Lutherans Preparing to Host Palestinian Youth Dancers

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- This summer 19 youth dancers from the Al
Raja Palestinian Folkloric Dance Troupe, based in Ramallah, West
Bank, will travel to the United States and perform throughout the
country, making appearances in congregations of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), at key ELCA events, and at
other ministry sites.
The purpose of the tour is for the young dancers to share
the gifts of their culture, be messengers of peace, and help
Americans understand who they are and how they live, said
Christoph Schneider-Yattara, associate director for
companionship, advocacy and education, ELCA Global Mission.
The dancers are Christian and Muslim teens from the
Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope, Ramallah. The school is a
ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the
Holy Land (ELCJHL).
The dancers and three chaperones are scheduled to arrive
here June 12 and will perform June 13 at Concordia University,
River Forest, Ill. They will tour the United States through July
31, visiting congregations, schools and other ministry sites in
California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin.
During the tour the dancers will make appearances at the ELCA
Youth Gathering in San Antonio and at the ELCA Global Mission
Event in Amherst, Mass. The dance troupe is scheduled to return
to the Middle East Aug. 1.
Al Raja means "hope" in Arabic, said Schneider-Yattara.
"Members of the dance troupe are eager to meet American youth and
see how they live. They have much to share with Americans about
their lives," he said.
Palestinian teens express their culture through traditional
dance, practicing for hours each week, Schneider-Yattara said.
Many Palestinian children learn the traditional debka dancing at
an early age.
Most of the dancers speak Arabic, English and German. Many
aspire to attend college in the United States.
This is not the first time the teen dancers have traveled to
another country. In 2004 the troupe went to Norway. Because
Palestinians are not allowed to fly from Israel's airport in Tel
Aviv, they must travel to Amman, Jordan, and fly from there.
Crossing the border into Jordan can take four to five hours,
Schneider-Yattara said.
In addition Palestinians cannot leave home without a permit.
They must first get a permit before they can leave Ramallah, then
travel to Jerusalem to apply for their visas.
In Norway the Palestinian students found a different world,
and many said they were free to travel as they wished, said
Schneider-Yattara.
Recently the dancers took a journey to Jericho, also in the
West Bank, and one of the few places the youth can go for a
picnic outing without a special permit, he said. Najwa Kreitem,
an advisor for the troupe, said they were stopped three times and
had to stand outside the bus in the winter cold. It took more
than two hours to make the 25-mile trip, Schneider-Yattara said.
"The ELCA advocates dignity and justice for all people and
peace and reconciliation among the nations," Schneider-Yattara
said. The Al Raja dancers' tour is part of the church's Middle
East strategy.
Voting members at the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in
Orlando urged congregations to participate in the campaign,
"Peace Not Walls: Stand for Justice in the Holy Land," to build
awareness, and engage in accompaniment and advocacy for peace
with justice in the Middle East.
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More information about the Al Raja tour, including a
detailed tour schedule, is at
http://www.ELCA.org/peacenotwalls/alraja/ on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog