New Year's Eve December 31, 2001

Peace March -- Open Jerusalem, End Occupation

Today we had another peace march in Bethlehem. Local clergy were mainly responsible for this march, but it was also supported by the churches in Jerusalem, Islamic institutions, various NGOs, local municipalities, rural councils, scouts groups, and refugees' committees in Bethlehem. It was very well attended. They expected (and received) thousands of activists.

There was more media coverage at this event than at any I have been to. Dozens of photographers and cameramen. Many reporters. I suppose it was because high-level church people were involved. I saw older gentlemen wearing important hats in the procession. It was tough for the march participants to move because of all the media.

The clergy outlined rules for the peace activists and handed out a paper with these instructions:

• The march will be calm
• Participants are encouraged to sing or pray
• Scouts and Youth groups are invited to participate
• Participants hold olive branches as a sing of our strategic option: A JUST PEACE
• There will be moments of silence to commemorate the victims.
• Wishes and prayers coming from persons from all over the world will be attached to balloons and distributed among the participants at the New Gate (Jerusalem). At the Lion's Gate, the balloons will be lifted into the air, a gesture to symbolize the universal right to freedom.
• Persons responsible for discipline are clearly marked
• United Civilians for Peace (UCP) takes part in the preparations as observer

The marchers were stopped long before the checkpoint. Soldiers moved up the road about half a mile before the checkpoint and stopped them. Then there were long negotiations. I was a bit uncomfortable at this point. There were too many people I didn't know in the march. The ISM usually are at the front of the walkers to prevent things from escalating into something terrible. Today the front lines had many people that I had never seen before. There were a lot of bystanders in this particular spot.

After the negotiations, the marchers were allowed to proceed. I think this was a very well crafted plan on the Israeli part. They stopped us well before the checkpoint, yet when we were allowed to pass this arbitrary location, we felt victorious. The army had given up no territory by letting us pass, and we also felt good moving forward. We actually progressed less than at any march on any checkpoint, but it felt like we had done something. (Of course I am not involved in pushing forward. I simply take photos -- and today video -- of the events.)

The soldiers stopped us short of the checkpoint again. So the clergy decided to hold their prayers there. Oh man. Can you imagine what happens when about a dozen high-profile religious men get together to pray? (I believe Jesus told the Christians to stop posturing and posing during prayer time. Go into the closet and pray. No flowery language, no big show. Just talk to God. He gave us the Lord's Prayer. How long is that? A minute at most?) I believe there's always prayer competitions whenever you have these public occasions -- who can pray the best prayer. I'm a fan of Father Ra'ed, who gave us special training. I think that guy really speaks some sense. And I love to hear his enthusiasm. But the prayers ended about an hour later. I'm certain they were well-said and meaningful and from the heart. But I sort of zoned out after the first couple. And there were groups yelling "Free Palestine" and all sorts of other things.

And then we were dismissed by the clergy. Many people wanted to push forward toward Jerusalem, but the clergy said "no", and we agreed to abide by their rules, so the peace demonstration ended.

And now it is 7pm, and I've been invited to a New Year's Party, but I'm really so tired. I don't know if I'll make it to 9pm, let alone midnight. I want to take a nice warm shower, and I hope I'm sleeping deeply when 2002 rolls in.

This has been a great year for me. God has blessed me with a lot of things -- a good family, wonderful friends that feel like family, and work that I really like. And like we learned at Emmaus, it just gets better and better. I hope the coming year is a good one for Peace in the Middle East.