Christian-Muslim Relations: Exploring the Middle East and the West

Let us pray for the success of this conference in Bethlehem.

International Religious Conference
Bethlehem University
The Holy Land
Christian-Muslim Relations: Exploring the Middle East and the West
September 5-7, 2007

For more information, please visit the web site at: www.religiousconference.bethlehem.edu

Siraj, Center for Holy Land Studies
Christians and Muslims live side by side in almost every country in the Middle East and in Europe. While these two Monotheistic religions have had a long experience of co-existence, during recent decades new challenges have emerged raising many questions about the nature of this co-existence, such as the immigration of Muslims to Europe and the decreasing numbers of Christians in the Middle East. It is important, not only to explore each other's religious traditions, but to share the living experience of Christians and Muslims in different contexts and countries, in the Middle East as well as in the West.

This conference was organized to address and analyze these new challenges as well as create and develop a model for future interaction. This conference brings together theologians, academics, religious leaders and other practitioners to not only explore the religious traditions concerning "The Other" but to also examine the concrete implications of these theological principals in the context of the Middle East as well as in the context of the West.

Among the topics of the conference are:
1. Christian Minorities in the Middle East
2. Muslim Minorities in the Western Context
3. The Experience of Co-Existence in parts of Europe, the Middle East and the United States
4. Looking Towards the Future: The role of personal experiences and education in promoting values of co-existence and cooperation

For more information, please visit our website at:www.religiousconference.bethlehem.edu
Siraj, Center for Holy Land Studies

news
New Films has been posted by the Palestinian Summer Celebration participants at:www.sirajcenter.org and http://www.sirajcenter.org/videos.htm or just simply go to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JQ-PsklS04

New Blogs for the Palestinian Summer Celebration participants at: http://www.sirajcenter.org/s-blogs.htm

You are most welcome in Palestine,
George S. Rishmawi
Coordinator,
Siraj, Center For Holy Land Studies
Schools Street,
Beit Sahour
Palestine

Website: www.sirajcenter.org
Email: george@sirajcenter.org

Updated list of travel opportunities now at FOSNA web page

Alternative Travel Opportunities – updated on the Friends of Sabeel-North America web page August 23 - www.forsna.org

Alternative travel in the Holy Land provides an added benefit to pilgrimage by connecting participants with the Living Stones of Palestine who live under military occupation. Visit the holy Christian sites, worship in ancient Palestinian Christian churches, walk where Jesus walked and bear witness to the realities of occupation — military checkpoints, refugee camps, Israel’s Apartheid Wall, bypass roads, illegal settlements and more.

This alternative travel page is a service of Friends of Sabeel—North America. If you know of other trips coming up, please send details to: friends@fosna.org

Alternative Tourism Group in Beit Sahour, West Bank, has published Palestine & Palestinians: A Guidebook (ISBN No. 9950-319-011-3). It is a professionally produced and very attractive book of more than 400 pages that goes beyond the scope of other guides for travelers. Palestine & Palestinians: A Guidebook provides a very detailed history of the area, as well as information on the contemporary situation. The book is illustrated with color and black/white photos and, of course, maps of all sorts. In quality it equals any traditional guidebook. The book is $30 and may be ordered at Palestine Online Store - http://www.palestineonlinestore.com/books/palestineandpalestinians.htm

* * * *

Middle East Fellowship - Oct. 1-12, 2007 Join us on a journey to the Holy Land this fall as we discover the ancient (and still living!) church by taking an historical pilgrimage in the footsteps of Jesus, learning to build relationships of encouragement and responding as He would to the needs of the people. Meeting with Jewish and Palestinian organizations working for peace, we will consider the current situation and the role of the Church today as we seek ways of building bridges of peace through personal encounters. This will be a rich cultural experience as we meet local families, stay in their homes, taste fabulous Middle Eastern delicacies and receive their incredible hospitality. Vital service opportunities will be incorporated throughout the schedule. Delegations are limited to fifteen people. Contact information: travel@holylandtrust.org or christy@mef-sf.org Visit our website www.middleeastfellowship.org or http://travel.holyalndtrust.org

Sabeel International Witness Trip October 11-20, 2007 For detailed information go to www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/2007FallWitnessVisit.htm The year 2007 to 2008 provides a framework for highlighting the ongoing Palestinian catastrophe: 90 years since the Balfour Declaration, 60 years since the Nakba and the founding of the state of Israel, 40 years of Occupation, 25 years since Sabra/Shatila, 20 years since the First Intifada, 5 years of the Apartheid Wall. The Sabeel Fall Witness Visit offers a window into the daily lives of Palestinians living under the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as well as into the experiences of second-class citizenship of Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. Meet with Palestinian Christian and Muslim leaders of civic and religious organizations as well as with Israeli Jewish advocates for justice. Learn the stories of Palestinian Christians, share the worship that sustains their faith, and engage with Sabeel in promoting justice via liberation theology.

Cost: $900 per person; $180 single supplement; included - all accommodations and meals for 10 nights plus all ground transportation and honoraria/fees for sites and groups visited; not included - airfare, transfers to/from the airport, and additional nights in hotels. Travel arrangements: Contact Johnny Khano, GUIDING STAR, e-mail Johnny@guidingstar2.com or phone 972-2-627-3150.

For a list featuring many more trips go to www.fosna.org

The Lemon Tree - a true story of two people drawn into the politics of their homeland(s)

Amber Leberman of The Lutheran staff in Chicago posted a review of The Lemon Tree on the magazine's blog page - www.thelutheran.org/blog/index.cfm?page_id=33

8/12/2007
"The Lemon Tree"

In 2003, I had the opportunity to visit Israel and the West Bank with a delegation of fellow ELCA communicators. Our group was led by Eric Shafer, who was then-director of ELCA Communication and Mary Jensen, who was, at the time, an associate with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land - www.elcjhl.org/

We visited Dalia Landau, an Israeli woman, at her home in West Jerusalem.

Over tea and biscuits, Dalia told us her story — how her family narrowly escaped being sent to a Nazi concentration camp and later fled Bulgaria to Israel, where they moved into a beautiful stone home with a lemon tree in the back yard. They were told the home had been abandoned by its Arab occupants.

She also told that one day while home alone from college, the doorbell rang. On the other side of the door stood Bashir Khairi, a young Arab man who had taken the bus from Ramallah to visit the home where he had been born.

She told us about the joys and challenges of her friendship with Bashir. She told us how their friendship was strained when Bashir was jailed for participating in a supermarket bombing in a Jewish neighborhood.

She told us how she (with Bashir's blessing) turned the home into a preschool for the Arab children of the neighborhood and a place where Israelis and Arabs could meet for dialogue.

And what struck me most about Dalia was her assertion that Israelis and Palestinians were the "significant others" of each other — that their futures were inextricably woven together.

Meeting Dalia left me wanting to know more about the story. I had no idea that Sandy Tolan of Homelands Productions had produced a radio story about it. It was by chance that I heard it one afternoon on Chicago Public Radio. (You can hear it too, at the Third Coast Audio Festival archive - www.thirdcoastfestival.org/audio_library_2001.asp)

Now "The Lemon Tree" is a book, also by Tolan.

