WORLD WEEK FOR PEACE IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
June 4-10, 2009
Prayer Meeting
for the World Week
On Friday 5 June, a group of 60 Bethlehemites
together with some internationals joined a meeting near the Wall at
Rachel’s Tomb at the occasion of the opening of the World Week for
Peace in Palestine Israel, June 4-10, convened by the World Council
of Churches.
After introductions about the Week
in Palestine and, by Church in Action guest Feije Duim, about the Week’s
activities in the Netherlands, Abdallah Shokarneh, head of the Bethlehem
district’s office of the Palestinian Ministry of Education, gave a
talk about the meanings of the Nakbe (1948) and Nakseh (1967). Some
members of AEI’s women’s group told and dramatized stories from
the Palestinian heritage which they had prepared with drama teacher
Khaled al-Massou.
Then in a silent procession the participants
walked and gathered under a military watchtower to pronounce prayers
and wishes that have been coming in from both Palestinians and internationals
and that have been uploaded on AEI’s website. Religious peace songs
were sung and, in a new initiative, prayers were projected on a white
“screen” painted on the Wall.
