Last Thursday, we were delighted to be joined by Saleem (Program Manager, Muslim and Christian Young Adults Programme) and Seth (Assistant Project Manager) for our online prayer meeting. Thank you to everyone who joined to hear about Musalaha’s powerful work and to share in a time of prayer.
Saleem introduced Musalaha’s Muslim–Christian programmes. Using Musalaha’s reconciliation curriculum, participants explore identity, narrative, power dynamics, and conflict transformation. While many of us are familiar with Musalaha’s work bringing Palestinians and Israelis together, it was especially striking to hear about the need for reconciliation within the Palestinian community.
Palestinian Christians are now a very small minority, and often come to these spaces from a place of vulnerability and caution. Meanwhile, many Palestinian Muslims, despite living alongside Christian neighbours for generations, may have had little opportunity to understand Christian communities beyond a superficial level. Saleem explained that the goal is not to create one uniform, harmonious identity, but to help participants hold together both a shared Palestinian identity and real religious differences - without turning faith into something to “win” arguments about. These programmes offer a vital space for deep listening, relationship-building, and honest engagement, and there have been encouraging signs of fruit: this year’s children’s summer camp in Beit Sahour filled all 100 places in just 24 hours.
Saleem also reflected on how this kind of genuine listening is something we need in the UK too. As anti-Muslim sentiment rises, how might we actively create spaces to listen deeply to our Muslim neighbours?
We were also encouraged to hear from Seth that workshops for the Lyd/Ramla project have resumed in person. Participants are beginning to plan their co-resistance activity: a joint, non-violent action to resist occupation and injustice, often the final stage of Musalaha’s programmes. This matters because reconciliation cannot be separated from justice. Saleem noted how “reconciliation” is sometimes misunderstood as asking Palestinians to surrender their rights in order to get along; instead, reconciliation must be rooted in recognising one another’s shared humanity and dignity, something that cannot be fully honoured while injustice continues.
This work, and Musalaha’s wider ministry, is not without severe challenges. Seth and Salim highlighted several key pressures:
Community backlash and misunderstanding, especially since 7 October, with Musalaha sometimes wrongly labelled a “normalisation” organisation, making outreach more difficult.
Funding and partnership strain, including reduced ability for international partners to visit due to the war, and wider donor uncertainty.
Economic hardship, meaning young adults may be working multiple jobs and struggling with transport and consistent participation.
Movement restrictions and settler violence, making everyday life unpredictable and at times dangerous—especially for children and families.
These challenges are caused and exacerbated by the ongoing context of occupation. Just a few hours before the meeting, residents of Bethlehem and Beit Sahour received notice that Israeli authorities were blocking all water from entering the city, and people were advised to conserve water as much as possible. In Beit Sahour, where one of Musalaha’s offices is based, a settler outpost has expanded into the area, threatening to cut residents off from family members elsewhere. There have also been frequent drones overhead and harassment from settlers. Sadly, these circumstances are not unique to Bethlehem, but are being repeated across communities throughout the West Bank.
Please continue to hold all of this in your prayers, alongside these specific prayer requests shared by Seth and Saleem:
Protection and wisdom for young adult participants
Healing from layers of trauma (war, religious, and gendered trauma)
Encouragement and strength for groups moving into co-resistance outreach
The flourishing of Musalaha’s summer camps and wider programmes
Peace to prevail in the land