The Bethlehem Pack 2012
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Transcript of The Bethlehem Pack 2012
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www.amostrust.org [email protected] t: +44 20 7588 2638 reg.charity no. 292592
Picture: Mary in the rubble of a demolished home
The Bethlehem Pack 2012
Contents page
Introduction 2
Facts about Bethlehem today 3
Palestinian Christians Speak 4 - 8
Using a walled nativity set in a church service 9 – 10
Home & Hope – What if? A reading for 4 voices 11 - 12
Prayers & Reflections – Nazareth, Gaza & Bethlehem 13 - 16
Challenging Injustice. Rebuilding Hope- Christmas Appeal 2012 17
Video Resources 18
What next? 19
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Introduction
Today the 'little town of Bethlehem' lies behind an eight metre high concrete
separation wall, built by the Israeli occupation forces.
If Jesus was born today in Bethlehem, the Wise Men would spend several hours
queuing to enter the town. The shepherds, despite being residents of Bethlehem,
would struggle to graze their sheep because their land would be annexed by the
building of the separation wall and a lack of freedom to travel and restrictions on
trade would make it very difficult for them to make a living with
Many people may not be aware just how hopeless and how oppressive the situation
in Bethlehem has become. For peace to come to Palestine and Israel, we must
speak out about the injustices faced by the Palestinians living in the Holy Land, and
support them with our prayers, both at Christmas and throughout the year.
The Bethlehem Pack has been put together to help individuals and churches talk
about the current situation in Bethlehem at carol services and Christmas events.
We have included a wide range of materials for churches coming to this issue for the
first time as well as those who already have an awareness of the situation. The pack
contains facts about the current situation, prayers and reflections using the words of
people living in Bethlehem today, all suitable to be read out loud.
There are also links to videos and suggestions of ways you and your church can
support Palestine and the people living there.
New for 2012
For the start of Advent, a reflection from Nazareth (page 8) & a Nazareth
prayer (page 13.)
an interactive reading about home demolition - (pages 11 & 12)
STOP PRESS: In light of recent events, we have added prayers for Gaza (pages 14
&15)
In April 2013 a group of Amos Trust volunteers will help to rebuild a home just outside
Bethlehem, which was demolished illegally by the Israeli army. Our Christmas
appeal this year is to raise money to buy the building materials for the home. We
hope that people using this pack will make a donation to the appeal, perhaps by
organising a collection for this appeal at one of their Christmas services. (See page
21for more info.)
Whether you use the materials in the pack to as part of a carol service, to lead a
reflection in a Sunday service during Advent or to put together a whole Christmas
service, the important thing is that we speak out.
Let’s not remain silent this year. Amos Trust, November 2012
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Facts about Bethlehem today
Here are some facts about the current situation in Bethlehem. They could be printed
on a service sheet for a carol service, projected during a time of reflection, or read
out as inspiration for prayers for peace. You can download photos of Bethlehem
and the separation wall to accompany these facts via
www.amostrust.org/downloads
Today Bethlehem is surrounded by an eight metre high separation wall with military
watch towers. It was built by the Israeli occupation forces. The International Court of
Justice in The Hague has stated that the wall goes against international law and
should come down. No-one can enter Bethlehem without going through a military
checkpoint and showing their ID.
The population of Bethlehem is Muslim and Christian Palestinian people. Muslims and
Christians have been living together peacefully in Bethlehem for generations. Many
Palestinian Christian families in Bethlehem can trace their ancestry back to the
earliest Christian community. All Palestinians, Muslim or Christian, no longer have the
right to move freely. They require a permit from the Israeli authorities in order to
come and go from their home town.
Trees, especially olive trees, are very important in Palestinian culture. Since 1994,
almost 60,000 trees have been uprooted, burnt or cut down by Israeli forces in the
Bethlehem area. Just this year, hundreds more have been uprooted in Al Walajah
and Nablus.
The separation wall isolates 25% of Bethlehem’s agricultural land, meaning
Palestinian farmers have to obtain permits and go through military checkpoints
every day to get to their land. Checkpoints are often closed without warning or
farmers are turned back for no reason.
