Three Water Stories From Palestine

by Gail Burnaford

Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5:24

I spent almost 2 weeks in the West Bank in November of 2025. I hadn’t been there since 2013 and was anxious to see how things had changed since October 7, 2023, and what it was like now as Palestinians experienced more forced displacement from their homes, increased settler violence, and expanded movement constrictions across the West Bank.

Water links us to our neighbor in a way more profound and complex than any other.

John Thorson

But what was most memorable to me in many ways as I thought about the trip when I got home was water.  Water has always been at a premium for Palestinians. Palestinian homes and businesses have water tanks on their roofs to save and conserve water that is rationed by the Israeli government. When I was visiting in 2013, those water tanks were black metal – easily recognizable as belonging to Palestinians. This time, on the way to my hotel from the border, I asked my driver, “What are the white covers on the water tanks on the roofs?”

“Oh”, he answered.  “We had to cover our water tanks with that thick plastic because the Israeli soldiers use them for target practice. Plastic is a lot easier to repair than metal.” He was matter of fact and calm.  I thought to myself, “That can’t be true.” But I did some factchecking. Yes, it is true.

It is time we paid attention to that which sustains us.

Valeri Gremillion

I visited House of Hope Vision School in the small village of El Eizariya, or Bethany, as some call it. I spent a brief time at the school in 2013 and looked forward to seeing more of their nonviolent education and trauma-informed curriculum in action. I wanted to sit in classrooms, hug the children and thank the teachers for their work.

The 25 kindergarten children kept busy all morning, playing, singing, weaving, and engaging in circle games. When a child was thirsty, she would go into an adjacent room and grab one of about 8 cups with animal figures on the cover and take a few sips, then return to the classroom. When it was lunchtime, I noticed that the children were not led to the sink to wash their hands, as is the custom in many schools in my country.

When I got home, I asked a more frequent visitor and supporter of the school about shared sippy cups and hand washing at the school where the children came to school in neat and clean clothes and combed hair. She said, “I would guess that there is not enough water for each child to have his own water cup at school. I would also assume that there is not enough water for all the children to wash their hands every day before lunch.” Later, I learned that the school’s water tanks could be refilled, but it was costly and out of range for this small school’s budget.

The impeded stream is one that sings.

Wendell Berry

It was time to head to the border once again. After crossing into Jordan, my driver Bashar met me. As we drove toward Amman, he pointed out the window: “See, there is the Jordan River.” In the New Testament, the Jordan River played an important role in preparing people for the ministry of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist preached at the river regularly and baptized everyone who repented. Jesus Himself came to John at the Jordan River to be baptized. My daughter was baptized with water from the Jordan River that a parishioner had brought back during a visit to Palestine in the early 80’s.

I looked, but all I saw was a bare and dry riverbed. “Where?”, I asked. “Well”, he said. “It is the Jordan riverbed.  It is dried up now, mostly because the Israeli settlers have diverted the water to support their settlements.” More factchecking. And although there are efforts now to refill the Jordan River with efforts by Jordan as well as Israel, yes, it’s true. The water had been diverted to supply the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Water tells the story. Soldiers taking shots at water tanks; children sharing drinking cups and skipping handwashing; the Jordan River no longer a river at all.

Gail Burnaford, Ph.D. has taught at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fl.  Most recently, she served as the Director of Research and Evaluation at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  She holds a Doctorate in Education and a Master of Arts in Religion.  She is a member of Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, VA and the Central Atlantic Conference Movement for Palestinian Solidarity of the United Church of Christ