Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Nov. 7, 2022
Next week Kumi Now will mark the Universal Children’s Day on the 20th of November, by reminding us that Palestinian children are denied the human rights and the opportunities of children elsewhere in the world. Nearly 200 countries around the world, including Israel, have signed up to the Conventions of the Rights of Children Treaty, which requires governments to act in the best interests of children. The treaty states that all children have rights to safety, health, access to education and opportunity and a stable family life.
• Lord, we pray that international organizations will challenge the Israeli government for the mistreatment of Palestinian children. We pray for an end to the harassment of Palestinian children by the Israeli military during night raids and arrests. We pray for an end to the home and school demolitions and lack of employment opportunities for young Palestinians. Lord, in your mercy..
Shadi Khoury remains in prison without any charges for a third week. Conditions in Israeli prisons are tough and Shadi was hit by guards for daring to sing in prison. He is due to appear in court on the 14th of November, after his trial was postponed. His classmates at the Quaker School in Ramallah have rallied to his support. They have had T-shirts printed with Shadi’s photo on them and a hashtag in Arabic saying, ‘Shadi is our pride’. They reject any attempt by the Israeli authorities to criminalize him. Since the start of the year, 630 Palestinian children have been arrested by the Israeli authorities, most of them from Jerusalem.
• Lord, we continue to hold Shadi and other Palestinian children in our prayers and pray for their release from prison. We pray for an end to the targeting of Palestinian children by the Israeli authorities for violence, torture and imprisonment in military prisons. Lord, in your mercy..
• Merciful Lord, we thank you for the ecumenical service held by Sabeel in Jerusalem on Friday, the 4th of November, to call for an end to the injustice suffered by Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy..
Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliance won 64 seats to claim victory in Tuesday’s election in Israel. He will form a right-wing government having allied the Likud party to the Jewish Power Party, led by the extremist religious Zionist leader, Ben Gvir. This election was the fifth election in Israel in less than four years.
• Lord, we bring to you our concerns over the outcome of the latest election in Israel. We pray that the appointment of Israeli ministers with openly stated racist views will not lead to a period of even darker harassment and oppression for the Palestinian people. Lord, in your mercy…
A Palestinian father and his three sons were attacked by Israeli settlers while they were harvesting their olive trees near the village of ash-Shuyukh, northeast of Hebron, on Thursday, the 3rd of November. The settlers beat the Palestinian farmers with sticks and set dogs on them and the farmers needed hospital treatment for their wounds.
• Lord, we pray for protection for Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest when so many face attacks from Israeli settlers. We thank you that there are some Israeli activists prepared to go and join farmers to provide protection from settler attacks and to document settler abuses. Lord, in your mercy..
An Israeli court has now approved a decision by the Israeli authorities to demolish Ein Samiya school, near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. It was opened last January after receiving funding from the Palestinian Ministry of Education and the European Union. The villagers had protested against the demolition and are now required to pay a fine, as well as having to demolish the school themselves or else pay inflated prices for Israeli bulldozers to do the job.
• Lord, we pray for the villagers of Ein Samiya who will soon lose their village school. We pray that the Israeli authorities will end its policy of demolishing Palestinian schools. Lord, in your mercy..
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Oceania: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Kanaky, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Lord, in your mercy…