Reprinted with Permission by Christian Peacemaker Teams
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Let us try to imagine Veronica as she steps out from the jeering, mocking crowd. Was she afraid as she walked past the hostile, armed soldiers? It was not appropriate for her, as a woman, to touch a man, but Veronica refused to be constrained by social norms. She saw the suffering, bleeding Christ, and she was moved by compassion and mercy to step forward.
In the 15th century many Jewish and Muslim families fled Christian persecution in Spain, and came to build a new life together in Hebron. For hundreds of years, until 1929, these families lived together in harmonious co-existence.
In 1929 Muslim rioters attacked and killed 67 Jews in Hebron (and wounding many others). Although most people chose to either participate in the riots or simply stand by and watch, some Muslim families sheltered and saved hundreds of their Jewish neighbors.
Just across from the CPT apartment, in a building now evacuated and requisitioned by the Israeli military, the Muslim Shaheen family saved their Jewish neighbors, the Mizrahi family.
Rioters were at the door, sure that there were Jews in the house. The Hajji (elder woman of the family) went to the roof of her home, tore off her veil, and tore her clothes (a shameful act in Islam), swearing to those below that all who were in the house were her family. The rioters, horrified to be the cause of dishonor to such an old, respected woman, left the area. The Mizrahis were saved.
In the face of such violence and hatred, Veronica and the Hajji refused to stand silently by.
Do we?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Fifth Station: Simon carries the cross
Reprinted with Permission by Christian Peacemaker Teams
Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross
Simon was an innocent bystander in the crowd. We know from the accounts in the gospels of Luke and Mark that Simon did not step forward to take the cross. Different Bible translations tell us that the soldiers of the occupying Roman army ‘grabbed’, ‘seized’, ‘laid hold upon’ him, then ‘compelled’, ‘forced’ him to carry the cross.
In wars and conflicts, the bystander in the crowd is still made to carry the cross of suffering. Yet, how often are the peacemakers ridiculed and mocked when they speak out against the arbitrary loss of life?
In the first two months of 2008, Israeli security forces killed 146 Palestinians in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and Gaza Strip. Like Simon, at least 42 were bystanders, who “did not participate in fighting when killed”.
Between 28 February and 3 March, at least half of the 108 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, were civilians. On 6 March, a Palestinian gunman entered a Yeshiva (a Jewish religious school) and killed 8 students, at least four under 18 years of age.
Just as the Roman soldiers ‘seized’ and ‘grabbed’ Simon, those with military power target the bystander. On 27 February the Israeli military targeted the civilian Interior Ministry in Gaza, damaging nearby buildings and killing a six-month-old baby. The same day, Palestinian military groups in Gaza targeted the Israeli town of Sderot, killing a 47 year old civilian.
We know that Jesus was not ‘compelled’ or ‘forced’ to take up the cross. We too are called to willingly take up the cross by speaking out against war, by saying that the death of any one person is too much, that violence leads to violence, it will never lead to peace.
Note: B’tselem is an Israeli human rights organization
Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross
Simon was an innocent bystander in the crowd. We know from the accounts in the gospels of Luke and Mark that Simon did not step forward to take the cross. Different Bible translations tell us that the soldiers of the occupying Roman army ‘grabbed’, ‘seized’, ‘laid hold upon’ him, then ‘compelled’, ‘forced’ him to carry the cross.
In wars and conflicts, the bystander in the crowd is still made to carry the cross of suffering. Yet, how often are the peacemakers ridiculed and mocked when they speak out against the arbitrary loss of life?
In the first two months of 2008, Israeli security forces killed 146 Palestinians in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and Gaza Strip. Like Simon, at least 42 were bystanders, who “did not participate in fighting when killed”.
Between 28 February and 3 March, at least half of the 108 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, were civilians. On 6 March, a Palestinian gunman entered a Yeshiva (a Jewish religious school) and killed 8 students, at least four under 18 years of age.
Just as the Roman soldiers ‘seized’ and ‘grabbed’ Simon, those with military power target the bystander. On 27 February the Israeli military targeted the civilian Interior Ministry in Gaza, damaging nearby buildings and killing a six-month-old baby. The same day, Palestinian military groups in Gaza targeted the Israeli town of Sderot, killing a 47 year old civilian.
