Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Nov. 28, 2022
Next week Kumi Now will be marking Human Rights Day which is celebrated annually around the world on the 10th of December. On this day in 1948 the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For decades human rights abuses have been documented in Israel/Palestine by the UN, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, but the violations are intensifying.
• Lord, we pray that the human rights of all will be respected in the Holy Land. We pray for an end to the apartheid regime of separation and discrimination between Israelis and Palestinians.
Lord, in your mercy..
Shadi Khoury attended a court hearing on Wednesday, the 23rd of November. His family were hoping for his release to return home and celebrate his grandmother’s 89th birthday on the following day. Sadly, this was not to be. His grandmother, Samia writes, ‘Despite the judge’s ruling later on in the day to release Shadi and the other children for ‘house arrest’ the Attorney General appealed against the judge’s decision. Shadi’s lawyer succeeded in his appeal against the ruling of the Prosecutor and Shadi is now under house arrest till the end of his trial.
• Lord, we hold Shadi and all Palestinian children in Israeli military custody before you in our prayers. We pray too for their families, suffering due to their absence from home and concerned for their well-being. Lord, we ask you to comfort and strengthen them so that their light and hope is not quenched.
Lord, in your mercy..
Friends of Sabeel North America is holding a ten day witness visit to Israel in support of the Palestinian civil society organisations which have recently been raided and closed down by the Israeli authorities. The group will remain in the country from the 26th of November until the 6th of December.
• Lord, we pray that this Fosna visit will be an encouragement to those seeking to support Palestinian communities. We pray that the testimonies heard will then be passed on to probe the conscience of the wider world.
Lord, in your mercy..
During the Advent season Sabeel UK will be hosting a four-part Bible series on Sunday evenings. The series is entitled ‘Challenging Apartheid’ and well-known speakers have been invited to contribute their thoughts on various aspects of the Israeli regime.
• Lord, we pray that the study of your word will guide and inspire those who long to shine a light on the oppression suffered by Palestinians.
Lord, in your mercy..
Violent incidents in Israel this week have brought suffering on the same day to the families of two teenagers, one Israeli and the other Palestinian. Aryah Shechopek, a 15-year-old yeshiva student was killed by one of the bomb explosions carried out in Jerusalem early on Wednesday, the 23rd of November. While Ahmed Shehadeh was a sixteen-year-old Palestinian caught up in the clashes at Joseph’s tomb in Nablus. He was one of two Palestinians shot dead by Israeli soldiers while they were protecting a monthly pilgrimage of Orthodox Jewish worshippers to the shrine.
• Lord, we pray for the families and friends of Aryah and Ahmed as they grieve for the loss of their lives. We pray for an end to the vortex of violence in Israel which is swallowing up so many young lives, both Israeli and Palestinian.
Lord, in your mercy..
Friends of Sabeel Australia hosted Vera Baboun to give a talk on Bethlehem on Saturday, the 19th of November. Vera held office as the first female Mayor of Bethlehem from 2012-17. Friends of Sabeel France will hold a final Zoom event entitled, ‘Jerusalem and Archaeology’ by Father Jean-Jacques on Sunday, the 4th of December.
• Lord, we give thanks for the work of Sabeel in Jerusalem and among the Friends of Sabeel groups in many parts of the world. We ask for your guidance and support for all those working and praying for an end to the Israeli occupation.
Lord, in your mercy..
On Wednesday, the 23rd of November Israeli forces demolished a recently built Palestinian primary school in the Masafer Yatta region of the South Hebron Hills. Residents in the area continue to face the threat of forced displacement as the Israeli army have designated their land as a military firing zone. Witnesses report that the Israeli army used sound bombs to scare the pupils and staff and to make them leave the building before demolishing it. It had only just been built with the help of European funding to enable twenty two children from four villages to attend without having to walk long distances to reach other schools.
• Merciful Lord, we cry out to you for the young children in Masafer Yatta who have just witnessed their new school demolished before their eyes. We pray for them now as they walk long distances in an unsafe area to attend school.
Lord, in your mercy..
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.
Lord, in your mercy…