Youth Event of The Abrahamic Reunion – Palestine
“Our Union is Our Strength”
Friday November 15, 2019
Organized and written by Mohamad Jamous – Director of the Abrahamic Reunion Palestine
Where will I start and where will I end?
I will start with the beautiful moments and end with the most beautiful moments.
Why? Because this is the Abrahamic Reunion’s Youth Event in Palestine.
Friday morning November 15, 2019 I woke up at 7:30 AM and my mind was already busy.
I have been waiting anxiously for this day!!
I drank a cup of coffee and called the group coordinators from Jericho, Bethlehem, and Nablus to check on everything.
A few minutes later, I left my home in Jericho and traveled to the city center to wait for the participants to arrive.
After a short time 27 participants from Jericho arrived with Mohamad Ghrouf, the Chairman of the Jericho Youth Council.
A few moments later 20 participants from Bethlehem arrived, and then 45 participants from Nablus arrived.
We were over 90 people between the ages of sixteen and thirty! Half were Muslims and half were Christians.
After we gathered in Jericho, I welcomed everyone and said, “Let’s go to the Jordan River for a baptism. And there I will introduce the program”.
Then we left Jericho for the Jordan River. This wonderful historical place is full of tourists throughout the year, and you might ask yourself why did I say “Let’s go for a baptism” when I referred to this place?
“Be patient.” (Patience is beautiful)! And I will introduce you to the Jordan River.
According to Christian beliefs this is the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
This information was established following archaeological excavations carried out along Wadi Al-Kharrar in 1996.
Archeological discoveries along Wadi al-Kharrar, located east of the Jordan River, in Jordan corroborate with Biblical text, and inscriptions from Byzantine historians that describe where John the Baptist preached and baptized Jesus.
According to the Gospel of John (28: 1) John the Baptist, baptized Jesus in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan.
Ruins of a Byzantine monastery referred to as “Bethany through Jordan” were discovered at the site of Tell Al-Kharrar.
Also located in Tell Al-Kharrar is a pastoral oasis, and a series of natural springs that flow into Wadi al-Kharrar, and eventually into the Jordan River.
A few meters from this holy site is where our group of Muslims and Christians gathered for our event.
Here I welcomed everyone and introduced myself as the director of the Abrahamic Reunion in Palestine and then I described the monthly programs that we do:
Usually we host older men and women in our programs,
But today the situation is different because today our program is focused on you! Yes, you!
I know that your minds are full of ideas of love and peace, and in today’s program we will work to share what is in your minds, so these ideas can come out of your minds and come together into one goal under the name of Abrahamic Reunion.
Today, we have come here to speak, to think, to analyze and to inquire.
Let us come up with useful results that we can gather together under a slogan of love, peace and respect for all. So dear brothers and sisters, welcome to the Abrahamic Reunion!
After I finished my speech everyone participated in an introductory exercise that I call “Breaking the Barriers”.
This exercise is designed to help participants from different religions break the barriers of fear, and shyness by sharing their views, beliefs, ideas.
After this exercise my little brother Karim and I distributed T-shirts to the participants. Each T-shirt was inscribed with a single letter from the English phrase “Abrahamic Reunion Youth – Palestine”.
I took a memorial photo so everyone could experience the meaning of hope by looking into the eyes of these young people, who had come to participate in the program today.
Each of these young people had left something behind to join us. Some of them had left their universities, and some of them had left their work, some of them had left their homes, and some of them had left their children.
I looked into their faces and I saw their determination, and I swear to all of you that I almost shed tears when I saw their situations! One of the participants from Bethlehem was carrying her young baby, and in her other hand she held the hand of her older daughter!
Can you imagine that? I went to her and told her, “Don’t worry about anything I will personally help you to carry your baby this entire day.”
When I gathered the participants to take the picture, I felt the ideals of the Abrahamic Reunion entering their minds, I wish you could experience what I felt! When you see these peacemakers standing together, they represent different religions, and different beliefs, they were different colors, and different ages. But they had one heart!
After we took the picture, we all prepared to go to Gerasimos Monastery to meet the monk, Christo Tomos.
This is a monk who helps the poor before the rich, and who listens to children before listening to their elders.
When we arrived at the Greek Orthodox Monastery where Christo Tomos lives, we started exploring while we waited for him.
Before we continue let me give you a small overview of this monastery.
Built by Saint Gerasimos in 455 AD this is one of the oldest monasteries in the world. It grew around a small church, built by the apostles inside a cave. It is believed that the Virgin Mary and Jesus stayed in this cave when they fled to Egypt to escape Herod, who in his search for Jesus, was killing the children around Bethlehem.
Let’s continue.
When Christo Tomos, arrived I gathered the participants to hear him speak and he said:
You are all welcome in this monastery. This monastery is open for all. Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze and the followers of all other religions in the world.
