Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Aug. 29, 2022

It is the start of the new academic year in Palestine and Israel and students will be returning to classes which are funded quite differently. Next week Kumi Now will consider the unjust discrimination faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel when it comes to educational funding from the Israeli authorities.

•    Lord, we pray that all students in Palestine and Israel will be given equal support and educational opportunities, which is not dependent on their ethnicity or religious background. Lord, in your mercy..

Wadi Rabah is an area in the occupied West Bank which is extremely important for the conservation of wild animals and delicate biodiversity. It also needs protection as it forms a corridor for millions of migratory birds flying across the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. Experts and activists are concerned that plans to build the Nahal Rabah cemetery for settlers in this sensitive area have been passed without an environmental survey.

•    Lord, we cry out to you as we see more land seized from Palestinians for settlers and we see Israeli businesses ready to upset the balance of nature at a time of climate change. Lord, in your mercy…

Last week Father Ioustinos, the 81-year-old Archimandrite of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jacob’s Well was injured by some Palestinians who broke into the church. Father Ioustinos is much respected in his Nablus community and has worked for years to restore the church and monastery after they were damaged in the 1927 earthquake. This is one of many attacks he has had to endure and the Palestinian Authority have been criticised for not providing sufficient levels of security in this area which is under their supervision.

•    Lord, we thank you for the devoted service of Father Ioustinos and pray that he will soon recover from the shock and injuries he sustained in the recent attack. We pray that this incident will be fully investigated by the Palestinian Authority and that any criminals will be held to account for their actions. Lord, in your mercy…

On Thursday, the 25th of August, hundreds of Palestinian detainees throughout the Israeli prison system began a sit-in protest in prison courtyards. They are protesting against the harsh measures taken by Israeli prison authorities to constantly transfer Palestinian prisoners with longer sentences and to keep them in solitary confinement.

•    Lord, help us to ‘remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them’ (Hebrews 13:3). We pray for the hundreds of Palestinian prisoners now being held on administrative detention, for those on hunger strike in protest,     for those in solitary confinement. Lord, in your mercy..

Rev. Don Wagner has just published his memoirs after five decades of working as an activist to expose the injustices perpetrated against the Palestinian people by Israel. The book is entitled, ‘Glory to God in the Lowest. Journeys to an Unholy Land’. He has persevered in his activism through his work for Friends of Sabeel North America and has devoted his life to understand Christian Zionists and the uncritical support they give the Israeli occupation.

•    Lord, we give thanks for the courage and steadfastness of Don Wagner in his life’s work to reveal the truth about the Israeli oppression of Palestinians.Lord, in your mercy..

Last week Human Rights’ Watch wrote an open letter to the Biden Administration about the Israeli governments’ targeting of seven notable Palestinian Civil Societies. They have been designated as ‘terror’ organisations by the Israeli Defence Minister. The UN and nine European Foreign Ministries have stated that there is no substantial information to support this designation and that the organisations should continue to receive funding. However  the letter states that the Biden Administration has not voiced concern over the lack of evidence and is ‘effectively acquiescing’ to repressive attacks on Palestinian civil society.

•    Lord, we pray that the US government will speak out over the attacks on Palestinian civil societies and challenge the Israeli government over any unfounded allegations against them. Lord, in your mercy…

•    We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. Lord, in your mercy…