Tolan tells the story as compellingly as if it were a novel. It's not. It's the true stories of two people drawn into the politics of their homeland(s). Tolan provides chapter-by-chapter notes about his sources and a thorough bibliography.

If you want to know more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book is a great place to start. It weaves history and politics into a narrative that makes the reader care about the people involved.

If you read only one non-fiction book this year, make it "The Lemon Tree."

-- -- --

To find out more about the Open House, the preschool and community center in Ramle, visit www.friendsofopenhouse.org/

To read blog postings on The Lutheran's web page, got to www.thelutheran.org/blog/index.cfm?page_id=33

ELCA Assembly Hears from Bishop Younan

I wasn't able at first to find the ELCA's news release on Bishop Younan's speech. Here is the news report - http://www.elca.org/news/Releases.asp?a=3717 - and the speech on video is at http://www.elca.org/assembly/video/070809.html

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 15, 2007
ELCA Assembly Hears From Lutheran Bishop of the Holy Land
07-CWA-053-MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- According to the Rev. Munib A. Younan, the road to peace in the Middle East is not through Baghdad but through Jerusalem. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, spoke Aug. 9 to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, met here Aug. 6-11 at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. About 2,000 people participated, including 1,069 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly was "Living in God's Amazing Grace: Thanks be to God!"

In his message to the assembly, Younan said it "is time that the U.S. government recognized that it would be in its best interest to become an honest broker" in the Middle East conflict.

Some people say that the church "shouldn't meddle in politics" when it works for justice and peace "in our land," said Younan. But, "it is the Lord and Savior himself who taught us to speak out on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized, to care for humanity and speak for justice."

Working for justice is an integral part of the church's spiritual struggle to liberate humanity from any evil that violates human rights, said Younan. "Working for justice is not political to me, it is biblical and spiritual."

Younan thanked members of the ELCA who have traveled to the Middle East, their zeal for justice and support for educational and ecclesiastical work, support for the Lutheran World Federation's (LWF) work on behalf of Palestinians, and leadership in the Mount of Olives Housing Project -- a project to build 84 housing units for Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem on land LWF has owned since 1950. The homes will be located adjacent to Augusta Victoria Hospital, which the LWF administers. The LWF is a global communion of 140 Lutheran churches representing 66.7 million Christians.

"I call on all religious leaders -- Christians, Muslims and Jews -- to become our allies for justice and humanity," said Younan. "No religion has a monopoly on hate or extremism. It is time that religion become part of the solution rather than part of the problem."

Younan told the assembly that the separation wall, located in the West Bank, is "not a sign of justice and peace." The wall "does not provide security, it breeds despair and a culture of separation." Younan said he has "no doubt that the separation wall in the Holy Land will one day fall."

Many people have asked what they can do to help, said Younan. People can help through education, prophetic interfaith dialogue and continuity of Christianity in the Holy Land. "Christians are leaving because of the unstable political situation, the harsh restrictions of the occupation and the loss of hope in a just peace. We are now less than 2 percent of the population."

Younan said 2007 marks 40 years of occupation. "Forty years of wilderness is enough for both Palestinians and Israelis, indeed for the whole world." The Lutheran church "calls (for) the Palestinian state (to) be a modern, democratic, secular, civil society and live in peace with justice alongside Israel, so that both nations will become a light to the world."

- - -

Information about the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly is at http://www.ELCA.org/assembly/ on the Web

News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog

Archbishop Tutu will address October Sabeel Conference in Boston

The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel: Highlighting Issues of Justice and Equality

A Sabeel Conference October 26 and 27, 2007, at Boston's Old South Church

Keynote Address: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

For registration information go to www.fosna.org/BostonConferenceOct2007.htm

Panelists:
Naim Ateek, Anat Biletzki, Diana Buttu, Naom Chomsky, John Dugard, Farid Esack, Noura Erekat, Jeff Halper, Donald Wagner, David Wildman,
Additional participants:
Phyllis Bennis, Bishop Steven Charleston, Joan M. Martin, Nancy Murray, Archbishop Michael Peers, Bishop Thomas Shaw, Chuck Turner

PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Day 1: Friday, October 26
2:30 REGISTRATION, screening documentary films, teach-in on Christian zionism.
6:00 OPENING AND WELCOME Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chuck Turner,* Bishop Steven Charleston,* Naim Ateek
7:30 THE APARTHEID PARADIGM: HOW DOES IT APPLY TO PALESTINE/ISRAEL? Panel will address the applicability of using the apartheid model of ethnic/racial segregation in South Africa to the situation in Israel and Palestine.

Day 2: Saturday, October 27
8:00 Registration, Exhibits/book sale, interfaith worship
9:15 THE APARTHEID PARADIGM: A CHALLENGE TO PROMOTING JUSTICE Panel will examine the moral issues of confronting and dismantling apartheid-like policies in Israel and Palestine.
11:00 THE APARTHEID PARADIGM: RESPONDING FROM THE U.S. This panel will address the emerging role of social movements and the government in the US to apartheid-like policies in Israel and Palestine.
1:30 KEYNOTE ADDRESS by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
3:00 Copley Square Peace Rally: Tearing Down Walls, Building Bridges, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace and other local peace groups in solidarity with the Sabeel conference.

* Invited

Friends of Sabeel North America - www.fosna.org

Churches for Middle East Peace - Will a Reinvigorated Peace Process Emerge this Fall?

Churches for Middle East Peace - www.cmep.org

August Info Update
Will a Reinvigorated Peace Process Emerge this Fall?

August 8, 2007
Julie Schumacher Cohen, Legislative Coordinator

The August issue of CMEP's Info Update focuses on recent regional developments and prospects for the fall peace summit to create a reinvigorated Israeli-Arab peace process. The topic areas include background on the summit, an update on Israeli-Palestinian bi-lateral talks, the status of the Arab League peace plan, new plans for US Middle East funding, the new Evangelical initiative on Israeli-Palestinian peace and Jerusalem news.

The Jerusalem news section is of special note as it includes excerpts from and links to the August 13th issue of America magazine (a national Catholic Jesuit weekly) which is entirely focused on Jerusalem. Contributors to the magazine issue include Fr. Drew Christiansen, S.J. (editor of America and member of CMEP's Leadership Council), Claudette Habesch from Caritas Jerusalem, former Israeli and Palestinian Geneva Accord negotiators Daniel Levy and Ghaith Al-Omari, and Rabbi Dr. Gerald M. Meister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. The magazine issue can be viewed online on America's website (requires free registration) or in PDF format on CMEP's website.

Below is an excerpt from the update. It can be viewed in full on CMEP's website at: www.cmep.org/Updates/2007August7.htm.

Topics:
Fall Peace Summit: Background, Interpretations and Reactions
Israeli-Palestinian Talks: Principles, Fundamentals or Final Status Issues?
Arab League Peace Plan Resurges: Arab Visits to Israel, US Support
Loans, Arms and Aid: New Plans for U.S.-Middle East Funding
Christian Peacemaking: Evangelical Leaders Write Pres. Bush Supporting Two-State Solution
Jerusalem News: Catholic Magazine Highlights City; Israeli & Palestinian Negotiators on Shared Sovereignty

Special Note: For weekly updates on Middle East developments, CMEP recommends the Middle East Bulletin, a publication of Middle East Progress (go to: http://www.middleeastprogress.org/).

