On Sunday 26 June, Friends of Sabeel France held a virtual meeting with the French Development Agency, Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Hani Kort gave a presentation about AFD’s work in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The agency focuses on water and other development projects.   AFD funds, supports, and accelerates the transtitions to a fairer and more sustainable world. Focusing on climate, biodiversity, peace, education, urban development, health, and governance, AFD carries out projects around the world.

Since last year, Sabeel has held meetings once every two months in French for our French speakers in Palestine. Many Palestinians speak languages in addition to Arabic and English. This gives us the opportunity to connect in many ways with our local community and our partners. The next meeting will be held on Sunday 18 September about the Palestine Museum of Natural History.

On Tuesday 21^st of June, a group from the St. Olaf College Alumni visited Sabeel. They came to hear a Palestinian Christian voice and to learn about how Sabeel is contributing to a just peace. Rev. Naim Ateek and Sabeel’s Director Omar Haramy spoke to the group, emphasizing Sabeel’s core message of justice, equality, and inclusivity. They stressed the point that any just peace should be based on international law and UN resolutions.

On Tuesday 21 June, Sabeel held its weekly Kumi Now meeting about Palestinian refugees and the right of return. Sandra Khoury, President of the Sabeel Board, shared the story of her family and how they became refugees from Jerusalem in 1948. This Kumi Now was organized in commemoration of Refugee Week, which is held during the week of World Refugee Day, June 20.

Refugee Week is a festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Founded in 1998 and held every year around World Refugee Day on 20 June, Refugee Week is also a growing global movement.

According to the UN, there were about 750,000 Palestine refugees in 1950. Now, there are approximately 5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees live in other parts of the world. The Palestinian people are still fighting for recognition, for citizenship and social services in the places where they currently live, and for the right of return to the homes and land their families were forced to leave in 1948 and 1967 by the Israeli military and, before the state of Israel was founded, by Zionist militias. 

On Friday 17 June, Sabeel held a meeting for the steering committee of the health insurance initiative. The committee shared the initial results of its evaluation of the project.

On Friday 17 June, Sabeel Nazareth held an event to honour Violette Khoury as she retires from leading the group after twenty years. Violette has been a supporter of the work of Sabeel from its beginnings. She has lived her whole life in very difficult circumstances as a Palestinian citizen of Israel. Yet she has still managed to run her own pharmacy, support her family, and engage in advocacy work for Sabeel.

On Friday 17^th of June, a group led by a close friend of Sabeel, Michael Spath, visited Sabeel on a tour of the city of Ramallah. Michel Spath served as a co-chair of the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) for three years and on the board of FOSNA for six years. The group’s visit came through the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace to learn more about the Palestinian struggle for justice and peace. The group discussed Palestinian Liberation Theology and what hope is there for Palestinians living under such harsh circumstances. Before the talk, Sabeel’s Director Omar Haramy led the group on a short tour of Ramallah where they visited the Nelson Mandela Statue andthe grave of the late President Yasser Arafat, who is seen by many as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle.

On Thursday 16 June, Father David Neuhaus led the weekly Sabeel online service. Father David is an Israeli Jesuit born to German Jewish parents in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to Israel at the age of 15 years. He became a Roman Catholic at the age of 26 and an ordained priest in Jerusalem at 38. He has held a number of teaching and pastoral roles. Father David is currently the Secretary-General Coordinator in Jerusalem responsible for communication to the Synod.

On Thursday 16^th of June, a group of students from Notre Dame University visited Sabeel. The group consisted of professors and students from the Political Science Department at the university. During the visit, the group was eager to learn more about Palestinian Liberation Theology, especially what the Christian faith has to say about it. After the discussion, Sabeel conducted its first Ministry of the Word service, since the pandemic started. Sabeel’s Director Omar Haramy introduced the readings of the previous Sunday, connecting them to the daily lives of Palestinians.

On Thursday 16 June, Sabeel participated in a virtual international gathering organized by the United Church of Canada for its ecumenical and interfaith partners. The event began with an opening discussion about the topic of “To what are these times calling us as people of faith?” The participants heard from many religious and civil society leaders and met in smaller groups to discuss this topic.

Over 100 Christian organizations and organizational leaders in the U.S. signed a petition organized by the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) to President Joe Biden. The petition calls on President Biden to help protect and defend the Palestinian Christian presence in Jerusalem and to meet with local Christian leaders. The two-page letter expresses deep concern about the Israeli government’s lack of seriousness in protecting Palestinian Christians, including clergy, from harassment and insults, as well as turning a blind eye to Israeli settler groups’ “campaign to take over church properties in the old city of Jerusalem.” The letter states that these extremist groups “are no longer fringe groups in Israel but are now openly represented in the Knesset and even within the ruling government coalition.”