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Peace Not Walls

Follow bloggers during the walk of Holy Week

httpv://youtu.be/-PujjHkFjyA “Joy is one of the pillars of our resilience,” says one Palestinian Christian in Bethlehem celebrating Palm Sunday.  The Israeli government does give churches special permits for their people to go to Jerusalem during these Holy Days, but the permits are...

Israel has been earmarking Palestinian land for settlements for years, maps show

The Israeli government has been earmarking Palestinian land for settlement expansion for years, maps released recently show.  The maps, which name some new or expanded settlements where Palestinian villages now exist, were only disclosed by Israeli authorities because of a challenge...

EAPPI helps build peace and work for justice in the Holy Land

ELCA member Tammie Danielsen spent the winter in Hebron this past year as an Ecumenical Accompanier with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).  There she walked children to school to be a presence to prevent violence from Israeli settler...

Israel cuts ties with UN Human Rights Council while B’Tselem releases bleak human rights report

Israel decided Monday, March 26, to sever all contact with the United Nations human rights council and with its chief commissioner Navi Pillay, after the international body decided to establish an international investigative committee on the West Bank settlements. The Foreign...

Dr. Hannan Ashrawi on the peace process, the 2-state solution and the Arab Spring

A lunchtime interview with Dr. Hannan Ashrawi covers the peace process, the viability of a 2-state solution and the Arab spring.  Dr. Ashrawi is a legislator, activist, and scholar. She served as the official spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the...

Advocating for Equality

Synopsis – Advocacy for a just peace for Israel and Palestine has focused largely on long-term solutions, even while daily life for Palestinians has deteriorated and inequalities have multiplied. While not ignoring the need for a permanent solution, including an end...

Kairos Palestine responds to Ambassador Michael Oren

The conversation about who speaks for Palestinian Christians continued this week, as Kairos Palestine responded to Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.   In the Kairos response , they said: As Kairos Palestine, we refuse to be marginalized...

Israeli settlers take over Palestinian water springs

Israeli settlers have taken over 30 Palestinian water springs and are targeting another 26, according to a new report out by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  The vast majority of these springs, which were used for...

Thousands mourn late Egyptian Copt leader Pope Shenouda III

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt, as tens of thousands mourned the death of Pope Shenouda III, the Coptic spiritual leader since 1971 and a president of the World Council of Churches (WCC) from...

The Power to Share Stories

I want to share with you a poetic reflection shared by Aisea Taimani, one of the leaders in the 99 Collective, a young adult led movement of the Church that seeks to practice and struggle for radical hospitality for all...