Thursday | January 31, 2008

Ho hum, more snow in Jerusalem

Well, it's another snow day here in Jerusalem. I'm currently debating whether or not to try to get to Bethlehem to help put together stuff for this big honkin' group of Methodists that's going to start showing up this weekend.

In the meantime, thought I would share this poem sent to me by my co-conspirator, professor, thesis advisor, and fellow "voice for communism on campus" (actual accusation expressed towards the puny peace and social justice group that Mali and I started) at WAC, Dr. Wade.



Conscientious Objector by Edna St Vencent Millay

I shall die, but
that is all that I shall do for Death.
I hear him leading his horse out of the stall;
I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste; he has business in Cuba,
business in the Balkans, many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle
while he clinches the girth.
And he may mount by himself:
I will not give him a leg up.


Though he flick my shoulders with his whip,
I will not tell him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast, I will not tell him where
the black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death;
I am not on his pay-roll.


I will not tell him the whereabout of my friends
nor of my enemies either.
Though he promise me much,
I will not map him the route to any man's door.
Am I a spy in the land of the living,
that I should deliver men to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of our city
are safe with me; never through me Shall you be overcome.

Posted by David at 03:49:16 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) |

Wednesday | January 30, 2008

City of...snow?

No, for real. It is windy, wet, cold, and snowy out there. I have the day of from work. I'm probably going to do all sorts of awesome stuff....like sleep. And read. And be warm.

Photos on my facebook page!
Posted by David at 05:13:19 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | January 29, 2008

Yep, still lame.

So, after stealing two posts from CPT, I will now continue the lame by posting my monthly update that I send home to church folks and other interested fellow travels.

I know, I'm lame. But I'm hoping that the frequency of my posts these past few weeks sort of makes up for it? Maybe?

Whatever. Everyone's a critic.



Dear Friends,

Greetings and peace to you from the windy and, possibly tonight, snowy Mount of Olives in Jerusalem ! Tonight I am very grateful to be inside in my heated room in the Lutheran World Federation guest house here on the Mount of Olives . I ask for your prayers for the Bedouin tribes of this area, the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills, the residents of Gazaand the homeless population in Israel , as all of these groups are suffering either from the lack of shelter or a lack of power for heating as the weather here takes a turn for the worst. Hectic.   
January has been a very busy month here, full of both joy and mourning. Sabeel has been very busy, with lots of Christmases, lots of groups visiting, and plenty of programs to work on. We held a successful joint young adult program in Haifa , and have begun serious planning for our upcoming Witness Visit and conferences. We also finished a successful advent program, which focused on forgiveness. And we took time to relax and enjoy each other's company, sharing a New Year's lunch at Rev. Naim Ateek(the director of Sabeel)'s house, with AMAZING food provided by Maha Ateek!

I have continued attending the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City , but have also had the opportunity to worship with several other groups. I attended a Shabbat service at the Kol HaNeshama synagogue, which is attended by many members of Rabbis for Human Rights. It was a humbling experience to pray with a congregation that prays ancient prayers every week, wishing one week goodbye and welcoming in a day of rest and breath. I also had the blessing of playing guitar and worshipping with the East Jerusalem Baptist Church , which is pastored by Rev. Alex Awad, a Palestinian American who is supported in his ministry by the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church ! It was a true joy to meet Alex, his wife Brenda, and his small, international (and local) congregation. After missing each other several times over the course of the 4 months I have been here, I was finally able to connect with them through a member of the congregation who I met in the airport on the way to Cairo ! It was great to play guitar and also to sing from the Methodist hymnal!

