Palestinian Christian leader to speak in House of Lords

Dr Bernard Sabella

Dr Bernard Sabella, the prominent Palestinian Christian and former Professor of Sociology at Bethlehem University, will address a gathering of political and church leaders on Wednesday 18 May at the House of Lords.

Dr Sabella, a Roman Catholic, is an elected representative of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Executive Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches' Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees.

Dr Sabella has written: "Jesus came in peace and spoke peace, but what do we do with our greetings of peace in the Holy Land? While we may mean peace, in reality we are engaged in war. Jews, Christians and Muslims have been greeting each other with words of peace for centuries, but there is no peace. What is wrong with us: greeting each other with the Peace and yet continuing to follow the ways of war?"

"If you want to make peace with people you have to touch the hearts of people. If you don't touch their hearts you can give us all the money you have and it won't make a difference. But if you give a little and you touch our hearts then we will start loving you, and we start changing, we start understanding."

"In Gaza, 50% of the population is under ten years old. Another 300,000 people are aged between 15-25 years old. Does the blockade give them hope? No. We need to search for hope for these young people. Not for us. We are older. But for the young people, they have no hope."

Dr Sabella is in the UK as a guest of BibleLands, a Christian charity which seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the Middle East through partnership with local Christians, focusing on education, healthcare and community development.

Dr Sabella will also be giving a lecture on Tuesday 17 May at 7.45pm at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford entitled: 'Palestinian refugees: what, in God's name, is happening?'

Responding to the lecture will be Dr Karma Nabulsi, an Oxford academic and a former Palestinian politician. She was an advisory member of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks in Washington and is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Admission to the lecture in Oxford is by ticket only. Tickets are free, and can be obtained from Heather Taylor on 01494 897933 or by emailing info@biblelands.org.uk
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