Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday - Mark 11

Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
Mark 11.1-11

As worship begins this Sunday, many congregations will re-enact Jesus’ march to Jerusalem in some fashion, often with children waving palms, people singing.

As the writer of Mark’s gospel tells it, Jesus’ entire ministry has been leading to Jerusalem. The crowds have been following Jesus from Galilee, about a hundred miles north. Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem, at the beginning of the Passover, the most sacred festival in the Jewish year, is not a spontaneous event. Jesus has planned the details of this street theater beforehand and send

Jesus did not invent the procession. Everyone was aware of imperial processions—Pontius Pilate the Roman governor riding at the head of the cavalry and soldiers carrying the golden eagles mounted on poles, the grand display of weaponry and the beat of the drums—it happened every year at the beginning of Passover, to bring reinforcements to town to augment the Roman garrison at the Antonia Fortress in case of an uprising. This Passover celebration of freedom from slavery in Egypt was a dangerous time for their new masters.s his disciples to carry out the arrangements he has made.

On this particular Passover, Jesus’ followers line the roadway to welcome Jesus, giving him the reception that royalty and military leaders usually received—the cloaks and leafy branches symbols of royalty and signs of loyalty and praise. Their response is a political statement against the religious and military leaders who were oppressing the people and a sign of the threat that Jesus posed to the good order of the Roman Empire and the religious establishment in Jerusalem.

This week, Palestinians and their supporters around the globe are also preparing for a procession—assembling the people, providing transportation, notifying the press. The march commemorates Land Day March 30, the day in 1976, when Palestinians protested Israel’s plan to confiscate Palestinians’ lands for the expansion of Israeli settlements.

Some of the history: “On 11 March, 1976, the Israeli regime published its expropriation plan to confiscate Palestinians’ lands in order to further expand their illegal settlements and build military training camps. Quite interestingly, on 29 March, they also imposed a curfew in a bid to stop Palestinians from voicing their anger over the confiscation of their lands. However, on 30 March, Palestinian activists called for protests and people took part in demonstrations. Israeli regime’s forces killed at least 6 people and wounded over 100 Palestinians. Hundreds of Palestinians were also arrested.” More….

People are coming from many countries, for a march planned to converge on Jerusalem. Organizers say they are not interested in confrontation with Israeli authorities. Organizers of this year’s march have announced a peaceful, non-violent demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinian demand for an end to Israel’s occupation of their lands and with their hope for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. “We are after all not an army, but popular peaceful international forces aiming to show solidarity with Palestine and with Jerusalem,” according to Zahir Al-Birawi, spokesman of the Global March to Jerusalem, which lists Noble Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire as advisers. Read Israeli reports on the march in the Jerusalem Post and in Israel Today magazine.

God of justice and peace, protect your people as we struggle to live our lives in safety and security. Amen.

Living Under the Cross - Shawan Jabarin

In the Occupied Territories, it is not only Christians who find themselves living under the cross. Shawan Jabarin, executive director of the Palestinian human rights organization al-Haq, has not been allowed to leave the West Bank since 2006, when he was appointed to this position. Between 1999 and 2006, he was permitted to leave eight times, but his petitions for permits have been denied since 2006, on the grounds that he is active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was given no opportunity to confront these allegations, however, and he was never questioned about his activities.

Last month, along with the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, he was awarded the “Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945” prize. The prize will be awarded in ceremonies on March 13, but has been unable to gain permission to leave the West Bank to receive the prize.

Jabarin is not alone, however. He has many people helping him carry his cross—Israelis and Palestinians, including Rabbis for Human Rights, which has members in the US. They and nine other human rights organizations have written to the Defense Minister and to the Commnander of Military Forces in the West Bank, protesting the denial of freedom to Jabarin.

This happens every day in the Occupied Territories—both the denial of movement for Palestinians and the support from others on both sides of the separation wall. B’Tselem is an Israeli organization which monitors human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Read more about Jabarin’s story on B’Tselem’s web site, as well as news about planned settlement expansion and the story of Adham Ghaneimat, 14, in his own words, the story of his beating by settlers last month as he walked with two friends on his family’s land near his village of Surif near Hebron in the West Bank, a few miles south of Bethlehem.

Find out what happens with Al-Haq's appeal for Jabarin's travel permit: http://www.alhaq.org/ The outcome of the hearing March 5 is posted here (the hearing was continued): http://www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=434

Shawan Jabarin and Al-Haq are engaged in important work to combat human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. Because of his work he himself is in danger of imprisonment as well as living under the travel ban. Many human rights organizations have been working to support him and his work:

• World Organization Against Torture
• Human Rights Watch
• Protecion Oline
• Defense for Children International
• Amnesty International