The workshops updated participants about human rights violations against Palestinians in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza. “The aim was to show the gaps but also the advocacy tools that promote human rights, development, and empowerment; as the path forward towards peace and justice,” explained Sahhar. “We emphasized the need to tell the truth based on the situation of vulnerable Palestinian communities, rather than prioritizing the interests of powerful parties and special interest groups.” Participants in the Reflection Week were 18-35 years old. “The workshops were received with thunderous applause,” said Sahhar, who shared the following quote from the Sufi poet Rumi: “If everything around you looks dark, look again, you may be the light.” Sahhar explained to participants how to follow up and take advocacy action towards justice. “Peace was presented as not merely the absence of war and whereby the vulnerable communities are silenced, but as the presence of justice and truth,” he said. “Change begins inside the hearts and minds of people before it translates to action on the ground.” | 
2024 Advent Resources Advent Candle Litanies “Hope: The First Sunday of Advent” “Peace: The Second Sunday of Advent” “Joy: The Third Sunda...