HOLY LAND TODAY HOLIDAY GREETING CARDS & NOTECARDS
Dear friend,
I am grateful to be able to offer these Holy Land Today cards again for the holidays or as note cards for any time of year. They offer a way to share images and information about the "hidden" Bethlehem and the Holy Land today -- wall and all.
The cards come in groups of one single image or a mixed batch of two images each.
TO ORDER CARDS CONTACT ME AT < karendes@umich.edu> or
<agr1@mac.com> or phone 734-665-8140 or 734-645-5162 or 734-747-9220
Ten 4" x 5" cards with envelopes will cost $8-US. Shipping will be added.
All proceeds, beyond expenses for producing the cards, will go to benefit Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA.org]. So donations are gladly accepted.
It is my hope that these images offer some humanity in the midst of the all-too-harsh reality of continuing military occupation.
Our most powerful tool is the truth if we can just get it out there.
Thank you for anything you can do to spread the word
karen deslierres
PS. For ordering, the images are called:
1.The Children
2.Barbed Wire Bethlehem
3.Long Wall, 3 Kings
4.Balloon Girl
5.Perforated Wall
HERE ARE THE TEXTS & CAPTIONS FOR THIS YEAR'S 5 IMAGES (ATTACHED). CARDS ARE BLANK FOR YOUR MESSAGE, WITH TEXTS ON THE BACK.
1. "CHILDREN IN MANGER SQUARE, BETHLEHEM"
The eyes of Bethlehem's children shine bright with hope and trust. Yet, these children need the world's help. They live under military occupation, denied the most basic human rights. Their access to school or medical care may be barred at any time by their military occupiers. They cannot travel outside their town, even to visit relatives or to reach Jerusalem, ten minutes away. Bethlehem is now a walled city, isolated and increasingly impoverished. Tourists' visits have plummeted, and the town's economy is faltering. The surrounding fields are being commandeered by massive Israeli-only housing blocs and a network of roads barred to Palestinians. Life itself may be denied to children under occupation. A great many children were killed in Palestine this year.
Can we not learn to nurture our children, and find other ways of settling conflicts? Let us ask our government to stop supporting the Israeli government's imprisonment of Bethlehem's children and their families. One people cannot control another through the use of military force.
The children of the world are our future, our hope, and our responsibility.
Friends of Sabeel-North America, the Voice of the Palestinian Christians: <www.fosna.org>. Card orders to
<karendes@umich.edu> & <elletelle@aol.com>. For info www.Open Bethlehem.org. Photo: FriendsOfBethleham.org. Thanks to PIAG of Ann Arbor Friends
2. "LET US GO NOW TO BETHLEHEM...." (Bethlehem seen through barbed wire)
3. "THE HOLY LAND TODAY: COULD THE THREE KINGS ENTER BETHLEHEM?" (The long wall enclosing Bethlehem)
Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle Bethlehem, turning the 4,000-year-old city into a virtual prison for its 160,000 Palestinian citizens. Bethlehem has only three gates to the outside world, all tightly controlled by the Israeli army.
Outside the town, the fields where shepherds once watched their flocks have been commandeered by massive Israeli-only housing blocs and roads barred to Palestinians. The city's economy, based on tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing, is stifled and faltering.
Bethlehem, home to the oldest Christian community in the world, will soon have little left of its Christian history but the cold stones of empty churches. Christian families are fleeing the city. Their Muslim neighbors, too, are seeking to escape the confining walls.
We can help by asking our government to change its policy. The U.S. grants millions of dollars a day to Israel - far more than to any other nation on earth. These funds are used to encircle and control towns and villages throughout the West Bank.
The loss of Bethlehem to the world would be devastating. Its citizens look with hope for our help in making Bethlehem an Open City once again.
Friends of Sabeel-North America, Voice of the Palestinian Christians: <www.fosna.org>. Card orders to <karendes@umich.edu> & <elletelle@aol.com>. Photo: Anna Baltzer < www.AnnaInTheMiddle East.com> and <www.FriendsOfBethlehem.org>.More info:<www.OpenBethlehem.org/>. Thanks to PIAG of Ann Arbor Friends.
4. "THE HOLY LAND TODAY " (Balloon girl graffiti on wall)
5. "THE HOLY LAND TODAY: UNBAR THE GATES!" (Perforated wall graffiti)
Towering walls and militarized fences now encircle cities and towns throughout the West Bank, turning them into virtual prisons for Palestinians, living under military occupation. Bethlehem, a city of 160,000 citizens, has only three gates to the outside world, all tightly controlled by the Israeli army.
Outside Bethlehem, the fields where shepherds once watched their flocks have been commandeered by massive Israeli-only housing blocs and roads barred to Palestinians. The city's economy, based on tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing, is stifled and faltering under military occupation.
Bethlehem, home to the oldest Christian community in the world, will soon have little left of its Christian nature but the cold stones of empty churches. Christian families are fleeing the city. Their Muslim neighbors, too, are seeking to escape the confining walls.
We can help by asking our government to change its policy. The U.S. grants millions of dollars a day to Israel - far more than to any other nation on earth. These funds are used to encircle and control towns and villages throughout the West Bank.
The loss of Bethlehem to the world would be devastating. Its citizens ask our help. Meanwhile, their dreams of freedom are portrayed on the encircling wall - a testimony to the indomitable human spirit.
Friends of Sabeel-North America, the Voice of the Palestinian Christians, <www.fosna. org>. Card orders to <karendes@umich.edu> & <elletelle@aol.com>. For info: www. OpenBethlehem.org. Photo: <http://www.Banksy.com> Thanks to PIAG of Ann Arbor Friends.