Maria Urkedal York writing from Nablus: Normality in the West Bank

Normality in the West Bank

Maria Urkedal York writing from Nablus, occupied West Bank
Live from Palestine, 27 March 2008
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9419.shtml

"A familiar scenario takes place in front of me. A little boy, no more than four years old, is laughing as he runs back and forth between the line of adults' feet, feet twice the size of his. Typically, with a combination of innocence and courage only found in children's eyes, he is testing how far he can go before his mother will call him back. The reason why this ordinary scene remains in my consciousness is that it is took place at Huwwara military checkpoint, one of the manned posts restricting the movement of people and goods in and out of the West Bank town of Nablus. Although the boy is laughing, making some of us waiting in the line smile, he is also about to be checked by young armed soldiers before he is let out on the other side where dozens of yellow taxis are waiting to take people traveling from Nablus to Huwwara, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalandia, and the elsewhere in the West Bank.

"Unsettling combinations of familiarity and unfamiliarity seem to manifest themselves in every aspect of life here in the West Bank. Recalling the first time I passed through Huwwara checkpoint, I remember that my physical and psychological reaction revealed fear. As I and two colleagues moved slowly forward in the line of other women, children and elderly, the unbalanced and disturbing power relationship between us in the line and the soldiers was mercilessly perceptible. The young men and women, dressed in olive green uniforms, wearing helmets and carrying weapons, have the authority to deny anyone to pass. The people who live here in the West Bank have green permit cards that are checked by the soldiers.

"I remember that my heartbeat increased and I felt that I had done something wrong that was about to be exposed. One minute I felt cold, the next warm. I felt like shouting to the soldiers, "Can't you see what you are doing here?" but instead took some deep breaths while trying not to look at the people around me. I pretended that I could not feel the little boy squeezed between me and the elderly lady next to me. I smiled at the grimace my colleague made as she struggled not to be pushed off-balance by the woman. This was just a normal day. We were just going for a weekend trip to Ramallah, a trip which should take only about 40 minutes if there were no checkpoints. The sun was shining, everyone seemed to know what to do. I remember thinking, "what am I afraid of?" Now as I go though checkpoints, the initial fear I felt the first time has been transformed into a sense of injustice and frustration."

For the full article and a fine photo presentation, please go to: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9419.shtml

Maria Urkedal York is from Norway and currently lives in Nablus where she works with the Right to Education Campaign at An-Najah University.

Easter in Sierra Leone

Our ELCA synod young adult group is visiting the companion church in Sierra Leone. Here is a message sent by Bishop Kanouse on Easter.

Dear NT-NL Friends:

"Jesus Christ is Risen Today! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!" The first Easter cry rang out about 8 PM on Saturday from the terrace of the rising Jubilee Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa. We were joined for the Easter Vigil by about 200 other worshipers who met in the gathering darkness to hear seven Old Testament readings plus the Easter Gospel in preparation for 42 (!) baptisms of infants, youth, young adults, and senior citizens! "I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit... You are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever... Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." 42 times those words were spoken and the candles of the newly baptized glowed, filling the terrace with the new light of the Risen Jesus Christ. It was a marvelous culmination of the Triduum, the three Holy days leading up to Easter.

On Maundy Thursday our 14 young adults plus Billye Jean and I remembered our Lord's last supper as we also worshiped on the terrace of the Jubilee Centre. On Good Friday, we went to two local congregations, King of Kings Lutheran Church at the Fire Force building next to the Jubilee Centre or at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Kissy. It was a moving experience to share in the walk through Holy Week with our Sierra Leone brothers and sisters.

Today, Easter Sunday, our youth split into four groups and we celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord at Faith Community (Pastor Marie Barnett's church in Lumley), St. Mark's in Calaba Town, St. Paul's in Kissy, and at Calvary Lutheran Church where we visited the school earlier in the week.

It has been a week of celebrating, making incredible new friends, learning the culture of our Companion Church, and enjoying the beach. On Saturday, we had a picnic at No. 2 River where we visited Lord of the White Sands Lutheran Church. On the way there, we stopped at Baw Baw and visited King of Glory Lutheran Church and school. Throughout the week we have been accompanied by about 50 youth and learned that the MAJORITY of the members of the churches are 29 years of age or younger! This is a youthful and growing church from which we can learn a great deal about DiscipleLife Formation.

Some of our young men joined the fishermen along the beach to pull in the fishing nets full of a new catch. We've had a few opportunities to shop for souvenirs and we've eaten at a variety of authentic restaurants where our youth were not afraid to sample the local cuisine.

