We Refuse to Be Enemies: An Evening with Daoud Nassar at Immanuel

Photo by Mara Ahmed, who also made the film "The Muslims I Know".

Some people come to speak and afterward you tell others what they said.  On November 4, 2010, Daoud Nassar came to speak at Immanuel, and I want to tell you who he is.

Beyond what he said, it was his person that we most remember.  One from Immanuel said that he felt he was listening to Martin Luther King.  A Jewish friend said, “I feel I was in the presence of a prophet.” 

Daoud (David) Nassar came to Immanuel from his home six miles SW of Bethlehem.  His 100-acre family farm has become over the last ten years the Tent of Nations, a gathering place for pilgrims from around the world exploring what it means to live in peace. 

His farm has been under constant threat of annexation by the occupying Israeli state since 1991.   They asked him to prove it was his.  He had the papers dating to 1916 (many of his neighbors had no such papers and lost control of their land).  They required him to have the property resurveyed – several times.  He did it at considerable cost.  They told him the surveyor was not licensed in Israel.  He had it surveyed yet again at tens of thousands of dollars.

His property is not allowed running water or electricity.  Tents, a small shed and other minor renovations are under demolition orders.  Neighboring settlers (his land is surrounded by five Jewish settlements) have tried to build roads on the eastern and western parts of his land.  He has stopped them in the courts.

These and other extraordinary challenges have faced his family for nearly 20 years.  The choices his neighbors had - use violence, give up, move away - were all unacceptable to Daoud.  Out of his Christian faith (his is the last Christian family living in this particular area of the West Bank), he chose a different path.  On a rock at the entrance to his farm in many languages he put a plaque with the words “We refuse to be enemies.” 

We saw in Daoud the spirit of a man who refuses to be bitter, to hate, to cling to anger, to divide.  We saw a man who finds a way to turn rejection into witness.  No running water, they have dug 11 cisterns to collect rain water.  No electricity, they were given a generator and installed solar panels.  No building permits, they turned caves on his property into meeting places and prayer sites.  No friends, they open their lives to people of all faiths, Jews and Christians and Muslims and Hindus and of no faith.  Last year more than 4,000 people from around the world came to spend a little or a lot of time there, hosting a youth camp in the summer, creating amazing art work like a mosaic made from the broken tiles of the conflict. 

Daoud has drafted a master plan for the peace center he envisions.  He hopes for the best and prepares for the worst, when he may be almost completely cut off from the Bethlehem area.  He is working to make Tent of Nations self-sufficient.

This personification of peace is a magnet that draws resources and works miracles.  Visited one day by the Israeli Army who wanted to examine everything, Daoud said, “We welcome everyone.  You can look around, but first we offer you tea.”  The conversation softened hearts. 

Two people came from the neighboring settlement to make their case.  They saw that Daoud had no running water while they had swimming pools.  A man from another settlement visited and was led to move out of his home and to join the Israeli peace movement.

On November 4, the Tent of Nations was pitched over our head.  It is now our home.  Daoud Nassar’s quiet eloquence affected all of us.  Our pastor Rachel McGuire said, “I hold him in my heart as a living example of the kind of human being I wish to be.”   I pray that his witness will forever change me.

Richard Myers

*Photo with thanks by Mara Ahmed

Story behind the Story:  Immanuel Baptist Church in Rochester was honored to host Daoud Nassar in Rochester, NY on Thursday, November 4, 2010.  We learned of his coming through Elaine Johnson, a dear friend and one of many in the area who have a deep concern for the people of Israel/Palestine.  Immanuel Baptist Church actively supports the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA).  Four of our members spent 17 days on a study tour sponsored by BPFNA in Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel in 2009.  Immanuel seemed a good place for Daoud to present his story.

Daoud's appearance put Christ's call to be peacemakers into flesh.  We all have a very new approach to our advocacy because of his teaching.

 Richard Myers