- As often as we can afford it, Terry and I travel to Israel/Palestine in order to live with friends in the Aida refugee camp, located on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Our main focus involves
volunteer work in a local, Palestinian community center. I have also done educational research when I was teaching at Calvin College. We always try to document and participate in some of the local protests against the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian communities.
In the summer of 2014, our stay coincided with the tragic kidnapping and murder of three Israel, Jewish teenagers. We witnessed some of the effects of Operation Brother’s Keeper, the Israeli military response to the kidnappings, an exercise in massive, indiscriminate collective punishment throughout the West Bank.
I gave this talk, complete with illustrative Power Point slides and video, at Calvin College in February, 2015. The MC introduces me at the 5:48 minute mark. I begin to speak at 9:15.
I hope that, if you haven’t already, you will take the time to listen and then, perhaps, pray for the plight of the Palestinian people.