments, etc., she said.

Israel, supported by us an ideal ofwhite Europeans invading a country farfrom home, emptying it of its inhabit-ants, and saying Its all Gods will, shesaid.

Te panel Occupation of the Bible at the 9th International Conference

Nancy called us all to denounce thpowerful and painful combinatioof Western North Atlantic theologwith Western North Atlantic socioeconomic capitalism. Te tasks o

Christians, she said, are: breakinspiritually from capitalism, denouncinall worship of capital, understandinourselves as one religion among otherand trusting in Gods liberating grace.

I was delighted and refreshed bNancys indignation, her creativityand her gentle reminder to trust iGods grace. Nancy said, Believe in free Palestine. Deep in my heart, I dbelieve, we shall overcome some day.

Ann Hafften is a free-lance writer fromexas who serves on the Board of Friendof Sabeel-North America. For most of hecareer she has worked as a communication specialist for agencies of the LutheraChurch in the USA.


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The

Conference

Day to Dayby Hans Nebel

As many as 174 participants from 15countries participated in the 6-dayprogram. In addition, local visitorscame daily, so we averaged 200 peoplea day. At the 25-year celebrationof Palestinian Liberation Teology(PL), which moved the group to aconference center in Jericho, we wereabout 400 participants mostly a largeflock from Nazareth. Tis location

gave local Palestinians from the WestBank, who are excluded from comingto Jerusalem, an opportunity to attend.Te conference was distinguished byits meetings with panel discussionsand presentations by highly qualifiedspeakers from almost anywhere in theworld. Temes of the conference werehigh standard. Te subject was deepened

and given a content that uplifted usand gave us the feeling that we werepart of something bigger than we inour own context usually participate in.

Tere were scheduled panel discussionsamong theologians, followed byparticipation of the audience with

questions. Tere were also furtherdiscussions between lawyers ofuniversal human rights and violationsof these, specifically in the case ofthe occupation of the West Bank,Gaza and East Jerusalem, and thesubsequent relocation of parts of theoccupier's population into occupiedterritory, which is in violation of theGeneva Convention, Article 49: " TeOccupying Power shall not deport ormove parts of its own civilian population

into the territories it occupies."

Day 1. Te program began with theopening worshipat the Greek CatholicChurch in the Old City. Anyone who

wants a sense of the nerve in theconference should read Luke 4: 14-21,and Naim Ateeks sermon, includingthe words of Isaiah: "Te Spirit of the

Lord is upon me, because he has anointedme. He has sent me to bring good newsto the poor, to proclaim release to thecaptives and sight to the blind, to let theoppressed go free, to proclaim the year ofthe Lord's grace(Luke 4: 18-19).

Later, at the Notre Dame Center, Dr.

Mustafa Barghouti's presentation onthe Palestinian people's daily sufferingunder the Israeli occupation gave animpression of reality as it still is forthe Palestinian people after 45 years ofoccupation.Day 2. Biblical Authority: Tequestions raised in this panel session

were: Does the Bible have politicalauthority for one people, and if so,does this one people have rights that

the other people do not have? Te Bibleused as a title deed gives the Jewishpeople the right to Palestine at theexpense of the indigenous Palestinianpopulation. Te question answers itselffor most people. Te treatment of theBible and its scriptures and all thecontent and interpretation of them -and the key to the understanding of the

Sabeel 9th International Conference participants at the Notre Dame Hotel and Conference Center in Jerusalem



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erased, along with the villages ofabout 40,000 Bedouins in the Negev.Te Bedouins had already organizedthemselves to fight against the plan.Te plan had attracted internationalattention. Around the world there

were objections to the plan. After

sitting in the square with Bedouinrepresentatives, there was nobody whodid not wholeheartedly support theBedouins in their struggle to preservetheir villages, life and culture.

Day 6. First there was the closingworship in the Evangelical LutheranChurch of the Ascension at the AugustaVictoria Centre. In the afternoonconference participants gatheredin Jericho to celebrate Palestinian

Liberation theology's 25th anniversarywith a festive audience. Te conferenceparticipants gathered in the evening atthe Notre Dame Center in Jerusalemfor a final celebration.

Every day we were inspired with musicand song of dedicated musicians whouplifted us in song and prayer andsilence, morning, noon and night, andduring the celebration of PLs 25thanniversary.

Te conference had reached the roadsend. Te mood was that we hadparticipated in one of our life-definingevents. We had read the Bible together.