In the Bethlehem area alone, there are 19 illegal Israeli settlements taking Palestinian
land from local families and choking Palestinian communities. If Jesus was born
today in Bethlehem, much of the shepherds’ fields would have been confiscated for
illegal Israeli settlements.
87% of Bethlehem’s land has been taken by Israeli occupation enforced restrictions.
This means that people are forced to live in cramped conditions. In some places the
separation wall is built so close to buildings that the windows are blocked and
daylight can’t get in. The wall has cut people off from their shops and their land, and
has made busy roads into dead ends. One in five people in Bethlehem are now
unemployed in what was once a thriving town. If Jesus was born in Bethlehem
today, the innkeeper would be struggling to keep his business going.
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Palestinian Christians speak
Here are some words from Palestinian Christians who live in Bethlehem and one living
in Nazareth. These statements are intended to be read aloud as part of a service,
perhaps leading into prayers for peace.
Jasmine Rishmawi is from Beit Sahour, the site of the Shepherds’ Fields,
close to Bethlehem.
Christmas has always been my favourite time of year. As soon as December starts, you
can feel a warm breeze around which you’ll never experience unless you are in
Bethlehem for Christmas. Just by walking around this little blessed town, you will feel the
pure touch of God in your soul; Jesus is born in your heart.
Whenever I think of Christmas, the picture of my family gathering just pops into my head
causing me to smile effortlessly. One of my best memories is the year my brother and
sisters and I got my Dad to take us around Bethlehem to see the Christmas lights and the
Santas all around the town giving out chocolates and balloons, spreading good cheer.
It is a memory of the good times and great laughs in spite of everything.
Another Christmas I’ll never forget is when my sister got stuck on the Jordanian – Israeli
border on Christmas Eve. She had to stay in Jordan and missed Christmas with the
family. I will never forget the year I was returning home to Bethlehem for Christmas from
my school in Ramallah. At the checkpoint soldiers searched through my backpack and
unwrapped all the gifts I had brought for my family.
I will never ever forget the year when my college friends and I decided to spend
Christmas in Jerusalem for a change, but after hours of humiliation and harassment at
the checkpoint, we had to go back home, celebrations forgotten.
This Christmas, I won’t beg my Dad for a ride around town even though it is still
decorated amazingly. Every time I see that huge eight metre high wall around my little
town, I lose any hope I have in my heart. This Christmas I don’t want pictures of the wall
to be saved in my memory destroying my hopes. I want to keep my hope alive; the
hope from the birth of Jesus of a better life coming filled with peace and love. I want to
keep my hope of life in which you’re allowed to dream and to live a life that is not
prohibited by an army or a wall. It’s the life that I wouldn’t trade for anything; it’s the life
that I am always dreaming of.
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Sami Awad is the Director of Amos Trust’s partner, the Holy Land Trust, a
Christian peace organisation. The Holy Land Trust promotes non-violent
resistance and peaceful protest, and is based in Bethlehem.
Greetings to you this Christmas season from the little town of Bethlehem. This little town,
the place where the Prince of Peace was born continues to face daily hardships. Just
this year alone, in the surrounding beautiful villages, hundreds if not thousands of olive
trees were burned by illegal Israeli settlers for absolutely no reason but to humiliate and
damage the source of livelihood for hundreds of Palestinian families. Land theft for the
building of the illegal separation wall and expanding illegal settlements is worse than
ever before. No matter where you stand in Bethlehem, you can see the effects of the
cold grip of this brutal and humiliating occupation.
It is important for us here in Bethlehem to know that other Christians around the world
agree that this occupation has to end. It is encouraging for us to know that people have
realised that you can stand up for the human rights of the Palestinians without
compromising the rights of Israelis to also live in peace. You do not have to pick a side. I
invite you this Christmas season to continue praying for peace for both communities that
live in what we all call the Holy Land.
I remind you this Christmas season of the story of the Magi who came to Bethlehem
requested by King Herod to go and find out what is happening there. Once they came,
saw, met, and worshiped with those who lived in this town, their lives were transformed
fully and they could not go back the way they came. They did not declare war on King
Herod or demand that he was overthrown; they simply chose a different path, a path
that honoured the true message and spirit of the Prince of Peace, a message of peace
on earth and goodwill to all, including both Israelis and Palestinians.