We know that Jesus was not ‘compelled’ or ‘forced’ to take up the cross. We too are called to willingly take up the cross by speaking out against war, by saying that the death of any one person is too much, that violence leads to violence, it will never lead to peace.
Note: B’tselem is an Israeli human rights organization
Fourth Station - Meeting his mother
Reprinted with Permission by Christian Peacemaker Teams
Jesus meets his mother on the way to his execution
Let us recall Jesus meeting His mother as He carries His cross. She was unable to stand by quietly and see her innocent son accused, condemned and on His way to execution. Not only did she reach out to her son beneath His cross, she must have spoken out to the soldiers and tried to tell them of His innocence. Let us continue with the meditation and think of Jesus in contemporary Palestine.
Here in Hebron we see mothers of six Palestinian youths accused of breaking and entering a settlement enclave in the Old City. Their mothers know their innocence and we witness these women trying to stop the police from taking their sons to the Israeli police station, where anything can happen to them. They rush to the Israeli soldiers to tell them their sons were at home all day. They reach out and actually hold back the military armored personnel carrier in which their sons have been placed. In the face of hostile settlers with guns pointed at them, their courage inspired those who could do so to join with them and ask for mercy.
08-01-27 A Mother’s Anguish: Palestinian mothers and Dianne Roe getting in the way of Israeli paddy wagon taking away Palestinian teenagers after being detained for three hours. For more photos, visit CPT
Jesus meets his mother on the way to his execution
Let us recall Jesus meeting His mother as He carries His cross. She was unable to stand by quietly and see her innocent son accused, condemned and on His way to execution. Not only did she reach out to her son beneath His cross, she must have spoken out to the soldiers and tried to tell them of His innocence. Let us continue with the meditation and think of Jesus in contemporary Palestine.
Here in Hebron we see mothers of six Palestinian youths accused of breaking and entering a settlement enclave in the Old City. Their mothers know their innocence and we witness these women trying to stop the police from taking their sons to the Israeli police station, where anything can happen to them. They rush to the Israeli soldiers to tell them their sons were at home all day. They reach out and actually hold back the military armored personnel carrier in which their sons have been placed. In the face of hostile settlers with guns pointed at them, their courage inspired those who could do so to join with them and ask for mercy.
08-01-27 A Mother’s Anguish: Palestinian mothers and Dianne Roe getting in the way of Israeli paddy wagon taking away Palestinian teenagers after being detained for three hours. For more photos, visit CPT
The Third Station - Falling
Reprinted with Permission by Christian Peacemaker Teams
Jesus Falls the First Time Under the Weight of His Cross
By Jean Fallon
We see Jesus falling the first time beneath the weight of the cross... the full weight of the Roman Empire! It is someone crushed and un-recognizable, beaten down by soldiers of the Occupying Roman Forces and the unseen power behind Jesus' condemnation. Let us continue the meditation, Jesus in Palestine now. We see scenes of several years ago in the Beq'qa Valley, Hebron. Standing with the Christian Peacemakers Teams we are like the crowd, forced to stand by as helpless witnesses.
August 1998: members of two Palestinian families sit dazed and crying before their fallen homes, now utterly crushed and unrecognizable! For one family, this is the second time! The remains of their houses, built with such hope on their own land, now represents a bleak future for themselves and their children, and all that is left of their life savings. The Israeli Occupation Forces, enforcers for the Occupiers, (the State of Israel), had come, guns at ready, just before sunrise, driving the families outside... with them come bulldozers, demolishing the houses in a total of five minutes. Left are heaps of rubble and the families, sitting in the cold, with nothing but the heavy weight of their lost homes.
These Palestinian families have held the land for generations, but above them on the top of a hill are ‘Settlements’, the unseen power demanding this action to clear this area of ‘Arabs’ in order to take over this whole area.
