Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of May 3, 2021

This week’s Kumi Now considered the threats of censorship and violence suffered by Palestinian journalists, as World Press Freedom Day was remembered on Monday, the 3rd of May. Next week’s Kumi Now online gathering will focus on the US support for Israel. The vast amount of  US military support  for Israel is used to harm Palestinians living in the Holy Land.

•  Lord, we pray that leaders around the world will reconsider their arms’ sales and the havoc and oppression caused by the use of this weaponry. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

In one of the worst disasters in Israel’s civil history, at least 45 people reportedly died and more than 150 were injured in a stampede at a Jewish holy site in northern Israel. The stampede apparently began when a walkway collapsed, with tens of thousands of people at the site.

• Dear Lord, we hold all the families of the victims in our prayers as they mourn the loss of their loved ones. We also pray for the speedy recovery of all who were injured during this disaster. We give thanks to all the medical teams who worked courageously and tirelessly to save the lives of the injured. Lord in your mercy…hear our prayers.

On Wednesday, the 21st of April, the Palestinian Museum announced the launch of the second phase of its Digital Archive Project which will be published by UCLA. The three- year project will digitize 180,000 archival items. These items will record various aspects of Palestinian social history from the 1800s to the present day.

• Lord, we thank you for this innovative project which will keep alive the identity and precious memories of the social and cultural Palestinian heritage. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

In the month of March the World Health Organization reported that a 70-year-old woman was among four Gaza cancer patients who were denied Israeli travel permits to cross the Beit Hanoun/Erez Crossing into Israel to receive treatment in East Jerusalem.

• Lord, we pray that the Israeli authorities will show compassion  and face international legal obligations to grant travel permits to Gaza patients and their carers. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

This week many Palestinians gathered outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem in protest  at the discrimination they face living under occupation by Israel. These protests come in response to the previous weeks’ demonstrations  of hundreds of far-right and anti-Palestinian Israeli activists.

• Lord, we pray for justice and peace in our troubled city Jerusalem. We give thanks to all who continue to speak truth to power and protest the unjust policies of the decision makers. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

In a new report, entitled ‘A Threshold Crossed’, Human Rights Watch states that Israel is committing the crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories. It states that Israel has a policy ‘to maintain domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians’, including those who are its citizens.

• Lord, we pray that the international community will heed the findings of this report and thoroughly investigate evidence of the discrimination and repression of Palestinians by Israel. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

This year the Churches that follow the Julian calendar celebrated Easter Day on Sunday, the 2nd of May.

• Lord Jesus, our good shepherd, we turn to you as we think of all those who celebrated Easter this past Sunday. We listen to your voice and seek to follow you as we remember how you laid down your life for our sake. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Union has denounced the recent attack on Rawa Abu Morshed. She was attacked by a Hamas field officer in Gaza. He beat her with a stick and verbally abused her for not wearing a hijab. She had to go to hospital to attend to her injuries.

• Lord, we pray for Rawa’s speedy recovery. We pray that the person who carried the violent attack and abuse on Rawa will be held accountable. We pray that people respect each other’s freedoms, and that such actions are not tolerated nor justified at all.  Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.