November 11, 2005: Phase Two

We Need Peace: a Palestinian child designs a piece for an international quilt.

The first phase of my trip, that with Fellowship of Reconciliation, has drawn to a close.

Phase Two is directly related to my work with the General Assembly staff, following up on a General Assembly resolution establishing an Israel/Palestine Mission Network and calling for an economic feasibility study of the Palestinian economy. Therefore, I'll be spending the next few days with several colleagues meeting with church partners and economists to get their analysis on the economic situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. It will be much slower than our time over the last ten days, hopefully allowing me time to reconnect with friends in and around Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah.