Hope to see you soon at Tent of Nations – Inshallah!

Daoud Nassar
Director, Tent of Nations
-People Building Bridges-
https://tentofnations.com/
www.fotonna.org
https://www.facebook.com/tentofnations

A Message from the FOTONNA Steering Committee

When I joined the Friends of Tent of Nations Steering Committee, I did so knowing that the TON is a critical witness for Palestinian justice.  As conditions continually grow more harsh and oppressive, we continue to hold on to hope with the Nassars and other Palestinian friends.  No matter what happens tomorrow, no matter what happens in the days and weeks ahead, we have a spiritual commitment to them, a commitment that binds us irrevocably together in love.

Our Steering Committee feels only a small portion of the weight that falls on the shoulders of Daoud and his family. That weight has pressed down upon them and every Palestinian over the past year especially.  Yet with every new challenge we witness a renewed sense of and fierce determination for sumud and resilience.  We have seen that hope rising again after every court case for re-registration that’s been delayed. We see in his spirit a remarkable courage that regularly inspires us.  With faith, love, and hope, we stand resolutely with Daoud and his family as they approach the next hearing.

We continue to be deeply thankful for your prayerful persistence and vocal resistance, helping share the weight that the Nassars carry.  Thank you for your ethical commitment to what’s just and right, what’s true and honorable, as we remain firmly in solidarity with this family that has grown so dear to us and won our affections. And thank you to those who have stepped forward to volunteer at the farm or are planning to do so. What a hope-sustaining gift to the Nassars. It lightens a weight on their shoulders.

And on behalf of those for whom the weight has become too heavy, may we offer this prayer from poet and prophet Ann Weems:

 O God, we pray this day:
for all who have a song they cannot sing,
for all who have a burden they cannot bear,
for all who live in chains they cannot break,
for all who wander homeless and cannot return,
for those who are sick and for those who tend them,
for those who wait for loved ones
and wait in vain,
for those who live in hunger
and for those will not share their bread,
for those who are misunderstood
and for those who misunderstand,
for those who are captives and for those who are captors,
for those whose words of love are locked within their hearts
and for those who yearn to hear those words.
Have mercy upon these, O God,
Have mercy upon us all.

Together in solidarity with you and the Nassars,

Charlie Lewis
Chair of the FOTONNA Steering Committee

Where Is There Hope?

Today our Bible study group read from Psalms 55, and struggled with the meaning of hope in these days. After acknowledging the wonder of Daoud and his family as models, we focused on the last two verses: “Commit your burden to the Lord…and he will sustain you…he will never let the righteous be shaken. And I will put my trust In the Lord,” said the shepherd. Amen
And then I closed down my computer, left my room, and asked where has hope appeared, already?

And then I said the following: Thank God…

…for hope with the Nassar grandfather who had a written deed, paid his taxes
…that the family lived on the farm
…that when settlers uprooted 250 olive trees in 2002, volunteers of the European Jews for a Just Peace in Palestine provided funds for new trees and traveled to the farm to help with the planting
…that when the Nassars raised three children during the occupation, they would finish their studies in International law, science, and engineering
…that when Bashara graduated from Kindergarten, the two letters of the alphabet he would study would be “O” for overcoming obstacles and “C” Challenges”
…that when the IDF destroyed more than 500 fruit trees and grapevines in 2014, 25 Jews from the US, Canada, and Europe arrived on the farm to replant these trees and formed the Center for Jewish Nonviolence
…when the fields were burned, volunteers came and restored them
…when the Nassars invited strangers to volunteer and visit the land, an average of 12,000 from around the world visited the farm each year for many years
…when Daoud and Daher were beaten nearly close to death, they were saved from death by the presence of two brave women
…when the Nassars were invited to come to the US, they visited 25 states, and gave nearly 500 presentations over a period of 15 years.

And, on and on. Miracles and evidence of hope and a living God….