This summer has so far seen a flurry of discussion and dialogue about Middle East peace, including high-level US-Israeli-Arab meetings— a welcome change from last year this time when the region was aflame with the Hezbollah-Israel war. President Bush’s July 16th speech pledged anew U.S. support for a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel and plans are afoot for a fall peace summit. The visit to Israel of Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers on behalf of the Arab League is notable and Secretary Rice’s trip, together with Secretary Gates, shows high-level U.S. commitment to U.S. goals in the region, at the same time as the Mideast Quartet’s envoy Tony Blair begins his new job. Indication that Saudi Arabia may attend the fall peace summit brings added significance to the initiative.

These are welcome developments coming at a complex time with efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace facing the challenges of a weak Israeli government and fractured Palestinian polity. The region overall is in as perilous a state as it has ever been. With chaos and violence continuing in Iraq, an increasingly emboldened Iran, weakened popular support for Arab regimes, and extremist elements ascendant, the announcement of a new U.S. Middle East arms/military aid package is evidence of continued over-reliance by the United States on military approaches to achieving security and stability. The Iraq Study Group’s recommendations— that the United States constructively engage with Iran and Syria together with moderate Arab allies, to induce cooperation on Iraq, and take serious action on the Israeli-Arab peace process— remain the best way forward for positive American involvement in the region.

The scope and content for the fall peace summit has still yet to be clearly defined. For the conference to have a meaningful impact, it’s vital that the agenda include serious political discussions that could concretely lay the groundwork for comprehensive negotiations. Only real progress on a political track that reinvigorates the peace process and provides hope to Israelis and Arabs can provide the lasting security that the region so desperately needs.


“One Last Try?”, M.J. Rosenberg, IPF (Israel Policy Forum) Friday, August 3, 2007

“In today’s Middle East, saving the key issues for last makes no sense. Tackle the big ones first, see how much progress can be made, and proceed from there. The bottom line is that the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian situations are too volatile to spend time and effort on baby steps.”
http://www.ipforum.org/display.cfm?id=6&Sub=15


“Turning theory into reality”, Daoud Kuttab, A Palestinian View, Bitterlemons.org, July 23, 2007

“…What is needed is a reversal of the traditional peace process. If a new process is going to work, it must begin with the end game and then work its way toward implementation. After 40 years of occupation, the idea that progress can be achieved with goodwill gestures such as tiny prisoner releases and the removal of a few checkpoints is wildly misguided. The Arab peace initiative and a score of unofficial Israeli-Palestinian plans have focused on deciding first what the end game should be and then creating the process to suit the solution. The 1967 borders as the natural borders of the Palestinian state (with possible land swaps equal in size and quality) is a logical framework for the parties to accept. If the planned international conference does agree to such a clear-cut agreement, then the Bush administration may yet prove to have the potential to produce a lasting and comprehensive peace.
http://www.bitterlemons.org/previous/bl230707ed27.html#pal2

To read the update in its entirety, go to: www.cmep.org/Updates/2007August7.htm

Decisions of a Christian Assembly takes a look at ELCA decisions

I found some nice comments on a web page called That We May All Be One - reflections on unity - http://ecubishop.wordpress.com/2007/08/12/decisions-of-a-christian-assembly/

"Decisions of a Christian Assembly" provides a look at several major issues addressed by the ELCA Assembly. I've only excerpted the portions dealing with Palestine and Israel.

"The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America concluded their Churchwide Assembly on Saturday August 11 in Chicago...

"The final action of consequence was passage of a statement on the Middle East which calls for ongoing work for a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine. http://www.elca.org/news/Releases.asp?a=3718 - A late amendment was also adopted calling for investment in the Palestinian territories, consideration of refusing to buy goods or invest in activities taking place in Israeli settlements, and a review of other economic options. This last however specifically precludes the divestment option which had become so controversial in a number of other denominations. [...]

"The ELCA will inevitably be criticized by the Jewish community for even suggesting a `boycott' of goods produced in the Israeli settlements which most of the world acknowledges are illegal. While I believe blanket `divestment' from companies doing business in Israel is unwise, the Lutheran decision is compatible with their long-standing Middle East policy. And ours, frankly. It is the most gentle of economic sanctions to put teeth in opposition to `the Occupation' of Palestinian territory.

"All in all, I think our Lutheran sisters and brothers did rather well!"

Information about the ELCA Assembly is available at http://www.elca.org/

Recommitment to Israel, Palestine Strategy - action by ELCA assembly

I left the blog aside for a few days while I was engrossed in the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land spoke eloquently and was consulted during debate of an amendment to the action regarding the Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine.

The ELCA Washington Office issued a Middle East Network Newsletter that includes the wording of the action and links to Bishop Younan's speech: http://ga6.org:80/elca_advocacy/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=9552108

ELCA News put out this news release:

August 15, 2007
ELCA Assembly Calls for Recommitment to Israel, Palestine Strategy
07-CWA-054-KK
[http://www.elca.org/ScriptLib/CO/ELCA_News/encArticleList.asp?article=3718]

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 2007 Churchwide Assembly called on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to recommit to the Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine, through awareness-building, accompaniment and advocacy activities. [http://www.elca.org/peacenotwalls/downloadable/strategyfull.pdf] The assembly also suggested some possible economic initiatives in its amended action on Aug. 11.

The strategy is part of the "Peace Not Walls: Stand for Justice in the Holy Land" campaign adopted by the 2005 Churchwide Assembly.

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, met here Aug. 6-11 at Navy Pier's Festival Hall. About 2,000 people participated, including 1,069 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly was "Living in God's Amazing Grace: Thanks be to God!"

The assembly action underscored the call for economic initiatives, in consultation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), which could include "purchasing of products from Palestinian providers and exploration of the feasibility of refusing to buy products produced in Israeli settlements."

The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director, ELCA Church in Society, said, "This is consistent with the strategy that we have. The context of the strategy is very much within a commitment to a sustainable resolution of conflict throughout the Holy Land and a two-nation solution with a very secure Israel. Within that strategy, there is a section called 'stewarding economic resources.'"

Examination of investment activity by the ELCA was also requested by the assembly in the amended action, but it would "exclude the option of divesture." The Rev. H. Gerard Knoche, bishop, ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod, Baltimore, proposed the amendment, saying the motion "calls for examination of our investment strategy, and I wanted to put some limits on the results of that examination."

The Rev. John H. K. Schreiber, bishop, ELCA Southeast Michigan Synod, Detroit, said, "I applaud the efforts of the ELCA to walk in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, to stand for peace and justice. We also need to match our rhetoric with using the vast resources that have been entrusted to us by God and this church."

Some voting members expressed concern that adopting the memorial would complicate relations in their immediate communities and abroad.

"I fear that the language we have right now confuses the Jewish community about our support for them, and it sounds like we're speaking out of two sides of our mouth," said the Rev. Bruce D. MacLaughlin, a voting member from the ELCA Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod.

Several speakers had traveled to the Holy Land or belonged to synods in "companion synod relationship" with the ELCJHL, and they described the experience as instrumental in their commitment to this action.

