Bill Plitt – Post Celebration Reflection

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It’s been four days since I returned home from the centennial celebration of the purchase of Daher’s Orchard, now the home of Tent of Nations, and the Nassar family farm.  You can read more about the events of the four-day gathering of 60+volunteers from 8 countries on our website blog here.

For me the week’s activities of gathering as a community every morning near the family cave, where we heard personal stories, celebrated with music, prepared for the day of service on the farm with each other in small groups, was a pilgrimage to a special place.
That’s how it has been for me on every trip there since I first stepped foot on the land in 2006 through  travel as a delegate with Interfaith Peace Builders. But this time, it was even more special, as we were celebrating life together, and the work of the Tent of Nations and it’s mantra: “We refuse to be enemies”.
What was different was the gathering of the diversity of age, gender and culture.  Very few of us, other than the large delegation from Holland, knew each other before. Normally, when people visit the Tent of Nations, they are doing so with people from their own countries, and generally with people more senior in age.
This was a microcosm of the world where we lived together in harmony, at least for this week.  Missing of course, were the members of nearby Israeli settlements, and those from an opposite hilltop just  250 meters away in particular, where some, at a point in the closing ceremony,  seemed to be watching there from the school playground.  I wondered what they might be hearing and thinking as we sang, danced and heard words of testimony?  I wondered if they might join us at some future gathering of our group or one like it? I wonder. BP
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Reflection from Ruth – Friends of Tent of Nations UK

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Dear Friends of Tent of Nations UK,

I’m greeting you a week after having returned from Daher’s Vineyard as friends from around the world joined the Nassar family to mark 100 years of existence on that land that is so dear to them and to which they belong. Around 60 people from the Netherlands, the USA, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and other countries were part of a 4 day programme on the farm which involved volunteering on the land, creating a collaborative mosaic, discussion groups, workshops including Dabke dance, Bible stories, Non Violent Communication, a taster of the new Tent of Nations wine (!) as well as a culminating festival with dance, music and speeches in Solomon’s Theatre. You can see some photos from the week on the FOTON:UK facebook page – more can be found on the Netherlands Friends of Tent of Nations website. As ever, hope, positivity and ambition for the future radiated from the family despite the struggle to keep the land continuing.

The international presence, support and solidarity that the family receive is invaluable to their ability to remain hopeful and move forwards with the strength that this gives them – Daoud is very clear about how much this means to them. As friends of Tent of Nations, you are all part of this important network of support.

Conscious of this, it would be wonderful to widen the network and give others too the opportunity to learn about and visit Tent of Nations, to understand their story, learn from their approach and give the family an even broader base of support.

What can you do?
One very valuable thing that we, as supporters in the UK, can do is to spread the word about the Tent of Nations project and the opportunities to visit and/or volunteer. I’d invite you to have a think about the networks that you have and where you might be able to share these opportunities. For example:
– Churches
– High schools and universities
– Palestine solidarity groups
– Local travel agencies

I am working on a flyer / poster which can be used for this purpose which I will share with you. Please let me know if you would like to discuss ways to get the word out / if you have any other thoughts regarding this which you would like to share with the network.

If you would like to host a talk in your area but do not feel able to give this yourself, do let me know and I’d be very happy to discuss if I or someone else would be able to attend and speak.  Alternatively, if you would like to give a talk yourself but would like to have a chat so you are up to date with the developments on the farm, do let me know.

If you do host a talk or event about Tent of Nations, please take photos and share these with me! They would be great for the facebook page and to encourage others to organise similar things.

If you have not yet liked the Friends of Tent of Nations UK facebook page, please do so and share with your friends and networks.

I’ll leave you for now with a recent blog from the Electronic Intifada with an update and some great photos from the Vineyard: Sewing steadfastness, harvesting hope

And a wee video which gives a bit of a flavour of the Celebrations and what visiting Palestine looks like: https://vimeo.com/167480398

Warm wishes to you all,

Ruth

Ruth Cape
Friends of Tent of Nations UK
e: info@foton.org.uk
www.foton.org.uk / www.tentofnations.org
www.facebook.com/fotonuk

5th and Final ToN Journal Entry – Julia Ganson

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The 4 days of volunteer activities at the Nassar Farm were busy and took on a regular rhythm, starting with early rising and breakfast, then our 9:00 morning gathering of 60-70 volunteers with songs, poems, prayers, and meditation on the daily themes: “Come and See,” “Come and Tell,” “Come and Act,” and “We Refuse to Be Enemies.”  This was followed by mornings of farm work, then the workshops, discussions and optional activities before dinner.  Campfire each evening, with some staying around the circle until after midnight.