I GO FORTH WITH A STRONGER SENSE THAT HOPE IS NOT ONLY AMONG US BUT ON THE WAY BROUGHT BY THE LIVING GOD IN MANY FORMS.

Bill Plitt
Steering Committee Senior Consultant/Historian

Hope in Action! Volunteering at Tent of Nations, Fall 2024

By Brenda Mehos

I have struggled recently with the word “hope” as a wish, trust, or expectation. Now in my 60s, I have yet to see the fruits of that type of hope. Thankfully my inner call to do something, anything, for my Palestinian friends took me to the Tent of Nations as a volunteer for the first two weeks of November. The following week, I traveled on a Solidarity Pilgrimage with the Sabeel Palestinian Liberation Theology Center. These experiences in Palestine pivoted and changed my life.

I first spent my weekend with friends in Bethlehem doing a bit of sightseeing and adjusting to the time difference. On Monday morning after arriving at Tent of Nations I quickly felt at home with the other seven volunteers who had also arrived. We had serendipitously met while traveling across the border from Jordan! After a brief orientation with Daoud, we divided into work groups based on our interests and abilities. I joined the “feed the animals” team. We fed the chickens, ducks, pigeons, and cats twice daily and I quickly bonded to two French women on my team. As the two weeks progressed, I did many other needed chores including helping prune olive trees, helping collect branches, and later spreading the burned ashes used as fertilizer. Solidarity groups traveling through visited the farm and came for lunch — we helped with these meals and visits too. The need for long and short-term visitors at the farm was described as a need for presence to keep the farm safe from the encircling of illegal settlements. This encirclement was clear from the first day as the bright settlement lights shone all around us at night and sounds from these settlements carried in the mountaintop air. Our presence was also needed for each other during this difficult time for our Palestinian friends.

Community forms quickly in these conditions. Fellow volunteers came from Germany, France, the UK, the U.S., and the Netherlands and we were all dependent on each other. The misunderstandings due to language and accents were at times hilarious and sobering. It’s easy to understand how culture and language can also divide if we let it happen. We were brought together by our common goals and concerns. We all wished the Nassar family success and we all learned from each other. One evening I was included in a group devotion where I was very touched by a woman from Berlin who told of the day the Berlin wall fell. The French women were my rocks in animal care. When a chicken escaped its pen, a young woman was comfortable catching it! When the three kittens on the farm entertained us with their antics, we all laughed and became family.

Volunteers came and went during my two weeks. The Dutch have had a presence on the farm consistently since May and we greatly appreciated a Dutchman’s leadership. The second week of my visit brought goodbyes to people I shared this opportunity with and hellos to new people coming in. The constant community were the Nassar family members who were on the farm almost daily. I was so honored to become acquainted with them. Quickly my time came to say goodbye as well. Like all things worth doing, I got out of my time there what I put into it. My biggest gift was a sense of hope about what people can do together if they want to make it happen. Another gift was the opportunity to get to know Daoud and his sister Amal, and to see and hear their faith in action. Thank you, Tent of Nations and thank you to my new international friends for bringing my hope back. Hope is an action.

Thanks for your Generosity!

Thank you for your generous support, spiritually and financially, for the Nassar family. Financial gifts can be made securely online by credit card: open the “Make a Contribution” page on Fotonna’s website, then click on the “Click to Contribute” button. If you prefer to give by a check, download the donation form here and mail to 3436 East Ave S, La Crosse, WI 54601.

Gifts for Trees: gifts in this Advent/Christmas season are especially welcomed to support the purchase and care of new trees for the Tent of Nations Farm. Each $30 gift supplies a new tree that will be lovingly watered, fertilized, and tended by the Nassars and guests on the farm over the following two years, until it has grown enough to thrive on its own.

Note that donations given directly to FOTONNA for Tent of Nations are not tax deductible under US tax law. However, tax deductible donations of $250 or more can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Tree of Life Educational Fund: click here. For more information about donating, please visit our FOTONNA website Donations page.