In fact, this has been a Methodist-heavy month all around. I have spoken to groups from our Garrett-Evangelical seminary in Illinois , a United Methodist-affiliated college in Virginia , and several groups who were here through Educational Opportunities. I also had coffee at Rev. Ateek's house with Bishop Judy Craig. To each of these groups I have tried to communicate something of what I do here, and to urge them to support mission, as it is the relationships and connections that we make in mission that allow us to do the work of God in the world. I have also reminded them that being in mission means acting for justice and peace, something this region of the world desperately needs--and something our own country needs, as well. This weekend, I will begin travelling with a group sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries--90 Methodists for 12 days! I will travel, listen, and learn with them. I'm looking forward to a great, draining experience.
I am also thankful and joyful to report that our international young adult Bible study has finally taken off. With the holidays over, and with our decision to move the study from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, we have gone from 2 people to 5 people to 10 people this past weekend! I led a study on Matthew 18 and its implications for how we make peace and reconcile within our communities, and my friend Rachelle who is here with the Mennonite Church of Canada to work at Wi'am (a GBGM partner project, as well) led a study on the Tower of Babel story. Thanks to God, this ministry is growing! Please pray that we continue to be blessed with guidance, humility, and the wisdom to listen.

Unfortunately, I have to report that this month there has been much sadness and struggle in this land as well. Many of you have heard of events in Gaza this month. The Israeli government decided to cut off power supply and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, resulting in power outages, sewage overflows, bread shortages, and limited services from hospitals. In response, many Israeli organizations organized a convoy and demonstration to the Erez crossing into Gaza . They were joined by many Palestinians and internationals, including myself and friends and coworkers. We marched for an end to the siege of Gaza and an end to the rocket fire that is being used to justify the blockade and military incursions into Gaza . Although the violence here is disproportionate to the extreme--Qassam rockets are homemade devices that more often than not land either back in Gaza or in the middle of the desert--the cycle of violence causes suffering and anger on both sides of the border, so it was important that this demonstration be a cooperative effort. We symbolically ushered a truck full of food and supplies to the Gaza border and asked to be let in. Although it was frustrating that we were not able to do more, it was good to see so many people (around 1500) from so many different backgrounds come together to ask for justice and peace. (To read a statement from Bishop Felton May of GBGM on the Gaza closure, please visit http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/pr.cfm?articleid=4803)

On a more personal note, the reality of the situation hit home for me in an unexpected way this month. A friend of mine in the village of Beit Omar in the West Bank was hit by shrapnel in the head when soldiers fired on a demonstration in the village. He is ok, but at least one teenage boy from the village was killed because the soldiers used live ammunition to fire into the crowd. I have not yet been able to visit my friends in Beit Omar, but please keep them and this whole situation in your prayers.

Please pray for me, for my ministry here, for the ministry of Sabeel, for my fellow young adult missionaries, and for justice, peace, and reconciliation in this divided land. If you would like to join Sabeel in our prayers, you can visit our website at http://www.sabeel.org/etemplate.php?id=58, where we post a weekly set of prayers. Also, if you have found anything in this email confusing, challenging, or disturbing, if you have any questions about what I do here or about the situation, or if you are interested in supporting any of the Board of Global Ministries projects that I have mentioned, please contact me--I'd love to hear from you! (dhosey2@gmail.com).

Your prayers and support are what keep me going through what is often a frustrating, disturbing, and heartbreaking place to live. I often struggle here with feelings of uselessness, unearned privilege, and doubt. But it is in these places that the grace of love of God shines so surprisingly, and that Jesus can be born into my life again and again. Rev. Awad reminded me this Sunday that, against the flaming arrows of doubt, rage, failure, and internal violence, we are called to lift the shield of faith
(Eph 6). It is your prayers and your support that make this possible for me. I thank God for you.

May the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in all ways. The Lord be with all of you! (2 Thess 3:16).

In Christ,
David 

 

Posted by David at 18:19:35 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Hahaha

Ok, not to keep stealing posts from CPT, and not to make light of the harassment faced by Palestinian villagers in the South Hebron Hills....but soldiers mooning people? That's kind of funny, at least.

CPTnet
29 January 2008
AT-TUWANI: Christian Peacemaker Teams releases video of soldiers exposing buttocks to Palestinian shepherd and international volunteers.


Friday, 11 January 2008, soldiers from the Israeli Army displayed their buttocks in a gesture known colloquially as “mooning” to a Palestinian shepherd and two international volunteers from Christian Peacemaker Teams.

