In my last post, I concluded by saying that “If we tell their stories, maybe then the world will listen.”
To tell the stories of what life is like for the Palestinians is to speak about the realities of being governed by a system of military law, the relative lack of civil rights, and the somewhat systematic efforts to oppress them.
In 2010, I was leading a group to Israel/Palestine as part of an educational tour. I had arranged ahead of time with the pastor of a Palestinian missionary church (Alex Awad) in the Old City of Jerusalem for our group to join them in worship. I had also asked Pastor Awad if he would meet with our group after the service and tell us his story.
Well, he did. And what a story it was!
NB: He chronicles his story in a book, Palestinian Memoirs, which is worth the read.
During his testimony, he talked about the suffering and oppression that Palestinians face as part of their daily life. I was overwhelmed by the Palestinians’ ability to endure.
I have also been in the homes of Israelis. I have been in the home of an Israeli family who lived one mile from the border with Gaza. Don’t believe the tunnels out of Gaza exist. Well, ask this family. One of the tunnels exited on their property.
The family lives with the real threat of missiles coming out of Gaza and landing in their yard. This threat is not only real, it is actual.
I was taken aback by their appraisal of the situation: “if you knew how horrid and inhumane the conditions under which the people in Gaza lived, you would understand why they fire missiles at Israel.”
His face was like an angel (Acts 6:15).
Let me tell you the story of Daoud (“David”) Nassar and his family. His story[1] has been well chronicled (watch this must-see NEME video: 14 mins). 
Let me begin by reminding you that I finished my last post by noting, “I want to tell you the story of a particular Palestinian man and his family. Let me just say that when I read Acts 6:15 and the description of Stephen, who while in Jerusalem and debating with the leading scholars of his day, his face still looked like that of an angel, I think of this man!”
In the midst of unbelievable adversity, Daoud continues to embody what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
The engravement on this stone (see the picture to the right) 
sits at the entrance to his land: it reads, in 3 languages, “we refuse to be enemies” (Once you learn Daoud’s story, you will understand the significance of this sign).
The land that Daoud and his family own consists of 100 acres just outside of Bethlehem (see picture below). His grandfather purchased this land from the ruling Ottomans in 1916. Daoud has official papers showing ownership of the land from every one of the governing authorities going back to 1916.
His land, however, sits atop a hill that is surrounded on the neighboring hills by 5 settlements (note that in the background of the picture below there is a nearby settlement). 
This means that the Israeli government wants his land in order to unite the settlements. And they will do whatever is necessary to get it. The last thing Israel wants is to have a Palestinian farm in the midst of its enclave of settlements.
Now you should know that Israel often confiscates land in the West Bank simply by declaring that it is state land. That is, land that goes unused for 2 years may be declared state land and confiscated.
So the task for Israel is simple. Run Daoud and his family off the land. Wait 2 years. Seize the land. Simple: no superpowers needed.
Beginning in 1991, the Israeli government has repeatedly attempted to remove Daoud and his family from their land. They have gone to the greatest lengths to do so.
Israel has repeatedly bulldozed his olive groves and orchards. They replant.
Israel bulldozes again. They replant again.
Israel has forbidden them to build any structures on their land. They renovated their grandfather’s caves and host summer Bible camps for the children from the nearby Muslim villages.
Israel denies them access to running water. They built cisterns.
Israel denies them access to electricity. They installed solar panels.
Time after time Israeli orders are given to destroy the land—they currently have 20 demolition orders for their farm.
Settlers light the farm on fire and destroy many trees. They put out the fire and plant more.
Daoud may well own the record for the most appearances of a Palestinian in the military and highest courts in Israel.
This picture shows the main access road to Daoud’s farm. This forced closure means that Daoud and his family must travel the windy, and in the winter, almost impassible, rain-soaked, dirt roads that wind around the hills and through the neighboring villages on its way to Bethlehem.
Want to buy food in Bethlehem? Want to bring the kids to school? Want to volunteer at the women’s center in Bethlehem? Want to visit family? Want to go to Church? Enjoy the drive!
Note: Behind where I stood to take this photo Israel recently built a Yeshiva (a school).
Get enough people to move the stones and Israel will provide a bulldozer to move them back.
Daoud and his family have suffered violence, the destruction of ancestral trees, and other vegetation, and constantly live under the threat of further harm.
Yet, they remain.
For 31 years this battle has gone on. It doesn’t take a superpower to discern who is most likely to win this war (see: Naboth against Ahab; 1 Kings 21:1-16).
Of course, many of us would say, “leave. Go find refuge with your sister in Australia.”
But that is because we don’t know what it means to be a caretaker of your ancestral lands and to harvest the trees your great, great, great grandparents planted.
The most recent attack occurred in Feb 2022. Daoud and his brother were brutally attacked by a mob and severely beaten. The attack ended only because an international visitor happened to hear the riotous sounds and chose to investigate. Because of their presence, the mob fled. Daoud and his brother were rushed to the local hospital. They survived.
As far as I am aware, the cause of the attack is uncertain. Shortly after the attack with interviewed Jack Munayer of EAPPI and a close friend of Daoud on the Determinetruth Podcast. He reported that the suspicion was that perhaps some Israelis (maybe those from the nearby settlements) had hired locals to kill them.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Matt 25:34-36).
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To learn more about Daoud and his family’s story, see: http://www.tentofnations.org/
For a YouTube interview of Daoud see: this NEME video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hLegzAjgws&t=1s
[1] For more information on Dauod Nasser and his family’s story, see https://fotonna.org/ or http://www.tentofnations.org/.
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