Greenbelt … For the last 20 years, we’ve been making an annual pilgrimage to the Greenbelt Festival of Arts, Faith and Activism each August Bank Holiday. Sadly, it’s not happening this year, but there is an online mix of what Greenbelt has to offer in this year’s ‘Wild At Home.’
Craftivism … I love it when someone brings activism together with their other passions – as in Craftivism, described by Sarah Corbett, its founder as ‘Gentle protest to provoke reflection and respectful conversation instead of aggression and division’
https://craftivist-collective.com/
Cooking … Another example of this is Phoebe Rison’s Palestinian Kitchen – Personal, Political, Palestinian & Delicious. I watched her cooking this week on one of the latest Greenbelt ‘Wild At Home’ online events. ‘m currently trying to cook a few Palestinian dishes, so this video was perfect for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDHTwOSjE1c
Personal … What is even more exciting than the cooking, is the commentary from Phoebe and her mum Nadia. They talk clearly and powerfully telling their own personal stories. Sadly, a large part of that story is one of great hurt to the Palestinian people. You’ll have to look elsewhere to find out more, I’m not an authority on this subject, but what I do know is that the impact of Israeli land grabbing has caused much injustice.
Water … One of the issues that I wasn’t aware of until this week was the vital importance of water supply. In the UK, we take our water for granted, but I’m guessing that for a majority of the world’s population that is not the case. A major issue in the Jordan valley is access to water. What Palestinian farmers have to contend with is not only the increasing occupation by Israel, but Israel’s control of water. On the Youtube video above, Amost Trust director Chris Rose talks more about this – 34:40 into the video.
BDS … So to action. BDS stands for Boycotting, Divestment and Sanctions. Boycotting means not buying goods and services from any company that profits from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Divestment is all about not investing in thse companies – so for someone like me that means writing to e.g. Government, Churches etc to lobby them to stop investing. Sanctions again means lobbying our government to put economic pressure on Israel.
Please … Have a think about all of this. Look at the Amost Trust website for example to see how a relatively small charity is making an impact for good on the day to lives of ordinary people.
Grace and peace.
Five Short Words 