Wednesday, February 18, 2009

At-Tuwani Update

Here is an excerpt from the monthly update sent out by the full-time team in Palestine. To read the details, go to http://cpt.org/node/7567.

January 2009
Summary:
In and around at-Tuwani, the Israeli military remarkably intensified its daily interceptions of Palestinian migrant laborers trying to leave the West Bank, sometimes applying lethal force. (For background, see http://cpt.org/cptnet/2009/02/12/tuwani-soldiers-kill-palestinian-migrant-worker-increase-harassment-villagers-sout) The army also continued failing to reliably accompany the schoolchildren on the complete route to and from school, leaving them vulnerable to settler attacks. Palestinian shepherds continued challenging Israeli military prohibitions against their grazing of flocks on their own land.

----

A note about the military escort of children (also taken from CPTnet):

The Israeli army has escorted these Palestinian children to and from school since September 2004 following a series of Israeli settler attacks upon them and their international accompaniers. This obligation was endorsed by the Israeli Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child in November 2004.These attacks have been a problem for years, and the implementation of an Israeli military escort has not solved it. In the 2007-08 academic year, settlers attacked the children a total of fourteen times, as documented in the report A Dangerous Journey: Settler Violence against Palestinian schoolchildren under Israeli Military Escort [http://cpt.org/files/Palestine-School-Accompaniment-Report-2006-2008-Dangerous-Journey.pdf]

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Going the Second Mile

One of the books I'm reading right now is Engaging the Powers, by Walter Wink. In a chapter titled "Jesus' Third Way: Nonviolent Engagement" he takes a look at Matthew 5:38-42. He explains some of the background and implications of Jesus' instructions to turn the other cheek, give up the last garment, and go the second mile. All of these, he argues, are ways of nonviolent resistance (not nonresistance, as it may seem) against systems of oppression. I find especially interesting the explanation he offers for the third part: "if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile."
As you may know, this refers to the practice of Roman soldiers utilizing any common citizens to carry their packs. By law, they were allowed to do this, but they were limited (and, according to Wink, often disregarded the laws and regulations) - according to some records, the most a soldier could force someone to go was one mile. Jesus is teaching his followers to willingly go more than the required distance, when they are already being forcefully oppressed. And here's the part that caught my attention:

"But why carry his pack a second mile? Is this not to rebound to the opposite extreme of aiding and abetting the enemy? Not at all. The question here, as in the two previous instances, is how the oppressed can recover the initiative and assert their human dignity in a situation that cannot for the time being be changed. The rules are Caesar's, but how one responds to the rules is God's, and Caesar has no power over that.
"Imagine then the solider's surprise when, at the next mile marker, he reluctantly reaches to assume his pack, and the civilian says, 'Oh no, let me carry it another mile.' Why would he want to do that? What is he up to? Normally, soldiers have to coerce people to carry their packs, but this Jew does so cheerfully, and will not stop! Is this a provocation? Is he insulting the legionnaire's strength? Being kind? Trying to get him disciplined for seeming to violate the rules of impressment? Will this civilian file a complaint? Create trouble?
"From a situation of servile impressment, the oppressed have suddenly seized the initiative. They have taken back the power of choice. The soldier is thrown off balance by being deprived of the predictability of his victim's response. He has never dealt with such a problem before. Now he has been forced into making a decision for which nothing in his previous experience has prepared him. If he has enjoyed feeling superior to the vanquished, he will not enjoy it today. Imagine the situation of a Roman infantryman pleading with a Jew to give back his pack! The humor of this scene may have escaped us, but it could scarcely have been lost on Jesus' hearers, who must have ben regaled at the prospect of thus discomfiting their oppressors.
"Jesus does not encourage Jews to walk a second mile in order to build up merit in heaven, or to exercise a supererogatory piety, or to kill the soldier with kindness. He is helping an oppressed people find a way to protest and neutralize an onerous practice despised throughout the empire. He is not giving a non-political message of spiritual world-transcendence. He is formulating a worldly spirituality in which the people at the bottom of society or under the thumb of imperial power learn to receover their humanity." (Engaging the Powers, p. 182)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Palestinian Art

One of my delegation team members shared this, and I thought it is definitely worth sharing here. Hopefully I'm not violating any copyright laws.

All are from by ISMAIL SHAMMOUT, 1930-2006 - considered to be Palestine's Greatest Artist.

# 1 Title : Tel' El Zaatar 1976, in Shelter Material : Water-colors , 76X 102 cm Year : 1976 The Artist's collection, Amman

# 2 Title : RootsMaterial : Oil on canvas , 76 X 102 cmYear : 1993Mr. M. Milhem collection, Amman

#3 Title : Palestinian Rhapsody Material : Oil on canvas , 70 X 100 cm Year : 1970 Mr. O. Al-Aqqad collection, Riyad












Tuesday, February 3, 2009

It's Coming!

Someone told me that the reality of my trip would really sink in when I have my plane ticket in my hand. Well, I did get the reservation slip - and it did hit pretty hard - but lots of things have been gradually adding to the sense of "Oh wow, I'm actually going there!"

Lately I have also had a growing sense of gratefulness for the generosity of those who are contributing to the cost of my trip. A couple of times a check came in the mail, bringing me nearly to tears. I think it's so amazing, because I believe God is the one inspiring the hearts of people to give toward His work, and it's exciting to see people living in obedience to His lead.

----

Sunday in Chicago, Jake and I had lunch with some of his co-workers from World Relief, including a Palestinian man who grew up in Jordan. He told about his experiences of traveling from Jordan to Hebron every summer, and how a relatively short (by distance) journey would take from 3 a.m. until late at night - on a good day. He described the vehicles, roads, checkpoints, and Israeli authorities they had to deal with at every point along the way. He gave me some general information about the areas where I'll be going, as well as some commentary on Israeli politics, and even offered to give me phone numbers of people he knows in Hebron in case I need anything while I'm there - awesome!

----

You can pray for...
  • Me as I read through my orientation packet and extra readings this week
  • Char, our delegation leader, as she organizes our team and prepares for our trip