Our Brothers Who Art in Bethlehem

I never did write my "Why the Palestinians are Angry" post. I'll do it soon: I found the disk of political maps I was looking for. Think of this post as a preview: the following email is regarding a Christian Palestinian family who live in the West Bank, our back yard while we were staying at Tantur in Israel. The Zoughbis have a 7 floor guest house in Bethlehem, which also acts as the base of their small house church, House of Bread.

Greetings, all.

I was forwarded the following information
about the Zoughbis yesterday.  Charles
and I wanted to forward it to you to
request your prayers on their behalf.
Since all of you are intimately connected
to them and familiar with their living
situation, you will be able to identify
with this frightening experience. Issa and 
Diana faithfully present the love of Christ
to their community and I know how 
devastated they would be that their church 
sanctuary would be violated by violence.
Please be prayerful for them and their 
children, for all in their community and 
country in these difficult days.  Be
discerning in what you write if you should
email them  -security is always a concern
and communications may be monitored.
I am sure your prayers and encouragement,
however, would be received with gratitude.

I think of you all with fondness and
sweet memories of our journey together!

G. N.

On Nov 20, 2006, at 6:31 PM, C.
R. wrote:

At midday today L. and I left the Zoughbies
house to go and help Odette 'spring clean'.
At 12.30 we heard alot of shooting about 200
metres from Odettes house.  Diana Zoughbie
rang and told us not to return to the house.
The Israelis were surrounding the house opposite
Isa and Diana and the whole area was blocked
off.  During the afternoon, much shooting
continued with four explosions.  At 7pm we
rang Diana to find out what was happening.
She answered the phone in a quiet voice and
did not say alot, apart from not to return at
the moment.  A little later one of Odettes
friends called and advised that it may be
safe for us to go back to the Zoughbies.
We went as far as Manger Square and saw that
we could go no further.  We spoke to some
local Muslim shop keepers we have got to
know, and they said that one man is dead,
10 more injured and the man the Israelis
were searching for had given himself up.
After waiting half an hour, the Israelis left
the area and we were allowed to proceed the
50m downhill walk to our flat.  The road was
in complete darkness, and covered with rubble
from the explosions.  Cars had been hit with
windshields broken.  When we got to Isa and
Diana we were so pleased to see that they
were ok.  We then realised why Diana had been
so quiet when she answered the phone.  The 
soldiers had forced the front door of their 
house and used two of the levels for the 
duration of the 7 hour siege to overlook the
house opposite.  There were many bullets on
the floor.  They had used the Sunday school
and the church.  Diana and Isa had to remain
in the bedroom for 7 hours and hid in the
bedroom in darkness, some of the time under
the beds.  None of the children could get
home from school and so Isa and Diana were
separated from their son, Rajaee who is 14.
Isa and Diana are visibly shaken by the 
whole thing, as their house of God has been 
used as a hideout for the Israeli soldiers...
they were given no choice in the matter.
As we returned to the house there were many
hundreds of people outside and a TV crew.
People come to survey the damage.

This is now the second time in less than 
three weeks, that the Israeli soldiers 
have entered Bethlehem to take whom they beleive
to be terrorists. We are not in a position to
comment. What we can comment on is what we
see.... the destruction, chaos, disruption,
loss of life.

L. and I are both shellshocked, and
question the methods the soldiers use. An 
already thoroughly damaged economy and society 
is punished even further.  As Christians it is 
hard to live here, see these things and not 
feel a sorrow for the ordinary people here.

C. & L.