First published on FOSNA website.

February 10, 2022

Those who follow FOSNA on social media may know that I am currently traveling throughout Palestine (#JourneyWithJonathan). Yesterday, I had an opportunity to visit the Tent of Nations farm. Today, I visited Daoud Nassar at his home in Bethlehem, where he has been recovering from the violent assault against him about which I wrote last week. He appears to be recovering well and was deeply grateful for the concern and prayers he has received from many friends all over the world. He is gratified by the fact that the Palestinian Authority seems to be taking some action, with even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calling to express concern. In addition, the Mayor and Town Council of Nahhalin, the village from which the attackers came, visited him to express concern and show solidarity.

But that was not all, for I was able to bring Daoud some good news from my law office. The day before, an Israeli judge issued a ruling to dismiss a specific action brought to the court by the Jewish settlers who were demanding that the Military Government and its Civil Administration speed up the process of evicting the Nassars. Apparently, the settlers were unhappy that the Nassars had yet to be evicted from what they considered “state land,” and they were eager to see the land confiscated from the family and turned over to them. The court held that the Civil Administration did in fact declare the land as state land, but it recognized that the Nassars had objected to this and presented their title documents before the court. The court said that the Nassars did seem to have proper title, which was still being investigated by the authorities, and therefore there was no room for the case brought by the settlers. So, the case was dismissed. This is a small victory in the continuing legal battle over the Tent of Nations, but it is certainly a cause for celebration.

Unfortunately, Daoud’s brother just received a newly posted Stop Work Order from the Civil Administration requiring him to tear down a 30-square-meter shed. They first started building it back in 2019 (but it has been partially destroyed since then anyway). The order stated that the structure was illegal, having been built without a license. The new Stop Work Order was issued February 8, 2022 and gave us one week to completely destroy the structure or file a new objection. So, the legal battle continues. My office will prepare yet another legal challenge, so we have very little time to enjoy our “victory.”

The story of the Tent of Nations is truly amazing. The Nassars must defend themselves on several fronts: from attacks by settlers, from attacks by Palestinian thugs, and from attacks in the court as they wage a legal battle to hang on to land coveted by the settlers. In each battle, the existence of concerned outsiders like you who are willing to intervene, both morally and bodily, to support their sumud (or “steadfastness”) is of the utmost importance.

I had the opportunity to strategize with the Nassars. While they are still working with the courts on the re-registration of their land, perhaps it is time for them to go on the offensive and DEMAND the license required to build significant structures on the land. The Nassars are dedicated to nonviolent, peaceful resistance and are committed to peace and reconciliation. Instead of continuing to play defense, however, perhaps they should fight for the right to fully utilize their land.

There is no reason they should be denied the licenses required to build on their own land when the settlers are free to build whatever structures they choose, once they have evicted the rightful owners and taken the land for themselves. This would be a real fight, legally and politically, but the Nassars should strive to build structures that serve the community, alongside the cause of working for a just peace. Rather than reacting to and fending off attacks from multiple sides, hanging on to their land and trying to just stay put, they should be proactive in demanding that justice be served. This is a worthy goal, and we should all join together in such a worthy campaign.

By Jonathan Kuttab

First published on Friends of Sabeel North America site.

I have been associated with Tent of Nations and the Nassar family for many years. In fact, my law office in Jerusalem has been and continues to represent them in their ongoing legal battles to save their land from the Israeli government and the Jewish settlers who have been trying for years to steal it from them. I myself have participated in activities on their land. One time, I even found myself alongside Rev. Alex Awad and a Lutheran German minister alone with Daoud in confronting the settlers who were bulldozing into their land.

While the 100-acre farm has been in their family since their grandfather bought it over a century ago—and they have the documents to prove this!—the Nassar family’s attempts to hold onto their land and prevent the settlers from taking it over has been an ongoing battle. Every time we win a battle in the courts, new obstacles are created and new challenges arise. Because their title to the land is confirmed by law, Israel has been using new tactics, including claims for public expropriation and declarations that the entire area is “state land” and subject to confiscation.

Yet the battle has not only been within the realm of the legal system. The Nassar family has had to physically defend their land, nonviolently, from repeated encroachments and attacks, including the burning and uprooting of their trees, the bulldozing of their plants, harassment and intimidation, and constant attempts to destroy the few physical structures they set up. Repeated attempts to obtain building licenses or permits have been denied, and even the construction of rudimentary structures like the building of retaining walls or fences, digging cisterns, and doing other routine maintenance on their property has been met with summary demolition orders and belligerent visits from both the Israeli army and Jewish settlers. Access to their land has been made significantly more difficult, as Israel blocked the main road leading to it with mounds of earth and blocks of cement. They have even refused to allow the Nassars to hook up to the electricity grid. The family’s persistence in remaining on the land has been one of the most remarkable examples of Palestinian sumud (or steadfastness) I have seen.

Yet the story of their resistance is not just a political story, of one Palestinian family’s assertion of its ancestral rights. The Nassar family are devout Lutherans, deeply committed Christians who attempt to live out their faith in practice. They have used their property as a tangible example of their Christ-centered commitment to peace, reconciliation, and nonviolence.

They openly declare that they “refuse to be enemies,” turning their property into a “Tent of Nations” and offering hospitality and warm welcome to one and all. While insisting on their rights and absolutely refusing to leave they do not resort to violence but insist on peaceful, yet determined non-violent resistance. Foreign volunteers and visitors from many different countries have visited the site, enjoyed the hospitality, and shared in the work on the land, all the while learning and discussing together the Nassar family’s vision for peacemaking. If there is anything that embodies the essence of Palestinian Liberation Theology, as an attempt by Palestinian Christians to contextualize and live out their faith commitment under conditions of persecution, oppression, and injustice, I believe this to be it.

It was therefore with grave concern that we came to hear of the most recent episode. Last week, fifteen masked criminal thugs from a nearby village attacked and assaulted Daoud and Dhaher Nassar, beating them up with sticks and knives and landing them in the hospital. Those  criminal thugs, whose identity must be known to both the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority, have previously made spurious claims to the land and have attacked the Nassars before. Their actions were reported to the Palestinian Authority and the police. In point of fact, they are under court orders from the Palestinian courts to stay away from the land, as they have absolutely no supporting documents or legitimate rights to it. However, the land lies in Area C (which is under Israeli control) and the Israelis have shown little interest in pursuing the culprits or providing protection to the family. Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority has shown little interest in protecting or defending the Nassars with anything like the zeal in which they cooperate in protecting any Israeli settler who strays into a Palestinian town or village. The “security coordination” between the Palestinian Authority and Israel does not extend to the protection of Palestinians.

As we stand in solidarity with the Tent of Nations and call upon both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to provide the Nassar family with a modicum of security and protection, we pray for their safety and support their brave, nonviolent stand. We are confident that their just struggle will one day be crowned with success and that the Tent of Nations might one day become a palace for peace and justice, standing in the midst of a community of people living and prospering together in peace and dignity.

Picture: https://ecovillage.org/project/tent-nations/