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In October
I traveled to Palestine and The Holy Land with Bishop
Burnside and 16 other people from our synod. It was an
amazing experience. We were all deeply affected by the
plight of the Palestinians because of the Israeli occupation. Land is being stolen and abused. People are being
terrorized and forced out of their homes by the Israeli
government in areas that do not lie within the boundaries of
Israel. People are cut off from their places of work, their
fields, their relatives. Checkpoints make travel tedious at
best, and often frightening, humiliating and dangerous.
The Apartheid Wall winds it's way through Palestinian land
far outside the legal boundaries of Israel, swallowing up
water sources and roads that are stolen for use by illegal
settlements. Villages are left without water, or are forced
to purchase water from the settlements. Because the roads
have been blocked, they are forced to find other routes,
often driving two or three times farther to reach their
destination, and sometimes even having to drive cross
country where there are no roads.
We visited many Holy sites; helped a Palestinian family
harvest olives (the presence of internationals discourages
the settlers from harassing, threatening and hurting the
villagers);
met with Samaritan, Islamic and Christian clergy,
including Bishop Younan of the ELCJHL; met with many
Palestinians working for peace; met with a settler in his
home; visited several Lutheran schools from kindergarten to
post-graduation; and so much more!
If you would like to know more about this trip and the
plight of Palestinians in an occupied land, please feel free
to contact me. Meanwhile, please view my slide show on this page.
Chris
For other trip pictures and news updates please visit
our blog at
www.SCSWPilgrimage08.blogspot.com.
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Slideshow of My Pictures from Palestine
& The Holy Land
Click on image to enlarge to full screen.
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