Christians, Jews and Muslims meet on the road to Bethlehem (by parish pri.

[Wordie]

This is an article written by Father Firas Aridah, a parish priest in the ancient West Bank village of Aboud. The village has about 2,200 residents, of whom 900 are Christian. Jesus is said to have passed through Aboud on the Roman road from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Father Aridah describes efforts to protest against the Wall that Israel is building on village land. He condemns the Wall and says it is not being built for the security of Israel, but for the security of illegal Israeli settlements. More than 1,000 acres of Aboud's land is being cut off from the rest of the village by the Wall.

People unfamiliar with the I/P conflict often do not realize that there are many Palestinian Christians. Father Aridah describes a community where Christians and Muslims live together in peace. They join together in peaceful protests against the Israeli occupation of their land, protests which are frequently met with violence on the part of Israeli military forces, who he says attack the protesters with "with clubs, sound bombs, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets."

Christians, Jews and Muslims meet on the road to Bethlehem

By FIRAS ARIDAH

Friday, December 23, 2005 Posted at 11:16 PM EST

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

...Two weeks ago, we were honoured with a visit to Aboud by the highest Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah. Patriarch Sabbah, a Palestinian, planted an olive tree on the planned route of the wall, and told 1,000 peaceful protesters, “The wall doesn't benefit the security of either Israel or anybody else. Our prayers are for the removal of this physical wall currently under construction and the return of our lands.

“Our hearts are filled with love, and no hatred for anybody. With our faith and love, we demand the removal of this wall. We affirm that it is a mistake and an attack against our lands and our properties, and an attack against friendly relationships between the two people.

“In your faith and your love you shall find a guide for your political action and your resistance against every oppression. You may say that love is an unknown language to politics, but love is possible in spite of all the evil we experience. We shall make it possible!”

Just after Patriarch Sabbah left, an Israeli protesting with us was arrested by Israeli soldiers as he planted an olive tree.

Father Firas Aridah is a Jordanian priest serving the Roman Catholic Holy Mary Mother of Sorrows Church in the village of Aboud.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051223.wcoaboud24/BNStory/specialComment/

Father Aridah goes on to say that the message that the people of Aboud send to the world this Christmas is that Jews, Christians and Muslims have to live together in peace.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I am well aware of Palestinian Christians

as I have a dear friend who is Roman Catholic and who moved from Palestine to this country many years ago. She told me that one time the Israeli Army went into the Church of the Holy Sepulcure and wouldn't let Christians enter-and that they raised the Isreali flag there (something that incensed her). She said that though she was born in Jerusalem to a Christian family, she felt very persecuted by the Israelis. She is a very loving person who married a Muslim and has no problem with folks in this country, no matter what their faith.

[Wordie]

2. Many people don't know of these things.

Thanks for telling us the story of your friend. I too have known of many other Palestinians and Arabs of both faiths who only want peace, and who interact together entirely without enmity. We just never seem to hear about them.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Funny, isn't it

that the news media don't want to talk of people living in peace, but only want to accentuate the strife. The Dances of Universal Peace, which have been taken to Jerusalem, have been used as a tool for decades to bring people of different faiths together, but one rarely hears about the work being done throughout the world by this organization.

[Wordie]

5. I've heard the name, but don't know of them. Got a link? eom

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Link coming up

www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org

I've been a mentored Dance leader since 1990-if you're ever in northwest Arkansas you are invited to come join us at Dance.

[Wordie]

8. Interesting. I've now bookmarked it. Thanks for the invite, too. eom

[hippywife]

4. This past summer I met

Mazin Qumsiyeh who is a Palestinian Christian travelling with the Wheels of Justice Tour. He gave an excellent presentation on the wall and what the impacts have and will be.

http://qumsiyeh.org/

http://www.justicewheels.org/

[Wordie]

7. Thanks for those links. I've only taken a peek, but they look interesting!

I'm bookmarking them to look at in more detail.

I'm really happy to learn of others who are working in a non-violent manner to end the occupation and violence.

My dream is to hear a world leader say this:

Mr. Sharon, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!