On the 4th and final day, we geared both the morning labor and our afternoon activities towards the big celebration event with invited guests, when the total audience exceeded 100.  A stage and seating was set up in Solomon’s Theater, a beautiful spot surrounded by stone walls and right on the edge of the valley.  One looked directly across to the large Jewish settlement to the east, and presumably, they looked back.  They certainly couldn’t help hearing the music and seeing the dabkeh dancers.

The air was filled for several hours with wonderful music: the teenagers in the Brass Peace Band, a duet of sitar and lute, and a German band whose name in English is, fittingly, “Borderless.”  They played John Denver songs, starting with “Country Roads.”
It is a place where a wide range of nations, peoples, and musical traditions come together, for sure. IMG_0175For this joyful occasion, to celebrate 100 years since the Nassar Family purchased the land in 1915, there was no literal tent. It was under the sky and in the open air.  The many members of 3 generations of the family that had gathered were brought up on stage several times to speak about their lives of hard work and much love on the farm, for family photos, and to be recognized and feted.

We had 2 different troupes of dabkeh dancers, a professional one as well as  8 volunteers who learned a dance in only 4 days here, tutored by Jihan!  You can see photos of both groups below.

Following the performances, everyone shared Palestinian food, Ditch cheeses and sweets, and tea in the grove of trees next to Soloman’s Theatre.  “Borderless” continued to play American folk songs that brought people out onto an impromptu stone dance floor.  I tried to imagine the same celebration with one more border broken down: Wouldn’t it be marvelous to invite the neighbors from the nearby settlements and a Jewish Klezmer band to add their music to the celebration of 100 years of a Palestinian family in this place on Mother Earth?  Imagine…

Peace & Justice,
Julia

Journal Entry #4 from ToN, May 12, 2016 – Julia Ganson

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I have been thinking quite a bit about what it means for there to be an international presence at Tent of Nations and in occupied Palestine, and to imaginatively use having visitors here at the farm on a continual basis.  Daood  Nassar told us that since 2002, when a good number of internationals began showing up, the violence of the nearby settlers towards them has stopped.  What hasn’t stopped is the destruction of the property, but it may be possible to protect against this, too.

Yesterday morning I rode in the old orange VW bus with a group of 6 down to the family land in the valley.  Two of the brothers Nassar were in the front seat.  There are several fields in the narrow bottom lands (still 950 ft in elevation but with more fertile soil than on the slopes or hilltop).  Our job was to weed-release apricot trees planted last year.  Up until 2 years ago, the valley fields were full of fruit trees: hundreds of apricot, fig and plum trees produced a bountiful harvest each summer and autumn.  In  2014 the trees were 10 years old. Very early one morning, while the family and workers were on the hilltop where they live, bulldozers came.  They ripped out and destroyed about 1500 of the trees in the first few fields.

The family response has been to refuse be enemies. They continued to use the legal channels available to them, that they have been using since demolition orders were first served by the Israeli Government in 1991.  And, they replanted the following year. In 2015 they planted 2500 trees in the valley where the others had been and beyond. The new trees will begin to produce in the next couple years.

The Nassar brothers pointed out one lone survivor — a fig tree against a stone wall at the far edge of one field.  This one tree was spared (who knows why) and has survived and flourished.  They have named it “Steadfast Witness.”

Another part of the strategy to refuse to be enemies and to instead use creative non-violent resistance against the threats to their farm, is to bring MORE international folks to the farm for work on the land and for educational programs.  They believe that a permanent presence in the valley will help to stop further violence by settlers. To that end, they are refurbishing a cave just above and overlooking the fields.

This cave was a place the family lived in during the winter months up until several decades ago.  It is warm and dry, and it allowed them to be very close to the fields they tended.  We explored the cave and the area around, which has evidence of residential use during the Ottoman period, including a large stone winemaking vat and steps cut into the rock walls.  The cave is the future residence of a group of farm workers — perhaps WWOOFers? — from points around the globe, to live there and work in these fields year round.

