The conflict in Israel-Palestine has garnered international media attention, though balanced, comprehensive coverage is lacking. This summer, thanks to financing from International Ministries and support from Youth in Mission, myself and two other Canadians, Michael Watt and Hannah Carter, attended the fourth annual Sabeel conference in Israel-Palestine. This conference was one of the most profound experiences I have ever had and I returned home with a new sense of an issue that once baffled me.
Sabeel is an ecumenical Christian organization that seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians and promote social unity leading to social action. The annual young adults conference brings together youth from around the world and Palestine to learn about the conflict and experience what life is like in the region. The theme of the conference was Palestinian Christians and the Challenges of Today. While there, we traveled across Israel and the West Bank and met with Palestinian Christian leaders and families, as well as leaders of Israeli groups who supported the Palestinian cause. The people we met welcomed us into their homes and communities as if we were family. Everyone had stories to tell of their lives in Israel-Palestine, and some were able to share the stories of their ancestors who lived through the wars of 1948 and 1967. It was hard to believe that some of the stories we heard weren’t written about in the media, and it really began to hit home how little the international community knows about what is happening in Israel-Palestine.
One of my most memorable experiences was our trip to a refugee camp near Bethlehem, where we met families who live there. The grandmother of the family I met with had lived through the Nakba of 1948, when her family was moved from the Mediterranean coast city of Akka to the refugee camp where she currently lives. Her family has since expanded, and now four generations live under one roof. One of her daughters cooked dinner for us, and I was able to have a conversation with her. She asked where I was from, and when I told her I was from Toronto, her face lit up. She told me one of her brothers had moved to Toronto and owns a steel factory. She was so excited to have met someone who lived in the same city as the brother she hasn’t seen in years. This moment sticks with me, as I was able to connect with a woman I barley knew and make her so happy, just by being there and representing something that connected her to her brother so far away.
I learned many things from the conference. First, I learned that even the most oppressed people can have an overwhelming love for complete strangers. Second, even though the conflicts aren’t always written about in the papers, it doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Finally, the international community really has no idea what is happening in Israel-Palestine, and in order to help, people need to invest in learning about what is really going on.
