Breaking News: Settlers Riot in Hebron

Yesterday, the Israeli military evicted a group of Jewish settlers from a home in Hebron. Both Palestinians and Israelis claim to own the house, and the supreme court in Israel had instructed that the settlers be evicted until the ownership claims could be settled. In response, groups of settlers have rampaged through Palestinian areas of Hebron. They have set homes and cars on fire, destroyed gravestones and defaced mosques, and fired guns indiscriminately into crowds of Palestinians.

Here is an account from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Here is another one from Haaretz. (Nadia Matar is quoted in this article. She is one of the leaders of the movement to take over Oush Ghrab, where our climbing tower is located)

Here is an account from TIME. (Update: I just realized that the man in the middle of the picture accompanying this article was one of the settlers who attacked us during a prayer service a few months ago)

I don't know what else to say. Please pay attention.

Here is an editorial from Haaretz.

Please pray for everyone here - enemies and all. Pray the Palestinian families will be safe today. Pray that the settlers' hearts will turn towards love. Pray for the soldiers as they are attacked by people of their own country. Pray that God's love and peace will somehow reign in Hebron today.

An Open Letter to My Detaining Officer

If you are interested, please read an article I wrote for Burnside Writer's Blog. Check it out here. 

I am going to start writing for Burnside once a month, and I'll link to those articles from here. I'd love to hear your input and feedback on the stuff that I write. 

jason

Human Life-When does it matter?

 I found myself checking cnn.com during my lunch break today, in order to read about the results of the election last night, to see what people were saying in other parts of the world, and to feel connect to what is happening in the US right now. I imagine cnn had (and will continue to have) a huge amount of traffic today due to the election. While I was looking around, I noticed this headline. 

"Gaza Rocket Hits Israel Coastal City"

As I read the story that this headline led me to I learned a few things.

-At least 20 rockets had been fired into Israel from Gaza last night and today

-The Israel Air Force carried out a number of attacks in Gaza

-Six Palestinians were killed

Now, let's say that you were required to write a headline for an article that included these three pieces of information. What would matter the most to you? What would you include in the headline in order to get people's attention? Imagine the average reader of an American newspaper: what would get him or her to click on that story. Don't worry about what you think the write answer should be, think about what would catch the average person's attention.

Have you thought about it?

Now, pretend instead that 6 Israeli's were killed in the rocket attacks. What would you put in your headline now? 

Lovin' Yo Enemies

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that Burnside Writers Collective posted something I wrote about loving your enemies. Some of the material was posted here first, but it's a bit more organized now. Check it out if you so desire. 

happy pumpkin day!

*so this was supposed to be posted yesterday, but i got kind of distracted by my husband's detainment by the israeli army. he always takes all the attention...*

today is pumpkin day. also known as my due date (or i guess actually my mom's due date when she was going to have me). also known as not-my-birthday day. my mom sent me a pumpkin outfit for hiba, since her half birthday falls on pumpkin day. so cute!


in honor of it not being my birthday, i'll take this opportunity to remind you that my birthday is soon (although not quite as soon as my mom would have liked...) and give you a list of things i would like for my birthday.

-mint chocolate chip ice cream
-the settlers to leave jason alone
-the soldiers to leave jason alone
-episodes 4 - 14 of season 4 of "the office" from iTunes
-20 lbs. of cheddar cheese
-peace in the middle east
-a season pass for season 5 of "the office" from iTunes
-winter clothes that are not stretched out from an enormous pregnant belly
-12 hours of sleep in a row
-a private jet to fly my friends and family here for a really awesome birthday party
-money, time, and energy to throw a really awesome birthday party
-black boots
-rain, but only if it doesn't come with really cold and windy weather
-a shopping spree at old navy or gap
-a case of dr. pepper
-an iPhone that is unlocked
-money to pay for all the cool apps that could come with an iPhone
-ziad's chickens to be fired