Opening exhibit

Yesterday, during the 1001 night, we had the opening of our exhibit in the sumud peace house in Bethlehem. This is a house estabslished by the Arab Educational Institute near the area of Rachel's Tomb. The Tomb, annexed to Israel though in the heart of Bethlehem city, is presently surrounded by a nine high meter Wall. This Wall made the neighborhood at the entrance of Bethlehem to the north unlivable. In order not to let the neighborhood die, we opened the sumud house there. The exhibit is one of a series of cultural activities which try to raise hope among the population in Bethlehem and the Rachel's Tomb area in particular. The exhibit consists of stories and drawings and was presented in some eight panels in two different rooms. Yesterday, during the opening, we had some 60 visitors, both Palestinians and internationals (including volunteers and monitors sent through an initiative of the World Council of Churches who are stationed in the West Bank). In the coming days we'll scan and pout some of the drawings. The stories are already available in the document files attached to this action group.

Toine van Teeffelen