"I believe many people have said it is dangerous to travel in the Holy Land. I believe that there is far more danger to our spirit if we deny this very physical aspect of support and accompaniment," said the Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop, ELCA New England Synod, Worcester, Mass.

The importance of accompaniment was emphasized by the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the ELCJHL, in a hearing conducted on Aug. 7. "The theology of accompaniment allows one to get to know the other, to see the needs. We invite you to come and see," he said. - - -

Information about the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly is at http://www.ELCA.org/assembly/ on the Web.

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The text of the 2007 ELCA assembly action is as follows:

To receive the memorials from the Pacifica Synod, Metropolitan New York Synod, Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, New England Synod, Southeast Michigan Synod, and Metropolitan Chicago Synod and to thank them for their support of efforts by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to promote peace with justice in the Holy Land;

To note the participation of the ELCA in ecumenical and inter-religious forums where religious extremism is addressed;

To acknowledge the Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine, including its call for "increased engagement with conservative Christians and a clearer and more forceful expression of Lutheran theology in the public debate...";

To call upon the ELCA, in all of its expressions, to recommit itself to the Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine through awareness-building, accompaniment, and advocacy activities, including pilgrimage visits, sustained financial support, and other forms of economic stewardship; and

To call upon the ELCA to underscore the call for economic initiatives by this church and its members in the Peace Not Walls campaign.

Such initiatives, in consultation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, could include purchasing of products from Palestinian providers and exploration of the feasibility of refusing to buy products produced in Israeli settlements.

Also to be explored is the entire investment activity by this church. Examination of investment would exclude the option of divestiture.

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To view Bishop Younan's speech on video: http://www.elca.org/assembly/video/070809.html

To view the assembly discussion on video: http://www.elca.org/assembly/video/070811.html

Lutheran Bishop Younan to address ELCA assembly

Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan will address the ELCA assembly tomorrow - www.elca.org/assembly/

The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, will bring greetings to the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Thursday, Aug. 9, at 10:30 A.M.

To watch live streaming video, go to www.elca.org/assembly/video/index.html

As a religious leader who has called for peace in a tumultuous region, Younan initiated interreligious dialogues among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Israel and Palestine.

Younan, known internationally as a passionate lecturer, brings his Palestinian Christian perspective to bear on what makes for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.

He was born in Jerusalem and did graduate study in Finland and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He has published several articles and books, including Witnessing for Peace: In Jerusalem and the World (Augsburg Fortress, 2003).

He is vice president of Lutheran World Federation, president of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches, and serves on the executive committee of the Middle East Council of Churches.

Younan will be signing copies of his book at the Augsburg Fortress bookstore in the Lakeview Terrace on Navy Pier on Friday, Aug. 10, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

He will speak at Lutheran Church of the Atonement (909 East Main Street, Barrington, Ill.) on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 7:30 p.m., and at Grace Lutheran Church (200 North Catherine Avenue, La Grange, Ill.) on Sunday, Aug. 12, at the 8:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. worship services.

Sabeel Conference at Berkeley

Friends of Sabeel--North America - http://www.forsna.org/ - announces a major conference event in Berkeley, Calif., August 24 and 25, 2007.

Breaking Down The Wall of Silence: Voices We Need to Hear - A Sabeel Conference to inform and stimulate thoughtful action toward a just resolution to the Palestine-Israel Conflict.

Friday-1:00 PM-9:45 PMSaturday-8:00 AM-7:00 PM.

St. John's Presbyterian Church
2727 College Avenue
Berkeley, California

Conference brochure: http://www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/documents/BerkeleyConferenceBrochure_000.pdf

Topics include:
Nonviolence
Peace Building
The Role of Sabeel
Speaking up for Justice
U.S. Foreign Policy
Israeli Peace Movement
Challenging Christian Zionism
Educating Ourselves
Caterpillar Lawsuit/Activism
Overcoming Our Fear
Coalition Building

Conference Presenters (Partial List)

Keynote Speaker: Jean Zaru - Palestinian Christian from Ramallah (West Bank); founding member of Sabeel; spiritual leader in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers); member of the International Council of the World Conference for Religion and Peace; former president of the Jerusalem YWCA; author of A Christian Palestinian Life: Faith and Struggle & Overcoming Direct and Structural Violence: Truth and Peacemaking in the Palestinian Experience.

Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel - Moderator, 214th General Assembly, Presbyterian Church USA; Palestinian from the village of Kuffer-Yassif in Galilee; Executive Director of Atlanta Ministry with International Students.

Isham Ahmad - Birzeit University, West Bank, professor of politics at St. Mary's, Moraga, Calif.

Mubarak Awad - Psychologist in Washington, D.C.; founder and director of Nonviolence International, advocating peaceful solutions to the Palestine-Israel conflict.

Anna Baltzer - Jewish-American, granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor; Fulbright scholar; volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service; author of Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories; presentation covers checkpoints, settlements, demonstrations, Israeli activism, environmental issues, the Separation Wall, and more.

Phyllis Bennis - Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies focusing on Middle East and United Nations issues; has written widely on Palestine, Iraq, and U.S. domination of the U.N., including primers on Palestine and Iraq; former co-chair of the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation http://www.endtheoccupation.org/

Chris Brown - Former Christian Peacemaker Team member in Hebron.

Craig and Cindy Corrie - Parents of Rachel Corrie, 23, of Olympia, Wash., killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah Camp, Gaza Strip, March 2003.

Mitchell Plitnick - Director of A Jewish Voice for Peace, its newsletter editor, and an editor of Jewish Peace News. He was born in New York City and raised an orthodox Jew in a pro-Israel environment. Plitnick has been studying Israeli and Jewish history since he was a child. In 2000, Mitchell graduated with honors from UC Berkeley in Middle Eastern Studies.

Mazin Qumsiyeh - (http://www.qumsiyeh.org/) Served on the faculties of Duke and Yale Universities; on steering committee of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation; executive committee of Palestinian American Congress (www.pac-national.org/) and board of the Association for One Democratic State in Israel/Palestine (one-democratic-state.org). His third and latest book is Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Struggle.

Rosemary Radford Ruether - Carpenter Emerita Professor of Feminist Theology at Pacific School of Religion; author of The Wrath of Jonah: The Crisis of Religious Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2002) and Amerika, Amerika: Elect Nation and Imperial Violence, scheduled for publication in June 2007.

Donald Wagner - Professor of religion and Middle Eastern studies at North Park University in Chicago and executive director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies; author of Anxious for Armageddon (1995) and Dying in the Land of Promise: Palestine and Palestinian Christianity from Pentecost to 2000 (2003).

Stephen Zunes - Professor of Politics/International Studies at the University of San Francisco, teaching courses on Middle Eastern and African politics, nonviolence, conflict resolution, and globalization; prominent specialist on U.S. Middle East policy; author of Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism.