We had listened and learned and weremoved by the words and spirit. Wethanked God, our Creator and Lord,

Jesus Christ, our Savior, that he is theway, truth and life, justice and peacefor all people on earth. We pray forpeace and justice for the Palestinian

people. Now we are waiting a lot ofindividual presentations.

Hans Nebel is a retired pastor of theDanish Lutheran Church in Copenhagenand currently works as a coordinator on

projects supported by the Danish Stateto Palestine. Tis was his third Sabeelinternational conference.

Challenging

Our

Faithby Marie Krner

I had the privilege to participate in thSabeel 9th International Conference athe Notre Dame Hotel and ConferencCenter. Te center is well suited thost conferences like this and of coursit is a privilege for us internationa

participants to have the Old City oJerusalem at our doorstep; but at thsame time it is hard to know that fomany local Palestinians it is impossiblto come to Jerusalem and participateI understand that choosing Jerusalemas the venue is a statement in itself bSabeel, but it is not an easy choice athere are these serious disadvantages.

We come to the Sabeel Conference noonly to show our solidarity, to lear

more about the different aspects of thconflict as well as what our Christiaidentity demands from us; but walso come to be inspired and deepeour faith. It seems like where faith challenged and seriously tested, therit also will deepen; while in an affluenenvironment and in a comfortable lifethere faith tends to be more shallowI thank Sabeel deeply for the preciougift you gave us in the challenge wencountered at the Sabeel conference.

Te conference started in a very powerfuway with the opening service and thsermon by Dr. Naim Ateek. Many ous participants are probably regulachurchgoers, but for myself at least am not used to a message so contextuaand right to the point as this sermowas. It was a message that will help u

Holy Scriptures - were made commonconcerns of the conference and itsparticipants. Te first day continuedwith afternoon panel sessions.

Day 3. Does the Bible Have aFuture?Rev. Peter Du Brul (Palestine),

Rev. Gregory Jenks (Australia), andDr. Gary Burge (USA) together gaveduring the first panel session of theday their weight and experiencedwork through expositions related to"Eretz Yisrael" in the Bible. Has "thecountry" limits? According to the Bibleitself, the Psalms, and the prophets, isthe country an exclusive size withphysical limitations, or is it an inclusiveplace where God is near and whereGod's will is done and includes all

human beings? Who is the Lord God,other than the creator of the earth, lifeand man?

Day 4. Focus Groups. I participatedin the following groups: Overviewof Jewish Religious Views and thePolitical Situation in Israel by RabbiArik Ascherman and ChristianZionism by Dr. Gary Burge. In theafternoon was the presentation,Breaking a Generation: Children

in the Israeli Military Detention,by Mr. Gerard Horton, lawyer, co-founder of Military Court Watch(MCW). It was horrifying to hearabout the imprisonment of Palestinianchildren, methods of interrogationand torture, and detention of minors(and adults), sometimes withouttrial and without informationgiven to parents about where theirchildren are. Te talk was followedby a prayer at the Ofer Prison, where

there is a large number of Palestinianchildren detained, some for years.

Day 5. Excursion. For my part, wewent into the Negev desert along withmost of the conference participants.Here we visited a Bedouin villagewhere the Bedouins were under threatof being displaced and their villages


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in the onward work and struggle. Tecentral point was that Jesus can teachus to use the biblical text in a liberatingway, which sometimes means to omitparts. For example, those that speakabout vengeance.

So to fundamentally read and useeverything that is in the Bible actuallymeans to misuse scripture. We need tobe guided by Gods love for all people.We can also learn something fromreflecting on the outcome. Jesus didnot seek popularity and admiration.When he sought to be faithful to theuniversal love of God, he made thepeople in Nazareth very angry andthey even wanted to kill him right

then and there. Tis is something toreflect on when we face opposition thatfeels uncomfortable and maybe eventhreatening.

One of the important challenges forus in the Kairos Palestine documentis to work with theological questionsand exegesis and to oppose ChristianZionism. Tis is something that reallytook place during this conference inseveral ways. One danger with being

a Christian with a more liberal viewof the Bible and theology is that youjust distance yourself from those witha more fundamental and evangelicalview. You actually seldom get intodialogue because you rarely meet. Sofor me it was very interesting to listento Dr. Gary Burge who serves andworks within an evangelical contextand consequently, constantly has thesedialogues and discussions.

