Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Talk with the Preacher

Home
Progressive Christian
#HolyWomenHolyLand: In Her Own Words

#HolyWomenHolyLand: In Her Own Words

Last updated on: January 14, 2018 at 8:32 am by Amy Butler

#HolyWomenHolyLand: In Her Own Words 2018-01-14T08:32:31-04:00 Amy Butler

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

On Monday we started our day in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally celebrated as the birthplace of Jesus. The experience was much like other Christian sites in the Holy Land: overly ornate and run by different Christian groups jockeying for ownership and control. All around the church, however, the atmosphere felt tense. Palestinians largely populate Bethlehem, and political and social conflict is high.

We spent most of the morning meeting with powerful women working to transform their society from the inside out. First we met Suzan Sahori, director of Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans and obviously a tremendously gifted business woman. Her work empowers impoverished and exploited Palestinian women by marketing and selling their products for a fair price and paying them a fair wage. Suzan showed us their newly renovated headquarters (a transformed dump) and eagerly shared plans to expand the business. She told us she started this work because life can sometimes feel hopeless in occupied territories like Bethlehem. It’s hard for many to see a future filled with peace, equality, and prosperity. “I need to do something in which I can make a change,” she said.

We stopped next at a community center in Bethlehem, where the neighborhood comes together to practice yoga (I especially liked the sign on the wall).

There, we had the tremendous opportunity to meet Dr. Vera Baboun, former mayor of Bethlehem (and first woman to hold that position). Dr. Baboun’s family has suffered tremendous loss in the last decade, including the death of her husband Johnny, a political detainee who was arrested for working to resist the effects of Israeli occupation in Bethlehem. After Johnny died, Dr. Baboun was asked to run for office. She says she did it in Johnny’s memory—and also because the state of her community was dire: Bethlehem had 27% unemployment; most people were leaving (there are now over 300,000 Bethlehemites in Chile, for example); and the 6 million Palestinians who have fled the region have lost any claim at citizenship or power to return.

It’s difficult to describe the powerful presentation we heard from Dr. Baboun, so here are some of her own words, as told to our group:

“I cannot give up the hope and possibility of a different future…on the other side of the wall is my neighbor!”

“Jerusalem should be the place that ensures peace for the whole world, not vice-versa.”

“We have to think ahead: where do we want to see our community, our world 40 years from now?”

“We must remember that abnormal living creates abnormal behavior. People need to know that Palestinians have a national conscience. We can be good partners and neighbors.”

“I think peace requires courageous hearts. What if those hearts are women’s hearts?”

“Sometimes I lose hope. Women in my society are very restricted. I often wonder: what if women stood together? What if we said no to sexual and political harassment? You have to remember that your body is your original territory. And your embodied voice is your original authority.”

“What the average Palestinian wants is not the recognition of a state; it is the recognition of a life.”

“Wherever there is a wall there is the absence of a bridge.”

“The world we live in is a practice of the binary. But the world has become one village. The wall we live with—and all the restrictions—this is a binary. Double perspectives come from our own fears. Don’t accept this binary. This is a disgrace for humanity.”

“Only peace brings security. We cannot resolve by ignoring or denying; we must resolve by facing the truth. Together.”

“You have a voice as women of faith. Remind us that the problem is not with Jews or Arabs or Christians. The problem is with the government. Please carry the message of peace in your hearts. Either we go together to build a better world, or we don’t go anywhere at all.”

A special part of hearing from Dr. Baboun was meeting her 20-year-old daughter, Natasha. When asked what she thought of her mother’s work, she said: “The young women of Palestine see in my mother another way to live their future.”

Would that all our daughters said that about us…and that we’d have the courage to speak brave words..and do brave things…like these amazing women.

(Side note: some of the women who practice yoga at the center made us Maqluba for lunch. It was, perhaps, the most delicious thing we ate on the entire trip.)

Answering the Call

Living in Relationship

Practicing Discipleship

#HolyWomenHolyLand 2018

Previous Post

January 13, 2018

#HolyWomenHolyLand: "It's Complicated"

Next Post

January 14, 2018 #HolyWomenHolyLand: The Key

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Answering the Call Being the Church Curating Wisdom Laughing Out Loud Living in Relationship Practicing Discipleship Reclaiming Baptist Speaking from the Pulpit Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005

Search for:

#HolyWomenHolyLand: In Her Own Words

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

What Christian celebration commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ?