This is my last Stepping Out of the Boat blog post. I am back in Scotland having said a bitter-sweet goodbye to colleagues and friends in Tiberias, Jerusalem and beyond. It is a momentous week for other much bigger reasons too. On 7th October the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on festival goers andContinue reading “Not done yet…”
Tag Archives: human rights
Of trees and struggle…
At the beginning of February there is a Jewish holiday called Tu Bi Shvat. It is a tree planting ceremony made popular through the 20th century, and has all sorts of ecological and environmental overtones, and celebrates the goodness of God and the fruitfulness of the earth. In Um al Kheir this year Tu BiContinue reading “Of trees and struggle…”
What’s in a Symbol?
A keffiyeh. The media focussed on a keffiyeh which had been tucked at the last minute around the manger scene from Bethlehem which was blessed at the Vatican by the Pope on the 7th December 2024. And the manger and the keffiyeh and the baby were removed following representation from various lobby groups who claimedContinue reading “What’s in a Symbol?”
Remember their names
Graham and Anne Bryce https://www.justgiving.com/page/brycesonbikes are cycling from Glasgow in Scotland, hoping to reach Bethlehem in the occupied Palestinian territory. They will pause in Greece and assess the current situation before deciding how to continue. As they cycle, each day they post a short reflection on Tiktok and Instagram where they read out the namesContinue reading “Remember their names”
Tell My Story
On October 11th last year I was meant to travel to Gaza along with my colleagues Stewart Gillan, minister of St Andrew’s Jerusalem and Doug Dicks, our Ecumenical Associate, who has worked here in Israel/Palestine for many years with the Presbyterian Church of the USA. The Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR), part ofContinue reading “Tell My Story”
The Power of One…
Today at St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem the funeral will take place of Salwa Duaibis a Palestinian Christian who has worked tirelessly with the organization Military Court Watch (MCW). I met her briefly at a recent garden party at the British Consulate in Jerusalem. She was lovely. Very kind, very compassionate, and very tired. RevContinue reading “The Power of One…”
‘Please act now’
I’ve never been to Umm Al-Kheir, but I’ve heard a lot about it. One of my predecessors as Church of Scotland mission partner, Rev John McCulloch, went regularly to sit with the Bedouin of the village, to take small gifts for the children, and small sums of money. My colleague Rev Dr Stewart Gillan hasContinue reading “‘Please act now’”
Reasonableness
For the past thirty weeks hundreds of thousands of Israelis have protested on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere about the Israeli government’s proposed legislation about the Supreme Court and the so-called Reasonableness Standard which was passed 64-0 by the Knesset on 24th July 2023. While there has been some activity in supportContinue reading “Reasonableness”
Stepping out of the boat... 