June, 2022
The next day after visiting Yad Vashem and Ein Karem, in the early morning hours, we left Jerusalem, the city that connects all peoples with its sanctity and its important place in everyone’s heart. We proceeded towards Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank to meet Palestinian peace activist Sami Awad, founder of the Holy Land Trust, and later Father Issa Thaljieh in the Church of the Nativity.
Arriving directly to the Holy Land Trust, Sami Awad welcomed us to his beautiful little center filled with slogans of peace and love. Holy Land Trust is a non-profit Palestinian organization committed to fostering peace, justice and understanding in the Holy Land. For over 20 years it has worked to create awareness of the social and political conditions here. It is deeply committed to exploring the root causes of violence and seeks to develop solutions to address them. The Trust believes that true peace and justice is achieved through nonviolent activism, and personal and spiritual transformation. It is unique in its focus on personal transformation and addressing the spiritual trauma that prevents a just and lasting peace. Neither a political nor a religious organization, it seeks to practice and encourage all of us to live lives motivated by unconditional love rather than fear. Holy Land Trust believes in honoring the dignity and equal rights of all peoples.
Sami Awad told his story, how it began, and the activities and projects that he carries out at his center. Everyone was happy to meet Sami and hear from him!!
After we finished our visit at the Holy Land Trust Center, we went on foot to meet a person who is more than wonderful, loved by everyone for his beautiful words, good spirit and strength of faith. Father Issa Thaljieh is the priest of the Roman Orthodox parish in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Father Issa (translation of Jesus) warmly welcomed us to the beautiful large church of the Nativity, and we all entered!
The Church of the Nativity contains a grotto revered as the place in which Jesus Christ was born, the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity. The basilica itself, is the oldest major church in the Holy Land. It is located in Bethlehem in the south of the West Bank. Built by Emperor Constantine in 335, Religious rites have been held there regularly since the beginning of the sixth century AD, when the Roman Emperor Justinian built the church in its current form.
In 2012, the Church of the Nativity entered the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is the first Palestinian site to be included in the World Heritage List.
Father Thalijeh explained the features of the church and its sanctity and the prayers it contains, to all members of the group and then we toured it, feeling a strange, beautiful and indescribable feeling!! Father Thaljieh says he cannot imagine living in any place other than the place where Jesus was born. For him, the city of Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity are the closest places to his heart, and he is closely related to them!
He stressed the importance of what the Abrahamic Reunion is doing in general, and the programs we are doing in Palestine in particular!
Knowing that Father Issa participated in numerous meetings and programs with the Abrahamic Reunion, among them we mention the Christmas celebration three years ago, Unity Prayers and Prayer Vigils on Zoom, the Interfaith march for Peace and Justice, and many other interfaith programs in Palestine.
Many wandered around the church and took memorial pictures that will remain hanging in their hearts and memories! Here, at the end of our visit to the Church of the Nativity, we all took a souvenir photo with Father Thaljieh, and then we left the church, bearing its sanctity and beauty in our hearts.
We then headed to the village of Battir, south of Bethlehem, to have lunch.
This village is captivating with the beauty of its terraced orchards and dense, coiled trees where birds and bulbs embrace among its branches, making a symphony of the place. The spirit is refreshed through the fragrance of history, where the old buildings, virtual palaces, canals, arches, alleys, neighborhoods and lanes overlook the valley, such as the famous “Sab’ Al-Wimmal” lane. There are many springs of water that emit life in Battir. The waters, especially in winter, flow through historic Roman channels to irrigate their lands and orchards, where the famous purple colored Petitari eggplant sings.
After arriving in Battir we headed to Khirbat Battir restaurant, located on the top of Mount Battir overlooking the Palestinian coast! The restaurant is decorated with depictions of many traditions of Palestinian food!
We all sat down after a tiring day to lunch, which included famous Palestinian dishes such as Lamb’s Neck, Waraq Dawali, Maqluba, and many famous Palestinian dishes. We ate, talked, laughed, and left a beautiful imprint in this delightful village.
In the evening, we left the restaurant and headed back to the Saint Gabriel Hotel, for a good rest, announcing the end of the activities of this wonderful day. In the late evening hours, my wife and I sat over dinner with some members of the group, talking about the splendor and beauty of this meeting and this trip.
During these beautiful moments sitting together, I felt a strong and strange feeling, filled with overwhelming emotions! I remembered being in Toronto in 2018, staying together among my second family, members of the Abrahamic Reunion at Hafiz’s house when we participated in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Being among people of different religions, cultures and backgrounds makes me very happy!! And here I felt this feeling again and I didn’t want to leave!!
At ten o’clock in the evening my wife and I said goodbye to everyone and left the hotel and this beautiful family, which I pray to God to protect them.
We left Bethlehem, returning to Ramallah and I carry in my heart many great emotions and moments that I had during my stay in Jerusalem and Bethlehem with this family. My Abrahamic Reunion family teaches me how to be patient and defy all storms for the sake of humanity, faith, and the love of the other, in order to achieve what many have struggled to achieve, the just peace in the Holy Land.
I write this blog to you who are reading it, and I am very excited for everyone, praying to God to meet you all as soon as possible!
Part 2 of 2: The previous day on the tour, at Yad Vashem and Ein Karem, can be read here.
Mohamad Jamous is the Abrahamic Reunion’s Palestinian Programs Director
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