CONTACTS
Mary Louise Gotthold
Ph: 925-979-0351
Cell: 925-324-4595

or Rev. Kate SalinaroEmail: deaconk1@comcast.net

Registration
$70 General Admission (full conference)
$40 Student or Seminarian or Low Income (full conference)
Saturday-only program (half-price)
Online Registration at the Conference Web Page - http://www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/index.html

Friends of Sabeel
PO Box 9186
Portland, OR 97207
Ph: (503) 653-6625
Web: http://www.fosna.org/

Mitri Raheb will visit the Twin Cities

Hear the Stories Behind the Story on the Nightly News
The Rev. Mitri Raheb, author and pastor of the Evangelical Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem - http://www.elcjhl.org/cong/bethlehem/ - will be visiting the Twin Cities August 8-15.

Pastor Raheb also directs the International Center of Bethelehem, a ministry of Christmas Lutheran Church - http://www.annadwa.org/

During his stay in the Minneapolis area, Pastor Raheb will be interviewed by local media, working with Middle East peace organizations, reporting to political leaders, and speaking to local congregations to increase awareness of the issues of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through the experiences of one who lives in the center of it.

Mitri Raheb is the author of Bethlehem Besieged, a riveting story, beginning with the siege of Bethlehem in 2002 and continuing into today’s scene of occupation, the wall, and suicide bombers. Like The Diary of Anne Frank it also chronicles the personal struggles of Palestinians and their families to survive the violence and to act with integrity in extreme circumstances. It gives full voice to the soundbites of the nightly news.

“This is a heartrending account of what has happened to ordinary people, and how they have lived and survived [in] Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace. It should shake us out of complicity with the injustice being visited on ordinary people,” said Desmond Tutu, Retired Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa. See the book at http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/item.jsp?clsid=168594&productgroupid=0&isbn=0800636538

Mitri Raheb is a Palestinian Arab and Christian pastor who ministers to his people in Bethlehem, where his family has lived for hundreds of years. He holds a doctorate from Marburg University in Germany. Internationally honored for his work, Raheb has been interviewed by CNN, the Washington Post, Fox News, ABC News, and CBS News, sharing his stories of the Israeli bombing of Bethlehem and the fears and hopes of ordinary people living there.

To hear his stories attend one of the following events, which are, free and open to the public:

Thursday, August 9th, 7:00 pm: Pastor Raheb speaks at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, 301 Cty. Rd. 19, Excelsior, Minn.

Saturday, August 11th, 10:00 am: Pastor Raheb speaks at Middle East Peace Now, Southdale Hennepin County Library, 7001 York Av. S., Edina, Minn. Treats at 9:30 am. Info: Florence Steichen, 651-696-1642

Saturday, August 11th, 5:00 pm: Pastor Raheb preaches at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, 55th & Penn Av. S., Minneapolis, Minn.

Sunday, August 12th, 10:30 am: Pastor Raheb preaches at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, 55th & Penn Av. S., Minneapolis, Minn.

Sunday, August 12th, 7:00 pm: Pastor Raheb speaks at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 500 W. 3rd St., Northfield, Minn.

Tuesday, August 14th, 7:00 pm: Pastor Raheb speaks at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 41st & Lyndale S., Minneapolis, Minn.

Wednesday, August 15th, 8:00-10:00 am: Pastor Raheb speaks at Luther Seminary, Olson Campus Center, Fulham & Herndon, St. Paul, Minn. Topic: “The Fifth Gospel as Encountered Through Pilgrimage Today.” Continental breakfast will be served. Please call to register in advance by Aug. 10: 800-747-2255 Ex. 133 or jtollund@gtd.org

Bethlehem Besieged
By: Mitri Raheb
Format: Paperback, 170 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches Item No: 9780800636531
Price: $15.00

Essays by Pastor Mitri Raheb are featured in Water from the Rock - Lutheran Voices from Palestine - http://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/item.jsp?redirected=true&isbn=0806649895&clsid=94150

To order Bethlehem Besieged please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the Web site at http://www.fortresspress.com/. For interviews and speaking engagements please call Bob Todd at 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org

Lutheran youth from Michigan visit Palestine

A delegation of youth and adults from the Southeast Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited youth of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and the Holy Land (www.elcjhl.org/) this summer.

The group spent three days with the youth of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour, working at the Evangelical Lutheran School in Beit Sahour - http://www.elcjhl.org/ed/schools/sahour/sahour.asp - painting lines for the soccer field and planting and cleaning the grounds. They toured the Separation Wall in Bethlehem and a refugee camp there and added their creative expressions to the wall.

In Jerusalem, the group helped with a day camp and were welcomed to the home of a member of the congregation for a meal. They were led on a tour of Jerusalem by Shukri Merizian, tour guide extraordinaire. They worshipped at the Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah - http://www.elcjhl.org/cong/ramallah/ - and went with the youth of that congregation to a local village park and pool.

The Southeast Michigan Synod - www.metrodetroitelca.org/ - is a Companion Synod to the church in the Holy Land.

For a look at the ELCJHL's newly-designed web site, go to: www.elcjhl.org/

"Enough," by Jonathan Kuttab

Cornerstone is the publication of Sabeel, the ecumenical liberation theology center in Jerusalem. "Enough," by Jonathan Kuttab, is the cover story in the current edition of Cornerstone.

Kuttab is a Jerusalem-based Palestinian human rights lawyer and peace activist, and a member of Sabeel's board. He writes:

"In June, we [marked] 40 years to the beginning of the Occupation. To Palestinian Christians, forty is a significant number. It reminds us of the days of Jesus' fasting in the Wilderness, before he was tempted on the Mount of Temptation in Jericho. This event resonates deeply with us at Sabeel as we try to make our faith relevant to the situation under which we live. Like Christians throughout the ages, we look to our scriptures for guidance, solace, and strength to cope with our present situation. Thank God, we do find it there."

The complete article is at: www.fosna.org/cornerstone/documents/CornerstoneIssue44_000.pdf

The Cornerstone journal is sent by mail to current members of Friends of Sabeel--North America. Become a member by making a donation of any amount at any time at the web site - www.fosna.org - or by phone at 503-653-6625, or you send a check to the address below.

Friends of Sabeel--North America
PO Box 9186
Portland, OR 97207
Phone: (503) 653-6625
www.fosna.org

Christian evangelical leaders write in support of a two-state solution

The Churches for Middle East peace report can be found at www.cmep.org/Alerts/2007July30.htm

Listen to an Aug. 2 report on NPR's "The World": www.theworld.org/?q=taxonomy_by_date/1/20070802

July 30, 2007

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) thanks the 34 Christian evangelical leaders who have written President Bush offering support for his efforts to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and to correct the view that evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution. The letter - www.esa-online.org/Display.asp?Page=LettertoPresident - dated July 27, is included below.

It was reported in the New York Times - on Sunday, July 30 - www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/us/29evangelical.html?ei=5070&en=29c26bdc33463919&ex=1186372800&emc=eta1&pagewanted=print

CMEP's June 2007 newsletter, "Christian Advocates Compete for Ear, and Heart, of Policymakers" - www.cmep.org/newsletter/2007July.htm - explained the Christian Zionist approach of Christians United for Israel and provided background information on evangelical support for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, including the efforts of Ron Sider, President of Evangelicals for Social Action who lead the letter-to-the-President initiative.

Corinne Whitlatch, CMEP's director, called Ron Sider this morning with appreciation for this important evidence of public support among evangelicals for a fair solution to the conflict and with suggestions for bringing their letter to the attention of members of Congress and other key people in the Administration.