His point was that we believe in aGod that acts and speaks in history,and that the written revelation in theBible is a central though not exclusiveway for God to reach us humans inour time. But we need to also workwith hermeneutics with humility, wellaware that quite a lot in the contextis foreign. At the same time, his final

point was that theology that lives and

works without the Bible has failed, sowe cannot give it up as sometimes hasbeen the tendency. I think voices likehis - that know well the evangelicalcontext and are able to present anargumentation in support for justicein the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in thiscase - are really very valuable.

A very powerful moment was whenwe commemorated the memoriesof those who had passed away and

who had given time and effort for thestruggle of the work of Sabeel. We

were singing together with Jim andJean Strathdee, who started out: Forall the saints whove shown your lovein how they live and where they move.I then got a vision of belonging to aglobal movement for justice and peace

where already some have given theirlives; while others are on the road stillfighting. We do not know how long it

will take until we reach the goal: justice

for the Palestinian people and peaceand security for all living in the region.But there is no turning back.

As the conference moved on to deal withinternational law, another powerfulmoment that I will always remember

was the information about children inmilitary prisons in Israel and the prayer

service we had outside the Ofer Prison.

It is hard to comprehend that a countrydescribing itself as a democracy is guiltyof all these terrible crimes.

Tere are far too many importantimpressions from the conference tomention everything, but we ended withcelebrating the 25 years of PalestinianLiberation Teology well in accordance

with the Liberation Teology model:see, analyze, act and celebrate.

Rev. Marie Krner is the Secretary ofInternational and Ecumenical Affairs atthe Diocese of Lund, Church of Sweden,and the Deputy Chairperson of Friends ofSabeel Scandinavia. Tis was her thirdtime attending a Sabeel conference.

Conference participants sing for Palestinian child prisoners outside Ofer Prison.


Come and See

Sabeel Witness Visit

November 12-20, 2014Cost starting from $1,450for a double room(An additional $100 for registrationafter September 1, 2014)

Please see www.sabeel.org for moreinformation and the registration form.


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010

Sumud (Standing Fast)

With the days theme of Sumud, Sabeel 9th InternationalConference participants traveled to three different areas to seefor themselves the injustice on the ground suffered by Pales-tinians, including the Bedouins.

As many as four buses of participants traveled south on thedusty roads to visit the Bedouin community of the Negev tolearn about unrecognized villages where the Bedouins all citi-zens of Israel - live without secure housing structures, electric-

ity and other essential services. ens of thousands of people inthese impoverished communities, hundreds of years old, arethreatened by the Israeli governments Prawer Plan. Tis planwould evict them from their ancestral land and relocate themfor the benefit of Israeli Jewish citizens. Participants visitedeight unrecognized villages, ate lunch with families, and metwith Bedouin representatives to hear their plight firsthand.Just days after this excursion, the Prawer Plan was defeated inthe Israeli Knesset, and temporarily placed on hold.

Another busload of participants headed to the Bethlehemgovernorate for a tour following the separation Wallsnaking trail through Beit Jala, one of the three majotowns of the district. raversing the tops of hills outsidBeit Jala, participants witnessed Palestinian towns threaened by encroaching settlements, and heard from a loca

guide about the consequences of occupation. A brief walthrough Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem brought thparticipants to Al-Rowwad Cultural and Teatre raininCenter, a place empowering youth to engage in creativenonviolent resistance. After a short bus ride, attendeeate lunch at the ent of Nations and listened to DaouNassar discuss how his familys farm has become a plac

where people from around the world can choose to refuse to be enemies.

More participants traveled in another bus to one of thmost difficult areas of the West Bank Hebron wher

residents in the Old City must pass through a minicheckpoint at its entrance, and where the market thersees few foreign visitors because of restricted access ansettler violence. After sharing a traditional meal witHebron families, participants then visited the IbrahimMosque that is sandwiched between a Palestinian community and an illegal Jewish settlement; and ShuhadStreet, blocked by two Israeli soldiers to prevent Palestinians from passing to a settler area of the city.

Unrecognized Bedouin village


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Tank you to the organizations and individuals that mathese excursions possible including: Adaleh Center Human Rights Studies, Al-Rowwad Cultural and Tearaining Center, MUSAWA, Te Bedouin Committee Unrecognized Villages, Te Women of Lakiya; local guiand representatives, Atieh Al Atham, Daoud Nassar, MaQumsiyeh, Nidal Al-Farajin, Walid Abu Al Halaweh; a

Janet Lewis of the Methodist Liaison Office.