Rather like “Steadfast Witness,” the fig tree that survived the bulldozers of 2014 and stands over the new small seedlings, such a group of internationals would signal by their presence a willingness to bear witness to what happens here.  Even though the United Nations has designated the occupation of Palestine as illegal, and identified countless violations of the Israeli Government as they demolish Palestinian houses, uproot and destroy olive trees, and prevent Palestinian farmers from working their land, the illegal and I humane treatment continues.  The building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land has actually accelerated in recent years, and during the Obama Administration.

The education of the international community, and their literal and felt presence in West Bank, may be the most powerful tool we have to save the Nassar Farm and to end the occupation.  The days I have spent at Tent of Nations with Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian, Scottish, Swiss, and some fellow Americans has been rich with the sharing of stories about what they have seen during their time in Palestine and Israel.  They bear witness to the treatment of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers; to the physical realities of checkpoints, barriers, and the snaking separation wall, as well as to guard towers, Israeli flags, and expanding settlements on hilltops beyond the 1967 borders; and to the miserable and controlled living conditions of Palestinians.  Locals tell us to tell our friends and family to come visit Palestine, to learn and to make their interest and concern known to the Israelis and to the world.  This type of informal human rights monitoring — our simply being here — is a key tool for ending the occupation and building a just peace here.

Warm greetings from Palestine,
Julia

Day 2 at Tent of Nations 100 Year Celebration – Julia Ganson

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Today was a great mixture of communal farm work, afternoon workshops, discussions, and optional activities, then a surprise party in the evening.  I am getting to know the many different areas of the 100-acre Nassar Farm, which includes lots of interesting little nooks and crannies along the hilltop and in the fields of grapes, olive trees, and fruit trees down the slopes to the valley below.  Although a Palestinian village can be seen from certain vantage points, the 3 settlements always loom large on the adjacent hills, from almost any place on the farm.

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We have been exploring the commitment by the Nassar’s to the idea “We refuse to be enemies,” in our gathering each morning after breakfast and in other forums throughout the day. This afternoon I facilitated a small group discussion focused on what this means to us in our own contexts — how each of us might act on the refusal to be someone’s enemy.  Individuals offered some thoughtful ideas from their lives in other countries far away from ToN.

Abram, a Dutch pastor, told a story about an anti-nuclear protest in the 80’s where he was praying for peace as part of a group of Franciscans.  As students and police got increasingly confrontational, the Franciscans simultaneously switched to dancing for peace, which changed everything. The infusion of joy said, in fact, “We are not fighting each other; we aren’t enemies.”

David, a retired American minister, suggested that changing the spirit of a situation shifts the meaning to “We are all children of God.”  It’s hard for anyone to confront joy, respect, and inclusion with insistence on being an enemy.  The other pastor in the group (there are a large number of them among us!) connected the doctrine of “Love thy neighbor” to “We refuse to be enemies.”

And, Annette from Germany talked about how she and others in her village continue reaching out to new Syrian refugees with support and friendliness, even when the refugees’ expectations are to be isolated and rejected, and they complain of being excluded.

I reflected on my experiences in an interfaith dialogue group.  How difficult it is to sustain a strategy of openness and curiosity, with the goal of real understanding and and compassion, towards those who hold strong positions counter to one’s own.  It may be equally hard and with others in your life who are indifferent or apathetic.  How do we infuse our interactions and dialogue with joy and creative approaches, to move out of the stance of being in opposition.

Daood Nassar asked that each discussion group write down some of its ideas and share them with his family, to help provide inspiration for their ongoing struggle and commitment to creative, nonviolent resistance to the illegal Israeli occupation and 25 years in court to keep their family land. All of us as visitors and volunteers insist that it is the Nasser’s who inspire the rest of us.  Daood reminds us that this is mutual and is the way we build and maintain “the beloved community” of which Martin Luther King, Jr. preached.

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In the evening, the Nassar family hosted the group in Adiyeh’s Tent for an evening of wine tasting.  We heard from an expert about growing grapes, local “table grape” varieties that are also good for making wine, and the first large scale production at the farm this year.  Then we had tastings of the Chardonnay and Cabernet, along with cheeses brought to ToN by our Dutch volunteers.  We raised our glasses to the Nassar Family, this community of friends and supporters, and to “refusing to be enemies.”