Tonight we conclude our time here with a visit to the home of Bishop Tom and Marie Barnett for a closing dinner and celebration where 75 are expected for a night of singing, sharing, and perhaps a few tears as we bid farewell to our new friends and prepare to return home on Monday and Tuesday. All of our young adults have been deeply moved and are committed to coming back at some time in the future. We give thanks for your prayers for our journey, your words of encouragement to our youth, and your financial contributions that made this trip possible. We look forward to telling more of our story at the Synod Assembly and through a post-trip video we will put together.

Grace and Peace in Christ,
Kevin S. Kanouse, Bishop

Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab West Bank lands

From Ha'aretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz newspaper in Israel:

Court case reveals how settlers illegally grab West Bank lands
By Meron Rapoport
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/964843.html

West Bank settlements have expanded their jurisdictions by taking control of private Palestinian land and allocating it to settlers. The land takeover - which the Civil Administration calls "theft" - has occured in an orderly manner, without any official authorization.

The method of taking over land is being publicized for the first time, based on testimony from a hearing on an appeal filed by a Kedumim resident, Michael Lesence, against a Civil Administration order to vacate 35 dunams (almost 9 acres) near the Mitzpe Yishai neighborhood of the settlement. Official records show the land as belonging to Palestinians from Kafr Qaddum.

Lesence's lawyer, Doron Nir Zvi, admitted at the hearing that the land in question was private Palestinian property. However, Lesence claims ownership on the grounds that he has been working the land for more than a decade, after he received it in an orderly procedure, complete with a signed agreement, from the heads of the Kedumim local council. Affidavits from Civil Administration officials stated that Lesence began cultivating the land only in the past six months.

Attorneys Michael Sfard and Shlomi Zecharia, who represent the Palestinian landowners on behalf of Yesh Din - Volunteers for Human Rights, insist their clients continued to work the land, and that the army and settlers from Kedumim are denying their access to it.

Kedumim residents who testified before the board said that the Palestinian have no problem reaching their lands. However, a visit to the area reveals a different picture: The guard at Mitzpe Yishai announced that "it is forbidden to allow Arabs in" to the lands abutting the neighborhood. After the Palestinians approached their property on foot, an army patrol arrived and moved them off. When the commander was told they have Civil Administration documents proving they own the land, the commander replied: "Documents don't interest me."

The land-takeover method was developed in Kedumim and neighboring settlements during the mid-1990s, after the Oslo Accords, and continues to this day.

Zeev Mushinsky, the "land coordinator" at the Kedumim local council, testified as to how it works: Council employees, Mushinsky in this case, would map the "abandoned lands" around the settlements, even if they were outside the council's jurisdiction, with the aim of taking them over. The council would "allocate" the lands to settlers, who would sign an official form stating that they have no ownership claim on the m, and that the council is entitled to evict them whenever it sees fit, in return for compensating them solely for their investment in cultivating the land.

Kedumim's former security chief, Michael Bar-Neder, testified that the land "allocation" was followed by an effort to expand the settlement. Bar-Neder said that once the settlers seized the lands, an application would be made to the military commander to declare them state-owned, since under the law covering the West Bank, anyone who does not cultivate his land for three years forfeits ownership of it.

Disastrous war now entering its sixth year

NCC laments a 'disastrous' war, now entering its sixth year

New York, March 12, 2008 - It's a sermon that has been widely preached for five years and generally ignored in the halls of government. As the fifth anniversary of the March 17 invasion of Iraq approaches, the general secrNCC laments a 'disastrous' war,
now entering its sixth year

New York, March 12, 2008 - It's a sermon that has been widely preached for five years and generally ignored in the halls of government.

As the fifth anniversary of the March 17 invasion of Iraq approaches, the general secretary of the National Council of Churches USA repeated the message: the war has been a 'disastrous mistake' and should be brought to an end.

Speaking on behalf of the NCC's 35 member communions, all of whom have been critical of the war, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon also said the war intended to make America safe from terrorism "has made this country less secure."

The NCC is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and traditional peace churches. The 35 member communions have 45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states.

"Anyone can observe that U.S. aggression is spawning new generations of terrorists," Kinnamon said, "but the Christian critique runs deeper. Because human life is interdependent, because we are all children of one Creator, security can never be won through unilateral defense."

He quoted Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who said: "There is no security apart from common security."

"Israeli security depends, finally, on Palestinians having a stake in the development of the Middle East," Kinnamon said. "U.S. security depends, among other things, on addressing the economic and social disparities that help fuel hatred of this nation."

Common security is not born out of Christian idealism but is a practical approach to peace, Kinnamon said.

"Christians are realistic about evil in the world and, therefore, about the threat of terrorism," he said. "We reject any ideology, however, which demonizes others while claiming all righteousness for ourselves; and we refuse to define life as a zero-sum game in which our security is gained at the expense of others."

