But first :
Easter Message from Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb:
The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church
Wed, 7 Apr 2004 13:25:18 +0200
Dear Sisters and Brothers, Salaam from Bethlehem during this Passion Week. In our country, there is seldom a week that passes without losing many Palestinian and Israeli lives. Everywhere you look, you see signs of death controlling our lives. Funerals of young Palestinian people have become an everyday experience. Pictures of assassinated political leaders, posters of suicide bombers and websites with names and pictures of victims of violence are spreading like mushrooms. Liturgies of death are filling the air of the Holy Land. Many Israelis are claiming a monopoly over suffering. And many Palestinians are feeling comfortable in the role of victims. The cries of women over lost loved ones are heard in so many villages and towns. And yet in this very context, the message "He is not here" must be heard loud and clear in this country. Nowhere else the proclamation of resurrection has so much meaning than in this place. Our ministry here is to witness in word and deed the power of the resurrection in a context still dominated by powers of death, violence, occupation, hopelessness and helplessness. This witness is transforming people to find life before death, a life worth living here and now. This ministry is echoed daily by beneficiaries responding through empowered lives: "He is risen indeed". Thank you for being part of this ministry. We wish you a blessed Easter. For the latest stories, news and updates please visit: www.annadwa.org <http://www.annadwa.org/> www.bethlehemmedia.net <http://www.bethlehemmedia.net/> Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb General Director - The International Center of Bethlehem Dar al-Kalima Academy Senior Pastor - The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church |
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Bethlehem Besieged Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble Fortress Press will be releasing the newest book by Dr. Rev Mitri Raheb in beginning June 2004. Following are some description and comments on the book. |
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The stories behind the story on the nightly news “This is a heartrending account of what has happened to ordinary people, and how they have lived and survived under the siege by Israeli soldiers of Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace. It should shake us out of complicity with the injustice being visited on ordinary people.” -Desmond Tutu, Retired Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
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At a time when many people associate Palestinians with terrorism, Bethlehem Besieged offers a sympathetic look at Palestinian life under occupation today and puts a human face on a people often been demonized in the popular press. Mitri Raheb’s powerful collection of compelling personal stories—stories of desperation and hope in the midst of lethal conflict—brings the Palestinian/Israeli conflict up close and personal. Raheb’s lifelong commitment to his people has kept him in the legendary birthplace of Christianity, even as the town has become a flashpoint in the world’s most volatile and hate-filled conflict. His passionate personal testimony lifts up the stray gesture toward friendship, the brave attempts to rebuild life and livelihood in a destroyed land, and the unquenchable desire for justice and peace. Like The Diary of Anne Frank, Bethlehem Besieged is a riveting story, beginning with the siege of Bethlehem in 2002 and continuing into today’s scene of occupation, the wall, and suicide bombers. But it also chronicles the personal struggles of Palestinians and their families to survive the violence and to act with integrity in extreme circumstances. It gives full voice to the soundbites of the nightly news.
“Once again ‘the hopes and fears of all the years’ seem to focus on Bethlehem. Its painful history, stubborn hopefulness, and indefatigable spirit shine through the pages of this remarkable but deeply troubling book. It is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its importance for the whole world.” -Harvey G Cox, Hollis Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School
“A Palestinian narrative of suffering and sacrifice that is infused with hope. It is a story that has cried out to be told.” -Dr. James J. Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute
“Bethlehem Besieged is first a document of horror and hope about the plight and possibilities that confront the Palestinian people. But it is also more. As a Jew I see this story as a warning to the Jewish people that we are becoming almost everything we loathed about our oppressors. For me Mitri Raheb's gentle anger is a prophetic call to Jews in Israel and beyond to stop and reverse course before it is too late. Yet the pages of this gripping real-life story tell me that it might already be too late.” -Marc H. Ellis, Professor of American and Jewish Studies, Baylor University
Mitri Raheb is a Palestinian Arab and Christian Pastor who ministers to his people in Bethlehem, where his family has lived for hundreds of years. Pastor of the Evangelical Christmas Church there, he holds a doctorate from Marburg University in Germany. Internationally honored for his work, Raheb has been interviewed by CNN, the Washington Post, Fox News, ABC News, and CBS News, sharing his stories of the Israeli bombing of Bethlehem and the fears and hopes of ordinary people living there.
Fortress Press, Minneapolis To order the book in the UK To order the book in the US |
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