Peace to All, and a Just Peace,
Julia

 

Bill Plitt – Arriving in Tent of Nations

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Good morning dear friends. Here I am at the Tent of Nations with the Nassar family as we begin the celebration of the Centenial event recognizing 100 years since the farm was purchased by family and now enjoyed by many as the place of understanding. 60 people from 8 countries began the week together at worship this morning. There will be many hours of work on the farm together, as well as reflections on what it means to be in solidarity for the cause of human rights and dignity for all God’s people. For me, personsonly, it will be the moment of the simultaneous planting of a tree on the grounds of my church home of Trinity Presbyterian in Arlington, Va. by friends there as I plant the seeds of that same tree here just South of Bethlehem at Tent of Nations that I believe will be so meaningful for our communities, thousands of miles apart but so close in spirit. Stay tuned. Others will be invited to share their experiences in the coming days. BP

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Julia Ganson – Arriving in Tent of Nations

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It has been a very full Day #1 here at Tent of Nations!  First:  how I got here, literally, in contrast to my previous journal entry that described how I found myself volunteering at ToN and being a part of its 100th anniversary party.
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Last evening I came by taxi from Bethlehem with two other fellow participants and volunteers. Hans and Tika are a Dutch father and son team.  Last year Hans brought his 15-year-old daughter. Tika, at age 13, is the youngest member of our international  contingent of approximately 70 people and a friendly, engaged teen.

It was a good thing that one of us had been here previously.  The taxi driver could only take us most of the way from Bethlehem to the Nassar property.  This is because the road from the highway to their gate is blocked by the Israelis and has been since 2002.  Huge boulders have been placed across the narrow road in several places, so that no car can pass.  It signified squarely to me that this is Area C of the West Bank, wholly controlled by Israel, even though illegally occupied according to international law. The West Bank has been strategically carved up by the occupiers, with checkpoints, road blocks, and separate roads that go either directly to illegal Jewish settlements from Israel or are for Palestinians to use in prescribed ways.

Hans, Tika and I carried and dragged our bags up the road about 200 ft., along a valley. We looked across to terraced hillsides and… massive settlement complexes perched on the hilltops. These are not small housing developments; the biggest has over 40,000 occupants. The scene is both a lovely rural scene and a seriously scarred landscape.

The gate was locked, so Hans called Benjamin, one of the volunteers who was in residence. He came to unlock the gate and bring us in.  He showed us to our tents– 3 big green canvas dorms set beside each other behind a row of trees with benches between them.  I got a bed in the women’s tent, at the end of a row of 8.  The tents are luxurious, for tents.  Stone floors, electricity, and single beds with mattresses and pillows.

In the evening I had a look around the farm, which has all sorts of interesting spaces and areas, and uses many sustainable low-impact living technologies and strategies, including solar panels for electric lighting, composting toilets, cisterns for rainwater, outdoor solar showers, and caves in addition to the tents.  (Yes, caves for meetings and many other uses.)  As the leader of ToN, Daood Nassar says, the Israelis will not allow them to access water, electricity, or building structures. So, they found other ways that are more environmentally responsible anyhow.

The 30 or so volunteers who had arrived over the last week had dinner outside under the covered terrace, looking out over the valley to witness a beautiful sunset. The we gathered around a campfire with members of the Nassar family, getting to know one another, telling stories, and hearing some ukelele playing. I slept deeply, tucked into my sleeping bag in the big green tent.

Today started with breakfast for the volunteers out on the terrace at 7:30.  Soon afterwards our numbers were about tripled by a group who is staying at the Bethlehem Hotel and will come out by bus each day this week for work parties, discussion groups, workshops, and meals.  We made an official start to the 100 Years Celebration with a gathering of the 60-70 international participants from China, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden. The Dutch are by far the largest group.  And we range in age mostly from our early 20’s to early 80’s. There are many individuals representing faith-based groups, and an abundance of Protestant pastors.  Many who have been here before and a lot of us here for the first time.  For some, it is their first trip to Palestine or Israel.