Conference participants buy embroidery from the Women of Lakiya.

Conference participants share lunch with a Bedouin girl.

Unrecognized Bedouin village



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Local program participants enjoy refreshments ata childrens home in Bethlehem for Advent.

Te Sabeel community celebrates at the Sabeel ChristmasDinner at the Seven Arches Hotel in Jerusalem.

Sabeel Jerusalem and Nazareth staff at the9th International Conference

Focus group with Rabbi Arik Ascherman at the9th International Conference

12

Glimpses

of Our Activities


13/20

Clergy from the Dominican Church in Jerusalem sing at theSabeel Christmas Dinner.

Young adults celebrate Advent in Jericho.

Jean and Jim Strathdee lead the conference choir at theChurch of the Ascension, Augusta Victoria, in Jerusalem.

Worship service at the French Hospital church in Nazareth


Hind Khoury, Vice President of the Sabeel Board, recognizes past andpresent I-FOS coordinators at the 9th International Conference.


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4

Gods

Promise toAllby Ernest Reichert

It was my first visit to Israel-Palestineand my first experience at a Sabeelconference, and I am thankful forhaving had the opportunity ofexperiencing both. Before this, I hadoften been in other countries of the

Middle East and everywhere I hadbeen struck by the load of concernthat the Israeli-Palestinian conflictwas generating in the minds ofpeople. Everywhere it was consideredas an ongoing injustice and a risk ofdestabilization for the whole region.In contrast, I was struck by the open-mindedness of both the Palestinian

and the international participants I metat the Sabeel conference.

As in the Kairos Palestine document,there was a spirit of hope in a context

of absolute hopelessness, and the strongdesire to believe that in spite of it all, apeaceful future was still possible. Tis isunder the condition, however, that Israelstops its occupation of the land andstarts respecting the rights and dignityof its people, thus taking into accountthe basic requests of international law.Tis is obviously not the case yet andthe land is full of examples. We couldnot miss them. Everywhere, Arabcitizens are treated as second class

and just disposable elements. Whatstruck me in the attitudes of all thoseI met was the dignity they neverthelessmanage to preserve, as well as their willto absolutely refuse violence as a wayto change their conditions of living.I just hope that they will be able tocontinue in such a way, because theyare exposed to the violence of the Israeli

government in all segments of their live

Sabeel is a Christian movement and itconference participants were mainlChristians. Some Christians, as well a

many Jews, make use of the Bible anmainly the Old estament to justifthe Israeli occupation of more anmore Palestinian land - thus givinless and less space and rights to itinhabitants. Terefore, an importanspace was given to panel sessions tdiscuss how to understand Gods wordhis promise and will. What struck mwas the readiness of the participatinevangelicals to pay attention to the fate oall concerned parties. In my experienc

the French Church bodies have sfar been quite less open-minded!My feeling, however, is that referring tbiblical texts will not help us as long awe have not previously accepted sombasic attitudes on how to receive themnot as untouchable and timeless truthbut as testimonies of encounters wit

Lawyer Diana Buttu speaks during the panel International Law and Religion (panel moderator, the Rev. Richard oll pictured left.)


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God in a series of particular contexts.Gods word, promise and will arealways for today. We can learn frompast experiences; but in a new contextthey can never be reproduced exactlythe same way. What remains reliable,however, is Gods deep desire that all his

creatures can live, act and be consideredas people in his own image and likeness,sharing mutual respect and a deepconcern for the welfare of all otherbeings. Tis is the way he has alwaysbeen experienced by the men andwomen who have been his advocates inthe Scriptures. As Christians, we believethat in Christ, he himself went thisway until the bitter end on the cross,refusing until the very end to resortto any destructive violence in order torealize his purpose. Tis I believe in.

In this sense, the Hebrew Scripturesalso are nothing but the testimony of

Ofer Prison~ a military installation where children from occupied Palestine

are incarcerated after being kidnaped from their homes in the middle of the night by Israeli soldiers.Tey are isolated, coerced, and sometimes beaten into signing a confession

that they threw stones at Israeli military vehicles.Tis is state terrorism calculated to control Palestinian people.

