Oppressed people around the world have often felt the need to counter the false images of which they have been done to them. We are aware that the majority of people, especially in the western nations, are unfamiliar with the Palestinian story. It is about time for us to take up the task of telling it, through our words and the images that speak volumes for themselves.
A Nonviolent Response to the Occupation: The movement of the IsraelPalestine conflict through nonviolent means is now accelerating. There is a window of opportunity to reach a just settlement. In spite of past setbacks and much scepticism, many people on both sides of the conflict cling to the hope for peace. As people of faith, the God we believe in is the God of hope and peace.
We must not give in to despair. Regardless of whether this new opportunity bears fruit in the political arena, we believe that serious ethical and moral issues pertaining to the occupation still need to be addressed by people of faith. Hence the challenge is for churches to consider seriously the issue of morally responsible investment.
Naim Ateek provides an authentic restatement of the Gospel message of liberation within the very special setting of the Palestinian tragedy. He does so with an astonishing persistence in continuing to affirm that justice is not only demand but reconciliation.
: This volume contains papers given at a conference held in Jerusalem in 1996 under the auspices of Sabeel Liberation Theology Center. The papers published here cover a wide range of pressing matters, which not only emphasise the complexity of the problem but also express a prophetic vision for a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.
It is a collection of personal and eyewitness testimonies by a number of our brothers and sisters from different
backgrounds and faiths, most of them over seventy years of age, who lived through the Nakba. Here they tell their own stories, their own experiences of what happened in 1948. They describe what they and their loved ones went through, and how those events have impacted their lives and the lives of their families and friends. In this booklet Sabeel presents their testimonies exactly as narrated, without any tampering or change. It is important to point out that the narratives were presented in Arabic and then translated to English.
The papers in this volume were delivered viva voce at the 1998 Sabeel International Conference. Each was followed by formal questions in the plenary sessions, and more intimate discussion in other gatherings. In most cases, the speakers took account of these exchanges as they prepared their papers for publication. However, in a small number of papers, the editors, wishing to retain the immediately and intimacy of the spoken word, decided to publish texts with minimum concessions to the requirements of the academe.
The Course uses a liberation theology approach to bible study, encouraging individual responses to the bible passages and inviting participants to reflect on what God might be saying to us in the context of our world today, and specifically the Palestine-Israel context. We have chosen for particular consideration the experience of life in the shadow of the hafrada ( separation ) wall, as it currently forms the backdrop in front of which all life, Palestinian and Israeli, is being played out.
This booklet has been designed for use in small discussion groups, although you may wish to use some of the material for personal reflection. The discussions are suggestive only, given to prompt and aid your conversations. Our desire is for you to engage personally with the word of God and the local context, and that the Spirit of God would guide and speak to you through these studies.
All together, nineteen Palestinians and seven persons of various nationalities explore the Palestinian social and historical reality. They chronicle the growing self- awareness of Palestinian Christians of their unique spiritual identity. They recover the biblical grounds for using power and seeking justice. They reveal the role of women in sustaining the Intifada, and they show that Palestinians have grown and changed through this epic struggle for liberation, so much so that there can be no denying them their right to be heard.
The image of the suffering Christ is unique, and key to the Christian faith. The God who experience and overcame the physical and psychological pain of oppression, torture and execution is a source of great hope and strength to those who continue to suffer today. Sabeel seeks to bring alive the message of Christ in the historic context and daily suffering experienced by our Palestinian community. For us the image of the cross with its affliction and pain, and Jesus’ response of gentleness, non-violence, and ultimately resurrection, is one of comfort and inspiration. As Christ himself identified with suffering people and called on his followers to reach out to their need, we too invite our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world to join with us as we search for God in the midst of our affliction.
In these days when life for Palestinian Christians has become extremely difficult and when so many feel that their fellow Christians around the world have indeed forgotten them, it is of great urgency that international and local Christians get to know one another. We trust that these encounters not only give those of you from abroad insight into the lives of those who have sustained their faith in this place since the time of Jesus but also offer hope and encouragement to the Christians of the Holy Land.