Jesus Falls the First Time Under the Weight of His Cross
By Jean Fallon
We see Jesus falling the first time beneath the weight of the cross... the full weight of the Roman Empire! It is someone crushed and un-recognizable, beaten down by soldiers of the Occupying Roman Forces and the unseen power behind Jesus' condemnation. Let us continue the meditation, Jesus in Palestine now. We see scenes of several years ago in the Beq'qa Valley, Hebron. Standing with the Christian Peacemakers Teams we are like the crowd, forced to stand by as helpless witnesses.
August 1998: members of two Palestinian families sit dazed and crying before their fallen homes, now utterly crushed and unrecognizable! For one family, this is the second time! The remains of their houses, built with such hope on their own land, now represents a bleak future for themselves and their children, and all that is left of their life savings. The Israeli Occupation Forces, enforcers for the Occupiers, (the State of Israel), had come, guns at ready, just before sunrise, driving the families outside... with them come bulldozers, demolishing the houses in a total of five minutes. Left are heaps of rubble and the families, sitting in the cold, with nothing but the heavy weight of their lost homes.
These Palestinian families have held the land for generations, but above them on the top of a hill are ‘Settlements’, the unseen power demanding this action to clear this area of ‘Arabs’ in order to take over this whole area.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Palm Sunday Procession on Both Sides of the Wall
Holy Week began with the annual Palm Sunday procession. Members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams joined Palestinians on the first leg of the journey from Bethany to the Wall. Internationals, Israelis and Palestinians on the other side of the wall continued the procession from Bethphage through ancient gates into Jerusalem. These reflections from CPT and from Reformed Mission Workers, Marlin and Sally Vis, are reprinted with permission.
Al Eizariya/Bethany Palm Sunday Procession
17 March 2008
HEBRON RELEASE
AL EIZARIYA/BETHANY – On Palm Sunday, 16 March, Palestinians and internationals, Muslims and Christians, gathered at the Lazarus Gate checkpoint to commemorate Palm Sunday and highlight the travel restrictions the Israeli government imposes on Palestinians through the use of permits and Israel’s separation barrier. Most Palestinians from the West Bank cannot travel to Jerusalem.
Palestinians and internationals processed in the path that Jesus traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. Participants carried olive branches, palm leaves, and signs reading, “Stop the Wall” and “Where could Jesus go?” When they arrived at the Lazarus Gate the group worshipped together.
Nora Carmi of Sabeel said, “Today, what we are doing is re-living this memory [of Jesus] and challenging the authorities in the same nonviolent, peaceful way, that Jesus did . . . A few soldiers with their guns and their tear gas, are not going to stop us from praying.”
Israeli border police arrived and threatened to fire tear gas at the worshippers, but they continued with some Scripture readings. While the group were completing their event on the grounds of a local religious community, the border police came and again told the worshippers to disperse.
After the service, many internationals continued on to Jerusalem to be a witness at the regular Palm Sunday procession for the Palestinian Christians who could not travel to Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday Pictures
March 17, 2008
Yesterday was the yearly first Palm Sunday walk - first because Orthodox Palm Sunday is a couple of weeks away. The walk begins at Bethphage (House of Figs) and proceeds down through Lion's Gate and into Saint Anne's Church located just inside the city walls.
The walk starts just on the other side of this wall, which separates biblical Bethany from the Mount of Olives. This picture was taken from the Bethany side of the Separation Barrier, just five minutes from tradition's site for Lazarus's tomb.
And here they come - the procession proceeds down the Mount of Olives toward the Old City, let by four Israeli soldiers. Tourists often remark about how odd it is to have soldiers in full battle gear leading the Palm Sunday procession, but for locals these soldiers are just part of the landscape. They are there as a presence for the purpose of keeping order, but it does serve to put in perspective Palm Sunday in contemporary Jerusalem. You have to wonder where the soldiers were on the first Palm Sunday walk, the one Jesus led seated on the back of a donkey. Roman soldiers were there of course, watching the crowd as it made it's way toward the city of Jerusalem. These Roman soldiers worried over the crowd as well, wondering if the motley crew made up mostly of children was planning celebration or revolution. Imagine their relief when Jesus led the crowd into the Temple through the Beautiful Gate and not toward their stronghold, the Antonio Fortress, by the then Sheep's Gate. I know, it's confusing, but stay with me.
