Palestinian activists who are inspired by Jesus, but refuse to turn the other cheek

Haaretz 3 Feb by Amira Hass — Palestinian activists with the Salt of the Earth campaign are warning Mahmoud Abbas not to give up the Jordan Valley — A verse from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the inspiration for a new series of popular Palestinian activities against the negotiations being mediated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The campaign is dubbed “Salt of the Earth”… On Friday, January 31, the first activity was launched. Erecting a camp at Ein Hijleh, north of the Dead Sea, on land belonging to the monastery of the same name (and also known as the St. Gerasimos Monastery). The protest was against the colonization of Palestinian lands, but the direct message was to the Palestinian Authority: You have no right to give up the Jordan Valley. The name of the campaign derives from the New Testament (Matthew 5:13): “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (King James Version). The activists are translating the verse into today’s reality: The daughters and sons of Palestine are the salt of the earth, and they are called upon to preserve and restore the substance (the saltiness) that is endangered under the failing PA – connection to the land, resistance to the occupation and unity.
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