Immanuel Church hosts Tent of Nations

Immanuel Baptist Church was host to Daoud Nasser and Tent of Nations on November 4, 2010. The project is intended to resist Israeli expansion onto Palestinian land by overcoming evil with good.

The presentation opened with a drawing of the landscape. Like something out of a fantasy story, it showed many hills with villages on them. Nasser's 100 acre farm was on one of the hills. The area, near the Biblical city of Bethlehem, is outside of the land granted to Israel in its creation in 1948. But Israel has seized all of the surrounding territory except for the Nasser farm.

The Palestinians in and around the other hills have all left – or been driven off their land. Even though their families may have been farming the land for hundreds of years, Palestinians were forced to show documentation that they owned the land in order to prevent Israel from seizing it. For many, this was difficult. This area of the West Bank was controlled at various times by the Ottoman Turks, Jordan, Britain and Israel. Fortunately for the Nasser family they still had the necessary papers, some of which were filed in Istanbul, Turkey. But it has still been an uphill and costly struggle.

Modern Israel operates under a strict class system. In order to be a full Israeli citizen one must be a Jew, and the only way to be considered Jewish is to be born one. Everyone else is considered “Palestinian, ” and a sub-citizen. The Media have us believe that Palestinians are Muslims. While many of them are, many of them are Christians. Nasser is Christian. The name Daoud is Arabic for David. This David is up against a mega-Goliath. Every time we think we've satisfied Israel's requirements to keep our land they come up with some new reason to take it.

Most of the Palestinians who have had their land taken have resorted to one of three options.

1. Give up

2. Leave

3. React Violently

Unfortunately the press likes to focus on the violence, even though less than one percent of the displaced Palestinians turn to violence. Daoud Nasser believes there is a fourth option: We refuse to be enemies. We are acting, not reacting. Three languages are spoken and written: Arabic, Hebrew and English. On Christmas it is traditional to invite my neighbors. My neighbors are Muslim. I invite them. On Ramadan, they invite us. When the Israeli army destroyed 250 olive trees, a Jewish humanitarian organization in the United Kingdom replaced them. Many Jewish Israeli visitors to the farm are appalled by what their government is doing.

“Palestinians” such as the Nassers, are not allowed to drive on Israeli highways, relegated to substandard roads often blocked with military checkpoints. This makes it difficult to get produce to market, or to travel to other cities for employment. Palestinian towns and farms are not allowed to connect to Israeli electricity, or to public water or sewers. Building permits are denied forcing residents to live in tents or in underground caves. There is an upside to this. The compound has become a shining example of environmental sustainability. We compost and recycle everything. We store rainwater in 1000 cubic meter cisterns for irrigation. Solar panels provide much of the electricity, and we hope to replace our diesel generator with a wind turbine in the near future.

There are still many obstacles to overcome but, says Nasser, If you live in the Holy Land you have to believe in miracles. He has a 20 year vision for the property including an international exchange program, children's camp, community center and peace education program. The farm currently hosts volunteers from Israel and around the world.

I want to open the eyes of my neighbors. Israelis are destroying their own values through their settlement policies. Muslims, Christians and Jews, we are one nation. We live, work and go to school together. Religion is sometimes misused for political purposes. Ask the question: What can we do for peace and justice?