The full text of Kinnamon's message follows:

Five years ago this week, the US invaded Iraq in the name of national security. Over the past 60 months, the war has repeatedly been declared a disastrous mistake by the leaders of the National Council of Churches' 35 member communions, which represent a wide range of American Christianity from Orthodox to Historic African American churches. These leaders have called for the war to be brought to an end. They have also insisted that the war has made this country less secure. We are convinced, said the delegates to the Council's 2006 General Assembly, that "genuine security is based in God and is served by the recognition of humanity's interdependence, and by working with partners to bring about community, development, and reconciliation for all."

On this tragic anniversary, and in the midst of an election campaign where security is a dominant topic, I want to underscore this last point. Anyone can observe that US aggression is spawning new generations of terrorists; but the Christian critique runs deeper. Because human life is interdependent, because we are all children of one Creator, security can never be won through unilateral defense. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, puts it succinctly: "There is no security apart from common security." Israeli security depends, finally, on Palestinians having a stake in the development of the Middle East. U.S. security depends, among other things, on addressing the economic and social disparities that help fuel hatred of this nation.

Christians are realistic about evil in the world and, therefore, about the threat of terrorism. We reject any ideology, however, which demonizes others while claiming all righteousness for ourselves; and we refuse to define life as a zero-sum game in which our security is gained at the expense of others.

All of this has enormous implications for the budgeting process now underway in Congress. The President's proposed defense budget for FY2008 is over a half trillion dollars--not counting extra appropriations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A fraction of that amount could substantially reduce hunger, the shortage of adequate housing, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the shortage of classrooms, and environmental destruction around the world. Christians must ask with ever louder voice: Which expenditure will contribute most to our security? Pressing this question is not being soft on terrorism; it is being faithful to the message of the prophets (e.g., Isaiah 32 and Micah 4) that only justice will lead to lasting security.

May God strengthen all those who work for peace!

Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary

etary of the National Council of Churches USA repeated the message: the war has been a 'disastrous mistake' and should be brought to an end. Speaking on behalf of the NCC's 35 member communions, all of whom have been critical of the war, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon also said the war intended to make America safe from terrorism "has made this country less secure." The NCC is the ecumenical voice of America's Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, historic African American and traditional peace churches. The 35 member communions have 45 million faithful members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states."Anyone can observe that U.S. aggression is spawning new generations of terrorists," Kinnamon said, "but the Christian critique runs deeper. Because human life is interdependent, because we are all children of one Creator, security can never be won through unilateral defense." He quoted Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who said: "There is no security apart from common security." "Israeli security depends, finally, on Palestinians having a stake in the development of the Middle East," Kinnamon said. "U.S. security depends, among other things, on addressing the economic and social disparities that help fuel hatred of this nation." Common security is not born out of Christian idealism but is a practical approach to peace, Kinnamon said. "Christians are realistic about evil in the world and, therefore, about the threat of terrorism," he said. "We reject any ideology, however, which demonizes others while claiming all righteousness for ourselves; and we refuse to define life as a zero-sum game in which our security is gained at the expense of others." The full text of Kinnamon's message follows: Five years ago this week, the US invaded Iraq in the name of national security. Over the past 60 months, the war has repeatedly been declared a disastrous mistake by the leaders of the National Council of Churches' 35 member communions, which represent a wide range of American Christianity from Orthodox to Historic African American churches. These leaders have called for the war to be brought to an end. They have also insisted that the war has made this country less secure. We are convinced, said the delegates to the Council's 2006 General Assembly, that "genuine security is based in God and is served by the recognition of humanity's interdependence, and by working with partners to bring about community, development, and reconciliation for all." On this tragic anniversary, and in the midst of an election campaign where security is a dominant topic, I want to underscore this last point. Anyone can observe that US aggression is spawning new generations of terrorists; but the Christian critique runs deeper. Because human life is interdependent, because we are all children of one Creator, security can never be won through unilateral defense. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, puts it succinctly: "There is no security apart from common security." Israeli security depends, finally, on Palestinians having a stake in the development of the Middle East. U.S. security depends, among other things, on addressing the economic and social disparities that help fuel hatred of this nation. Christians are realistic about evil in the world and, therefore, about the threat of terrorism. We reject any ideology, however, which demonizes others while claiming all righteousness for ourselves; and we refuse to define life as a zero-sum game in which our security is gained at the expense of others. All of this has enormous implications for the budgeting process now underway in Congress. The President's proposed defense budget for FY2008 is over a half trillion dollars--not counting extra appropriations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A fraction of that amount could substantially reduce hunger, the shortage of adequate housing, the spread of HIV/AIDS, the shortage of classrooms, and environmental destruction around the world. Christians must ask with ever louder voice: Which expenditure will contribute most to our security? Pressing this question is not being soft on terrorism; it is being faithful to the message of the prophets (e.g., Isaiah 32 and Micah 4) that only justice will lead to lasting security. May God strengthen all those who work for peace! Michael Kinnamon General Secretary