The incident occurred immediately after settlers from the Hill 833 settlement outpost, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, pushed the shepherd and his flock off the land. The shepherd from the Palestinian village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills was grazing his flock in fields several hundred meters south of the outpost when settlers from the outpost approached in a white car. (Settlers from the outpost are well known in the area for their attacks on local Palestinian shepherds, farmers, and schoolchildren.) More settlers arrived, along with Israeli soldiers, causing the shepherd to move back to a safer location. The soldiers informed the international volunteers accompanying the shepherd that the shepherd was not permitted to graze on the land, despite the fact Israeli courts have recognized Palestinian ownership of the land, and the Israeli Army itself had previously issued a demolition order, never carried out, for the Hill 833 outpost.

Even after the shepherd moved farther down the valley, the soldiers and a settler security guard followed him. Not content at having pushed the shepherd back, before leaving, two soldiers dropped their pants and displayed their buttocks to the shepherd and the international volunteers in a lewd, insulting manner. For video, of their actions see http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6505926642890909661&hl=en-GB

The incident was part of ongoing harassment in the area of Palestinian shepherds by Israeli settlers and security forces. The following day, settlers from the outpost fired six shots at the shepherds. The police did not respond to that incident. The day after the shooting, Sunday, 14 January, settlers armed with clubs came at the shepherds to push them off the land again. On Monday, 15 January, Israeli soldiers threatened shepherds with arrest. This harassment is part of an ongoing process of illegal settlement expansion in the area.

Posted by David at 16:44:02 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Storm Coming

Musa is ok, he didn't require surgery. Looks like he was hit by shrapnel. However, the situation here is still looking pretty grim, and I don't just mean the insane weather that is currently cloaking Jerusalem in wind and fog and, by tonight, is supposed to give us some snow.

Here's a CPT update about the situation:


CPTnet
28 January 2008
SPECIAL HEBRON UPDATE: Gaza, Beit Ummar, and Hebron, 25-27 January 2008

The Hebron team responded in many directions as events unfolded in Gaza, Beit Ummar, and Hebron this past weekend.

Friday morning, 25 January, the team received news that two Palestinians were killed attempting an attack in the settlement of Gush Etzion. CPT later learned that the two dead were from Beit Ummar and closely related to friends of the team. The Israeli army entered Beit Ummar during Friday prayers, surrounding the mosque.

As the team determined a response for Beit Ummar, four team members on a tour of Shuhada Street with the Israeli group Breaking the Silence witnessed Israeli settler harassment against the Israeli tour leaders.

Meanwhile CPT Hebron was preparing to send two team members to participate in an Israeli-organized relief convoy to Gaza. Jessica Frederick and Paulette Schroeder left to join the Gaza convoy. Dianne Roe and Eileen Hanson traveled to Beit Ummar.

Roe and Hanson learned that the Israeli army was using live ammunition and had killed eighteen-year-old Mohammed Mahmoud Awwad, and injured several including Musa Abu Maria, a Beit Ummar non-violence organizer. Following the burial of Awwad, Palestinian youth threw stones and the Israeli Army responded with tear gas. Roe and Hanson, caught in the teargas, took shelter in the home of a villager. CPTer Tarek Abuata traveled from At-Tuwani to stay overnight in the hospital with Abu Maria. The hospital released Abu Maria on Saturday, 26 January; he did not require surgery.

Sunday afternoon, 27 January, Mary Wendeln, Kathie Uhler, and Roe visited Beit Ummar again to call on the families of the two killed at Gush Etzion. Relatives still await the return of the bodies.

On the way from Beit Ummar, Wendeln received a phone call that the Israeli army was detaining six Palestinian teenagers near Avraham Avinu settlement in Hebron’s old city. Wendeln called Schroeder who went to the scene with Jean Fallon. Roe and Wendeln joined them upon arrival in Hebron. Roe called Zleekha Muhtaseb, a friend of the team, and was able to give her the names of the boys detained. Muhtaseb and Uhler went to the families of the boys. As the Israeli army handcuffed and blindfolded the young men and led them to a paddy wagon, relatives of the boys poured into the streets, surrounding the vehicle. Roe and Wendeln joined the mothers in blocking the vehicle, entreating the police to let family members go with their sons to the police station. The mothers backed down and cried as their sons were taken away. At midnight, the Israeli authorities released the boys.