In January of this year, a number of these evangelicals joined Orthodox, Catholic and mainline Protestant church leaders in a letter organized by CMEP urging President Bush to make Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking an urgent priority - www.cmep.org/documents/Ecumenical_letter_to_Bush.pdf


Full Text and Signers of Evangelical Leaders' Letter to President Bush

July 27, 2007
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write as evangelical Christian leaders in the United States to thank you for your efforts (including the major address on July 16) to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to achieve a lasting peace in the region. We affirm your clear call for a two-state solution. We urge that your administration not grow weary in the time it has left in office to utilize the vast influence of America to demonstrate creative, consistent and determined U.S. leadership to create a new future for Israelis and Palestinians. We pray to that end, Mr. President.

We also write to correct a serious misperception among some people including some U.S. policymakers that all American evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution and creation of a new Palestinian state that includes the vast majority of the West Bank. Nothing could be further from the truth. We, who sign this letter, represent large numbers of evangelicals throughout the U.S. who support justice for both Israelis and Palestinians. We hope this support will embolden you and your administration to proceed confidently and forthrightly in negotiations with both sides in the region.

As evangelical Christians, we embrace the biblical promise to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you." (Genesis 12:3). And precisely as evangelical Christians committed to the full teaching of the Scriptures, we know that blessing and loving people (including Jews and the present State of Israel) does not mean withholding criticism when it is warranted. Genuine love and genuine blessing means acting in ways that promote the genuine and long-term well being of our neighbors. Perhaps the best way we can bless Israel is to encourage her to remember, as she deals with her neighbor Palestinians, the profound teaching on justice that the Hebrew prophets proclaimed so forcefully as an inestimably precious gift to the whole world.

Historical honesty compels us to recognize that both Israelis and Palestinians have legitimate rights stretching back for millennia to the lands of Israel/Palestine. Both Israelis and Palestinians have committed violence and injustice against each other. The only way to bring the tragic cycle of violence to an end is for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a just, lasting agreement that guarantees both sides viable, independent, secure states. To achieve that goal, both sides must give up some of their competing, incompatible claims. Israelis and Palestinians must both accept each other's right to exist. And to achieve that goal, the U.S. must provide robust leadership within the Quartet to reconstitute the Middle East roadmap, whose full implementation would guarantee the security of the State of Israel and the viability of a Palestinian State.

We affirm the new role of former Prime Minister Tony Blair and pray that the conference you plan for this fall will be a success.

Mr. President, we renew our prayers and support for your leadership to help bring peace to Jerusalem, and justice and peace for all the people in the Holy Land.

Finally, we would request to meet with you to personally convey our support and discuss other ways in which we may help your administration on this crucial issue.

Sincerely,

Ronald J. Sider, President
Evangelicals for Social Action

Don Argue, President
Northwest University

Raymond J. Bakke, Chancellor
Bakke Graduate University

Gary M. Benedict, President
The Christian & Missionary Alliance

George K. Brushaber, President
Bethel University

Gary M. Burge, Professor
Wheaton College & Graduate School

Tony Campolo, President/Founder
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

Christopher J. Doyle, CEO
American Leprosy Mission

Leighton Ford, President
Leighton Ford Ministries

Daniel Grothe, Pastoral Staff
New Life Church (Colorado Springs)

Vernon Grounds, Chancellor
Denver Seminary

Stephen Hayner, former President
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor
Northland Church
Member, Executive Committee of the NAE

Jo Anne Lyon, Founder/CEO
World Hope International

Gordon MacDonald, Chair of the Board
World Relief

Albert G. Miller, Professor
Oberlin College

Richard Mouw, President
Fuller Theological Seminary

David Neff, Editor
Christianity Today

Glenn R. Palmberg, President
Evangelical Covenant Church

Earl Palmer, Senior Pastor
University Presbyterian Church Seattle

Victor D. Pentz, Pastor
Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta

John Perkins, President
John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation & Development

Bob Roberts, Jr., Senior Pastor
Northwood Church, Dallas

Leonard Rogers, Executive Director
Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding

Andrew Ryskamp, Executive Director
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee

Chris Seiple, President
Institute for Global Engagement

Robert A. Seiple, Former Ambassador-at-Large,
International Religious Freedom
U.S. State Department

Luci N. Shaw, Author, Lecturer
Regent College, Vancouver

Jim Skillen, Executive Director
Center for Public Justice

Glen Harold Stassen, Professor
Fuller Theological Seminary

Richard Stearns, President
World Vision

Clyde D. Taylor, Former Chair of the Board
World Relief

Harold Vogelaar, Director
Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice

