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The Holy LandThe Holy Land
My Land, Your LandMy Land, Your Land
My House, Your My House, Your HouseHouse
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn 1917….• World War I was nearing an end
• The Ottoman Empire was in its last days
• The British Empire was about to gain control over the land known as Palestine
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn 1917….• 90 % of the indigenous people were
Palestinians– Almost all the cultivated land was held
by Palestinians– A mere 5.8% of the land was under
Jewish ownership
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn 1917….• In Christian cities, population was
overwhelming Palestinian.– Bethlehem
– Nazareth
– Ramallah
– Beit Sahour
The Holy LandThe Holy LandTo put it another way, in
these and other cities, towns, and villages, the majority of the people were Arab Palestinian Christians.…
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 began….• Palestine was under British control
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 began….• Palestine was bounded
by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 began….• There were no
countries in this land of mountains, deserts, and sea coast…only people.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 began….• 2/3 of the indigenous people were
Palestinians: primarily Arabs
• 1/3 were Jewish newcomers: Zionist settlers and war refugees
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 ended….• 800,000 Palestinians had been forced
from their homes, never permitted to return
• 531 Palestinian villages had been destroyed
The Holy LandThe Holy LandAs 1948 ended….• Israel had emerged as a nation
• The Armistice or “Green Line” had been drawn, dividing Israel from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
What was Palestinian land had become Israeli land.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Houses which had been home to Palestinian families now sheltered Israelis.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIn Jerusalem they included these….
And And this one with the owner’s one with the owner’s name still engraved for all the name still engraved for all the world to see.world to see.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
The Palestinian owners never received one Shekel in compensation, and ….
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
To this day they have not been allowed to return to their homes.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Whose land?
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Whose house?
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
What is right?
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
What is just
and fair?
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
These are the questions under which the Christian Church lives in the Holy Land.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
These are the hardships:
•The Occupation
•The Settlements
•The Separation Barrier
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
These are the hardships…
The Occupation
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Since 1967 Israel has been in complete control of Palestinian life.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land• No freedom of movement
• No right to build a house on their land
• No freedom to live or go or worship where they choose
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
These are the hardships…
The Settlements
The Holy LandThe Holy LandBefore the guns barrels
cooled in 1967…Israel began to colonize
illegally the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandThe number of Israeli setters
illegally on Palestinian land now exceeds
450,000
The Holy LandThe Holy LandThe government of Israel
provides…
•Settler only roads
•Economic subsidies
•Protection by the army
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
49% of Israeli settler housing sits on stolen privately-owned Palestinian land.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
These are the hardships…
The Separation Barrier
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Variously called a fence, a security barrier, a wall, an apartheid wall…
The Holy LandThe Holy LandIt still separates 480,000 dunums
[120,000 acres] of Palestinian land from the West Bank,
and encloses 191,000 dunums [48,000 acres] more.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Robs villages and individual farmers of their agricultural property…
The Holy LandThe Holy LandSeparates tens of thousands of
Palestinians from the West Bank, with estimates going as high as 12% of all West Bank people.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandGives Israel control of virtually
all the Palestinian water…
Makes an independent Palestine state absolutely impossible.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandThe Christian Church in the Holy
Land.
Now less than 2% of all people in Israel/Palestine.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandEvangelical Lutheran Church in
Jordan and the Holy Land.• 2,000 members
• 6 congregations [5 in the West Bank]
• 4 schools, plus kindergartens and special educational programs
The Holy LandThe Holy LandCalled To Be….• Prophets of Hope
• Builders of Bridges
• Agents of Reconciliation
• Voices for Justice
The Holy LandThe Holy LandStanding alone the Church
may become a collection of beautiful buildings with caretakers…living under perpetual occupation.
The Holy LandThe Holy LandWith the Church throughout
the world standing firmly and faithfully beside Christians of the Holy Land…Peace is Possible!
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Tell the President and Congress….
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
The stories of two peoples – not one – are carved into the Holy Land.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Tell them…..
It’s not too late
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
But it will be soon!
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Tell them…..
There can be no peace without justice
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Tell them…..The whole world is watching
to see if we mean what we say about truth and justice.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Tell them…..
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
Russell O. Siler, Pastor Russell O. Siler, Pastor (2003 – 2007) (2003 – 2007)
Lutheran Church of the RedeemerLutheran Church of the Redeemer
English-speaking CongregationEnglish-speaking Congregation
Jerusalem - Old CityJerusalem - Old City
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
This presentation was produced by Bob Mullen in appreciation and gratitude for the Silers’ work for peace with justice in the Holy Land.
The Holy LandThe Holy Land
My Land, Your LandMy Land, Your Land
My House, Your My House, Your HouseHouse
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