Dear Friends,

Many, perhaps most of you, know about the work of the Nassar family on their farm six miles south of Bethlehem. You know about their 20-year struggle to save their ancestral land and their peace project "Tent of Nations' from the efforts of the State of Israel to dispossess them in order to make way for settlement expansion. In 2019 alone, before the pandemic, over 10,000 people from around the world visited Tent of Nations, inspired by the mission of this family and their watchword, "We refuse to be enemies." Friends of Tent of Nations North America has introduced Daoud Nassar and his family to North Americans through tours and publications, in particular through a network of churches spanning the ecumenical spectrum.

The struggle to save the farm has been ongoing, but now concern that the farm may be taken has reached a new level of urgency. Please read the message that went out from Friends of Tent of Nations earlier this week. It provides a briefing on the current situation and instructions on what you can do now to help prevent the taking of this farm. It is likely that the high level of international support and visibility of Tent of Nations over the years is one reason that Tent of Nations has continued on this hilltop in the West Bank despite the efforts of Israel to force the family to leave. The time has come for us to again make our voices heard.

(To our friends outside the U.S.A. -- many international supporters have signed the petition -- please feel free to join them).

Thank you,

The board and staff of Kairos USA

Recent events have raised the concern that the farm is at increased risk of destruction or confiscation. On May 21, 2021, more than 1,000 fruit trees were destroyed by arson. On June 9, 2021, the Israeli military entered the farm with vehicles and a bulldozer, destroying over 50 trees and damaging the terraced land. In the last few months, the Nassar family have been under increased pressure as the pace of settlement expansion, construction of roads for settlers that restrict the movement of Palestinians, and the use of checkpoints has accelerated. Taken together, these acts are intended to pressure the family to leave their home so that the land can be taken and incorporated into the adjacent Israeli settlement.

Of greatest concern at this time is the delay in the re-registration of the property. Since 1991, the Nassar family has been in the Israeli Military and Supreme Courts defending their land from demolition and confiscation. The process has been subject to continued delays on the part of Israel, requiring that the Nassars re-initiate the process multiple times. Finally, in 2019, the Nassars received confirmation that their re-registration application to establish ownership was complete. After two more years of additional delays, a meeting was held in February 2021 by the Israeli Registration Committee, the purpose of which was to determine and inform the family about next steps for re-registration. Despite repeated inquiries, the Nassars continue to await notification of the results of that meeting.

Given recent events, the delay in the land re-registration process exposes the Nassar’s farm to severe risk. It is critical that the re-registration process of the Nassar land be concluded without further delay and that no demolition or eviction orders are issued.  Completion of the land re-registration constitutes Israeli authorities’ recognition of the Nassars as the private owners of this land and ends their legal struggle.

1.    Sign this petition, which will be delivered to the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Embassy in Israel. 

2.    Contact your senators and representatives. Urge them to ask the State Department to question the Israeli government about the Israeli Military’s recent acts of destruction of Nassar property and the delays of the re-registration. 

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