For more information about the Holy Land Trust, go to www.amostrust.org/projects
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Rana Salman is from Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank where she
works for the Palestinian NGO, the Holy Land Trust.
In Bethlehem, getting families together during Christmas is a big challenge! People are
separated from each other by an eight metre high wall. Each area is surrounded by a
checkpoint. Families have to apply for a permit issued by the Israeli Authority to visit
each other during this season. Sometimes, you may get one while some of your family
members won’t or just the opposite. It happens randomly and you never know if your
name will be picked or not. Although it is supposed to be a joyous day, things don’t
happen as we expect in Palestine.
Luke 2:15 says: When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds
said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken
place, which the Lord has made known to us.” If I could send a message to churches in
the UK this Christmas, I would ask all churches who make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
to visit not only historic sites and churches in Bethlehem but to visit the ‘living stones’- the
Palestinian Christians and spend time with them, share a meal or serve the community to
discover the real joy, just as the shepherds did!
My hopes for next year are to end all systems of oppression, injustice and brutal violence
and to just have peace for all: peace in our families, peace in the world and especially
peace in the land we are privileged to call Holy!
People ask what Jesus would do if he visited modern Bethlehem but I’m not sure if Jesus
can make it to Bethlehem today! Being a Jew living in Nazareth, Jesus will not be
allowed by his own leadership to enter Bethlehem. He will have to “illegally” sneak into
Bethlehem and maybe get searched at a checkpoint. As he approached Bethlehem
and saw the reality, he would probably weep over the town of his birthplace the same
way he wept over Jerusalem.
For more information about the Holy Land Trust, go to www.amostrust.org/projects
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Rifat Kassis is a Palestinian activist from Beit Sahour, a village close to
Bethlehem which is the site of the Shepherds’ Fields. Rifat is one of the
authors of the Kairos Palestine document, a call and challenge from the
Christian community in Palestine to churches around the world.
To our Christian brothers and sisters in UK, on behalf of Kairos Palestine, I send my
warmest greetings to your communities and families as Christmas approaches.
I also write with three humble calls about the oppressive reality we face in Palestine in
general, and in Bethlehem in particular.
The first call is to “come and see”. Many pilgrims travel to Bethlehem to see the holy sites,
but they leave without ever meeting us, the Palestinian Christians who live in the grip of
occupation. Bethlehem‘s lands are constrained by illegal settlements and devoured by
the eight metre high separation wall. Its residents are governed by punishing movement
restrictions. Bethlehem remains in a chokehold, as do our lives.
There is a tremendous gap between the reality we live in and the image distributed to
tourists and Christian pilgrims. But that gap can be bridged if people come and see for
themselves, meet the local people as well as visiting the holy sites, and find out first-hand
what life is like for Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem today. We believe in the power of
tourism! It is a political tool, because the people who visit us, go back home and tell
others about our lives, how we cannot travel freely, how water is restricted and how we
the Palestinian people struggle.
The second call is to support us economically. When you visit - by choosing to stay in
Palestinian-run hotels and use Palestinian buses and tour companies; and when you’re
at home by buying Palestinian products like olive oil, dates and handicrafts. These are
not only economic decisions, but also political ones. They support our heritage and
sustainability at a time when Israel seeks to dominate both the tourist industry and the
tourist narrative.
And our third call is to pray for us. Many Palestinians, including Christians, remain
hopeful, and we are empowered by the joint efforts of committed, peace-seeking Jews
and members of the international community.
We invite you to come, to see, to pray, and to act in the name of peace with justice.
We wish you a blessed Christmas season.
Find out how you and your church can get involved in supporting the Christian
community in Palestine by joining Kairos Palestine Britain and Ireland Network, see page
19 for more info and visit www.kairospalestine.org.uk
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Susan Barhoum is from Nazareth in Israel, where she works for the Arab
Association for Human Rights, and pastors a church with her husband.
As Palestinian Arab Christians they are part of a discriminated minority
in Israeli society.
Palestinian Arabs living in Israel are just 20% of the population of Israel. They do not have
equal rights with Israeli people, and there are over 50 laws that discriminate against
them, restricting their rights to work, educate their children and travel. Palestinian Arab
Christians in Israel are a minority within this minority. The Christian community in the Holy
Land is dwindling, as more and more Christians are leaving to find better lives abroad for
themselves and their families. Christians in Israel have existed since the day of Pentecost
and we do not want the churches to merely become buildings. However Christian
people are not furniture or artefacts to be preserved, but people with needs and
aspirations just like you in the west.
