December 2013 – Pilgrims of Ibillin

A Christmas Tree in Biram, 2013

Christmas Tree, Notre Dame Church, Biram — A Christmas tree in Biram, the childhood village of Archbishop Elias Chacour

For First Time Since 1948, Christmas Tree Lit In Displaced Village

http://www.imemc.org/article/66547
Thursday December 12, 2013 09:06

by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies Report

For the first time since Israel was established in the historic land of Palestine, in 1948, and the resulting destruction and displacement of hundreds of villages and towns, there, a group of Palestinians managed to set up a Christmas tree in the displaced village of Kufur Birim, in the Galilee.

The Sonara News Agency has reported that, despite the extreme cold and snowstorms, especially in mountain areas, and despite repeated empty promises by Israeli officials, including the Minister of Minorities, the remaining displaced villagers were never allowed back.

Four months ago, a group of young Palestinians started sleeping in the village, as part of an extended campaign to affirm their right in their own lands, and recently installed a Christmas tree in the yard of a local church, affirming their Right of Return following 65 years of displacement.

Talking to the Sonara News Agency, Zatam Zahra, a member of one of the displaced families, said that this Christmas tree, the first in 65 years, is a symbol for the Right of Return for all refugees displaced from their lands, villages and towns.

He added that the tree is also a symbol of hope to the millions of externally displaced refugees living in dozens of refugee camps in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and several Arab countries.

“We demand a solution to Kufur Birim refugees”, he said. “The Right of Return is a right not only to the living, but also to the dead”.

~ author’s email saed@imemc.org

A Play: We Belong to the Land

We Belong to the Land: A Play Based on the Life of Palestinian Peacemaker, Archbishop Elias Chacour

from John Quinlan PLUS

Click here to watch the play “We Belong to the Land” on Vimeo.

This video captures a performance on Thursday April 4, 2013 in Madison, WI of a one man play–We Belong to the Land–based on the life of world-renowned Palestinian peacemaker, Elias Chacour. The Archbishop of Galilee of the Malkite Greek Catholic Church, Chacour is also a founder of the nonprofit “Pilgrims of Ibillin,” which works to advance understandings about persons of all faiths living in Israel. Its projects include the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin (a small village located just east of Haifa in what is now northern Israel), where Christians, Jews, Muslims and Druze are educated without regard to religion or ethnic background. Much of the work of the program is made possible by support from American churches and other institutions and individuals, several of them in greater Madison.

The play tells a remarkable story of peace and reconciliation in the face of a life that began at the time of the disruption of Palestinian lives that coincided with the birth of Israel. Born in the village of Kafr Bir’im in Upper Galilee to a Palestinian Christian family, Elisa Chacour’s family was forced to take refuge in the neighboring village of Jish after Bir’im was occupied by occupying forces for Israeli independence. Chacour and his family became Israeli citizens in 1948, shortly after the establishment of the Israeli state.

An advocate of non-violence, Chacour travels often between the Middle East and other countries around the world. In addition, many visitors, fact-finding missions, and pilgrims have come to Ibillin. In recognition of his humanitarian efforts he has received honors including the World Methodist Peace Award, the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, and the Niwano Peace Prize (Japan) as well as honorary doctorates from five universities including Duke and Emory. In 2001 Chacour was named “Man of the Year” in Israel. Chacour is the author of two best selling books, Blood Brothers and We Belong to the Land.

The play was co-sponsored by “Pilgrims of Ibillin,” and “The Crossing,” an interfaith campus ministry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which also provided the venue. Members of “The Crossing” have supported Chacour’s work and the Pilgrims of Ibillin for more than a decade. See crossingministries.org/.

Further background on the show was provided on WORT’s A Public Affair (hosted by videographer John Quinlan) the previous Monday. That show is archived at wortfm.org/we-belong-to-the-land/ .

For more information, please go to pilgrimsofibillin.org or contact Programs of Ibillin Executive Director Joan Deming at 608-235-1046 or via email at jdeming7@gmail.com .

Merry Christmas from Abuna Elias Chacour

Christmas Newsletter 2013

Dear Friends, Pilgrims and Friends of MEEI,

It is indeed difficult to express my admiration for your long-lasting fidelity and friendship to Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin, Galilee. With this message I want to wish you All a very happy Christmas and a thoroughly joyful New Year.

What you have done through Pilgrims of Ibillin was far more than a sign of solidarity, since it was indeed an act preserving life and allowing progress and development. We have gone through extremely complicated and cruel circumstances. Had we been left alone we might have given up on most, if not on everything. Your constant generosity sustained us and encouraged everyone at the school to persevere. You helped us serve hundreds of young men and women, planting in their hearts the seed of hope, or rather awakening this hope, despite the fact that many factors around us try to kill hope in our youth.

Because of you and of your friendship and your generosity we continue with a unique power to believe that only unity within the present diversity can bring peace and justice to us all. Education is the best tool to achieve such a goal. We shall overcome. Our vision will become a reality. Children – Jewish and Palestinian – will learn together one day in the near future.

For this Christmas season we organized an inter-schools competition for children of our Melkite schools and it was broadcast on the ‘Voice of Israel’ radio every Wednesday afternoon through December 18th. This was the very first time that such extra-curricular activity was organized. Maybe the fact that the ‘Voice of Israel’ agreed to broadcast directly each one-and-a-half hour session is in itself a sign of real hope for religious plurality inside the state of Israel. Very much has still to be done, but we are present to act and to witness for this great vision of ours.

Soon we will be celebrating the birth of Christ: Christmas and the New Year. We will be praying for you and thanking God for putting you on our way toward the Kingdom of Heaven. Thank you. Thanks so very much for your friendship and for your prayers, which I cherish so dearly, but also thank God and thank you for your continued commitment and generosity.

Yours sincerely,

Abuna Elias Chacour
Archbishop of the Melkite Church in Galilee

PS – Click here to give a gift supporting the Mar Elias Schools founded by Abuna Chacour. 65% of MEEI students need financial aid. Your gifts provide the opportunities of a top-flight education and strong leadership development training. Thank you!