Berten Waggoner, National Director
Vineyard USA

~~~~~

Formed in 1984, Churches for Middle East Peace is a Washington-based program of the Alliance of Baptists, American Friends Service Committee, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Armenian Orthodox Church, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Church World Service, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Franciscan Friars OFM (English Speaking Conference, JPIC Council), Friends Committee on National Legislation, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Maryknoll Missioners, Mennonite Central Committee, Moravian Church in America, National Council of Churches, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, and the United
Methodist Church (GBCS & GBGM).

Churches for Middle East Peace
Email: info@cmep.org
Phone: 202-543-1222
Web: http://www.cmep.org/

110 Maryland Ave. NE
Suite 311
Washington DC 20002

Lutherans in the Holy Land Look to the Future

Greetings from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). For much more about the ministries of the ELCJHL, go to the church's web site: http://www.holyland-lutherans.org

June-July 2007
Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, City of Peace.

We repeatedly denounced the recent internal fighting between Hamas and Fatah as well as the resulting Hamas takeover of the Gaza strip. Bishop Younan was among the civil society leaders asked to speak at a unity rally in Ramallah in the midst of the fighting:

There is no Fatah cause, nor is there a Hamas cause. There is only one Palestinian cause, which is to bring justice and peace to the Palestinians and the Israelis, for the sake of both peoples. We have much more that unites us, and we must get back to the focus: a viable, sovereign, contiguous Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace with justice, a shared Jerusalem, a just solution to the refugee problem and an end to the settlement enterprise.

We find ourselves once again at what could be a crucial turning point for Palestine/Israel, and once again, leaders have the ability to choose peace with justice and make real progress toward calming the boiling pot called the Middle East. The question is, will anyone be able to make real improvements on the ground for Palestinians? Since former Palestinian Yasser Arafat did the main things the Quartet is demanding of Hamas (renouncing violence and recognizing Israel), life has mostly gotten continuously worse for Palestinians, with increasing movement restrictions and a doubling of the illegal settler population during the Oslo "peace process years." And now, while the West was busy making sure Hamas would honor past peace agreements in theory if they were ever given the opportunity to lead as the people elected them to do, while the illegal settlements continued to balloon, the construction of the separation wall ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice actually accelerated around Jerusalem, and more and more were locked into tiny enclaves by checkpoints, walls, Israeli-only roads and military zones.

Now there is another chance, but unless substantive measures are offered, people will again be convinced that Abbas can't bring real improvement on the ground. The current offer of 250 prisoners freed may sound good to the West, but must be understood in the Palestinian context in which there are 10,000 prisoners, between 1000 and 2000 are being held in administrative detention, without any charge. Another 50 or so are parliament members jailed not for any action but for simply being a part of Hamas. And every night the incursions continue, Israeli tanks invade towns and gather up yet another round of prisoners. We pray that all prisoners in Palestine and Israel will be soon released for the sake of peace.

We must look to the future, set our vision and find the strategies that will get us there. Palestinian people, Gaza and the West Bank are one and we must be one to find peace together. Let us unite to renounce violence, rebuild our economy and infrastructure and get on with building our state. International community and Israel, this situation did not come out of nowhere. The boycott on top of already draconian movement restrictions and continuous human rights violations bred this situation. Reports show that any economic recovery would be impossible unless the movement restrictions are removed. Show us your desire for peace and your willingness to adhere to UN resolutions such as freezing settlements, ensuring freedom of worship in Jerusalem and easing movement restrictions. Show us that we have a partner for peace.

Bishop Munib Younan, ELCJHL

[For more about the incursions cited by the bishop here, see an article in Ha'aretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/878844.html - "Twilight Zone/'Mowing the grass' in Nablus," by Gideon Levy.]

Palestine/Israel: 2 Peoples, 3 Faiths

The April edition of Response magazine, the periodical of United Methodist Women, is entirely devoted to "Palestine/Israel: 2 Peoples, 3 Faiths." An article I wrote on Christian Zionisim is featured along with a resource list.

This publication is packed with information; it is focused and clear and rich in resource ideas. The contents are not on the web. Single copies are available for $2.50. Go to www.missionresourcecenter.org or call 800-305-9857. You can also write to the Mission Resource Center, 21 Profit Drive, Dallas, TX 75247.

The magazine supports the 2007-2009 mission study of United Methodist Women which is dedicated to Palestine and Israel. That study is available for $8.50. I have not reviewed the study, but it looks like a great addition to bibliographies.

Another new resource from Churches for Middle East Peace - www.cmep.org - is interesting and helpful. CMEP offers the Congressional Record of Support for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=wbjg5ccab.0.dgwm5ccab.o96l7nbab.35&ts=S0267&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cmep.org%2Fdocuments%2FCongressional_Record.pdf).

Ann Hafften

Alternative Travel Opportunities

Alternative travel in the Holy Land provides an added benefit to pilgrimage by connecting you with the Living Stones of Palestine who live under military occupation. Visit the holy Christian sites, worship in ancient Palestinian Christian churches, walk where Jesus walked and bear witness to the realities of occupation - military checkpoints, refugee camps, Israel's Apartheid Wall, bypass roads, illegal settlements and more.

Alternative Tourism Group in Beit Sahour, West Bank - www.atg.ps - has published Palestine & Palestinians: A Guidebook (ISBN No. 9950-319-011-3). It is a professionally produced and very attractive book of more than 400 pages that goes beyond the scope of other guides for travelers. Palestine & Palestinians: A Guidebook provides a very detailed history of the area, as well as information on the contemporary situation. The book is illustrated with color and black/white photos and, of course, maps of all sorts. In quality it equals any traditional guidebook. Take a look at the ATG website: www.atg.ps/index.php?page=1177263161.1177313045 The book is $30 and may be ordered at Palestine Online Store.

Travel listing:

Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) - August 1-12
Witness life under occupation and gain a greater understanding of the history and politics of Palestine and Israel. $1,800 - airfare not included. Contact Deborah Agre: 510-548-0542 or deborah@mecaforpeace.org

MECA trips generally include visits such as Ibdaa Cultural Center in the Dheisheh refugee camp; Lid, a mixed Palestinian and Jewish town near Tel Aviv; the destroyed village of Liftah; Israeli-Jewish activists and scholars; a Bedouin village in Israel and organizers who are fighting forced removal; unrecognized villages; young Israeli refusniks, who will not serve in the Israeli army; the Palestinian Counseling Center whose projects help families and communities cope with the psychological impact of the occupation; the grassroots anti-apartheid wall campaign tour of affected rural areas; Old City of Jerusalem and surrounding areas that are threatened or confiscated.

Middle East Children's Alliance
email: meca@mecaforpeace.org
web: http://www.mecaforpeace.or g

Global Exchange, Prospects for Peace with Justice
August 12 - 22, 2007
Dec. 2 - 12, 2007
For details, see www.globalexchange.org

Birthright Unplugged - August 20-25
Six-day educational trip through the West Bank to visit Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps, designed to put you in conversation with people and equip you to return to your community and work for change. While Birthright Unplugged is designed primarily for Jewish people, we welcome people of all backgrounds and all ages on our trips.

For more information about itinerary, costs, trip leaders, and application materials, visit
www.birthrightunplugged.org

Micah Bazant, summer '06 Unplugged participant, says: "Through Birthright Unplugged I met some of the most amazing, heroic and inspiring people I've ever met in my life. I felt my politics about Israel and Palestine were set before I went on the trip, but experiencing it first-hand made me understand the realities of occupation and resistance so much more deeply. The program gave me new perspective and renewed passion to work for justice in Palestine and at home in the U.S. It was truly a life-changing experience."

Sabeel International Witness Trip October 11-20, 2007
For detailed information go to www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/2007FallWitnessVisit.htm
