Tent of Nations

Today I stood on a Palestinian mountain at a height of 950m from where you can see Gaza and the Mediterranean. It is the only hilltop in Palestine which does not have a Jewish settlement, and from this vantage point you can see four settlements on the surrounding hills.

What is the story of the amazing place? In 1916, Palestinian christian Daher Nasser bought 100 acres of land on this hilltop. He and his family have lived there ever since, sleeping in caves at night and working the land by day. And today, his grandson showed us the cave that his grandfather and father lived in. I made the visit with Anneli and Dieter, a couple staying from Germany, and Cali from Canada. 

The family have kept meticulous records and have ownership records from the Ottoman (Turkish), British, Jordanian and Israeli administrations. Nevertheless, since 1991, they have been fighting in the courts to keep the land, and the case is still in the High Court. They have received 13 demolition orders, even for the tents! The legal costs exceed £100,000 so far. 

Today, Daoud Nasser and his brothers run the farm as part of the peace project. The Tent of Nations has become an inspiring international peace project, attracting 5,000 visitors a year. Their slogan is "We refuse to be enemies". 

Their access road has been blocked by massive rocks, making it necessary to unload all produce on one side of the barrier and reload it on the other side. Two weeks ago, a metal gate was installed by Israel. Settlers have destroyed hundreds of olive trees and they have endured 23 years of legal challenge. Despite all that they show love to all. If an Israeli soldier comes, he is invited to sit down and have a cup of tea. They truly reflect Jesus command to "Love your enemies", which was my bible reading for today. 

The proposed extensions of the Annexation Wall will completely surround the farm, creating an enclave with the Palestinian village of Nahalin amid 5-6 settlements. Their faith faces even greater challenges and they need international pressure to be able to stay. Thankfully there are good signs - Jews for Justice for Palestinians and European Jews for a Just Peace have supported the project by replanting the trees destroyed by the settlers. 

There is no electricity or water supply to the farm, so the family have installed solar panels and dug huge cisterns to collect the rain water. We peered into this 5 metre deep cistern which collects the winter rain - they had a metre of snow here in January.

During the summer, the farm hosts up to 20 international volunteers. They sleep in tents and eat together. During the day they work on the farm, and in the evening sit around the camp fire and sing songs. 

The farm runs a Reconciliation Program, bringing together people of different cultures for interaction in a camp setting. They can sleep up to 80 in large tents, there is a meeting cave, a worship cave, and some caves used for sleeping during the winter - cool. 

There are summer camps for palestinian children, who are encouraged to take about the conflict and to express their hopes for the future using art. The children make murals from broken tiles and paint beautiful pictures on the wall - this one is of a Jew meeting a Palestinian in friendship. 

The family are very ingenious. They overcome the problem with demolition orders by building underground! They have become a shining example of recycling - the greenhouse is made out of recycled plastic bottles, they weave bags made from plastic waste, they use broken building slabs for paving. Having written an article about the rubbish I see in the streets, this place is a complete contrast, being a model of green living. Daher gave us handfuls of sage and thyme. The farm must be amazing in summer with vines, apricots, nut trees and animals too.

Cali and I were sorry to leave this inspiring place and have agreed to return on Monday to spend more time there. I would wholly recommend this place for a summer volunteer placement for any of our young people. I am sure it would be a good experience - see the website for more details - www.tentofnations.org.