Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of May 9, 2022

After more than twenty years of legal proceedings, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled, on Wednesday the 4th of May, that the area of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills is now a closed military zone. This ruling means that the Israeli army can forcibly transfer 1,200 Palestinians living in the area and take away their land.

• Merciful Lord, we cry out to you as we see more and more Palestinians made homeless as the Israeli authorities use their justice system to contravene international humanitarian law. Lord, in your mercy..

B’Tselem, the Israel Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has looked into the circumstances under which the Israeli border police shot and killed Nader Rayan in Nablus on the 15th of March this year. Their investigation showed that Nader and his friend were on their scooter behind the police vehicles. When the scooter broke down, they ran down a side alley. As they run, the police shot Nader in the back. Then the police left their vehicles, tracked down the injured Nader, shot him repeatedly and killed him.

• Lord, we pray for the family of Nader as they grieve over his violent death. We pray that the Israeli military will put a stop to this open fire policy, which contravenes international humanitarian law and has cost the lives of thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Lord, in your mercy…

On Thursday, the 5th of May, more than six hundred Israeli settlers resumed their incursions, under police protection, into the Al Aqsa compound, after the ten day pause for the end of Ramadan. Israeli police arrested fifty Palestinians, including elderly men and young boys, and injured sixteen others during clashes at the compound. Tensions have heightened following a series of attacks inside Israel and police raids in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

• Lord, we pray for calm as the violence in Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian Territories is rising. We pray that the Israeli authorities will take responsibility to ease the tensions and not enflame the situation, particularly at the Al Aqsa compound. Lord, in your mercy…

Sabeel Jerusalem held an ecumenical meeting for more than fifty clergy on Monday, the 9th of May. Clergy were also invited to visit Father Raji Khoury, a Greek Orthodox priest, who is now over ninety years old and suffers from a medical condition which prevents him from attending the Sabeel meetings.

• Lord, we give thanks for the encouragement and support Sabeel Jerusalem provides to local clergy as they continue to experience challenges and persecution. Lord, in your mercy…

Eight Republican and Democrat Congressmen sent a joint letter to the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, at the end of April. They wished to express their deep concern over the disturbing rise in recent Israeli extremist attacks against Jerusalem’s Christian community. The lawmakers stressed that the protection of religious freedom abroad must be a critical element of US foreign policy.

• Lord, we pray that the US government will listen to the concerns of the congressmen over what is happening to the Christian community in Israel. We pray that the US State Department will work with the Israeli government to uphold its stated commitment to the freedom of religion and worship of all religions. Lord, in your mercy..

For Palestinians, Sunday, the 15th of May will be the time they commemorate the Nakba, when thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in 1948.

• Lord, we lament  as we see that even today many Palestinians have to leave their land and communities, forced out by the oppressive policies of the Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy…

The Rev. Canon Richard ‘Dick’ Toll will be the next recipient of the Cotton Fite Award given by the Palestine Israel Network of the US Episcopalian Church. Since meeting the Rev. Naim Ateek in the early 1960’s, Dick has been committed to advocacy for Palestinian human rights. He has served as the Director for FOSNA and helped to organise 35 regional conferences on Palestine.

• Lord, we give thanks for the years of devoted service given by Dick Toll to Palestinian advocacy and we rejoice with him over the recognition of his abiding commitment to justice and peace. Lord, in your mercy…

The Taizé Community, together with the Ecumenical Institute of Tantur and the Churches of the Holy Land, have been welcoming more than three hundred young Christians from Europe and other countries for a time of worship and prayer in the Holy Land. They have met up with young believers from the Holy Land to reflect on the theme of ‘Journeying Together to Sources of Hope’.

• Lord Jesus, our Risen Lord, we remember how the appearances to the disciples after your resurrection turned their fear and despair into joy and a living hope. We pray that the Taizé gathering is a blessing and encouragement to all the young people as they have learnt of the different challenges they face in their lives. Lord, in your mercy…
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Lord, in your mercy….