And there they go, into the Old City, and because the Beautiful Gate is no longer there, and the Golden Gate, near where Beautiful Gate once stood was closed by one of the Muslim sultan's, the crowd passes through the gate that would have led up to the Antonio Fortress, where Pilate was no doubt staying for the dangerous time of the festival of Passover. Was Pilate watching too? Who is watching this crowd? Are they dangerous too? It could be that we are a danger to the principalities and powers. At the very least, we should be. Right? Not because we would revolt, but because we follow that first parade marshal who came riding on a donkey, unarmed except for a divine, internal resolve to redeem the world by the only means possible - his own self. And if it meant suffering, then so be it. And if it meant death, then so be it. And if there was something more to come, something transcending suffering and death, something like resurrection, well then, so be it as well. A man on a donkey rode into a city rife with corruption at every level, sold out completely to violent solutions to every problem, conflicted and factioned, and the man on the donkey knew by then that only the children would understand the significance, because only the children were willing to follow a man on a donkey rather than a man with a sword.
Who is following the man on the donkey today? And where is the man on the donkey leading us?
Al Eizariya/Bethany Palm Sunday Procession
17 March 2008
HEBRON RELEASE
AL EIZARIYA/BETHANY – On Palm Sunday, 16 March, Palestinians and internationals, Muslims and Christians, gathered at the Lazarus Gate checkpoint to commemorate Palm Sunday and highlight the travel restrictions the Israeli government imposes on Palestinians through the use of permits and Israel’s separation barrier. Most Palestinians from the West Bank cannot travel to Jerusalem.
Palestinians and internationals processed in the path that Jesus traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. Participants carried olive branches, palm leaves, and signs reading, “Stop the Wall” and “Where could Jesus go?” When they arrived at the Lazarus Gate the group worshipped together.
Nora Carmi of Sabeel said, “Today, what we are doing is re-living this memory [of Jesus] and challenging the authorities in the same nonviolent, peaceful way, that Jesus did . . . A few soldiers with their guns and their tear gas, are not going to stop us from praying.”
Israeli border police arrived and threatened to fire tear gas at the worshippers, but they continued with some Scripture readings. While the group were completing their event on the grounds of a local religious community, the border police came and again told the worshippers to disperse.
After the service, many internationals continued on to Jerusalem to be a witness at the regular Palm Sunday procession for the Palestinian Christians who could not travel to Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday Pictures
March 17, 2008
Yesterday was the yearly first Palm Sunday walk - first because Orthodox Palm Sunday is a couple of weeks away. The walk begins at Bethphage (House of Figs) and proceeds down through Lion's Gate and into Saint Anne's Church located just inside the city walls.
The walk starts just on the other side of this wall, which separates biblical Bethany from the Mount of Olives. This picture was taken from the Bethany side of the Separation Barrier, just five minutes from tradition's site for Lazarus's tomb.
And here they come - the procession proceeds down the Mount of Olives toward the Old City, let by four Israeli soldiers. Tourists often remark about how odd it is to have soldiers in full battle gear leading the Palm Sunday procession, but for locals these soldiers are just part of the landscape. They are there as a presence for the purpose of keeping order, but it does serve to put in perspective Palm Sunday in contemporary Jerusalem. You have to wonder where the soldiers were on the first Palm Sunday walk, the one Jesus led seated on the back of a donkey. Roman soldiers were there of course, watching the crowd as it made it's way toward the city of Jerusalem. These Roman soldiers worried over the crowd as well, wondering if the motley crew made up mostly of children was planning celebration or revolution. Imagine their relief when Jesus led the crowd into the Temple through the Beautiful Gate and not toward their stronghold, the Antonio Fortress, by the then Sheep's Gate. I know, it's confusing, but stay with me.