As we celebrate Christmas and think of baby Jesus, we are encouraged by the Virgin
Mary, who was chosen to bring him into the world. She was brave enough to accept
God’s blessings on her at a time when she could have faced death as a pregnant
unwed young woman. Today, in the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, Christians
are facing a constant struggle for existence, but God provides us with hope to persevere
during this difficult time.
Your prayers, solidarity and support, particularly at Christmas, are greatly needed and
appreciated, because as it says in 1 Corinthians verse 12: ‘we are one body and its parts
should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if
one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.’ May God bless you as you remember
your Christian brothers and sisters who live in Israel.
See also our prayer for Nazareth on page 13.
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Using a walled nativity in a church service
Amos Trust has worked with Palestinian
craftsmen based just outside Bethlehem in Beit
Sahour (site of the original Shepherds’ Fields) to
create a wooden nativity set with a wall to
illustrate the current situation in Bethlehem. The
wall can be removed, so the set can be used
as a visual aid and focus for prayer as well as a
traditional nativity scene. You can buy large
walled nativity from www.amostrust.org/shop
The following words can be used with the large walled nativity set in an all age
church service.
CHRIST STILL COMES
Set up the nativity set with the stable & tree but no wall. Put the Magi on the far side
opposite the stable.
Bethlehem is in the West Bank, part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory which has been
under Israeli military rule since 1967. The situation in Bethlehem today is very different
from this traditional nativity scene.
Taking down the tree
Explain how palm trees are seen as a sign of peace and, together with olive trees, are a
central symbol of Palestine. (Side point: you might wish to make an additional comment
that in the Islamic tradition Jesus is born under a palm tree such as the one shown.) The
nativity scene is made of olive wood. The carpenters never chop an olive tree down;
instead they harvest the boughs from the tree as it grows. This means olive trees can be
hundreds or even thousands of years old. The olive trees on the Mount of Olives date
from somewhere close to the time Jesus sat beneath them on the night of his arrest.
Olive trees are also symbolic as a national symbol for the Palestinian people, on account
of their presence in the land through the years, tended by generations of owners. One
of the tragedies of the current unrest in Palestine and Israel is that olive groves have
been dug up, chopped down, or burnt, either to clear the ground for settlements, to
build the separation wall or in attacks on local people.
Replace the tree with the separation wall.
The real separation wall is 8 metres high and is more than 700 kilometres long. It is
combines concrete wall, wire fences and bypass roads that cut people off. The
International Courts of Justice in The Hague have stated that the wall is illegal and
should be taken down. There are gaps in the wall, but it surrounds towns such as
Bethlehem, preventing people who live there from moving easily. No-one can enter
Bethlehem today without going through a military checkpoint and showing ID, which
can take several hours. The Palestinian residents of Bethlehem, both Christians and
Muslims need a permit to come and go from their home town.
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The Magi
The Magi as you can see are on the other side of the wall. They travelled from the East,
probably from Iraq, Iran or one of the other neighbouring countries. Nowadays they
would find it difficult to reach Bethlehem as they would first need to pass through Israeli
border crossing on the Jordan River.
Discard the magi.
The Shepherds
The wall and neighbouring settlements also prevent shepherds in Bethlehem from going
to their fields. The shepherds’ fields just outside Bethlehem we read about in the Bible
from the time of David and on the night when Jesus was born are now unrecognisable.
Land has been taken by illegal settlements and shepherds have severely restricted
access to their own land. Often they have to obtain permits and go through military
checkpoints to get to their land. A handful of shepherds still remain but not enough for
our story.
Remove the shepherds and the livestock.
Mary and Joseph
Mary and Joseph were Jews. They travelled from Nazareth in what is now northern Israel.
They would have gone to Jerusalem and journeyed the six miles to Bethlehem from
there. Now the main entrance of the wall surrounding Bethlehem includes a massive
checkpoint like we see at airports and ferry terminals. The Israeli authorities have ruled
that Israeli Jews are no longer allowed to enter Bethlehem.
