Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, July 20, 2025
I was initially asked to share a message this morning after a scheduled trip to the West Bank with a group of Quakers led by Max and Jane Carter from NCYM who have led trips to the West Bank for many years and who have volunteered at the Friends school in Ramallah many times. Our aim for the trip was to listen to and hear stories from people in the West Bank and to do some work at the Friends School and nearby olive groves. To be Living Letters. We send letters to share stories, plans, dreams, concerns, success, – to connect and support each other. By being present and observing life in the West Bank the annual living letters trips create opportunities for those participating to be a presence, to see what life is like for those who have been trapped in a system that does not allow for much freedom and autonomy. It allows for those in the land to hear that they are not alone.
The trip did not happen due to the ‘war’ (a war implies 2 groups fighting on equal terms) in Gaza and the bombs between Syria and Israel that happened a few days before and during the departure times of those in the group. Flights from the UK and EU to Tel Aviv were cancelled a week before the departure date. Max and Jane and those going from the US had flights cancelled but were able to find alternative flights and made it half way before being turned back to the US.
So instead of stories from the trip that did not happen I give you other related stories. A conversation with a friend, inspirations from Rania Maayeh, the Friends Girls School principal, one of many challenges for Palestinian students in the West Bank, a philosophy from a book, stories from the Gospel of Matthew, 2 words, and Rick’s story.
A friend – Visited me a few days ago and there was much laughing. He is very funny. Laughing with him allowed for him to hear my saying ‘the women said what?’ after he called an older female a girl. Laughing and listening allowed us to hear each other. How can we say our truth in ways that others will listen?
Rania. Steadfast, intense desire to care for, support and protect the staff and students of Ramallah Friends School (RFS). Resilience, the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. The message Rania is sharing with Yearly Meetings throughout the country and will be sharing more at New England Yearly Meeting.
“For over 150 years, RFS has stood as a living witness to what education, rooted in justice and love, can achieve. Founded in faith. Sustained by Resilience. Focused on the Future.”
Shadi Khoury – Oct 18 2022, Israeli military forces raided the home of Shadi Khoury, a 16 year old RFS student, in East Jerusalem, beating him, dragging him barefoot and blindfolded, and detaining him without charge or legal representation. He is not alone. Many young teens are arrested without a charge and held without legal representation. The school issued a statement condemning the violence and calling for Shadi’s release. A court hearing was finally held Thursday, 17 July 2025 with decisions to be made in September. A prayer offered “May the heavens open up for him.” Words. Opening up new visions, images for healing and transformation.
Olives. The fruit that has sustained the Palestinians for thousands of years. Samid a way of thinking and being that has sustained many Palestinians for thousands of years.
Samid. The Third Way. By Raja Shehadeh. A Journal of the West Bank. “Between mute submission and blind hate– I choose the third way. I am Samid.”-
The term “Samid” (or ṣamīd in Arabic) is part of a key Palestinian cultural and political concept called Sumud (or ṣumūd), meaning “steadfastness” or “steadfast perseverance”. It emerged after the 1967 Six-Day War as a form of resistance against occupation using a third way between violent struggle and passive submission.
Jesus teachings. A third way. My understanding of Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek, walk the second mile, and to give your cloak to your oppressor gives the same message. A third way of reacting to others and the oppressor.
Word, concepts. Semitic and Chosen. Semitic – relating to or denoting a family of languages that includes Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic and certain ancient languages such as Phoenician and Akkadian, constituting the main subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic family. Relating to the peoples who speak Semitic languages, especially Hebrew and Arabic.
The Chosen people of Hebrew and Christian scriptures was debated at Earlham School of Religion. Were they chosen to be in a particular land or chosen to be a light to all the nations. Biblical scholars have evidence that it could have been either interpretation. Not a simple answer.
Rick, a friend of mine, was a participant with Christian Peacemaker teams who, for many years have been a peaceful presence in conflict areas around the world. They observe and make known injustices incurred. One day Rick and a few others in his CPT team and some Palestinians were walking and observing in a West Bank village when a group of soldiers approached them with machine guns and a menacing attitude. They seemed to be on the verge of intimidating Rick’s CPT group and the Palestinians with them. Tensions rose. Rick’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and listened for a bit. He then held the phone out to one of the younger soldiers and said, ‘Its your mom.’. A palpable shift occurred in the soldiers.
How can we be steadfast and resilient using our imaginations to help shift the world toward more compassion, light and hope?