Tese coId grey walls, these towering, life-crushing, forever cold grey walls, monuments to death and efficiency... the torture of children

I cannot breathe, my heart has stuttered, afraid to take its next beat, my blood is retreating, my bones turn to water.

I am sucked out the window of a speeding car and dashed against the cold grey buttress of a freeway bridge unable to move, to think, to feel.

O the cries in the night, O the cries in the night, O the cries in the night.

One day these cold grey walls will be melted by a million spoonfuls of justice and mothers tears.

A poem by Jim Strathdee (USA) November 23, 2013

Jewish people that God has always beenfaithful to his promise and has always

wanted the best for them in spite ofquite numerous betrayals. Tey tell ushow he gave the Jewish people a placeto live in security and peace with thepurpose for them to be themselves a

blessing for all the other people theywould encounter in the course of theirhistory. Tis good message that hasbeen told in many ways throughoutthe Scriptures has always been and hasagain and again to be actualized in newsettings. Te former prophets alreadyenlarged this promise to more and morepeople because, as Psalm 24 proclaims,the whole world belongs to the Lord.It is consequently the duty of all those

who take his promise and will seriouslyto engage in the same task today.In a more secular way, this wouldmean applying international law. Te

program of the Sabeel conferencerightly provided a transition fromdiscussing the Bible to presentinginternational law. Te effects of takingthe Bible into account and/or applyinginternational law will be the same onthe ground, though referring to God

can bring those who engage with hima renewed hope and a deeper senseof human solidarity. Both are direlyneeded today, so that all can enjoy therest (others translate this as safety)that God promises to his people (Joshua1:15). No one can enjoy such a rest ifthe others cannot share it. It should beoffered to all, and whether this happensor not has to be our common concern.

Rev. Ernest Reichert is a retired pastor andthe President of Friends of Sabeel France.



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6

25-year celebration ofPalestinian Liberation TeologyJerusalem, November 24, 2013

An excerpt from a talk by Mary Grey

And now I want to thank Sabeel for the way you de-velop our Palestinian Liberation Teology (PL) in ourown countries - through the publications emerging fromconferences and through the travels of Rev. Ateek in our

countries. One outcome of this in the UK is our responseto the Kairos Palestine document from the PalestinianChristians in December 2009. Some here among us - likeAnne Clayton and the Rev. Warren Bardsley - led the UKteam and were part of its dramatic launch at the Green-belt Festival in August of this year. We end our UK docu-ment by affirming:We can be silent no longer. It is time for prophetic faithful-ness. It is time for action.

I cite this as an example that PL is bearing fruit in othercountries. Another initiative is the Balfour Project men-tioned already by Roger Spooner. It is a good exampleof action that is appropriate in certain contexts but notin others. In 1917 the Balfour Declaration was sent toLord Rothschild, offering a home for the Jews in Pales-tine, ignoring the fact that the land was already promisedto the Arabs. Following PLs stress on reconciliation andforgiveness,

Te Balfour Project (www.balfourproject.org) seeks tomark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration by:

acknowledgementof Britains actions at the time ofthe Balfour Declaration and throughout the Mandate,and particularly the deceit surrounding our nationstrue intentions;

pardonfor our nations wrongdoing - from Palestin-ians for having intentionally ignored their legitimateaspirations and from Jews for our part in the centuriesof anti-Semitism;

PLT 25 Years On

Te childrens choir from the Ramallah Evangelical School performs at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jericho duringSabeels 25-year celebration of PL.


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integrity in our nations future dealings with Jews,Palestinians, and all peoples.

Tus we are seeking to contribute to peace in Palestine-Israel by acknowledging Britains part in the conflictthrough the Balfour Declaration and the years of theMandate. I see this as a way to developing the vision ofPalestinian Liberation Teology for the future. Libera-tion Teology has always made the distinction betweenvictim and oppressor: Palestinian people are crying outfor justice. We British citizens, who have historically beenpart of the oppression (which to many British people is a

completely new idea!), have the moral obligation to actin reparation and in action for peace.

And I will end with the words written for us by BishopJohn Baker, former Bishop of Salisbury - words you canfind on our website:Tere is no peacewithout repentance;Tere is no repentancewithout knowledge;Tere is no knowledgewithout education.

Sabeels inspiration in developing Palestinian LiberationTeology for over 25 years has taught us that there iswork that only we can do and that is the true meaning ofsolidarity. My hope is that if we all recognize and com-mit to the task that is uniquely ours, the Wall will comedown, the Occupation will end, and the Holy Land willat last enjoy peace with justice.