This monastery is a meeting point for all cultures, religions, beliefs and nationalities.
This monastery is a house of peace, love and hope. Your presence here increases this love and peace among us all.
I want to thank you, and I want to thank the Abrahamic Reunion for these useful programs.
You are our youth, and you are our future. You will make the love, and you will make the change.
Because we desperately need change at this time.
In the light of the conflicts we live in, we need change from bad to better, change from the negative to the positive. Change is necessary so everyone can enjoy a better future.
Thank you all and I hope to see you next time in greater numbers!
After hearing his talk, we continued to tour the monastery and saw the beautiful places there.
Then we all took a memorial photo under the sign of the Abrahamic Reunion.
We left the Saint Gerasimos monastery and proceeded to the monastery of St. George in Wadi al-Qalt.
Now, let me pause for a moment to give you an overview of the path in St. George’s Valley.
Wadi Qalt runs from the outskirts of Jerusalem to Jericho, and on to the Jordan Valley. It is an amazing trail for hikers and nature lovers, but you can also travel through the narrow valley by car, or bus to visit St. George’s Monastery.
St. George’s Monastery is situated on the slopes of Wadi al-Qalt and it overlooks the spring.
It was destroyed in the seventh century during the Persian invasion, but later it was restored by the Crusaders.
And between 878 and 901 the Greek Orthodox Church restored the monastery to its present form.
We arrived at the monastery at 12:30 pm, and, I served a lunch of sandwiches, sausages, cheese and soft drinks. And after a short break we prepared to take a 25-minute walk along a beautiful, narrow path.
As a group of Christian and Muslim youth and we began walking to the monastery! During our march we were singing and dancing, and we were feeling happiness every second we walked!
The Abrahamic Reunion painted a smile on the faces of these youth.
We arrived at the monastery at 1:30 and we were surprised that the monastery door was closed! I called some friends in Jericho to ask them about it, and they told me that often the monks go out on surprise visits, and the monastery door might be closed for an hour or two! We could have waited for them to return, but because a number of important people were waiting for us, we walked back to the Participants’ Center at the beginning of the road and prepared to move to our next destination.
Our next destination was the Coptic Orthodox church and monastery of St. Zacchaeus in Jericho. Who was waiting for us there? Two important people!
Do you want to know them?
One of them is Father Pachomius Al-Urshlami, a monk in the Coptic Church and the other is Sheikh Ghaleb Awatleh, the imam of Al-Dyouk Mosque in Jericho.
As soon as we arrived, Sheikh Ghalib and Father Pachomius welcomed us warmly and we all entered the Coptic Church and proceeded to one of the beautiful church halls.
We sat in the hall and Mohamad Ghrouf spoke to the participants about the sanctity of this beautiful place.
Then Father Pachomius welcomed us and said: “You all have a dear place in my heart, and Mohammed Jamous has a special place in my heart, so thank you for coming!”
Father Pachomius gave a brief history of the church and said:
This Church was built by St. Timothy the
First in 1922, and it opened in 1925.
In 1962, St. Basil the Fourth restored the church, adding beautiful icons and wooden benches.
In 1993, Archbishop HG Abraham renovated the church, rebuilt the monastery, and added a pond. And in 1995, he renovated the monastery again, and added a residence.
After this brief overview, he said, “Let us move to the church yard to sit in the open air”.
So, we all moved out of the church hall, and sat in a beautiful open area, where Father Pachomius welcomed all the participants again and said:
None of us chose his religion, we were each born to a different religion, I was born to a Christian family, and you were born to a Muslim family, and the Jew was born to his family, so, we all have different beliefs, ideas and religions.
But it is obligatory for all of us to respect one another and treat one another as human beings. We should refrain from any action that discriminates on the basis of nationality, race, color, sex, age, religion, creed, social status, birth, wealth, physical or mental disability, political opinion, etc. We are all human beings created from earth, and we will return to it
Following Father Pachomius’ talk, Sheikh Ghaleb Awatla welcomed us and said:
I consider this church my home, so I want to tell you all, “Welcome to my small home”!
Two years ago, I participated in the interfaith Iftar held by the Abrahamic Reunion in Jericho.
At that breakfast most of the participants were elderly, but now I see young people taking the future into their hands.
Thank you, Mohamed, for involving these young people in your programs!
Sheikh Awatla completed his speech by saying:
The message of peace and love among people is the principle of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Our beloved Messenger called for brotherhood and love between all religions.
I assure you that we are all brothers, there is no difference between us.Love is the principle that promotes optimism among human beings. All of the heavenly religions have always advocated the principle of peace and coexistence among us all.
There may be some Muslims and Christians who distort religious teachings, but we have a duty to change the minds of these people through our culture, our ways and our words.We must increase our awareness to improve our society.
I am very happy to be here among you, and very happy to see young faces with big minds!
