Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Nov. 23, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a further rise in unemployment levels in the occupied West Bank, especially in the hospitality and tourism sectors. An engineering student from Birzeit University has managed to buck the trend. Issa Haj Yasin has converted some VW camper vans into the first Hotdog Vans in Palestine. His customers are able to socially distance while waiting for their food orders. He is also providing employment for other students supporting their families while continuing to study.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the determination of young students ready to use their skills to start new businesses and help others, even in these difficult times. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

The Kumi Now Initiative looks at the work of Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Transformation Centre, this week. One aspect of the work of Wi’am is to provide a safe and creative space for children living in the occupied Palestinian Territories to come together and enjoy taking part in artistic and cultural activities. It offers them some respite from the troubles they face each day.

Lord, we thank you for the work of Wi’am, especially for the joy and care they offer to young Palestinian children who suffer harassment and deprivation in their everyday lives. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

A team of Birzeit University students took 1st place locally and 47th place internationally in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ Competition. The students were required to solve a set of challenging questions at regular intervals throughout a 24-hour period.

Lord, we are thankful for the success of these Palestinian students who are benefiting from a high level of education which enables them to succeed at an international level. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

Lifetime achievement awards have been presented by the Palestinian Ministry of Culture to Nazmi Al-Jubeh, a professor of history and archeology at Birzeit University and to Rima Tarazi, musician and composer. Rima has taught at the University and was one of the founders of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music there. She is also a prominent activist, supporting a number of organizations helping to empower young women, including the YWCA and the General Union of Palestinian Women, among others.

Lord, we join our voices in celebration of the gifts of Nazmi and Rima. We are thankful for the way they have used their gifts to inspire and support their students and to enrich their communities. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

Concerns have been expressed at an international level over the way the Israeli government is expediting plans to build 1,257 settler homes beyond the Green Line in Giv’at Ha Matos Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. There are fears that approval plans for this contentious project, as well as a number of others, will be rushed through before a change in the US administration in the New Year.

Lord, we cry out to you for mercy as we see more plans for a massive expansion of settler unit building in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian Territories. We pray that governments around the world will speak out strongly over further breaches of international law . Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

Palestinian schoolchildren in the occupied West Bank have suffered an average of ten attacks per month, over the past eighteen months, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

The Council reported on the 13th of November that Israeli forces and settlers have attacked Palestinian schoolchildren during raids on schools, they have also arrested children at checkpoints, fired towards them and blocked them from entering schools. Some schools have been completely demolished and all the equipment confiscated.

O Lord, hear the voice of our pleas for mercy as we bring before you the Palestinian schoolchildren who endure trauma at such a young age. We pray that governments around the world would take action to ensure that the Israeli government complies with international law and guarantee that these children have safe access to education. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.

 

 

 

• We thank you, Lord, for the publication of Sabeel’s latest Cornerstone magazine (no.82). Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

 

 

Nizar Banat, a resident of Hebron in the West Bank, is a political and social activist, a father of four, and a carpenter. Banat often speaks about his dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority. Banat uses social media to criticize the Palestinian Authority with daring videos posted on Facebook, and this criticism has landed him in hot water with the authorities. Last week, Nizar Banat, posted a video on Facebook, criticizing the Palestinian Leadership for its security coordination with Israel. Within hours, the PA’s Preventive Security Agency arrested him on charges of “defaming public authorities.” He was taken to the notorious Jericho Prison based on a complaint filed by Hussein al-Sheikh, the head of the General Authority of Civil Affairs since 2007.

• Lord, we give thanks to all who speak truth to power in the world and specially in our Palestinian community. May our local community continue to cherish the freedom of expression and refuse to surrender to all forms of domination and intimidation. May the prophetic voices continue to echo in our cities, villages and refugee camps and make the powerful uncomfortable until they listen to the will of the people. Lord in your mercy…Hear our prayers    

 

 

• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.