For photos of the standoff at the personnel carrier, go to http://www.cpt.org/gallery/album234

Posted by David at 03:25:17 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Sunday | January 27, 2008

themes



Sometimes, when it comes to wounded people or struggling communities, I think that we're called to just let them be good enough for us, for now.


I am awfully bad at this. But I think most of the time, when I think I'm "being challenging" or "being prophetic" or "speaking truth to power" or "holding people accountable" it's just an excuse for me to be self-righteous and judgmental and right.


We have to love each other into God's new realm of justice and peace. And most of the time, I think I'm trying to batter my way in, just like the gospel writer predicted.


Good enough, for now...

Posted by David at 15:48:13 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday | January 25, 2008

real.

This is a press release I got today from the Palestine Solidarity Project in Beit Omar:

"Subject: PalestineSolidarity: PSP Co-Founder Shot in the Head


For Immediate Release:
 
 
The Israeli Occupation Forces went on a rampage in Beit Ommar earlier today.  As they entered the village, which is assumed to be a retaliatory act for a shooting of settlers in the Kfar Etzion settlement, an unarmed impromptu demonstration was quickly organized by the Palestinians.  Israeli soldiers then opened fire on the non-violent demonstration. 
 
1 man is confirmed dead and 7-10 others were wounded when shot with live ammunition.  Mousa Abu Maria, co-founder of PSP, was shot in the head twice.  He is undergoing surgery in a hospital in Hebron.  His family is hopeful that he will be ok.  We will send updates as soon as we have them."
 

I am worried that if I call Mousa my friend, I am laying claim to something that is not my own. I cannot say that I have known him for a long time, that I have grown up with him, that I share memories with him the likes of which his close friends and family do. I have met Mousa twice. He has a quiet, solid presence which I admire. He has a small scar on his face that makes his smile sad. He speaks in low, quiet tones about his time in prison. He is committed to nonviolence. He was interested in working more with people from Sabeel. I drank tea in his house. These are the sorts of things I can say about him.

It appears that Mousa will live. He was most likely shot with rubber-coated steel bullets. If you want to know more, you can go to http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/

For me, this is something shocking and raw and real. For too many people, this is what you wait for, day in and day out, wait for it to happen to your friend or your son or your daughter or to you.

There is an ugly piece of myself which has wanted something to happen these past few weeks, something to break the simmering tension. There is an ugly piece, that perhaps is inside all of us, that wants action, excitement, adventure, something to protest.

The beatitudes tell us that those who mourn are blessed. And that is where we begin, fighting back that ugly thing, conquering it with love. Because it hits home. And it is real. And when you mourn--when you really being to feel tired of this, weary, as the hymn says, of all trumpeting--the ugly thing hangs its head and asks for forgiveness.

Are we tired of this, yet?

Posted by David at 17:17:39 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday | January 24, 2008

guitars

I just got home after playing guitar with some folks from the East Jerusalem Baptist Church, which is pastored by Alex and Brenda Awad, fellow United Methodist Mission Personnel (don't be fooled by the name--sort of like the Lutheran church I usually go to, denominational identity sort of goes out the window in the international community here).

I was invited to come by a guy named Raymond whom I met on the plane to Cairo.

And when I got there, there were several people I knew from playing volleyball on the Mount of Olives.

Anyway, sometimes it's the simple things--shared music and a shared meal--that sets our hearts back on track.

(Don't get me wrong. I'm still pissed about Gaza).

But I am happy, right now. And that counts for something.

Posted by David at 17:27:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Wednesday | January 23, 2008

Gaza

Things that you will hear about in the news:

1) "masked gunmen" blew holes in the wall between Gaza and Egypt
2) Israel expects Egypt to "solve the crisis." Not the crisis of Gazans not having enough food, or enough electricity to pump sewage or to keep hospitals functional. No, the 'crisis' of Gazans pouring into Egypt to buy food and materials that are prohibitively expensive in Gaza due to the blockade
3) Israel thinks Hamas is exploiting the Israeli blockade and had this planned for a long time
4) Israel is concerned that Hamas will use this occasion to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

Things you probably won't hear that much about:

