The village of Al Walaja does not appear on the itineraries of tourist groups or pilgrims who visit the Holy Land. But for those who do make the effort to visit the village, they will be struck by the beauty of the landscape, the warmth of the welcome and the visible, devastating impact of the occupation.
This has been a challenging year for many of us. We are living continuous moments of not knowing, stress, confusion, shock, and fear. The beauty in humanity is that we are also seeing something else; a rise in a new understanding of what it means to be human, to connect, to respect, to honor.
We started our Home Rebuilding program in 2011 in response to one of the cruelest injustices of the occupation of Palestine, the demolition of homes. Since then we have worked on five rebuilding projects alongside Holy Land Trust, local communities, skilled local tradesmen, and most importantly, the families whose homes were demolished.
If you are missing the sights and sounds of the West Bank, if you have visited Bethlehem but only for a fleeting visit to the Church of the Nativity or if you would love to see the welcoming faces of Said and Elias from Holy Land Trust, you must watch their latest virtual tour.
Last October, the Revd Canon Martin Stephenson visited Palestine as part of a pilgrimage organized by Holy Land Trust. In this blog he reflects on his introduction to the ethos and vision of the organization, recalling the group’s time spent with Sami Awad, founder of Holy Land Trust.
The Khyara family realized their lifelong dream in 2017 when, after years of saving and help from family members, they were able to build a home for their family.
