the people coming together in Gaza

I just received this from the Santa Fe Friends Meeting.  It was sent
by a former member now living (I believe) in Palestine.  These might
sound like small actions compared to the enormity of the situation. 
Although, taken all together, it'd surely take a pretty cynical
person to say these actions were meaningless...

*****************
Hello friends and supporters,

While most news you receive from the Holy Land in the aftermath of
the Gaza war is awful, the peacemakers continue their work, invisible
to the eyes of the world.  This has been a difficult time, the gap of
mistrust and anger between the Israelis and Palestinians is as wide as
ever.  In the face of all of this though, we have deepened our
commitment to work for peace. As Elias Jabbour, director of the House
of Hope puts it, "its up to us to keep the torch of hope alive, we
have no other other choice."

Take the time to read this update about the sacred work of our family
of peacebuilders, hope you will be inspired.

ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS GATHER FOR SOLIDARITY AND CELEBRATION AT THE
DEAD SEA, January 30-31

Eighty Palestinians and Israelis came together for the Gathering of
Light and Unity on Metzukei Dragot beach, an oasis of beautiful fresh
and saltwater pools on the Dead Sea shore. This area is easily
accessible for both Israelis and Palestinians who came from across the
West Bank without the need for travel permits. For two days we shared
meals, music and dance, prayers and speaking from the heart together.
This gathering, organized by Ilana Meallem, brought together many
people yearning to connect as a family of human beings in light of all
thats happened recently.

HEALING ABRAHAM'S FAMILY PRAYER AND HOSPITAL VISIT, AT TEL HASHOMER
HOSPITAL, TEL AVIV, January 26

Forty people came together as Jerusalem Peacemakers joined with Rabbis
for Human Rights to organize a prayer gathering at Tel Hashomer
hospital in Tel Aviv. This event was advertised in Israeli media:
"Muslim, Jewish and Christian Religious Leaders Raise Their Voices
Together for:   A Cry of Mourning; Affirmation of Responsibility to
work for Reconciliation, Human Rights and Peace, a Future of Hope and
Healing of the Wounds between our People".  We read traditional
prayers for mourning of the dead in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim
traditions and offered personal prayers followed by a group prayer for
peace in Hebrew and Arabic. We then split up, some going to visit a
wounded Israeli soldier and many others visiting Izzedin Abuelish and
his daughter, the Gaza doctor whose 3 daughters were killed in the
Gaza violence, with a fourth daughter being treated in Tel Hashomer
hospital.  Read more about our event in this LA Times article:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/01/israel-interfai.html

JERUSALEM PEACEMAKERS WEST JERUSALEM CENTER HOSTS TALKS AND PEACE
GATHERINGS

At our West Jerusalem peace center recently, we hosted study sessions
with Rabbi Marc Gopin on 'The Source of Peace' and a text study
session with Rabbi Daniel Roth from the Pardes Institiute.  On
December 22nd we hosted an inter-religious Hannukah peace celebration
with over 50 Israelis and Palestinians joining for dialogue, music and
prayer.

THIRD WORLD CONGRESS OF IMAMS AND RABBIS FOR PEACE IN PARIS, FRANCE,
December 15-17

We joined the Third World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace in
Paris, organized by Hommes de Parole.  One hundred Imams and Rabbis
came from all over the world to bring the voice of Judaism and Islam
to build a bridges of dialogue and help solve conflicts motivated by
religion in the Middle East, Europe and the world.  Leaders included
Sheikh Abdallah Nimr Darwish, founder of the Islamic movement in
Israel and Rabbi Avraham Yosef, son of Sephardic rabbinic authority
Ovadiah Yosef.  There were plenary sessions, a visit to a Paris peace
monument and a mosque and synagogue. Politics tended to divide us, the
evenings of sharing in the music of Andalucia, the mutual Jewish and
Islamic heritage, brought us together.

See great pictures from the Tel Aviv prayer event, Hannukah peace
celebration and World Congress of Imams and Rabbis at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerusalem_peacemakers/sets/

SHEIKH BUKHARI HELPS FAMILIES IN GAZA REBUILD THEIR LIVES

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari has a wide family and community network in
Gaza. His wife is from Gaza, his sister and his daughter are both
married and live in Gaza. They are part of the Sufi, Uzbek and wider
communities in Gaza that have seen their homes and lives shattered in
the recent fighting. Sheikh Bukahri has been collecting donations and
sending it directly to families in need in Gaza.

RABBI MENACHEM FROMAN CONTINUES HIS WORK FOR A CEASE FIRE AND DIALOGUE
WITH HAMAS

Throughout the Gaza war, Rabbi Menachem Froman was working on efforts
to bring about a cease fire between Israel and Hamas. Please read this
article about his call for for dialogue with Hamas, and a new chance
for peace in the wake of the recent war:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1058461.html

Rabbi Froman was also recently featured in the New York Times, calling
for Barack Obama to involve Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders
in the renewed peace process:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/world/middleeast/06froman.html?_r=1&emI

IBTISAM MAHAMID CONTINUES HER PEACEMAKING WORK

Ibtisam Mahamid is building a new peace center, the Tent of Hagar and
Sarah in her town of Faradis in northern Israel. She initiated a
project to train and empower Muslim Arab women. These women formed a
women's council and got their chosen candidate elected mayor of
Faradis. During the Gaza war, Ibtisam spent hours visiting wounded
children from Gaza in Israeli hospitals and joined a delegation to
visit the Israeli town of Sderot. Ibtisam was chosen to receive an
award, "Unsung Heroes of Compassion",  by the Dalai Lama in San
Francisco in April.

A message from Ibtisam:  "We are the children of Abraham, family.
Every day I light a candle in my heart-- no anger, no hatred. We want
peace, we will take peace by the hands, for the sake of our
grandchildren. As a peace activist, I give compassion to myself and to
the world... if you dont have inner quiet and peace in your heart, you
cant give it to the world."

A MESSAGE FROM IBRAHIM ABUELHAWA

We are asking God to stop the war and fighting especially in the Holy
Land between the seeds of Abraham. We have to go back to God, and to
study the word of God, which it is that we are all one, and we have to
love one another, and especially to love our neighbors as our brothers
and ourself.  Thats the key for everything between the children of
Abraham.  Is really been hard and tough time with everyone in this
land, and we wish everyone to be healthy and safe in his own home.


We are doing all this work with almost no budget. Please make a
contribution, small or large, to support the work of the Jerusalem
Peacemakers.  We count on your support, in its different forms--
prayer and financial support --to empower us to continue this work in
the Holy Land.


In the USA, in order to make a tax-deductible contribution, write a
check to:

'Rising Tide International', make a note on the memo line: 'for
Jerusalem Peacemakers' and send it to:

Rising Tide International,  5102 Swiss Road,  Sarasota, FL 34231



To make a donation by check in the UK,

AND to make a donation by credit card with Paypal from anywhere, click
this link of Jerusalem Peacemakers UK. Calculate your donation in its
equivalent in British pounds:

http://www.spiritofpeace.co.uk/jerusalempeacema.html



To send support directly and to contact us by mail:

Jerusalem Peacemakers, PO Box 31894, Jerusalem, 91316 Israel



For making a direct donation to help the people of Gaza, Sheikh
Bukhari is collecting donations. Contact Sheikh Bukhari by email for
info of how you can contribute: azizb17@hotmail.com




Shalom, Salaam,
Eliyahu McLean,

Jerusalem Peacemakers, co-director
www.jerusalempeacemakers.org
***********