The women’s Bible study meets twice a month to read and discuss a Bible passage. There are usually about ten women who attend the meetings. This week, on June 6th, the passage they focused on was the story of Jesus in Capernaum.
Sabeel Nazareth launched the book “Haifa” by Dr. Johnny Mansour in a large public event. The new book on the history of Jewish-Arab life in Haifa contains valuable anecdotes and facts, and represents the richness of the city’s pre-Ottoman past and the occupation of 1948.
Sabeel held its annual retreat for clergy and their spouses at the International Marie de Nazareth Center in Nazareth. This time together is held annually as an opportunity for clergy and their wives from Israel and Palestine to exchange post-Easter greetings and this time to reconnect with Rev. Naim Ateek as he shares Sabeel’s future plans.
Mr. Sami Sima’an, a refugee from the town of Beisan, met the community of Sabeel Nazareth to share his story. The meeting was emotional as Mr. Sima’an recalled his memories of Beisan and the way he was forced out of his home. the audience, being themselves refugees, reflected on their experience of dispossession and displacement. Rula Nasr Mazzawi, from the “Association for the Defenence of the Rights of the Displaced”, presented the international law perspective on the matter.
The youth visited sha’ab village as part of learning their history. The visitincluded a tour in the Orthodox Church with Father Nasser. Father Nasser shared the history of the church and thevillage. Most of Sha’ab’s original residents became internally displaced refugees, settling in nearby Arab villages, predominantly in Majd al-Krum and Sakhnin.
Israel exerts pressure and legislate laws as the “Nakba Law”, to punish those who present a narrative different than the one Israel gives.
Sabeel organized an international witness visit from the 10th to the 18th of May 2016 with the theme Living Together – An Interfaith Mosaic – A Window into the Religious Communities Living in The Land of The Holy One.
This past week, 25 international Friends of Sabeel have been participating in the Sabeel Spring Witness Visit from seven different countries. For some, this is their first visit to Palestine-Israel; for others this is one of many visits to the area. All have had their eyes opened and hearts broken by what they have seen and heard.
Fr. Suhail Khoury led a bible study on the meaning of lent and Easter to a group of children in Nazareth.
In April 2016, Mr. Khaled Awad led the women`s group of Sabeel on a tour to the Nazareth Heritage Museum. The tour was a journey to the past to rediscover the Palestinian history of Nazareth.
During the month of April, Sabeel hosted a community Easter egg hunt in Bethlehem for children living in orphanages. The hunt was planned for mid-April so as to fall between both the Western and Eastern celebrations of Easter.
God, we thank you for this opportunity to share joy and happiness with children whose lives have not allowed for much of that. Be present with your children, and let it be a moment for them to forget the current political struggles, and instead rejoice in the good news Easter brings.
