Category: Middle East

“A beautifully made nine-minute film focuses on the work of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the South Hebron Hills.”
–Independent Catholic News

“Produced, filmed and edited by journalist Catherine Rabenstine, the nine-minute film features CPT’s Palestinian partners who nonviolently resist the Israeli military occupation in Hebron/Al Khalil and the South Hebron Hills.
–Plan Be

“I consider the presence of CPT really something great. They support the Palestinians and the nonviolent resistance,” says CPT South Hebron Hills partner Hafez Hereini in the new video, “An Introduction to CPT Palestine.”
–Christian Peacemaker Teams

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Abu Moammar is a farmer in Iraq Burin, a village near Nablus in the West Bank, whose land has been confiscated by Israelis. He told us about life as a farmer in the village.

Watch a video of Abu Moammar discussing life in Iraq Burin (English with Arabic subtitles).

Edited video, assisted with filming and interviewing.

November 1, 2011

Last year wasn’t my first Thanksgiving abroad, a holiday that is oh-so-North American that celebrations overseas usually take on a little local flavor.

In Kerala, India, we were treated to curried barbecue chicken and the most delicious mashed potatoes I may ever taste. I wore a navy blue churidar to that meal. In Dublin, our Irish hosts had a special meal cooked up for our group of college students on a social justice study trip. We arrived after dark and left patches of snow on the carpeted stairs as we tromped up to the second floor, where we ate family style. In Rome, I wore chic black and ate Chinese food at a restaurant in Monte Mario. Each time the food was warm and delicious and I felt thankful to be among friends thoughtful enough to make Thanksgiving part of their week.

Last year I celebrated Thanksgiving with hummus and pita in Bethlehem, Palestine, while my mother and younger brother made prime rib and Yorkshire pudding in Madison, Wis.

Finish the article on The Mennonite.

Last week I took a walk through a friend’s village near Bethlehem. The sky was blue and spotted with clouds. It was chilly but the sun peaked through with surprising radiance.

First, he (let’s call him Ahmed) showed me a 4×4 inch cement track that follows one entire length of the village, coming within yards of the school. This tiny bit of cement will, maybe within the year, become part of The Wall built by Israel in this case to separate their settlement from the Palestinian village nearby.

We walked up a dirt road to two demolished houses, the foundation of one home holding the remains of its former walls. The army demolished the houses, saying they posed a security threat. One family lived in a tent for a few months before building a new house.

Standing on top of the rubble, I saw the huge Israeli settlement homes looming above on the highest, closest hill. The houses looked huge and stable, capped with the ubiquitous red roof, a characteristic of Israeli settlement buildings.

Click here to read the entire article on Mondoweiss.

I’ve lived in the Holy Land for the last seven months. This is my last week in Bethlehem before I head to India for a month, so I’ve been taking care of business. My apartment is nearly packed up: a pile of donations, a pile to leave with friends and a pile to take with me.

Just a few days ago, I went to the Jordanian Consular office in Ramallah to get a visa for my upcoming trip. After traveling two hours to get there, it was closed.
I made a new friend, a guy who also needed a visa and was equally disappointed to find the office locked.

The policeman guarding the embassy immediately sauntered over to chat with us, gun slung over his torso like a shield.

Click here to read the rest of “Stories from the Holy Land” by Cat Rabenstine for Mondoweiss.

Both Iraq Burin and Wadi Rahal are West Bank villages experiencing harassment from Israeli soldiers and settlers. The villages hope to use the websites to express their story and encourage internationals to visit them.

Iraq Burin website

Wadi Rahal website

On September 24, 2010 at 4:30pm, two villagers from Iraq Burin, a village near Nablus in the West Bank, were arrested by Israeli soldiers.  A checkpoint was erected at the entrance to the village in the morning of the same day.

In response to these arrests and the killing of two young men by Israeli soldiers in March 2010, Iraq Burin is launching a website: www.iraqburin.wordpress.com.

The soldiers identified the two men, Iman Qadous, 45, and Yousef Qadous, 50, both village council members, from a photo taken during one of the weekly peaceful demonstrations held in Iraq Burin since November 2009, protesting Israel’s confiscation of their land.

The soldiers said they were arresting the two men for having attended the demonstration.  Villagers do not know where the men were taken or for how long they will be gone.

In March 2010, two villagers, Mohammed Qadous, 16, and Usaid Qadous, 19, were killed with live ammunition when Israeli soldiers entered the village after the weekly demonstration.

Read the detailed report about the killings filed by the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights, Democracy and Peace at An-Najah University.