Update from Daoud Nassar
Dear Friends:
Easter window, Christmas Lutheran Church
As we celebrate Easter this year with heavy hearts, we are reminded that light breaks through the darkness, that pain, injustice, and even death do not have the final word, and that the empty tomb is not just a symbol of victory over death, but a promise that love is stronger than hate, that justice will rise, and that peace will prevail.
Jesus rose, not only to comfort the brokenhearted, but to challenge systems of oppression, and to call for a new way of living. HE challenged both the religious and political powers of HIS day, and HIS resurrection was—and still is—a revolution of love.
At the Tent of Nations, we continue to embody this resurrection hope. Despite years of legal struggle, and daily challenges, we still stand on the sacred soil of our ancestors—rooted in faith, nonviolence, and refuse to give in to despair. We continue to plant seeds of hope even in rocky soil, and to resist injustice with the same spirit that turned over tables and rolled away the stone.
May we become gardeners of justice, may we walk in solidarity, not just in thought, but in action as peacemakers and bridge-builders. Let us make Easter not just a moment, but a movement, that continues through us.
Wishing you a blessed and powerful Easter, full of light, love, courage, and renewed commitment to justice.
With Faith, Love, and Hope,
Daoud Nassar
Director, Tent of Nations
-People Building Bridges-
https://tentofnations.com/
www.fotonna.org
https://www.facebook.com/
A Message from the FOTONNA Steering Committee
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” Bishop Tutu
Whether one lives in Israel/Palestine or in the U.S. where our government is being dismantled and long held values are being shredded, we are all in great need of hope. I wish to offer an extensive quote about hope from the great historian Howard Zinn which is very appropriate for today’s dark and dangerous time:
There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often in this century we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people’s thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.
To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of competition and cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
We continue to be inspired in our own lives and situation by Daoud and his family and all those whose lives emulate compassion, sacrifice, courage, and kindness. In defiance of the darkness, may we be compelled to hold up a light and be bearers of hope.
Finding Strength in Solidarity,
Charlie Lewis
Chair of the FOTONNA Steering Committee
Volunteering at Tent of Nations, 2025
Faith in the Face of Futility
Or: the Joy of International Connection
By Hannah Breckbill
FEB 19, 2025
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been spending my days with the same 6 fellow volunteers on a farm near Bethlehem in Palestine. Five of them are from Europe and in their 60s and 70s and the other is my age and from Australia. All of them are delightful and impressive and committed and kind. Two have lived in income-sharing intentional communities. Three are active on climate justice, participating in big direct actions in European capitols. One is a Christian theologian by training, another an electrical engineer, another an interior designer. Another spent a big portion of his life as a squatter. I am a farmer.
We all live on the farm, each in our own private unheated-but-online cave, with a shared kitchen, washing facility, and composting toilets. We’ve settled into a pattern of making our own breakfasts, sharing lunch usually provided by the Palestinian family whose farm we’re supporting, and then often sharing a light supper of leftovers in the meeting cave after dark. So we have had a lot of time to get to know each other!
With more and more intimacy we’ve delved into ever-deeper conversations about why we’re here. Frankly, this project that we’re supporting seems futile. The Israeli settlers are expanding their construction to right next to the farm, just over the fence (on Palestinian owned land), in defiance of law and even Israeli court orders. (Huh—an interesting parallel with what the President of the United States is up to). Tonight, new street lamps, 20 feet from the fence, went on for the first time: the illegal settlement construction is on the grid while this Palestinian farm is not given the opportunity to be!
The family who owns the farm is familiar with the settler playbook: they’re dreading a day that the settlers confiscate the farm, declare it a closed military zone or some such, because it is too close to the “facts on the ground” of settlement construction, regardless of the fact-on-the-ground that this farm has been here, owned by the same Palestinian family, for more than 100 years.
Though it feels futile, hard to imagine that this farm will still exist in five years, nevertheless we are here now. And we have to acknowledge that, had international accompaniment not been present on this land for the past 20+ years, this farm would be gone by now. So what we are doing does have a purpose, even though when we look into the future we don’t see much hope.
Years ago, when I was being trained with Christian Peacemaker Teams, I remember the director saying, “We are not called to be effective. We are called to be faithful.” I remember this often, and it orients me in an important way when I’m not able to see hope. I can still have faith, and I don’t have to judge my actions based on what they accomplish, but rather based on the values they embody.
I find it interesting that so many of the volunteers here are working for climate justice, which has a similar flavor of futility to trying to keep Palestinian farmers on the land: momentum is dramatically, terrifyingly against us. And yet, if we have a belief in the possibility of humans living well with each other on this finite planet, it is clear where to stand, in both cases.