The year 2007 to 2008 provides a framework for highlighting the ongoing Palestinian catastrophe: 90 years since the Balfour Declaration, 60 years since the Nakba and the founding of the state of Israel, 40 years of Occupation, 25 years since Sabra/Shatila, 20 years since the First Intifada, 5 years of the Apartheid Wall. The Sabeel Fall Witness Visit offers a window into the daily lives of Palestinians living under the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as well as into the experiences of second-class citizenship of Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. Meet with Palestinian Christian and Muslim leaders of civic and religious organizations as well as with Israeli Jewish advocates for justice. Learn the stories of Palestinian Christians, share the worship that sustains their faith, and engage with Sabeel in promoting justice via liberation theology.

Cost: $900 per person; $180 single supplement; included - all accommodations and meals for 10 nights plus all ground transportation and honoraria/fees for sites and groups visited; not included - airfare, transfers to/from the airport, and additional nights in hotels. Travel arrangements: Contact Johnny Khano, GUIDING STAR, e-mail Johnny@guidingstar2.com or phone
972-2-627-3150.

Middle East Task Force of Chicago Presbytery's Travel Seminar
Oct. 15 - Nov. 4, 2007
This seminar will go to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. For details, contact Pauline Coffman at p.coffman@sbcglobal.net - tel. 708-524-5444.

Christian Peacemaker Teams - delegations:
October 16 - 28, 2007
November 19 - December 1, 2007
Contact Claire Evans, the CPT Coordinator for Delegations,
at clairee@cpt.org or telephone 773.277.0253

Group Travel Directors:
Holy Land visits by US church groups listed here are arranged by Group Travel Directors, Minneapolis. Meetings with indigenous Christians plus Israeli and Palestinian peace groups, as well as biblical -site visits, are included. Prices are from cities cited (other US departure points available). For details on Group Travel tours, go to www.gtd.org/tripsearch.asp - click "Find a Tour," enter "2007," then "Middle East."

Oct. 29 - Nov. 10: "Faces, Spaces and Places of the Holy Land," co-sponsored by Metropolitan Washington Synod, ELCA, and Bright Stars of Bethlehem NFP. Hosted by Rev. J. Lowell Knauff; $3050 from Washington Dulles (other departure cities available). Contact Janet Tollund at GTD: 952-885-2133 or 800-747-2255, Ex. 133.

Nov. 1-12, Holy Land Olive Harvest & Pilgrimage. Includes olive harvesting at Lutheran property on Mt. of Olives, historic sites in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Galilee, Jericho, Qumran, plus time with Palestinian Lutherans and visits to areas marked by checkpoints, the Wall, Israeli settlements. Approx. $2600 from MSP. Led by Pr. Curtis Zieske (Trinity Lutheran, Albert Lea), knowledgeable veteran of four pilgrimages. More info: tlpastor@msn.com

Nov. 7-16, Bethlehem 2007. Sponsored by Presbytery of Ohio, with special focus on Bethlehem-area Christians. $2275 from Indianapolis or Louisville.

Jan. 3-19, 2008, The World of the Bible: Ancient Sites and Current Struggles in the Holy Land, sponsored by Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, led by Dr. Ann Fritschel, associate professor of Hebrew Bible. $3025 from Chicago.

Walk the Green Line - Nov. 27-29, 2007
A three-day experience that will make a direct contribution to supporting the efforts of Israelis and Palestinians who are working for peace. Walk the green line - www.walkthegreenline.org/index.html - is a fundraising walk-a-thon and a political act whose purpose is to mark the 60th anniversary of the UN decision to partition Israel/Palestine into two states - one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians. Israelis, Palestinians and international participants will trek for three days along the route of the Green Line demarcating the border between Israeli and Palestinian territory. .

Walk the Green Line will support the work of IPCRI - the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information - www.ipcri.org - a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace center and think-tank in Jerusalem bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in people-to-people programs that advance peace. Each participant will be required to raise 2,000 pounds or $2,500 plus their airfare to Israel/Palestine. Sponsors may be friends, family, work colleagues, neighbors, churches or synagogues, etc.

More than just a Walk, each day will feature educational-political programs as well, stopping to learn about the areas where we are walking, meeting people along the way including Israelis and Palestinians who are working for peace. We will see first hand the Israeli security barrier - both fences and walls - with a special focus on the wall in Jerusalem. For more information: www.walkthegreenline.org/files/myrole.html

Western Mission Cluster of the ELCA - Jan. 14-29, 2008
Holy Land - Its Prayers, Peoples, Places: Go where prayers come from Muslims, Jews, Christians. Witness first-hand the faiths in their poignant praying for peace. View the struggle among Palestinian and Israeli peoples with varied histories and cultures, and hear their hopes. Visit ancient religious places; experience present geo-political realities; imagine possible futures. As Christians we will offer our own prayers; as peoples of quite different histories we'll reflect on our own cultural tendencies; as citizens from different places we'll encounter our own global responsibilities. Cost: $2,925 from Minneapolis. Leader: Prof. Gary Simpson, Luther Seminary: gsimpson@luthersem.edu - phl: 651-641-3253. The Western Mission Cluster of the ELCA is a collaborative organization funded jointly by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.

Interfaith Peace-Builders
2007 Olive Harvest Delegation to Israel/Palestine - Oct. 27-Nov. 10, Olive Harvest Delegation. Sponsored by Interfaith Peace-Builders and American Friends Service Committee. Cost $1850. Details: 202-244-0821 or email: middleeast@forusa.org

This year, the AFSC is again working with Interfaith Peace Builders to provide a first hand look at the realities of daily life in Israel/Palestine. In addition to helping with the olive harvest, delegates will also meet Palestinian and Israeli activists and peacemakers to hear and discuss many different perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and hopes for the future.

Interfaith Peace-Builder leaders bring a wide range of knowledge, perspectives, and expertise to our delegations. Since 2001, Interfaith Peace-Builders has led 19 delegations and almost 250 people to Israel and Palestine. Our delegates have returned to undertake speaking, writing, and organizing to educate others about their experiences. Formerly a program of Fellowship of Reconciliation, IFPB continues to work in close partnership with FOR.

The cost includes: 15 days, hotel and home stay accommodations, breakfasts and dinners, local transportation, guides, speaker/event fees, basic tips and gratuities,not include domestic and international airfares. Deadline to Apply: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until September 10, 2007. Apply early to reserve a space.

Upcoming Delegations in 2008:
March 22 - April 5, 2008
May 24 - June 7, 2008
For information call 244-0821 or e-mail - middleeast@forusa.org

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Autumn Study Tour to Israel and Palestine - November 4-13, 2007.
Participate in this unique tour that allows participants to glean in-depth information about the situation on the ground; meet key players on both sides of the divide who work for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. Return home as eye-witnesses and the authority to speak with first-hand knowledge. Cost includes direct flights with British Airways, transportation to and from Ben Gurion Airport, hotel accommodation including bed, breakfast and evening meal, tips, the full tour itinerary and material for tour preparation and de-briefing.

For the full itinerary and application form, please contact tours@icahduk.org or call the ICAHD UK office on 020 7383 3893.

The Society for Biblical Studies
The Exodus Experience, departs November 7, 2007. To get updates by paper newsletter or email, call 781-641-4453 or send an email to: sbsadmin@sbsedu.org

Holy Land Olive Harvest & Pilgrimage - November 1-12
Visit includes olive harvesting at Lutheran property on Mt. of Olives, historic sites in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Galilee, Jericho, Qumran, plus time with Palestinian Lutherans and side trips to areas marked by checkpoints, the Wall, Israeli settlements. Group limit: 12. Cost approx. $2600 from MSP. Leader: Pr. Curtis Zieske, Trinity Lutheran, Albert Lea. Zieske is a knowledgeable veteran of four pilgrimages. Details: tlpastor@msn.com

United Theological Seminary - January 8-22, 2008
Dr. David Watson, The Rev. Dr. Gary Olin
15 Day Intercultural Program Experience including Jordan, Israel, the West Bank.
For information: http://www.fosna.org/conferences_and_trips/UnitedTheologicalSemJan2008Trip.htm

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
See the web page for general information: http://www.hcef.org/index.cfm/ID/420.cfm
HCEF Pilgrimage/Fact Finding Missions

January 8 - 21, 2008
Ecumenical Pilgrimage/Fact Finding Mission organized by HCEF.

February 2 - 15, 2008
Pilgrimage/Fact Finding Mission organized by First Presbyterian Church in Boulder, Colorado.

May 7 - May, 2008
Pilgrimage/Fact Finding Mission organized by Fr. Alex Kratz, O.F.M in Detroit, Michigan

June 2008 (Dates TBD)
Pilgrimage/Fact Finding Mission organized by St. Andrew Catholic Church in Milford, Ohio

For more information contact: Gail Freeman, Pilgrimage Coordinator
Toll free at 1-871-4234
E-mail: gfreeman@hcef.org

United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries
Study program in the Holy Land, scheduled for February 3-15, 2008. http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/me/resources/travelseminars/

This alternative travel list is a service of Friends of Sabeel-North America. If you know of other trips coming up, please send details to: friends@fosna.org