And there they go, into the Old City, and because the Beautiful Gate is no longer there, and the Golden Gate, near where Beautiful Gate once stood was closed by one of the Muslim sultan's, the crowd passes through the gate that would have led up to the Antonio Fortress, where Pilate was no doubt staying for the dangerous time of the festival of Passover. Was Pilate watching too? Who is watching this crowd? Are they dangerous too? It could be that we are a danger to the principalities and powers. At the very least, we should be. Right? Not because we would revolt, but because we follow that first parade marshal who came riding on a donkey, unarmed except for a divine, internal resolve to redeem the world by the only means possible - his own self. And if it meant suffering, then so be it. And if it meant death, then so be it. And if there was something more to come, something transcending suffering and death, something like resurrection, well then, so be it as well. A man on a donkey rode into a city rife with corruption at every level, sold out completely to violent solutions to every problem, conflicted and factioned, and the man on the donkey knew by then that only the children would understand the significance, because only the children were willing to follow a man on a donkey rather than a man with a sword.
Who is following the man on the donkey today? And where is the man on the donkey leading us?
The Second Station: Carrying the Cross
Reprinted with Permission from Christian Peacemaker Teams
Jesus Takes Up His Cross
By Joy Ellison
When the chief priests and the guards saw [Jesus] they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." ... They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. John 19: 6, 15-17
For 40 years, Palestinians have born the cross of military occupation. Palestinians have lost their land, their homes, their olive trees, their cultural traditions, and their lives. Throughout these 40 years, people around the world, but especially Christian Zionists, have offered their support to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. Because the unconditional support our governments offer the state of Israel, we are complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Jesus Takes Up His Cross
By Joy Ellison
When the chief priests and the guards saw [Jesus] they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." ... They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. John 19: 6, 15-17
For 40 years, Palestinians have born the cross of military occupation. Palestinians have lost their land, their homes, their olive trees, their cultural traditions, and their lives. Throughout these 40 years, people around the world, but especially Christian Zionists, have offered their support to the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. Because the unconditional support our governments offer the state of Israel, we are complicit in the suffering of the Palestinian people.
"The Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine": The First Station
Reprinted with Permission from Christian Peacemaker Teams
CPT Palestine Lenten Campaign
Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.
As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.
The First Station – Jesus stands condemned by Pilot by the word of his enemies
By Jean Fallon
As we recall Jesus standing before Pilot, who represents the Occupying Roman Forces, and the full weight of the Roman Empire, let us meditate on a scene happening now in Hebron.
Six Palestinian youths, around 15 or 16, the oldest 18 and 19, stand before the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) … accused by a settler woman of breaking and entering her home. Not knowing what would happen to them, they stand with their arms raised, hands on metal doors, legs apart and some of them still in the thin clothing they were wearing at home when the IOF came to arrest them,. For close to four hours of standing in the cold, they endure a heckling crowd of settlers, being blindfolded, handcuffed and finally taken away to the police station where police continued to question and finally released them after midnight. At a checkpoint on their way home, a soldier tore up one of their IDs.
Six teenagers… whose actual ‘crime’ was discovered to be; breaking through a fence into an open square near the settlers’ housing area to look for scrap metal. Even though their Palestinian families gave witness on their behalf they were condemned by the word of a settler, with two now facing a hearing and the rest with their names on the Israeli police list of potential ‘terrorists’.
For a photo of this incident,click here
CPT Palestine Lenten Campaign
Join in the "Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine," a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.
As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.
The First Station – Jesus stands condemned by Pilot by the word of his enemies
By Jean Fallon
As we recall Jesus standing before Pilot, who represents the Occupying Roman Forces, and the full weight of the Roman Empire, let us meditate on a scene happening now in Hebron.
Six Palestinian youths, around 15 or 16, the oldest 18 and 19, stand before the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) … accused by a settler woman of breaking and entering her home. Not knowing what would happen to them, they stand with their arms raised, hands on metal doors, legs apart and some of them still in the thin clothing they were wearing at home when the IOF came to arrest them,. For close to four hours of standing in the cold, they endure a heckling crowd of settlers, being blindfolded, handcuffed and finally taken away to the police station where police continued to question and finally released them after midnight. At a checkpoint on their way home, a soldier tore up one of their IDs.
Six teenagers… whose actual ‘crime’ was discovered to be; breaking through a fence into an open square near the settlers’ housing area to look for scrap metal. Even though their Palestinian families gave witness on their behalf they were condemned by the word of a settler, with two now facing a hearing and the rest with their names on the Israeli police list of potential ‘terrorists’.
For a photo of this incident,click here
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