Giving instead of getting. And giving things back.

 Yesterday, at the end of their sports day, the children at Granddaughter Number Four’s school returned to their classrooms (maybe to check that they were all still there) before being dismissed to the care of parents and grandparents. She emerged with a book in hand. One of the small girls in her class, Robyn, had had a birthday and her parents had chosen to celebrate it by giving all the children in the class a book. What a splendid idea! In an age when, according to this article, it is becoming common for parents to send out invitations to birthday parties together with lists of suitable gifts they think their offspring should receive (designer clothes, classy wooden toys, that sort of thing), it is refreshing to see a fresh approach to giving!

This photo popped up on Facebook: two old men talking - a Jew and an Arab. 

It was followed inevitably by a series of comments about the two groups of people having lived peacefully alongside each other in the past. There were also comments about whether land was stolen or bought, leading to a heated exchange between two people about American Indians’ land and even what is an American Indian.

The comments by a certain Adam Pamment have been deleted, possibly by Adam Pamment himself or perhaps by Facebook administration. Comments in reply by Christine Howe remain:

“Adam Pamment  That is BS.  Only very few Jews purchased their land.  The same crap was said about the American Indians.  A tiny portion of the land stolen from them was purchased.   Like I said.  Your profile says all I need about your Zionist proclivities and conspiracy theories.”

“Adam Pamment  I am a tribal member of the Cherokee Nation and my tribe uses American Indian.  All U.S. government documents including treaties use American Indian a.k.a The Bureau of “Indian Affairs.”.   Our government health agency is ”Indian Health Services” (IHS).  Also, a Native American is anyone who was born here regardless of race.  An Indian from India is an Indian American.  Is there anything else I can teach you?”

“Adam Pamment Get lost.”

Quite an interesting comparison regarding the appropriation of land. I wonder what he said to provoke her to tell him to get lost.

Later I found this in a Guardian report by Peter Beaumont (foreign affairs editor of the Observer) in Jerusalem, on June 20th 

“The Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich.

An order posted by the Israel Defense Forces on its website on 29 May transfers responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration – the Israeli body governing in the West Bank – from the military to officials led by Smotrich at the defence ministry.

Smotrich and his allies have long seen control of the Civil Administration, or significant parts of it, as a means of extending Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. Their ultimate goal is direct control by central government and its ministries. The transfer reduces the likelihood of legal checks on settlement expansion and development.”

The prospect of taking land away from settlers and returning it to Palestinians becomes more and more complicated and unlikely.

There is a good deal of talk of returning ancient artefacts to the lands and peoples they came from long ago. Today I read about an American woman who bought a vase in a charity shop (or thrift shop as the Americans call them - probably a less condescending name for such establishments. She paid four dollars for it. She liked it because it reminded her of a visit to Mexico. Back in Mexico in January as part of her work for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, she visited an anthropology museum and saw pottery very similar to her vase. So she had her vase investigated. Instead of the possible three decades only she had thought it might be, it turned out to be between 1,200 and 1,800 years old, dating back to the height of the Mayan civilisation. She could presumably have sold it to a collector for vast amounts of money but she has given it back to Mexico! What a star! 

And finally, here’s a link to a cartoon commenting on the presence of social media in all aspects of our lives. I like the final section, an image of a church inviting people to “Find us on Instagram” and a New Testament quotation:  “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have eternal light.” John 8-12. A completely different look at following!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!