One hundred years ago Daher Nassar bought the property, registered it with the Ottoman authorities and began cultivating the land. With the help of his
One hundred years ago Daher Nassar bought the property, registered it with the Ottoman authorities and began cultivating the land. With the help of his sons, he planted olive trees and grapevines for winemaking.
Meditations on the lessons for Advent, reflecting on the witness of the Lutherans in Bethlehem
Advent 4, December 18, 2016
Matthew 1.18-25
…do not be afraid….Emmanuel….(God is with us)
Stories of God’s call are usually accompanied by an angel saying “do not be afraid.” The Nassar family has heard God’s call to something scary—build a peace farm on their land, which is now surrounded by Israeli settlements.
The farm is in the Bethlehem district of West Bank Palestine. One hundred years ago Daher Nassar bought the property, registered it with the Ottoman authorities and began cultivating the land. With the help of his sons, he planted olive trees and grapevines for winemaking. Because their entire lives had been lived under Ottoman and then British occupation, his son Bishaa’s vision was to create a place where freedom, justice and peace-making would thrive.
Bishara was a lay-evangelist at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, and evenings on the farm, the family gathered around the fire for hymn-singin
g. Until 1987, the family lived in caves on the farm.
Three of Bishara’s nine children still live and work on the farm. Following the vision of their grandfather, Daoud, Daher and Amal have created Tent of Nations (http://tentofnations.org), a peace camp and organic farm. Their mission is “to build bridges between people, and between people and the land. We bring different cultures together to develop understanding and promote respect for each other and our shared environment.” They live by their motto: “We refuse to be enemies.” They host a summer camp for children and offer empowerment programs for women and children in the nearby village of Nahalin. The farm is encircled by five Israeli settlements (see map: BLUE are Israeli settlements, BROWN are where Palestinians live)
In 1991 Israel declared their farm “state land.” The papernotice was found on the ground on their 100 acre farm, and they had only 45 days to contest the seizure of their land. Even though they have tax records and deeds to their land, twenty-five years and $170,000 later, they are still fighting the seizure in court. Israel denies permits to build anything, even a toilet, on the land. Their only source of water is (very scarce) rainwater. They are allowed no electricity, so they installed solar panels. Structures on their land are threatened with demolition. In 2001, Israeli soldiers closed their main entrance road. In May, 2014, 1500 of their fruit trees were bulldozed by the Israeli army.
In spite of the violence, Daoud Nassar and his family remain firm in their commitment to the land and to living out their faith. “We refuse to be enemies,” he says. The Israelis can take their land, ruin their crops, deny them water, but his family chooses to love, not hate. Read the latest: http://www.tentofnations.org/blog/
God of the rainfall and harvest, we ask your blessing on the work of all who hear your calling to care for the land. Help us to listen for your call in our lives and give us courage to act. Amen.