September, 2002
Surely a threat on an airplane, the box cutter didn't seem like much to worry about in a schoolgirl's bag. Marthame took it, assuming the Israeli soldiers would be less likely to bother an American than a Palestinian for possession of a box cutter.
We're looking forward to seeing a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people - for that, it seems we'll wait a long time for White House intervention.
Watching people die is hideous - watching people die slowly is gut-wrenching. It would be too easy to say that those who favor war have never seen it, but it's certainly true to say that those who embrace it without nuance have never lived through it.
News of the new UN Resolution is welcome, but the stance that the US has taken (abstaining) merely underscores more Palestinian frustration with American policy in the Middle East.
It was a Jenin weekend in a nutshell - a dynamiting of the neighbor's house, a little prayer, a few tanks, and some birthday cake.
They thought our phone bill had remained unpaid. We had paid it at the Zababdeh post office, but the paid invoice hadn't reached the central office. Six miles away is an impossible journey these days.
The talk around town is about the two bombs planted in Palestinian schools in Hebron by Israeli militants - five were injured in one, the other was defused in time.
In the evening, with no telephone to provide us with distractions like the internet, we went out on the town. People visit here incessantly once the cool of the evening comes, something we are often reluctant to do because of the overwhelming feeling of work left undone. But we are never disappointed when we do.
We spoke with another friend in the States who commented on how "quiet" it is over here. Yes, cities under house arrest, unemployment, malnutrition, collective strangulation are a quiet death.
The Byzantine liturgy is other-worldly, and the chorus - who play a key role in said liturgy - was largely made up of folks from Zababdeh's congregation who know it inside and out.
One of the ninth graders wrote and presented his reflections on the events of last year: "Terrorism is evil because it cheapens the value of human life....We must unite in prayer for those who died and for their families."
Marthame filled in for the English teacher, who eventually managed to walk through the hills and olive orchards from Qabatia to Zababdeh.
Planes buzzed overhead today all along the valley between Jenin and Tubas, flying very low - we could see four of them at once.
As much of the chanted liturgy is taking place among the congregation, the priest is busy preparing the eucharist.
In the evening, we did an interview with the Diocese of Sioux Falls' radio program Catholic Views.
One of the people the group visited with, who has a military background, talked about the battle here from that perspective. The military part of the Israeli action he had no problem with - cornering the resistance fighters into an area bounded by four main streets was good military strategy. It was after that, in his view, that the Israeli army broke all rules of combat, bulldozing and collapsing the area, denying emergency services and relief agencies into the area.
At church, Deacon Firas joined in worship leadership as well, fresh off his ordination yesterday.