Remove Mary and Joseph.
Baby Jesus
The infant Jesus is left alone in the manger. Jesus of course grew up, taught, travelled,
was crucified, died and rose again. While the Christmas story would be impossible now,
the Christian faith says that Jesus still comes to Bethlehem today. He is there in the
people who follow him; he provides a light in the darkness which the darkness cannot
understand and can never put out. As those who follow him we are called to break
down the walls of division and to let the light of truth and hope shine.
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Home and Hope
This year Amos Trust’s Christmas appeal is to raise funds for building materials to
rebuild a demolished home in Al Walajah, just outside Bethlehem. (See page 18 for
details.)
Since 2000, 12,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished by the Israeli army and
authorities. Palestinian homes are demolished on the pretext of security if they are
deemed to be too near Israeli settlements or the Separation wall. Often a home will
be demolished in the middle of the night and the owner given no warning and
leaving adults and children traumatised.
Our partners the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem and the Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions in Jerusalem have identified home demolitions as one of the most
pernicious tools used by the Israeli occupation to pressure and intimidate
Palestinians and force them from their land.
“We had 40 minutes’ notice – ‘Get your things and get out’. Then the bulldozers
destroyed our home. I screamed that this is our land, but they pushed me away.
What do you say to your children when this happens?”
To find out more about home demolitions and how Amos Trust are involved with
standing with local Christians against demolitions in Bethlehem, download our home
rebuild information pack from visit www.amostrust.org/downloads
What if .. a tale of Palestinian community life. A reading for 4 voices by Rev Michael Beckett
A house is built in Lego or something similar – each time someone
comes up to read they take a small piece of the house.
Voice 1: What if a piece of land that had been in your family for
generations was annexed for the building of houses for other
people to live in?
Voice 2: What if these other people were from overseas, and were
granted citizenship of your homeland, and yet you, someone
who has lived in your country all your life, were refused
citizenship?
Voice 1: What if these other people, these settlers were granted
preferential rights to the provision of running water, rubbish
collections and allowed to pay less tax?
Voice 3: What if these settlers were given the freedom to travel on roads
built solely for their use, while your travel was restricted or
denied?
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Voice 2: What if a member of your family, who had moved abroad, was
then denied the right to return to their country of birth? And yet
these newly arrived settlers were able to come and go from your
country freely?
Voice 1: What if one day you returned home to find work had begun on
an 8-metre high ‘security’ wall in the middle of your community,
separating you from your neighbours and family?
Voice 3: What if in the shadows of the wall and new housing
developments for the settlers, you were refused permission to
renovate your home or build on the land that you own?
Voice 2: What if every time you paid the £2,000 processing fee to apply
for planning permission, you were given a new excuse and
denied the right to build?
Reader 4 does not take a piece of the house
Voice 4: What if, when in frustration, you did build on your own land
without permission; you and your family woke up one morning to
find your home, surrounded by hundreds of armed soldiers?
Voice 1: What if you were bound and beaten in front of your wife and
children, then given fifteen minutes to gather what little
belongings you have and get out?
Voice 4: What if you and your children saw your home being demolished
by bulldozers?
The remains of the house are demolished
Voice 1: What if as a result of this one of your children was so traumatised
that they stopped speaking?
Voice 2: What if you were then handed an invoice for the cost of the
demolition?
Voice 3: Tries to rebuild What if you did rebuild your home only to find this
cycle of harassment and demolition repeated again and again
and again?
Voice 4: What would you do?
Voice 2: Who would you turn to?
ALL: What if? (pause) What if we took the chance to proclaim: Now
must be the time.
Voice 1: To do unto others, as we would wish them do unto us.
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Prayers and reflections
A prayer for Nazareth
O God, We pray for Nazareth – too often ignored.
Can any good come from you we wonder?
Yet the angel Gabriel did not pass you by.
He came and sought out Mary
Sought her out in this tiny insignificant town
And said ‘Hail favoured one.’
And so the whole wonderful liberation story begins,
Not with the powerful and influential,
Not with the rich or with celebrities,
But here in an ordinary place – that is forever holy.
Thank you God that here a message burst
Unexpectedly upon a surprised young woman.
