Urgent call to action: Help protect the Tent of Nations in Palestine
By The UNY Task Force on Peace With Justice in Palestine/Israel | Email
The Tent of Nations is a Palestinian farm located approximately six miles south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. For decades, the Nassar family has faced legal challenges in Israeli military and supreme courts as they work to preserve their ownership of approximately 100 acres of land purchased by their family in 1916, during the Ottoman Empire.
The Nassar family, who are Christians, were taught by their grandfather that their land should always be a place of welcome for everyone. Their commitment to hospitality and peace is reflected in the family motto, painted on rocks near the farm’s entrance in several languages: “We refuse to be enemies.”
Many members of the Upper New York Conference Task Force on Peace With Justice in Palestine/Israel, along with others who have traveled to Palestine, have visited the Tent of Nations, including the Rev. Dr. Robin Blair. Rev. Dr. Blair wrote about her experience in 2025 here. The UNY Task Force on Peace With Justice in Palestine/Israel is deeply concerned about the family’s future and ask members of the Upper New York Conference to read the following update and take action in support of our Christian sisters and brothers in Palestine.
Urgent Update: Nassar Family’s Land Registration Denied
An urgent call for advocacy and diplomatic action
On October 8, 2026, following three years of hearings and 35 years of legal proceedings in Israeli military and supreme courts, a military committee of the Civil Administration denied the Nassar family’s application to register their 427-dunam farm southwest of Bethlehem.
The committee rejected the application on the grounds that the family must register not only its own property but also the surrounding land belonging to neighboring owners—approximately 1,000 dunams in total.
This requirement places an unreasonable and unjustified burden on the Nassar family by demanding that they register land they do not own.
Even more concerning, the committee stated that the land’s classification as “State Land,” which has been in effect since 1991, would remain unchanged until the entire area of approximately 1,000 dunams—including the Nassar family’s property and neighboring lands—is registered simultaneously.
In sum, the family fears that rejection of the registration, imposition of new conditions to register the land, and increasing restrictions on access to their land are being used to dispossess them of their land.
How You Can Help
Please contact your congressional representatives and urge them to take action.
Ask your representatives to press the U.S. Department of State to use its diplomatic influence to help secure registration of the Nassar family’s farm without requiring them to register neighboring properties belonging to others.
Your voice is urgently needed. Congressional advocacy has helped Daoud Nassar and his family remain on their farm to date, and continued pressure may be critical to protecting their future.
Tent of Nations continues to stand for a future rooted in justice, dignity, and peaceful coexistence. They refuse to be enemies, and will continue to defend their land through nonviolence, perseverance, and faith in justice.