All of are here to support the Nassar family in their ongoing struggle to stay on their land, owned since 1916 and, since 1991, under threat of confiscation and demolition by the Israeli government.  The Nassar’s choose to not resort to violence; they reject victimhood and despair; and will not leave Palestine.  They instead refuse to be enemies and opt for creative nonviolent resistance.  The support of an international community of supporters inspires them, as we are in turn inspired by their reliance and commitment.

Working for a Just Peace,
Julia

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Julia Ganson – Arriving in Bethlehem

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I am just waking up in the Bethlehem Hotel, after arriving here last evening from Ben Gurion Airport with 2 Dutch women who are also here for the 100 Year Celebration at Tent of Nations.  A group of perhaps 25 of us “pilgrims” had a buffet dinner together at the hotel, with Meta introducing us and getting us organized for our day trips today.  Some will go to Jericho and surrounding places for a “Desert Spirituality Tour,” and some to Jenin to visit the refugee camp.  I will be on the latter trip and provide a report later today.

Here at 5:30 am in Bethlehem, the city is beginning to wake up. It is just before dawn. Cocks are crowing and the song of many birds is heard over occasional traffic noises below my 11th floor open window.  The smells of the hotel breakfast cooking and breezes of about 55 deg. also come through the window. A few reflections on how I got here, figuratively speaking:

How did I learn about Tent of Nations and decide to come on this journey?  It started with Fakhira, as many things in my life during the past 5 years have done. I met Fakhira in the course of my job as the program manager for several U.S. fellowship programs for Arab activists and democracy reformers from across the Middle East & North Africa.  A group of remarkable individuals fighting for social change in their countries and the region, Fakhira is a 1948 Palestinian and Israeli citizen who has worked with me, taught me, and never stops encouraging me to learn about Palestine and to follow the path of my life, pulling together my unique values, talents and interests to find meaning and contribute to the good of the world.

Last year sometime, Fakhira said, “There is a place in Palestine that brings together many of your interests!  You should go there!”  (She almost always speaks with this type of emphatic enthusiasm and drive.)  How so? I asked.  She said that ToN is a Palestinian family farm near Bethlehem…”  I liked the idea immediately of spending more time in Palestine, where I had traveled twice before and where I can visit 20-25 Palestinian alumni and now friends)…

“… that does organic growing and practices sustainable agriculture and energy usage.”  Hmmm… That caught  my attention.  I do organic growing on a little property in the Finger Lkes of New York State, USA, that I call Cold Comfort Farm.  And in 1997 I traveled to New Zealand/Aotearoa to spend several years as a WWOOFer (Willing Workers on Organic Farms).  In exchange for room and board, I worked and learned on small family farms, in orchards, and in market gardens, and “grew to love” cooperative work on the land, small rural communities, and Kiwis who were committed to sustainable and healthy living.  I ended up staying in Aotearoa/NZ for nearly a decade, but that’s another story.

Then Fakhira said, “At Tent of Nations, they also do educational programs…”  Caught my interest there, too!  I have been a professional educator for 30 years now, in the U.S.   and NZ, as a sociologist and college professor, school teacher, education evaluator, and international trainer.  Lifelong learning and civic education have consumed my last 10 years.

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“… educational programs on nonviolence and peace building.”  My interests in the Israel-Palestine Conflict and Palestinian human and indigenous rights have been steadily growing in the past 5 years, and I am part of a group in my local community called Justice for Palestine, working with other US and international groups to help end the occupation and find a just peace.  This Tent of Nations WAS sounding like a place for me to visit!

I began to explore the ToN website and I discovered that they would be celebrating 100 years of the family being on the land in May 2016.  Visitors and volunteers were welcome, and there is a North American team — FOTONNA — to support TON and help get Americans connected to them.  With the help of Kay and Bill in the DC area, and Meta from the Netherlands, I made my plans online to spend 2 weeks on the Nasser farm/Tent of Nations, joining in the celebrations and making myself useful as a group facilitator and farm worker these next couple weeks, while I learn more about organic growing and sustainable living, and practicing nonviolence by “refusing to be enemies.”

I will meet up with Fakhira and spend time with her and her family after the time at ToN.  Thank you, Fakhira, for once again nudging me along my life’s journey!

Love to all,
Julia
Bethlehem
7 May 2016