Update from Hebron-

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For most people the ongoing violence between the Palestinians and the Israeli settlers is experienced by watching the nightly news. For a New Cleveland native it has been a daily experience watching people have their homes invaded or demolished, children going through checkpoints on their way to school, and young men harassed with no recourse but to stand and take it.

Sister Paulette Schroeder OSF, a native of New Cleveland, is hoping though, that her presence in Hebron may make a difference.

“I know I’m working a long way from where I grew up,” Sister Schroeder said. For the past several months she has been working with the Christian Peacemakers Movement in Hebron. CPT describes itself as "a nonviolent alternative to war and other forms of lethal inter-group conflict."

She became part of the CPT movement and traveled to Hebron last January as a reservist.

Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank. Located in the Palestinian territories it is home to about 166,000 Palestinians and over 500 Israelis.

Hebron mayor Mustafa Abdel Nabi invited the Christian Peacemaker Teams to assist the local Palestinian community in opposition to what they describe as Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation. The city of Hebron has been the site of numerous acts of violence from both sides and remains an important locale in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sister Schroeder lives in an apartment in Hebron. She is part of a team in the city.

“Use your pen, nothing else has worked,” is what she has been told is part of her mission.

“I witness what is going on and want the world to see the greater picture,” she said.

Now you can read her ongoing letters.