"you'll be happy to hear..."

From The Guardian:  

Bush acknowledged that the checkpoints across the West Bank caused "massive frustrations" to the Palestinians. "You'll be happy to hear that my motorcade of 45 cars was able to make it through without being stopped but I'm not so exactly sure that's what happens to the average person," he said.

My friend Eric dropped me off near the King David Hotel yesterday, where I was to participate in a craft bazaar on behalf of the ICB, because no one with any Palestinian heritage was getting in or out of the West Bank.  It took us 15 minutes to get down there, and it took him an hour and a half to get back, because Israel closed Road 1 from Jerusalem to Ramallah, cutting Jerusalem in half and preventing people from getting across town.  Apparently it was too foggy to fly Marine One to Ramallah, so the presidential motorcade (which cars were imported from the US, along with 300 staff members, including housekeeping and catering staff to replace the hotel staff during his stay) drove up to Ramallah instead, while Jerusalem traffic sat at a standstill.

This is nuts.  I don't know if it's the president's security that mandates that all of these considerations be taken, or if it's the Israelis who arrange all this (for the sake of showing off, or as an excuse to harass Palestinians), but this is just NUTS.  It'll be a wonder if he ever gets invited back!

Full Guardian story here.

On the other hand, Bush did AGAIN call for a halt on settlement expansion, and Olmert AGAIN said okay, so maybe this time they'll mean it.

President Bush's visit to Bethlehem

President Bush is due to arrive in Bethlehem today, we think, so
obviously the whole town is shut down as a security measure.

Seriously. No West Bankers are allowed in or out of the city.

Pastor Mitri had to cancel a workshop in Jerusalem today because he
can't get out of the city, and our Ajyal programme had to cancel its
annual trip to the Galilee. Ajyal is our community care programme for
the elderly, so imagine, a bus full of little old ladies told that
they can't go to the Galilee because they're a security threat.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that many people in Bethlehem
have travel permits only for a limited time (most of them until the
20th... one-month travel permits from the Israeli government are
issued to many Christians around Christmastime, with the notable
exception of those involved in the media or in political activism,
some of whom have been denied permits for the last 3 years), and the
fact that the Israeli authorities said at 7pm last night that the bus
of senior citizens could go, and then at 10pm changed their mind and
said that they couldn't. The Ajyal coordinator had to get on the
phone to 100 seniors at 10pm and tell them that the trip would be
postponed until they were allowed out of the city again. They think
maybe Monday they'll be able to go.

In the meantime, we hope that the President enjoys his tour of
Bethlehem. Hopefully he'll get a better idea of what the town is like
than most tourists, who are bussed into Manger Square for an hour and
then bussed out again to their hotels on the Israeli side of the Wall.
Tony Blair stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel here in Bethlehem
(where I played billiards on my birthday -- swank place!), so maybe
the President and his entourage will stay for a while, and tour the
Wall to see Banksy's murals or something.

Bush said that his visit here is "more religious than political", but
as far as we know he hasn't made appointments with local church
leaders or anything, so his agenda is anyone's guess. I wonder how
long he'll want to spend down in the grotto at the Church of the
Nativity.

It really struck me at Christmas (and again at Orthodox Christmas)
that people come from all over the world for a once-in-a-lifetime
experience of seeing and touching the place where tradition says
Christ was born, and I walk past it all the time and am free to enter
and sit for as long as I like, whenever I like. It really is sort of
crazy that I live here, isn't it? There still exists in my mind a
disconnect between the "Bethlehem" of Bible stories and the Bethlehem
where I live, and I'm not sure how to reconcile the two. What is it
like for the monks who live and serve in the Church of the Nativity?
What is it like for the kids who grow up in the neighbourhoods around
the Church of the Nativity, and play in the sanctuary? Growing up in
(and physically next to) the church I suppose changed my relationship
with the church and church life (not sure if it's somehow decreased
the mystery and sanctity of the church in my mind, or if it's just
made me more comfortable with it and more ready to be a part of it),
but rollerskating in the basement of Grace Lutheran Church in Denver
and playing hide-and-seek in the sanctuary of the Church of the
Nativity are sort of two different things, aren't they?

from Al-Jazeera's English channel, on Nablus

From my friend Dave in Dublin…

 

I watched a good documentary this evening, called “Two Schools in Nablus”. It was broadcast by the English language version of Al Jazeera. It shows what both teachers and students have to endure on a daily basis in Nablus.

