By Bev Henkel
Three days of getting to know each other, 3 days of meeting the “other.” How open have I been to meeting, listening and respecting the “other” at home and as I travel in Israel/Palestine?
Our day began with a buffet breakfast after which we left in a bus for Hebron. Katie began our day with several reminders: Blessed are the Peacemakers and Love your Neighbors as yourself. After a time of silent reflection Katie closed praying, “open us to visions we have never known.”
This day would be full of experiencing the unknown. Our first stop was at the last remaining Ka9iyah (scarf) factory in Palestine. As a weaver I was overwhelmed and overjoyed to see 9-10 large fly shuttle looms warped and weaving scarves. The warp and weft was line sewing thread with 25-36 ends per inch. Men checked the machines and retied new warp as needed. Beautiful colors and patterns.
Last Kufiyah factory in the West Bank
We then continued into Hebron to the Souk (market) where we walked to the Christian Peacemakers building.
Experiencing the result of Pilgrims of Ibillin and Joan Deming’s relationships with Christian Peacemakers we were met by Art, a volunteer from Toronto, Canada. He shared the importance of an International presence in Hebron. Their work with children includes a pre-school and walking older children to school and back home after school. There is an Israeli military presence in Hebron that can make it difficult for these Palestinian children to get to school. This is one of the “realities on the ground” in Hebron. Another is the violence from Israeli settlers. An adult International trained in non-violence and conflict resolution is vital here.
We then walked to the Abrahamic Mosque. Shoes off, cape with hood on for women so our heads were covered, we entered to be at the place where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah are buried beneath this Mosque in a tunnel grave.
We walked back through the souk to Al-Basha Restaurant near a glass factory. We visited this glass factory and watched as men blew beautiful items which were sold in the store.
We now drove as close to Tent of Nations as we could get, walked in to the gate to be treated by “We Refuse to Be Enemies.”
Daoud Nassar and Usama Nicola
The Nassar family has been on this land since 1916. They are a Christian Palestinian family. Their farm is now surrounded by 5 Israeli Settlements or Colonies. They have limited water, no electricity until solar was installed recently by International friends. Here again we heard from Daher as he gave us a tour, and was in a cave while his brother Daoud told their family story: Summer camps for children, International visitors and volunteers. He graciously shared of their faith that is the foundation of their perseverance. I was struck by the following:
- Tell folks to come here and visit, even if they only walk to the gate and then go home.
- An International presence is making a difference.
- We refuse to be enemies. Violence only produces more violence.
- Blessed are the Peacemakers, not the Peace talkers.
- You have an opportunity to begin a relationship with the people we met today. Their stories are worth hearing.
Use a search engine to find:
- Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). You can sign up for a weekly report with photos. Easy to read.
- Tent of Nations. You can learn in dept of their work and commitment to “Refuse to be Enemies.”