Professor Mary Grey is a Roman Catholic liberationtheologian and former professor at St. Marys University

College in London and the University of Wales. She isrustee of Living Stones of the Holy Land, a core member ofthe Balfour project, a Patron of Friends of Sabeel UK, and along-time Friend of Sabeel.

Te Ouf dance group performs at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem during Sabeels 25-year celebration of PL.



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88

A peek inside conference participant evaluations

It was obvious from the beginning that a very great deal of prayer and preparation had been put into this conference.

Just very special - deeply moving, challenging, and to know how many Friends are invited across the world for justice and peacin this land.

I would like to see the next conference back in the West Bank.

Less sitting and listening, more moving.

Day 1 and Day 2 provided the faith and nourishment which I relish, personally, to proceed with inspiration and vision. Day was outstanding and provided the basis for future advocacy.

We could not recruit locally because we did not have enough detailed information.

Sabeel needs strategic thinking and planning to engage the younger generation . . . not sure [how] but it sure seems urgent.

It was my first conference and I highly appreciated everything.

Tis conference deserves an A+!

Conference participants watch the Ouf dance group in Jerusalem.


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Sabeel-NazarethPO Box 50278 Nazareth 16120 Israelel: 972(4)6020790Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel Scandinavia and FOS SwedenRev. Emanuel FurbackenRnnvagen 50SE 443 45 Sjvik / Swedenel: (+46 ) 737 738909Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel in DenmarkRev. Peter Skov FriisLange Eng 21DK 2620 Albertslund / Denmarkel: (+45) 3151 0406Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel Scandinavia in NorwayHans Morten Haugen

Harsveien 2e0283 Oslo / Norwayel: (+47) 47340649Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel Oceana Inc. (FOS-AU)Dr. Ray Barraclough44 Coral StreetMaleny, QLD,Australia 4552www.sabeel.org.au

Friends of Sabeel France

Pasteur Ernest Reichert12, rue du KirchbergF- 67290 WINGEN S/ MODER- FRANCEel: +33 (0)3 88 89 43 05Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel GermanyCanon Ulrich KadelbachHappoldstrasse 50D-70469 Stuttgart / Germany+49 (0) 711 857841Email: [email protected]

Visit our newly revised website at: www.sabeel.org

SabeelEcumenical Liberation Teology CenterP.O.B. 49084 Jerusalem 91491

el: 972.2.532.7136 Fax: 972.2.532.7137

General Email: [email protected] Program: [email protected] Programs: [email protected] Program: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

INERNAIONAL FRIENDS OF SABEEL

Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, Program DirectorPO Box 9186,Portland, OR 97207 / USAel: (1)- 503-653-6625Email: [email protected]

Canadian Friends of Sabeel3 Sandstone CourtNepean, Ontario/ Canada, K2G 6N5Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel United Kingdom (FOS-UK)Anne Clayton, CoordinatorWatlington Rd.

Oxford OX4 6BZ / UKel: (+44) 1865 787419 or 787420Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel Ireland (FOS- IR)Rev. Alan Martin9 Sycamore RoadDublin 16 / Irelandel: 00-353-1-295-2643Email: [email protected]

Friends of Sabeel Netherlands (FOSNL)Vrienden van Sabeel NederlandMarijke GaastraJan ooroplaan 34-26717 KJ Ede Te Netherlandsel: (+31) 6 488 09 550Email: info@vriendenvansabeelnederland.nlwww.vriendenvansabeelnederland.nl



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PURPOSE SAEMEN SABEELofSabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theologymovement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by thelife and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theologyseeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, promote

unity among them, and lead them to act for justice and love.Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on justice, peace,nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the differentnational and faith communities. Te word Sabeel is Arabicfor the way and also a channel or spring of life-giving

water.

Sabeel also works to promote a more accurate internationawareness regarding the identity, presence and witness Palestinian Christians as well as their contemporary concernIt encourages individuals and groups from around the worl

to work for a just, comprehensive, and enduring peacinformed by truth and empowered by prayer and action.

For more information on Friends of Sabeel groups in youarea, please contact our international representatives or thSabeel Center in Jerusalem.

Cornerstone, Winter/Spring, 2014, "The Life-Giving World"

Documents

Transcript of Cornerstone, Winter/Spring, 2014, "The Life-Giving World"