It’s an honor to act in faithful solidarity alongside this radical and diverse group of people, and to become globally connected through acquaintance with the particularities of individuals. I’m reveling in the diphthongs of Dutch and the question that has yet to be resolved, “is this sarcasm or is this an Australian accent?” It’s fun to see where my new friends see U.S. Americanness in me (my skill at shuffling cards, for one), and where they compliment me with a “you’re not like most Americans!” (I’m quiet, alright?) It’s also a delight to do mental math on the fly to communicate in Celsius, kilometers, liters, and grams—it’s the least I can do when everyone’s communicating in English for me!
All of life happens one day at a time. Standing with faith in a seemingly-futile place is feeling like a worthwhile way to spend my days. I feed the ducks, I saw up firewood, I pick rocks out of the garden soil, I make food and do dishes. If nothing else, our presence here keeps up the faith and the fight of the Palestinian family we’re supporting, and I think I speak for all of us internationals that being able to be part of the struggle in this simple way is far more meaningful than we even hoped.
Thanks for reading Humble Hands Harvest!
Hannah Breckbill
she/they
co-farmer || Humble Hands Harvest
Blog: www.humblehandsharvest.substack.com
TON Children’s Camp – Voices Are Being Heard!
By Virginia Wadsley
Tent of Nations of Hope Book Project
Palestinian children’s voices are being heard! Orders for From the Ground and UP, the children’s book that grew from Tent of Nations summer camps, are arriving from all over the U.S. As the child narrators invite readers to join them interactively at Tent of Nations, they show and tell about not only their camp experience but also Tent of Nations story and message of love, peace, justice, empowerment, and sumud. Hope is found in their learned slogan, “Making Lemonade Out of Lemons.”
Some of the ways the book is being used, or being planned to be used, are with school and church groups, summer camps, with grandchildren, incorporated into interfaith presentations and delegations to Palestine, listing as a resource in newsletters, and placement in church and school libraries. Your additional ideas and reports are most welcome! If your child readers create something they could share with Palestinian children, we can forward photos of the items to Tent of Nations. (Send ideas and items to Virginia Wadsley at vrwadsley@gmail.com.)
Work is progressing on the Italian translation as Daoud works with the team in Italy. Publication there is anticipated this spring. Continuing donations and book proceeds will be used for additional translations and printing, support of projects that use the book, and mailing costs for distribution of the book.
Are you, or someone you know, planning to visit Tent of Nations in the next few months? If so, we can mail copies of the book to take with you/them for the Nassars to give to visitors/volunteers. Costs prohibit shipping the book in bulk from the U.S. and on-the-ground conditions are delaying printing in Bethlehem.
Click here for : (1) an order form for the book and (2) information for making a donation to the Book Project. Contact Virginia Wadsley (vrwadsley@gmail.com 515-255-5296) if you have questions or need more information.
Virginia Wadsley grew up on an Iowa farm, graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, did community organizing in Atlanta, Georgia, and returned to Iowa where she became a sometime writer and participated in sustainable agriculture, peace, and justice activities. She met Daoud and was inspired by his message when he toured Iowa in late 2019. This led to working with Daoud and some other Iowans to create From the Ground and UP, rooted in children’s empowering camp experiences. The process became a Zoom “virtual immersion” learning experience about Tent of Nations and its mission and work as well as an application of sumud, guided by Daoud, as many challenges — from COVID to settler attacks — were faced and overcome, leading to new creativity. Virginia anticipates that such learning through solidarity will continue in response to life as it unfolds – from the ground and up!
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 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.
NYT Article on Palestinian Christians includes Tent of Nations
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof visited the West Bank in early spring, and on April 9th he published “Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians.” The article, which is behind the NYT paywall, includes this description:
“One group in the West Bank where biblical themes of love and justice do prevail is Tent of Nations, a Christian community that promotes nonviolence and declares, “We refuse to be enemies.” It operates on the farm of an old Palestinian Christian family, the Nassars, who have used their property to hold youth camps and advocate peace toward all.”
Much gratitude to Nicholas Kristof for his visit to Tent of Nations and to other representatives of the Palestinian Christian community in the West Bank, and for his telling of their story.
We are Grateful to be on the FOTONNA road with you!
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 work, financial gifts, and presence on the farm as visitors and volunteers matter and are deeply appreciated by Daoud and his family.
Heidi Saikaly and Joan Deming
FOTONNA Steering Committee Communications Team