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Help to Save Tent of Nations!

This multi-generational family peace project,
beloved and celebrated around the world,
is in danger of confiscation and destruction.

The Tent of Nations peace project is located on the Nassar family’s 100-acre farm, six miles from Bethlehem. It is in Area C of the West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory; Area C is under full Israeli military control.
This wonderful farm is being slowly strangled by the never-ending Israeli military occupation, surrounded by expanding Israeli settlements that are illegally colonizing the West Bank.

The Nassar family purchased the land over one hundred years ago and has been farming it ever since.

For decades, they have been in a continuous legal struggle with the Israeli government and courts, crossing every legal hurdle to establish their ownership of their land.

Nevertheless, they continue to be attacked, portions of their land destroyed, access roads and servicescut off.

In spite of the military and vigilante violence they have suffered and all the legal maneuvers to remove them, the Nassars have found extraordinary ways to remain steadfast and to thrive.

A BETTER 20th ANNIVERSARY
Twenty years ago, in 2001, the Nassar family named their farm Tent of Nations, receiving visitors from around the world to foster a connection between the land and people.

They have dedicated their farm and their family to both peaceful co-existence and sustainable agriculture which they have taught to thousands of volunteers; in 2019, they had close to 10,000 international visitors. The Nassars also host educational programs for Palestinian women and children in their area.

(Photo: this message greets all visitors at the main entrance to the farm)

Tent of Nations is supported by numerous Christian, Jewish and other religious organizations in the U.S. and Europe. United Methodists and many others organize visits to the farm, help support Tent of Nations’ educational and peace-building programs, and sponsor volunteers who live and work on the farm.

The Urgency of Now
In 2006, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Nassars could begin the re-registration of their property. They have to do that because they are in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli control.

For fifteen years, the Israeli military and government have repeatedly delayed and stalled that process. But in 2019, the Nassars finally were able to complete the re-registration process!

The Israeli Registration Committee met in February of this year. The Nassars have been waiting for over 6 months for the results. These cruel delays continue to expose them to severe risk of more confiscation and destruction of their farm.

Settlement expansion and road construction have accelerated and are isolating the farm.
(Photo: Boulders block access to the Nassar family farm, Tent of Nations.)

In May 2021, a fire considered to be arson tragically destroyed over 1000 fruit trees (see photo).

In June, Israeli soldiers entered the land with a bulldozer and without warning, destroying approximately 50 fruit trees; similar attacks have been committed several times in recent years.

Israeli must complete the re-registration of the Nassar farm now!

That re-registration will be official recognition that the Nassars own this land, and it will end their legal struggle.
 

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Please help UMKR continue this work.

18 May 2016 – UMKR holds a demonstration with The Native American International Caucus (NAIC) at General Conference in Portland, Oregon.

The banner above says "HISTORY REPEATS IN PALESTINE: Colonialism, Apartheid, Dispossession: Will we act now or repent later?"
This outdoor rally immediately followed the UMC's Act of Repentance in which the denomination repented for its complicity in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Native Americans. 

Watch the short video of the Native American United Methodists' statement of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

UMKR provides vital partnership in intersectional justice work in our church, in US society, and across the world.

For over 10 years, UMKR has been leading the struggle for Palestinian rights in the global United Methodist Church.

Our movement is independent of the denomination.
So, to continue our work for Palestinian liberation,
we depend entirely on those who believe it matters:
those with the vision to see its importance and its impact.

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