 

One part of the documentary reminded me what Ziyad told us about when his family went to try and visit him in prison. A girl in the film has a brother in an Israeli jail; her parents are not allowed to visit him for security reasons, so she goes to visit him once a fortnight. Although she is only allowed to see him for 45 minutes, the actual round trip (including the checkpoints; searches; questioning etc) takes 15 hours! Appalling.

 

You can watch the documentary on You Tube in four parts:

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtziKpJi2Wk

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FL7Xifg3d4

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoZPNZN1gEw

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXp7UmzfSHA

 

Also posted the link on Facebook for those of you who use that.

 

I don’t know how to get Al Jazeera (the English language version) in Ireland, but they actually put a very large amount of their reports and features up on You Tube. Most days there are new reports from Palestine put up, covering the situation there. They cover more from Palestine than, say, BBC World or CNN.

 

Their “homepage” on You Tube is: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AlJazeeraEnglish where you can browse their videos, and see all the new ones. If you have nerd-like tendencies like me you can subscribe using an RSS reader too to get the new content.

 

Regards, Dave

Nassar family in LA Times

Received this from Chuck:

The following article reviews struggle of a Palestinian family to retain their land from encroaching Israeli settlers. The story of the Nassar family, members of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, is told in more detail in Imm Mathilda: A Bethlehem Mother’s Diary by Alison Jones Nassar with Fred Strickert, a book issued a few years ago by Kirk House Publishers, Minneapolis. To order ($15) go to www.kirkhouse.com ... enter Catalog, then Global Issues.

A West Bank Struggle Rooted In Land, By Richard Bourdreaux in The Los Angeles Times, Dec. 27, 2007

http://serv01.siteground202.com/~atfp/news/article.php?id=366712360

a good article about Bethlehem

There was an article on Bethlehem in the December National Geographic which really tried to play up the "tension between Christians and Muslims" that has largely been manufactured by the media. Here is a better article from the Independent in the UK. It also makes reference to Banksy's return to Bethlehem and his new murals. One of them, the one of the donkey getting his ID papers checked, was actually painted over by the locals because to THEM it meant that Palestinians (who get their IDs checked all the time by Israeli soldiers) are like donkeys, which is a pretty big insult 'round these parts.

Anyway, see the Independent article here:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3276249.ece

Bethlehem-focused Advent and Christmas events

I'm trying to put together a list of events going on this Advent/Christmas season that are raising awareness about what's going on in Bethlehem today, as the world is focusing on the "Little Town" of Jesus' time. Do you know of any? Here are three that I know of, through communication with our Area Reps in the US:

1. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Michigan are going to lead an Advent event on Bethlehem and the Wall. They asked for a copy of the film "Sacred Space Denied" to use in the event.

2. A Methodist minister in Northeast England intends to focus on Bethlehem in his congregation's Advent liturgies. He also wants to show the film as part of the events.

3. In Madison, Wisconsin, a congregation is having their annual Cookie and Craft Bazaar to benefit and raise awareness about Christians and churches in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine.

Any more? Please let me know if you know of congregations who are using the Wheat Ridge "Bethlehem We Care" materials this Advent season, or having craft bazaars that are either selling goods from Bethlehem or focused on raising funds for or awareness of Christians and churches in Palestine.

Denver Event: Sun, Dec. 2, 3:00 pm: O, Little Town of Bethlehem: A City Besieged

 

For those in the Denver area: 

 

Friends of Sabeel-Colorado presents:

 

O, Little Town of Bethlehem:

A City Besieged
                                 

Sunday, December 2, 2007, 3:00 pm

Conference Center, Regis University, Denver
3333 Regis Blvd, Entrance 1, Parking Lot 5

Free and Open to the Public

 

Panel Discussion: Jeff and Janet Wright have traveled to Bethlehem frequently in the past several years. Janet trains Palestinian therapists in a technique developed to help traumatized people. They will show slides and present a current update of the situation in Bethlehem. Janet will discuss her work with therapists. Several Palestinians from the Bethlehem area will be on the panel to respond to the presentation and answer questions from the audience.

 

Hand-made olive wood carvings from Bethlehem will be available to purchase - nativities, Christmas ornaments, rosaries, and more! New items just arrived!

 

Co-sponsored by: Regis University Justice Education Program
For more info: 303-494-2338; sabeel.colorado@earthlink.net

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For additional information and advocacy resources on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:
http://colorado-palestine.blogspot.com/
http://cmeap.internetactivist.org/test.html

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