Puppies, Palestine, and what else is new
Well, well, well. Another month without blog posts. I’m getting worse and worse at this. Have had another busy month, spoke at several churches, attended the Friends of Sabeel conference in DC (and got to reconnect with Spirit-filled trouble maker Heber Brown III, whose Faith in Action blog I definitely recommend!), and attended (and much to my surprise participated in) an incredible, spirit-filled, action-for-justice-motivating worship service prepared by some of my best friends here in DC in preparation for the National Equality March. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures available soon.
Also I played with and fell madly in love with a puppy named Anja. Pictures on my Facebook page.
I am in love with this puppy
Let’s see what I’ve got for you here.
Lots of great updates on the US Campaign’s blog, click here.
Some of you will remember my friend Mousa, who was held in administrative detention (imprisonment without charge or trial) for 14 months before being release.
Well, administrative detention has claimed another Palestinian activist. Mohammad Othman, who I met in the village of Jayyous while working with a Sabeel delegation, was arrested after returning from Norway, where he was spreading the word about nonviolent resistance in the West Bank and how the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement supports such resistance. You can find out more about Mohammad’s situation, and take action, by clicking here.
Speaking of Mousa, I chatted with him the other day and he tells me that his organizations, the Palestine Solidarity Project, needs funds to help farmers in the Saffa area whose trees have been attacked and destroyed by settler groups. Click here to find out more about PSP and donate. Mousa’s village of Beit Ommar has had to once again deal with tragedy this past week, as Mehdi Sa’id Abu Ayyesh, a 17 year old who was shot in the head with live ammunition by the Israeli military in March 2009, died of his wounds. His funeral was attacked by the Israeli military, a common occurrence in Beit Ommar.
My friend Bekah, who happens to be Mousa’s partner and one of the co-founders of PSP, will be on a speaking tour in the U.S. soon. I’ll publish dates below.
Finally, a couple of videos to share.
First off, here’s Father Miguel d’Escoto, outgoing president of the UN General Assembly and Nicaraguan liberation theologian, talking to Paul Jay of The Real News about the UN and Palestine. It’s worth watching, as is another segment in which he talks about the UN’s response to poverty and the need to reform the United Nations:
And here’s one of the winning entries from the Ctrl.Alt.Shift film competition, “No Way Through,” which puts the situation in the West Bank in perspective by imagining what it would be like to try to get an ambulance in London if it was filled with checkpoints and cut in half by the apartheid wall. Check it out, and see the rest of the competition winners by clicking here (warning: this is a little bit graphic):
Ctrl.Alt.Shift Film Competition Winner: No Way Through from Ctrl.Alt.Shift on Vimeo.
That’s all for now. A couple of posts have been bumping around in my mind, we’ll see if I can get them out on paper anytime soon. Peace.
