Sharon and my Mother-in-Law by Suad Amiry

Suad Amiry is the founder and director of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation in Ramallah.  Born to Palestinian parents in Amman, Jordan, she lived there while growing up and then studied architecture in Beirut, Lebanon.  She then moved to Ramallah in 1981, eventually got married and founded Riwaq as a way to preserve historical Palestinian buildings.

As a way of relieving the stress of occupation, she would write email letters to her friends during the 2nd Intifada about living under curfew and neighborhood events.  Specifically, she would tell them about her frustration with living under the same roof as her mother-in-law for forty days during the curfew.  As the curfews took place while Ariel Sharon was Prime Minister of Israeli, she attributes the fact that she needs to live with her mother-in-law to him. She later wrote about about the events when she first moved to Ramallah and her struggle to gain permanent residency in the West Bank.  These two parts were put together and now make up the book Sharon and my Mother-in-Law.


The Observer calls it 'A refreshingly funny account of the absurdities of everyday life in occupied territories'.

Amiry takes the normal, everyday facts of occupation, which most people living here have gotten used to, and points out their ridiculous nature.  From her dog Nura who is given a passport for Jerusalem (a thing which Amiry and other West Bank Palestinians only wish for), to an Israeli soldier who takes Amiry's husband in for questioning after Amiry would not stop looking at him, something the soldier seemed was extremely threatening, to the days spent inside doing nothing while living under curfew, to the nine years it took Amiry to gain an Identity Card to live in the West Bank, she touches on every aspect of life in the occupied territories.

Although, I would not recommend this book as primer to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, for those with significant knowledge, it is an easy read and offers a new perspective on the occupation.  For readers who have not visited Palestine, it will shed light on the everyday complications created by the occupation, the complications which make life here so strenuous.

I first was interested in Amiry after watching her speech at last year's TEDx in Ramallah.  It is an excellent and inspiring video. Click HERE to watch.

Click HERE to buy Sharon and my Mother-in-Law in the US.

Munther Isaac: A Palestinian Christian Perspective

"Christian Zionism has ignored us Palestinian Christians at best; demonized us at worst. Whenever they speak about prophecy and Israel, it is as if we don't exist!...I believe this is because we cause a problem to many Christian Zionists. Why? Because we break the stereotype."

A quotation from Munther Isaac, a teacher at Bethlehem Bible College, who gave a powerful speech at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference 2012.  He honestly addressed Christian Zionist theology, while at the same time, not denying his identity as a Palestinian Christian.  Please click below to go the video, and other videos about the Christ at the Checkpoint conference.

Munther Isaac: A Palestinian Christian Perspective

Christ at the Checkpoint 2012

Two years ago, I was working at Bethlehem Bible College during the first ever Christ at the Checkpoint Conference.  This year, as an attendant of the conference, I was able to see how this conference has spawned a quickly spreading movement.  Some of world's premier Evangelical leaders spoke, such as Tony Campolo, Shane Claiborne, Steven Sizer, and Gary Burge spoke along with Palestinian Evangelical leaders: Alex Awad, Yohanna Katanacho, Sami Awad, and Munther Isaac. Throughout the week, it was possible to see these speakers, doing theology in a new way, pointing to the need for justice and peace in Israel/Palestine and a recognition of the Palestinian Christian community by international Christian communities. The growth in this year's conference, with Evangelical Christians attending from all corners of the world, is a testament to the growing realization of the situation on the ground in Israel/Palestine and that it is possible to believe in Jesus, the Bible, and justice and peace for both sides in this conflict. As the opposition from the Israeli government toward speakers and coordinators of the conference and the suspicion from Jewish and Israeli groups around the world shows, these conferences have started a new movement that has the potential to turn the tables towards a lasting peace in Israel/Palestine.

Sami Awad speaking at the Christ at the Checkpoint. Photo c/o Antwan Saca.

I will not say much, but lead you to two excellent articles written on the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference.

'Christ at the Checkpoint' Challenges Christian Zionism

Evangelical Church meets 'at the checkpoint'

Also, visit the Christ at the Checkpoint Website for videos and more news from Christ at the Checkpoint 2012.

Lovely...and Ugly

I seem to have gotten in a rut of not posting.  I'm sure busyness was the culprit at first, and then laziness.  But now I'm back and ready to commit to posting once a week again.

Although it is still raining in Israel/Palestine, and even there are threats of snow this weekend, we are the point of the winter where we periodically have days of lovely weather.  A few weeks ago, the weather was perfect for a walk in the hills of Cremisan.

The sun was out and the sights were perfect.  It was a well-needed break from being in cities.  Here are a few shots from the day:

Land near Cremisan monastery and winery.  All of this land will soon be confiscated by the separation wall and there will be no green space left in Bethlehem.

Cremisan monastery from a distance.

The first almond trees are in bloom.  It's the start to the prettiest time of year.

I love these poppies (or they look like them anyway) during the spring.

It was amazing to see the trees in bloom, the hills, and the flowers.  As always, however, there were constant signs of occupation.

The bridge of Road 60 which connects settlers to their settlements in the West Bank and cuts of Beit Jala from most of its land and Jerusalem. I travel this road everyday on the bus to school.

Barbed wire is everywhere.

Our trip ended in al-Walaja, a village which will be completely surrounded by the wall and only connected to Bethlehem through one small opening at one end of the village.  This house is the only house in al-Walaja that is located on the Israeli side of the wall.

This is construction of a tunnel that will allow the family on the Israeli side of the wall get to there family and friends in al-Walaja.

Instead of rerouting the separation wall to the internationally recognized Green Line  or even 50 meters, the Israeli government has decided to spend an extra $800,000 simply to build a tunnel for this family to get to al-Walaja.  Talk about stupid! 

Construction of the wall is expanding in al-Walaja even as we speak.

More wall construction coming from the opposite direction.

Just behind the lone house, you can see the Israeli settlement of Gilo.  Most claim that Gilo is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, and living in Jerusalem, it seems like it is part of the city.  But this "neighborhood" is what has caused Bethlehem and Beit Jala so much loss of land.

The view of the wall construction from the streets of al-Walaja.  This is just how close  it comes, and  how little land it lives the villagers.

Living in Bethlehem, I didn't even know about the details of construction of the wall around al-Walaja, and especially the ridiculous tunnel that is being built.  Is the wall built for security? Security does not merit the winding way the wall cuts through the West Bank and cuts off even single families from their communities and livelihood. With evidence of this tunnel staring us in the face, the reason of "security" for the building of the wall is clearly just an excuse.