Palestinians are people too
Recently, I had the privilege of seeing in concert the Bethlehem Bible College Choir from Palestine. The 30-plus choir members are currently training for Christian ministry in their native land. About one-third of the members are women. They sing in Arabic in traditional Palestinian style; most of the songs are original and a few are adapted from Hebrew lyrics.
The choir director is a young Palestinian man I met in Philadelphia when he was still in seminary. Besides his work with the choir, he also teaches biblical studies at the college and runs a ministry of reconciliation with Palestinian and Israeli youths.
One of their goals in touring through the Midwestern and Northeastern U.S. is to remind the church in this country about the injustices perpetrated against Palestinian Christians. Often these are the unintended result of misinterpretations of Scripture that pit Israeli Christians (and their Western allies) against their brothers and sisters across the wall. Because of their nationality, just acquiring visas and getting through airport security was an immense challenge. But they were all smiles at the opportunity to tell their American audience of God’s encouraging work in building up the Palestinian church.
Regardless of our political views, let’s remember to pray for the physical safety, reconciliation, and spiritual growth of the Lord’s people in both Israel and Palestine.
