Sabeel Wave of Prayer
28th of July, 2022
On Tuesday the 2nd of August the Kumi Now community looks at the Geneva Convention, adopted in 1949. Article 33 of the fourth Geneva Convention outlaws the use of collective punishment. And yet, Israel has used collective punishment as one of the key components in its policies towards Palestine, apparently without drawing down international condemnation.
- Lord, we pray that the Israeli government will change its stance regarding the use of collective punishment towards Palestinians. We pray that international organisations and governments around the world will hold Israel to account for breaching international law. Lord, in your mercy..
Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of thirty US churches, released a statement on Tuesday, the 19th of July, expressing disappointment with President Biden’s visit to Israel and Palestine. It stated, ‘while affirming the US/Israel relationship and the billions of dollars of US assistance that go with it, the President said almost nothing about the abuses committed by Israel with that assistance against Palestinians’.
- Lord, we pray that the US administration will follow up on this visit by starting to speak out against the Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians. Lord, in your mercy…
The US Presbyterian Church has declared that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people constitutes apartheid. The General Assembly voted decisively for the resolution on Friday, the 8th of July.
- Lord we give thanks for the clear declaration of the US Presbyterian Church. We pray that this resolution will be ‘pursued with the hope it will lead to a peaceful reconciliation for the people of Israel and Palestine, similar to that which occurred in South Africa when apartheid was internationally acknowledged.’ Lord, in your mercy…
Kabelo Masalesa , an 11-year-old boy from Alexandra, South Africa, drowned in a swimming pool in Palestine when his team was visiting to take part in a football tournament. His team was one of eighteen teams which had been sponsored to participate in the tournament from the 13th-21st of July.
- Lord, we pray for the family and friends of Kabelo who are grieving for their sudden loss. We pray that the links forged between young footballers from both countries will not be broken by this tragic accident. Lord, in your mercy…
The Palestinian composer, Ahmed Abu Abed won first place at the USA Music Composition International Competition in June 2022. Abu Abed is a music teacher at the Modern American School in Amman, Jordan. He will travel to New York in early 2023 to perform his prize-winning piece before a live audience.
- Lord, we give thanks for the international recognition of Abu Abed’s musical gifts. We are thankful for his longing to share his heritage of expressive Palestinian folk tunes through his orchestral compositions. Lord, in your mercy..
Young Palestinian musicians were invited to perform concerts in Ankara and Istanbul this July. Palestinians from the diaspora joined together with musicians from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah to perform with Turkish musicians from the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. The young musicians wanted to send a message of peace through their concert performances.
- Lord, we are thankful for the unifying power of music and for the way young musicians have been drawn together from Palestine, from the diaspora and from Turkey to learn from one another and to convey their mutual longing for peace. Lord, in your mercy…
After a long struggle with illness, Archbishop Gabriel Daho died on Thursday, the 21st of July. Three years ago he was consecrated as the Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Holy Land and Jordan by Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem ll, the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
- Lord, we give thanks for the life and service of Archbishop Gabriel Daho. We pray for members of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, which represents one of the oldest Christian communities in the region. Lord, in your mercy…
- We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Lord, in your mercy…