A message that must have been accompanied
By shame and misunderstanding.
And yet . . . a message to have angels singing
Shepherds hurrying . . . and wise men wondering.
A message that still has the power
To plant a seed of hope in all of us.
That God is not far off, indeed much closer than we think.
Renewing our spirits, restoring our souls
And walking with us as we carry on living and telling the story.
Here our story begins.
Garth Hewitt, Founder, Amos Trust
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A prayer for Gaza - 14th November 2012
God of many names, I cry out to you:
As the bombs pound Gaza again
As more children die,
And more and more will carry the scars and psychological wounds.
As medical staff try to respond with depleted stocks,
And numbers of casualties mount.
As the missiles fly against Israeli cities,
And fear and hatred grows in each community.
As political lies are fed us in sound bites,
And statistics become currency
In an equation over electoral gains.
As attempts to arrange a cease fire become more frenetic,
And world leaders try to justify the unjustifiable
‘Israel has the right…’
There is no right
It is all wrong.
I am sick of praying for peace.
The words stick in my throat.
I protest and march
Shout slogans and give and lobby and weep.
I want to know how many deaths are required.
How much less is one child worth than another?
How much hatred and fear do we have?
A just future Palestine
Is not a one sided call,
It is the only way
To end this cycle of shame and death.
Amen
Chris Rose , Director, Amos Trust
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Forgotten Gaza
Each Christmas we are reminded that there was no room for the Holy Family.
This year, Lord, we remember forgotten Gaza - being bombed and attacked
once again. There is no room for them in our world.
This Advent and Christmas nothing has improved, the people of Gaza are still
forgotten, still imprisoned, still under a medieval type siege, with their water
taken and resources destroyed.
Lord we remember forgotten Gaza – once a beautiful, historic place, now its
people denied human rights, with no proper facilities for the injured and
disabled.
Gaza passed by on the other side by the powerful and by politicians, yet
loved and precious to God.
Lord, we remember forgotten Gaza,
May mercy come, may justice come, may love come, may Christmas come.
You who had no place to lay your head,
You who knew what it was to be despised and rejected,
Have mercy on forgotten Gaza and move our hearts this Christmas to make
room for Gaza, so we work to bring them the gift of justice and the gift of
hope this year.
And also we remember Israel, we pray for those who are frightened and
have lost loved ones and we pray that as justice is given to the Palestinians
they will find their peace and security.
Amen
Garth Hewitt, Founder, Amos Trust
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A prayer for Bethlehem - God’s in your hands
Angels still sing,
Their voices
Whisper off the hill tops,
Bounce off the concrete walls,
Snake their way through checkpoints,
Blanket settlement blocks.
Their whispers swell
And grow and permeate -
‘God is in your hands,
In your arms,
Dependant on you’.
They are still as amazed,
Still hide their dismay,
at their diminished audience.
Yet they let rip
As the band kicks in
‘This way -
No subjugation!
No coercion!
God is in your hands!’
They scream with joy.
They yell as loud as they can.
Row upon row
Filling the night sky
‘Do you get it?
There are no strings attached.
Peace is yours
A baby’s been born.
God is in your hands’. Chris Rose , Director, Amos Trust
A prayer for justice and peace in the land of the Holy One Ramani Leathard, Trustee, Amos Trust
Living Lord, ignite in us a passion for justice
And a yearning to right all wrong.
Strengthen us to work for peace in the land we call Holy:
for peace among Jew, Christian and Muslim for reconciliation between
communities for harmony between faiths.
Inspire us to act with the urgency of your quickening fire, for blessed are the
peacemakers they shall be called the children of God.
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Challenging injustice – Rebuilding hope - Christmas Appeal 2012.
We hope that everyone using the Bethlehem Pack will organise a collection at one
of their Advent, Christmas or carol services to raise funds for our Christmas 2012
appeal to rebuild a family’s demolished home in Bethlehem.
In April 2013 Amos Trust will be working with local Palestinian families, the Holy Land
Trust and a team of volunteers to rebuild a family’s demolished home in the village
of Al Walajah, just outside Bethlehem. Homes in the village have been bulldozed by
the Israeli army and the families’ farm land taken. Soon the village will be
completely surrounded by the Separation Wall.
