Olive Trees in Wartime
Hani Abu Hikal is a Hebron native whose family has lived on the hillside, Tel Remieda, for hundreds of years. He was an angry youth when the Israeli policies divided the city and humiliated him and his friends. He went to jail for 20 months at 17 years old because he...
From Jerusalem and Canaan
Jerusalem, a holy city to so many. On one hand it's amazing that after invasions of Romans, Syrians, Egyptians, crusaders, Ottomans, English and Jordanians that all want to claim the hill as their own. How amazing that they've found a way to live in their piece of the...
Living in a Bubble
As I contemplated what my Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation tour would be, I hoped that we would be exposed to a full range of the human experience in Israel-Palestine—and indeed we have. We’ve heard from Israelis spanning the whole political spectrum, including:...
Looking for a Cup of Water in a Religious Desert
Our group met with a one of the founders of Sabeel, a Palestinian Christian group committed to nonviolence and standing with the suffering of the Palestinian people. Sabeel means “the way.” In ancient times in the arid Palestinian land, a traveler would find an urn of...
Ceasefire Is Not Exactly Peace
Jonathan and I started our journey to Jerusalem when we first agreed to go on the Christian Peacemakers Team. Then we read books together, and studied current events in the Middle East. We sat down to have a meal with friends who know the region well. Some Friends...
Arrived In Jerusalem
Along with UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon, and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Minga and I arrived at the airport in Tel Aviv only 3 hours later than expected. Earlier this morning, we sat on the ground at the Charles de Gaualle airport in Paris, likely...
Travel to Israel-Palestine Issue I
On What Common Ground Do We Stand? When Hazel was two she was fascinated with my old cat, Ocelot. She would prance into the living room, her feet 2 boulders rolling along. Ocelot would get up out of slumber and slink out the back door. Hazel would spend an hour...
Practicing Peace-More on AVP
There’s not much silence in an Alternatives to Violence Workshop. But there’s a lot of soaking in good energy. We do silly games like Mrs. Mumbly Just can’t smile (talk without showing teeth); sly games like taking a slow boat to China; rowdy games like Jailbreak...
The Alarming New Jim Crow
Michelle Alexander is a slim tall woman with a powerful voice. Her book, The New Jim Crow, 2011, is convincing and well researched. She shared at Boston University a vision and a plan for a new social movement to turn around pernicious racial policies in the US....
Fanny Huanca- a Bolivian Quaker speaks
She started at the university of La Paz in 2008 studying tourism. In 2010 she received a scholarship from Bolivian Quaker Education. “I live in the Tahuantinsuya barrio in El Alto. I want to tell you about my Friends church, Tahuantinsuta meeting. I participate in the...