1) The women and children that stormed the Rafah border crossing the day before the wall came down, in an amazing example of nonviolent protest
2) The absolutely degrading manner in which Israeli officials refer to the situation in Gaza, from Olmert's comments that "They can walk as far as I'm concerned" (while sewage floods the streets and hospitals have to determine which equipment gets power and which doesn't, thus being forced to choose which patients are treated and which aren't) to the suggestion that the crisis is Gazans being able to get out rather than NOT being able to get out to the oft-repeated statement that Israel "won't allow a humanitarian crisis to happen in Gaza."
3) It's pretty easy to "win international sympathy" when PEOPLE ARE UNDER F***ING SIEGE!!!!
4) If Hamas wants weapons, they have to smuggle them in through tunnels. Israel just buys them from us, and then uses them to assasinate people (who are, ironically, deemed militants. What does that make the pilots of the f'ing attack helicopters????) or fire rockets at cars on busy streets or destroy entire olive fields or demolish houses.


Here are two articles if you're interested: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/947226.html 
                                                                  http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/23/africa/24gaza-nyt.php?page=1

Sorry if I sound angry. I am. This is what the powerful mean by peace.

This is what the powerless mean by injustice.



Posted by David at 15:05:26 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday | January 22, 2008

We won't be afraid

"God is our refuge and our strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Therefore, we won't be afraid, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult." --Psalm 46



"Considering how dangerous everything is, nothing is really very frightening."--Gertrude Stein



I wish I could get my heart to believe what my head can accept. In the meantime, though, I suppose that "not being afraid" probably means I should go do something I'm afraid of.


Gaza border crossing, here we come.



(On Saturday, 26 January 2008, a humanitarian convoy of supplies headed by peace and human rights organisations will go from Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva to the Gaza Strip border, decked with signs "Lift the Blockade!"  The convoy will meet up at 12.00 noon at Yad Mordechai Junction and all will then travel together to a hill which overlooks the Strip, where a demonstration will take place at 13:00.  Speakers will be Shulamit Aloni, Uri Avnery, Ronit Matalon, Hassan Jabareen and Prof. Jeff Halper.  There will be a 'phone link between the Israeli demo and hundreds of Gazans on the Gaza side in Gaza City at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, demonstrating as part of the Palestinian-International Campaign to End the Siege," one of whose spokesmen is psychiatrist and human rights activist, Dr. Eyad Sarraj.

The convoy will contain sacks of flour, food supplies and other essential products, especially water filters.  Water supplies in Gaza are polluted, with nitrates at a level ten times the maximum recommended by the World Health Organisation.  Due to the Israeli blockade, Gaza has a critical shortage of water filters, creating an intolerable violation of minimum humanitarian standards. 

Organisers of the convoy will be appealing to the army for immediate permission for the goods to be allowed into the Strip, and are prepared for an ongoing campaign next to the border crossings, together with a public and judicial appeal; nearby kibbutzim, which are within the range of the Qassam rockets and mortars, have offered their warehouses for storage of the convoy's goods.

A simultaneous demonstration will be taking place in Rome, Italy.  There will also be demonstrations in various cities in America, at the initiative of San Francisco-based Jewish Voice for Peace.


Despite unilateral evacuation of 7,000 settlers, the Gaza Strip remains Occupied Territory and the situation of its residents is increasingly worsening.  The government of Israel continues to control its airspace, territorial waters, population registry, tax system, supply of goods, freedom of movement and access to healthcare.   Entry and exit of people and goods is completely controlled by Israel, and is currently under total closure, so that the Strip has actually become the largest prison in the world.

We sympathize with Sderot's residents and others living near the border, exposed to traumatising Qassam rockets, but siege and collective punishment are no answer: although 1.5 million men, women and children are denied basic necessities, driven to the edge of starvation, Israel is increasing the daily deathtoll among Palestinians, many of whom are civilians, whilst the rocket fire has increased. Few Israelis ask why several Palestinian ceasefire offers have been rejected out of hand by the Israeli government.  We'll go to the Gaza border, in cooperation with Palestinian partners inside Gaza, to show there's an alternative to siege and rocketfire--an alternative of peace.)


Posted by David at 04:28:21 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |
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