Questions? Contact: Beth Moore, FOTONNA’s Finance Co-Director, ebmoore1@live.com

A New Resource: “From the Ground and Up”

TON of Hope Book Project

From the Ground and UP is the fruit of seeds planted in November 2019 when Daoud Nassar, Founder of Tent of Nations (TON), spoke in Des Moines, Iowa. His story tells how his family bought a 100-acre hilltop farm near Bethlehem in 1916 and transformed it into an educational, ecological farm and peace center that hosts hundreds of visitors and volunteers from around the world each year. As they assist with farm work and educational empowerment programs such as the Bent Al-reef Women’s Project and children’s summer camps, visitors experience the obstacles and challenges faced by people in Palestine and are inspired by life at Tent of Nations. The message they carry home is about how pain can be turned into positive energy by building bridges with the land and other people and refusing to be victims or enemies.

In Des Moines, discussion with Daoud gave birth to creation of the TON of Hope Children’s Book Team who worked with him over four years to create From the Ground and UP. Obstacles faced during the process included COVID and attacks on persons and property at TON that prevented Camp from being held for three years. Yet, with Daoud’s guidance, Sumud (steadfast perseverance) prevailed and lemons were turned into lemonade following Camp in 2023. The resulting book is a gift from children who have attended TON Children’s Camp.

Truly growing from the ground and up, the book’s story is rooted in TON and flowers as a scrapbook of Camp photos that invites readers to join the Palestinian campers in the discovery of their deep roots in the land, the potential in their seeds, how to create lives of strength and resiliency, and how to work together to make a better world. Like the campers, readers will learn about TON and experience its message of Faith, Hope, Love, and Sumud to bring about empowerment, peace, and justice so that they can share it with others.

Click here for : (1) an order form for the book and (2) information for making a donation to the Book Projectt. Contact Virginia Wadsley  (vrwadsley@gmail.com 515-255-5296) if you have questions or need more information.

Closing Reflection: Living the Christmas Story Today

By Dr. Grace Al-Zoughbi Arteen

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this year, let us remember that His coming was not just a spiritual event but a radical disruption of the powers of His day. His birth, life, and ministry speak to the oppressed, the marginalized, and those longing for justice.

In our world today, many still live under the shadows of empire—whether through political domination, economic exploitation, or cultural marginalization. The message of Christmas is that God has come into this world to stand with the oppressed, to bring light to those in darkness, and to proclaim a kingdom where justice and peace reign. How can we be bearers of Christ’s light in a world still marred by the darkness of injustice? As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, let us commit ourselves to living out His radical love in our communities and in the world. Because our Savior was born in our land, because he proclaimed signs, miracles and wonders in our land, and because He lives in us through His Spirit, we can be assured that we can have hope in Him.

Prayer:

God of justice and peace, we thank You for the gift of Jesus, born into our world to bring hope, healing, and repair. As we celebrate your birth tonight, fill us with the courage to resist systems of injustice and oppression. Help us to be Your hands and feet in the world, bringing Your light into the darkness, and proclaiming the good news of Your kingdom. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Read Grace’s full Christmas Eve Devotion at:

Boundless: An Anti-Colonial Advent Devotional – Christmas Eve – Unbound

We are Grateful to be on the FOTONNA road with you!

Please remember Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s words for those who “are so compassionate that it makes them world-sick and heartsick.” He gently admonishes us, “Start where you are, and realize that you are not meant on your own to resolve all of these massive problems. Do what you can. It seems so obvious. And you will be surprised, actually, at how it can get to be catching.”

Thank you for all the ways that you are leaning into the wind, walking with the Nassars on their “journey for justice with faith, love, and hope in action.” Your prayers, advocacy steps, financial gifts, and presence on the farm as visitors and volunteers matter and are deeply appreciated.

Heidi Saikaly and Joan Deming
FOTONNA Steering Committee Communications Team