Like you, we will work for peace, and we will work to increase the degree of love and brotherhood among all!
Yes, we are all human beings and we are all sons of our master, Abraham. I thank you all and I thank Muhammad Jamous for inviting me to be with you today.
I hope that you will complete your mission because the Holy Land needs you!
After Sheikh Awatla and Father Pachomius finished their speeches, we began a discussion and asked questions. Everyone agreed that the Ministry of Education, and the schools should include topics and stories about coexistence, and love and peace in their curriculums.
Then Sheikh Awatleh and Father Pachomius started to tell some funny jokes, which made everyone laugh!
One of the participants, named “Sumaya Amara” from Jericho, shared a poem written by the poet Anis Shoshan:
Peace on you, and peace on us
Peace to you, and peace to us
Peace to those who respond to the offer of peace
And even to those who don’t
Peace,
In the name of God, “Peace, The eternal refuge”,In the name of the God of the faithful, Peace, in which we grew up
Peace, Kneaded with the ground of this country
A Peace we no longer dwell in
A Peace that no longer dwells within us
A Peace that we observe,
As we pack our luggage to leave our lands, slowly, and gradually, to be replaced by submission and surrender, and Islamization devoid of Islam, as if the Islam of our ancestors doesn’t concern us.
Do you know why Peace leaves us?
Do you know why we are engulfed by darkness?
Simply, because we are a fearful society
We are a society that fears diversity
My words, might not please some of you,
Or, most of you
Or, all of you
I know!
But I will say it
Because I refuse to be like a sheep
We are a society, that refuses to admit
We nest in backwardness
We are a society that screams with all insolence
Claiming to carry a different thought
We are a society, that indulges in arrogance, in a vacuum
And claims to be a cultured
Woe to me, what a disgust!
We embrace diversity only as a maskWe think the difference of colors harms us
We think the difference of forms harms us
We think the difference of thoughts harms us
We think the difference of religion harms us
We even think the difference of gender harms us
Thus, we attempt to kill our diversity
And we became a lethal poison to each other
We are a society sillier than the fool
Yes, we are a society sillier than the fool
We dispute over trivialities, exaggerations, and superstitions
We consistently refuse to dive into the deep
And I don’t absolve anyone
Neither civilians, nor the politicians
Or anyone who is calm in the dull quietness
Neither the one who claims we are holy
Nor the one who blindly follows the West
Or those who want to recreate the glories of the caliphate, and slavery
And to the amputation of legs over differences,
Let us today, try to dive inside ourselves, Inside our deepness
Let us try to embrace our souls
Let us try to embrace our diversity inside our souls
Here I am,
In front of you
With my color,
with my hair,
And my poems,
And with my whimsical thoughts
I am not afraid of you
I am not afraid of your differences over me
Because I am of you
And you are of me
Let’s create art
let’s dive into the dreams
To build a culture immune of ridicule
To instill sophistication in ourselves,
In its superior state
Let’s dissolve traditions, races, specters, thoughts, colors, and religions
So, we do not see, except a human
As soon as Sumaya finished her poetry, everyone stood and applauded. Her words touched all of our hearts!
Everyone began to exchanged conversations. Happiness embraced us all! And laughter moved from here to there. It was as if I was sitting at home on a Friday evening with my family.
It was 4:30 in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to set.
I thanked Father Pachomius and Sheikh Ghalib for their precious time and we left the church and headed towards the Samar Café for the final phase of this beautiful day!
At the café we sat in one of the big halls and drank lemonade! Moments later the “Masar Theater Group” from Jericho presented a beautiful stage performance about some Palestinian children who lost their mother during the war.
The “Masar Theater Group”, which has 26 members between the ages of 13 and 35, was established in 2017 by Malik Al-Ghog. Their plays deal with community issues, and the performers serve as cultural role models for Palestinian youth.
After the Masar show, another participant from the Jericho group gave a short musical performance for everyone.
While that was going on, I went to a dessert shop in Jericho to bring a big cake!
Oh! I forgot to tell you!Today is also my birthday, I became 29 years old today!
This was one of the most beautiful days of my life because I celebrated my birthday at an Abrahamic Reunion event!
Together we were a group of Muslims and Christians and everyone sang for me! I chose a birthday cake with the Abrahamic Reunion logo on it because the Abrahamic Reunion is such an important part of my life!
My brothers and sisters, this has been the most wonderful day of my life! It has been the day of my birth, and also the day for an Abrahamic Reunion event!
As seven o’clock in the evening approached, I bid farewell and thanked all of the participants. I hoped to meet everyone again in future Abrahamic Reunion activities.
My dear brothers and sisters, this day was full of hope, big hearts, strong wills, dreams, ambitions, love, respect, and tolerance.
I hope that we will increase these feelings during our upcoming programs, and
we will reach thousands of youth!