“We do not call it a house demolition. We call it a family demolition”
Rebuilding this home will not only transform the lives of the family, but it will give
hope to the local community. Helping these people to rebuild is to stand with them
in solidarity against the injustice of home demolitions, and to ensure that they know
they not forgotten by the rest of the world.
We need to raise £25,000 to pay for everything we need to rebuild the house from
bricks, cement, light fittings, even the kitchen sink!
Our shopping list includes:
10,000 concrete blocks, 20 blocks cost £5.00
140 bags of cement - £10.00 each
8 light fittings - £20.00 each
2 sinks- £35.00 each
1 toilet - £50.00 each
1 roof top water tank - £125.00
Plus we are looking to raise a further £12,000 for the salary for the community field
worker. This role is a vital part of the project, as the field worker will not only run the
rebuilding project, but they will also support the family and local community before,
during and after the rebuild.
If you are holding a retiring collection, make sure you let people know how the
money will be spent and what different amounts of money could buy.
You can make an online donation via www.amostrust.org/support or send a cheque
payable to Amos Trust to Amos Trust 4th Floor Development House, 56 – 64 Leonard
Street, London EC2A 4LT.
This Christmas, help a family return home and add your voice to challenge the
injustice of home demolitions.
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www.amostrust.org [email protected] t: +44 20 7588 2638 reg.charity no. 292592
Video Resources
Here are some suggestions of film clips you could use in a church service this Christmas.
Click on the links to see the videos on YouTube.
You can also find all the links on the download section of our website:
www.amostrust.org/downloads
Bethlehem: Hidden from View
This documentary features interviews with Christian Palestinians living in Bethlehem and is
ideal for use in small groups. You can see a promo here:
You can buy a DVD copy for £5.00 from www.amostrust.org/shop
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, played by Basel Zayed on the Oud.
Basel Zayed plays the Oud, a traditional Palestinian instrument in this video which
features images of the Separation wall using animation.
To watch the trailer either paste this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9i7G5JtHv4
into your browser or click here.
Little Town of Bethlehem
Little Town of Bethlehem is a moving and eye-opening documentary which follows three
young men of different faiths on their journey to choosing to engage and teach non-
violent resistance in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
To watch the trailer either paste this http://littletownofbethlehem.org/trailer/ into your
browser or click here. You can also buy the full film from this site.
They’ve cancelled Christmas in Bethlehem
Taken from Garth Hewitt’s Bethlehem, Palestine EP, this track’s challenging lyrics are set
to images from modern day Bethlehem. The images of the Separation Wall and
checkpoints make it ideal for use for reflection in a church service.
To watch the video, either paste this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMyjywN-8Ac
into your browser or click here.
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www.amostrust.org [email protected] t: +44 20 7588 2638 reg.charity no. 292592
What next?
Kairos Palestine Britain and Ireland
Kairos is the Greek word for ‘special or significant moment in time.’ The Kairos Palestine
document is a call to Christians around the world to speak out about the situation in
Palestine. It was written by a group of Palestinian Christian leaders and theologians and
was endorsed by a large number of churches and church groups in Israel, Palestine and
internationally. A global Kairos movement has grown up in response to this call including
Kairos Palestine Britain and Ireland, an umbrella organisation of churches and Christian
groups united in campaigning for justice for the Palestinian people.
Visit www.kairospalestine.org.uk to find out more about this campaign and how your
church can become a member and join the campaign.
Made in Palestine
Made in Palestine is an Amos Trust initiative promoting products to get people talking
about Palestine. The Made in Palestine t-shirts are made in a factory in Bethlehem and
come with a tag directing people to www.madeinpalestine.co.uk where they can find
an intro to the current situation in Bethlehem. Available in red & green in a range of sizes.
£10 each with profits to Amos projects in Palestine.
Visit www.amostrust.org/shop to buy a shirt & see our other campaign items.
Visit the Holy Land
Amos Trust organises alternative pilgrimages to Palestine and Israel. Ideal for first time
visitors who want to visit the historic and Biblical sites as well as find out about the current
situation in Palestine. We run a range of trips for different ages, all based in Bethlehem
and Nazareth.
Because you have to see for yourself to start to understand – trip participant 2012
Visit www.amostrust.org/travel to find out more.