Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Feb. 14, 2022

This year Kumi Now is taking a fresh look at the different challenges faced by Palestinians and finding out from them about the innovative ways they have come up with to overcome them. On Tuesday, the 15th of February, Vera Baboun, who served as the first female mayor of Bethlehem, was featured in the new Palestinian Innovator Series.

• Lord, we pray that this new platform for Palestinians through the Kumi Now series will give us all a deeper understanding of the struggles and opportunities faced by a population which has lived under Israeli occupation for over seventy years. Lord, in your mercy…

Sabeel has been developing its Annual Plan in a workshop in the Jerusalem office during this week.

• Lord, we pray for your wisdom and guidance for the staff of Sabeel as they come together to decide on their priorities and where they should focus their energy this year. Lord, in your mercy…

Michael Benyair, a former Israeli Attorney General, has recently spoken out about Israel’s apartheid rule in the occupied Palestinian territory. In an interview published by Ireland’s ‘The Journal’ magazine he stated, ‘Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, it is Israel that is permanently depriving millions of Palestinians of their civil and political rights. This is Israeli apartheid.’

• Lord, we thank you for the courage of Michael Benyair to speak out about the ‘moral abomination of apartheid’ in Israel. We pray that more and more witnesses, Israeli, Palestinian and international will speak out about their experience of the occupation. Lord in your mercy..

On Saturday, the !2th of February, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory reported that the Israeli authorities had demolished, confiscated or forced owners to demolish 53 Palestinian-owned homes in Area C of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The authorities cite the reason for the demolitions is the lack of Israeli building permits,(which Palestinians find almost impossible to obtain). The demolitions affected the livelihoods of 400 Palestinians and displaced 26 people, including 13 children. Some of the structures that were torn down were temporary shelters, which had been provided as humanitarian assistance to families whose homes had already been demolished.

• Lord, we cry out to you as we hear of Palestinian families having their homes and temporary shelters demolished. It is hard to think of the despair and discouragement they face this winter after such  treatment. We pray for an end to inhumane policies of the Israeli authorities. Lord, in your mercy…

‘Coalition-stop settlements’ is a broad alliance of NGOs, grassroots movements, trades unions and politicians who have come together to halt the annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory. On Sunday, the 20th of February, they are launching the European Citizen’s Initiative. They are aiming to get one million signatures to support their petition. They are appealing to the European Commission to start respecting international law by stopping all trade with illegal settlements.

• Lord, we give thanks for all those who continue to work for justice and peace through non-violent means. Help us to place our trust in your living and active word and to advocate for justice through our governments and institutions. Lord, in your mercy..

During the first month of 2022 the Israeli authorities have arrested 502 Palestinians, according to prisoner advocacy groups. Among the detainees were 6 women and 54 children, one of whom was younger than twelve-years-old. There are now 4,500 Palestinian detainees in Israeli military prisons, 500 of whom are held on administrative detention. Many prisoners are suffering from Covid, with 500 cases reported in Ofer Prison alone.

• Lord, so many Palestinian families are affected by imprisonment under the Israeli military court system. We can only imagine the anxiety and concern of the Palestinian family whose young son is now in a military prison far from home. We pray for an end to the occupation and the dismantling of this oppressive and alienating system. Lord, in your mercy…

Stanford University in the US has announced that the scientist Bassam Dally is now ranked in the top two per cent of scientists across the world. Bassam is a Palestinian- Australian academic and his family originated from Kafr Yassif, near Galilee. His research currently focuses on the use of renewable energy sources to decarbonise pollution from heavy industries. Alongside his academic work he has continued to support Palestine.

• Lord, we thank you for the gifts and hard work of Bassam Dally which has brought this recent academic recognition. We thank you that he still finds time to advocate for his Palestinian brothers and sisters. Lord, in your mercy…
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Lord, in your mercy…