At the end of October, there were 7000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. 400 of these prisoners are children. Meditations on the lessons for Advent,
At the end of October, there were 7000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. 400 of these prisoners are children.
Meditations on the lessons for Advent, reflecting on the witness of the Lutherans in Bethlehem
Advent 3, December 11, 2016
Matthew 11.2-11
When John heard in prison…
John is writing from prison, where he has been sentenced for a political act—he publicly admonished King Herod for his marriage to his brother’s wife.
Issa Amro, guiding our group, 2013
At the end of October, there were 7000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. 400 of these prisoners are children. Six are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian “legislature.” 720 prisoners are held as “administrative detainees”—imprisoned without charges for six-month terms, renewable indefinitely. (Source: Adameer)
Almost every Palestinian I have met has either been imprisoned or had a family member or friend imprisoned by Israel.
Issa Amro, an activist documenting human rights violations by Israeli soldiers, was arrested last spring in Hebron. I have met Issa twice when he has led our group on tours of the Israeli settlements in Hebron, a short drive south of Bethlehem. We toured his youth center.
Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank, and in 1968, a rabbi was given permission to visit the holy site of Abraham’s Tomb in Hebron for Passover. When their visas were up, the rabbi and his followers squatted in their hotel rooms and refused to leave. Instead of forcing them to leave, the Israeli government built them homes on Palestinian-owned land on the outskirts of the city, a settlement called Kiryat Arba.
Today there are still 500-850 Israeli settlers living in Hebron, and 1000 Israeli soldiers. Israel has seized 20% of the city, including the city’s main market, Shuhada Street. Residents have been forced from neighborhoods in the settler zone. Those who remain must navigate checkpoints and endure harassment by the settlers, who cut down their olive trees, throw garbage onto their property and throw stones at their children on their way to school.
It is hard to grow up in Hebron.
Issa Amro founded Youth Against the Settlements, a place where the young people work on positive, non-violent ways to resist Israel’s occupation of their town. One of the charges against him is taking part “in a rally with a political goal or a rally that could be perceived to have a political goal…without obtaining a license from the military commander.”
Many international representatives attended his hearing last month—from the US and various European embassies, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN. When he led our tour, the soldiers stopped us, yelled at him and made us take another route, even though we were on a street in the Palestinian zone; it was their way of harassing him and intimidating us.
Palestinians are subject to Israeli military courts, so the civil rights we are accustomed to do not apply in their trials. This is Israel’s way of silencing those who speak out against its harassment of Palestinians. He awaits trial.
God of the prisoner and outcast, show us your way of justice and mercy. As we remember your prophets who were imprisoned, give us courage to be your voice of hope to prisoners today. Amen.