About us

Aims of the Tent of Nations Circle of Friends

Dear people interested in the Tent of Nations,

At the end of October 2024, a large group of supporters of the Tent of Nations decided to found the informal Tent of Nations Circle of Friends during a Zoom conference. At the same time, a spokesperson and five spokespersons were selected to represent the Circle of Friends and provide information about the current situation at the Tent of Nations.

We want to achieve a greater impact in the public eye through close cooperation between all regional groups, private individuals and former volunteers who support the ToN. We also hope that many interested and informed people will help us to better realize the goals of the Circle of Friends.
The aim is to support the Nassar family with various measures to preserve and promote this unique peace project.

These include, among others:

– Coordinate political lobbying
– Promote volunteers and harvest workers and have them report on their experiences
– Organize Daoud Nassar’s lecture tours
– Acquire donations
– Secure long-term support for the Tent of Nations

Who speaks for you?

Andreas Göbel
I got to know the Tent of Nations in 2017 as part of my voluntary service at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. After that, I started studying Catholic theology and political science in Mainz, which I was also able to do for two semesters as part of the theological study year in Jerusalem. I repeatedly spent weekends on the vineyard together with Martha and was able to get to know the peace project better and show it to others.
Getting to know the Nassar family and the vineyard and experiencing their charisma on the people who run the Tent of Nations was very impressive and inspiring for me. In particular, the motto “We refuse to be enemies” and the deep perspective of hope always move me.

Christian Kercher

I was born in 1969, live in Berlin, studied history and English, teach and perform literature with music on small stages. For twenty years, I have been pulling on the rope of hope for a just peace in Israel-Palestine, for an end to the occupation, the seizure of land and the expulsion of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers. I was a human rights observer in the Jerusalem team and in Yanoun near Nablus as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Service in Palestine and Israel(eappi-netzwerk.de). From 2011 to 2016, I edited the PalestineIsraelNewspaper, which campaigned for equal rights for all residents between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. I then translated and completed the second book by trauma therapist Mark Braverman from the USA: “Overcoming the Wall. A Vision for Israelis and Palestinians” (Hamburg 2017). Mark’s visit to the hill of the Tent of Nations helped him, as a Zionist Jew, to overcome his wall. He became chairman of ‘Friends of Tent of Nations USA’. In February 2014, I accompanied the Nassar family’s joint efforts with Dietrich von Bodelschwingh’s “Heimstätte Dünne” initiative to build a large construction project on the grounds of the Tent of Nations, a vocational school and a meeting center. Daoud’s lawyer, diplomats, representatives of the German party foundations and churches met at the conference table in the blue cave. Unfortunately, the Nassars ultimately had to vote against the realization. The risk of punitive measures by the Israelis for building without a building permit was too great. They only give such permits to the settlement colonies around them, which violate international law. At least we were able to create a learning garden with a stone entrance arch in the south of the site under the guidance of a landscape planner.

Johannes Koch
Born in 1995 / agricultural scientist. I come from Berlin and my first contact with the Holy Land was through a student exchange with a school in Jerusalem. Since then, I couldn’t get this region out of my mind. That’s why, after finishing school, I volunteered at the Palestinian peace project Tent of Nations near Bethlehem from Aug. 2014 to Aug. 2015 as part of an “International Youth Volunteer Service” through the DVHL (German Association of the Holy Land). This experience had a lasting impact on me. Above all, meeting and working together with volunteers from all over the world as well as the Nasser family was very impressive and created close bonds that still exist today. I was also very impressed by the positive, creative and peaceful approach to conflict resolution. I learned the true meaning of “We refuse to be enemies” during this time.

Martha Linck

Born in 1999, student and peace officer at pax christi

I live in Mainz and study Catholic theology and political science there. From October 2021, I was able to study for two semesters at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem. I got to know the Tent of Nations. During our time in Jerusalem, Andreas and I spent a few weekends at the Tent of Nations, and after the semester was over, I worked there for another whole week. I was able to experience life on the vineyard for a year, get to know the family and it was already clear to me then that I would like to stay in touch and continue my involvement. I was and still am very impressed by the warmth and calmness of the Nassar family and by their vision and hope.

Gregor Schröder

Born in 1950, retired teacher, long-time chairman of JugendInterKult e.V. I got to know the Christian Palestinian Daoud Nassar, his family and the international meeting place Tent of Nations in 2009 on my first trip to Israel-Palestine with a youth group. Their decades-long peaceful struggle to preserve the ToN under the most difficult conditions fascinated me from the very beginning, as they countered the occupation, the countless destructions and attacks on their lives as Christians with peace and charity. Since then, I have usually visited the ToN once or twice a year (with and without youth groups).

I am involved in the Friends of ToN because I hope that cooperation between all local/regional groups/organizations, private individuals and (also former) volunteers who support ToN will have a much greater impact. The younger supporters of the ToN in particular should take over the work of us older people in the long term in order to contribute to the long-term preservation of the ToN.

Marius Stark
In spring 2012, I worked in the vineyard for 10 weeks. Through further visits to the region over the last few years, I have been able to gain my own impression of the situation in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I have also accompanied numerous groups on their encounter trips to Israel and Palestine.

In many contacts with Palestinian and Israeli people, I was able to experience their feelings and assessments of life and the conflict. These experiences on the ground motivated me to work towards understanding and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians here in Germany too. On the one hand, since 2012 I have tried to “supply” the many groups and individuals in Germany who support the Tent of Nations peace project with up-to-date information. I have also coordinated Daoud Nassar’s lecture tours for several years. I have been a member of the Middle East Commission of pax christi since 2012. I have been writing about my experiences on my numerous trips to the region on my blog www.marius-blog.de since 2012.