- Blog
- / A Generation of Peacemakers
A Generation of Peacemakers
—
The cluster is predominantly Muslim, with stable minorities of Christians. All self-identified Jewish people in the cluster live in Israel.
85% say religion is an important part of daily life.
78% agree it is hard to tell right from wrong without religion.
75% agree they enjoy learning from people who think differently from them.
50% agree people should keep their religious beliefs to themselves.
Written by James Howard-Smith, on behalf of the Bible Society of England and Wales
If anything looks hopeless, it’s the conflict in the Holy Land. But staff and volunteers at three Bible Societies in the region are hard at work to make Jesus known.
“The war has shown us that so many people are seeking,” says Victor Kalisher, who leads Bible Society in Israel, sharing the Bible in Hebrew and in the country’s various immigrant languages. “There are so many opportunities.”
The three Bible Societies in the Holy Land together represent all communities in this diverse and tragically divided land. They’re united in their aim to use God’s word to speak into the apparently endless fighting. It’s the Bible, they believe, that can inspire lasting change.
“Only Jesus can truly transform those who are burdened by conflict and hardship,” says Dina Katanacho. “To those traumatised by violence, I call the Bible our peace manual.”
Dina leads the Arab-Israeli Bible Society. She and her team are based in Nazareth, which has Israel’s largest Arab and Christian communities. Residents of Nazareth have mostly Palestinian backgrounds but they’re also Israeli citizens.
“We carry the burden of both people’s pain,” Dina said. “Our aim is to build a community of forgivers and peacemakers. We seek to combat darkness through the principles of the kingdom of God.” The unique witness of Dina’s team provides spiritual tools for Christians to bring healing, reconciliation, love and hope.
Dealing with violence in schools is a major objective for the Arab-Israeli Bible Society. They visit hundreds of secondary schools with their Bible-based anti-bullying programme, which empowers young people to respond to violence in mature ways. The programme consists of ten workshops providing practical help with things like controlling anger, learning to forgive and building self-esteem.
The goal is to reveal connections between violence at all levels, from schoolyard bullying to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Everything is centred on Jesus as saviour and the one source of peace.
The team also have a powerful digital outreach to Arab-Christian communities. They’re sharing a video series on social media called ‘Bible Devotion for Youth’, which encourages engagement with God’s word during wartime. And they have a Scripture resource for children called The King of Peace and His Young Followers, which is nurturing a generation of peacemakers online and in print.
Among the Palestinians, experiencing unimaginable devastation, Nashat Filmon and his team are encouraging people to fix their hope on Jesus. Justice for them is Jesus and rebuilding means his resurrection.
“As we strive to sow seeds of hope and restoration in these difficult circumstances,” Nashat says, “we recognise that the foundation of this hope lies in justice, forgiveness, peacebuilding and restoration through the word of God.”
This spring, supporters of Bible Society together gave more than £200,000 to support this transformative work, bringing reconciliation and peace by reaching all communities with the Bible as God’s message to them.
