Bishop Munib Younan’s New Book: Our Shared Witness
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Munib Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) has written a new book called OurShared Witness: A Voice for Justice and Reconciliation. Bishop Younan...
Jerusalem – Separate and unequal
Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day on Sunday, which commemorates the “unification” of Jerusalem after the 1967 war. An editorial in Haaretz, called the Lies of Jerusalem, argues that Jerusalem is anything but united: The wall that divides statements such as “We come with a...
ELCJHL Student on Why I Love My Family
httpv://youtu.be/mgbKvBY0CDQ Maya, an 8th-grader at one of the schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), speaks about her family as she wins the 8th grade English speech contest at the ELCJHL Educational Fair for 2012. The...
Clashing memories in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories
Late April and early May mark a stark contrast for Israelis and Palestinians. This year, the state of Israel celebrated 64 years of independence in late April. But on May 15, Palestinians commemorated the same events as a tragedy they...
The Wall – 10 Years On
It was December of 2002 when I first encountered the very beginnings of the separation barrier. I was visiting the Holy Land on an interfaith peace trip, and in order to reach a friend’s house for dinner in Abu Dis...
A Young Adult in Global Ministry in Palestine asks for prayers for an arrested friend
One of the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike has been transfered to the hospital, and his request to be released denied. Read more At the same time, more prisoners are being arrested. Here is a blog post from Lauren-Whitney Gottbrath, a...
UN appalled at Palestinian prison conditions leading to hunger strike
The UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk said he is appalled at the conditions that have led to more than 1500 prisoners taking part in a hunger strike. Prison authorities have reportedly taken punitive measures against those on hunger strike, including denying...
Illegal settlement growth in East Jerusalem through Palestinian home evictions
In a new report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNOCHA) details the increasing settlement activity in Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem, especially the increasing evictions of Palestinians from their...
Thank 60 minutes for story on Palestinian Christians
The story about the shrinking population of the Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land was broadcast on “60 Minutes” Sunday, 22 April 2012, including an interview with the Rev Dr. Mitri Raheb of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. The story includes...
New report highlights differences in treatment of Israelis and Palestinians in the Jordan Valley
A new report by the Ma’an Development Center describes the vast difference in treatment and development of Palestinian villages and illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley. From the report: “The Jordan Valley is approximately 15-20 kilometers wide and, at...