Monday, July 13, 2026: A Chronicle of Our Land is a new book by our friend Adam Manasra who grew up in the tiny agricultural village of Wadi Foquin near Bethlehem. 

Also please note: Denise Dixon has 5 copies of the book and will willingly drive to you to drop off a copy as long as they last! Call Denise!

Then Please put this on your calendar and plan to attend: A talk and conversation led by our friend Adam Manasra. 

Adam has written a new book about his life in a village in Palestine. The Book "A Chronicle of Our Land" tells the story of Adam's life in his ancient agricultural village of of Wadi Foquin, located in the occupied territories near Bethlehem. Hear the story of a community under tremendous pressure and the grace with which they meet every challenge. 

It would be great to see many folks from Emmaus -- and please share this information with friends and family. Adam speaks and leads a discussion of his book and his community's life under oppression:

Date: Saturday, July18th

Time:  5:00PM

Location: Christ Church United Methodist

1717 Yulupa Avenue

Santa Rosa, California 95405


Adam gives a second talk at Church of the Roses in Santa Rosa 

When: Sunday, July 26, 2026

Time: 11:30 AM

Location: Presbyterian Church of the Roses, 2500 Patio Court

Santa Rosa 95405

From Adam: One day we will live this life.

My grandfather lived twenty-five years of his life as a free man. I didn't experience that, but I tell him, one day, I will. One day I will live as a free man. One day we will live as a free people. One day we will control everything in our lives. This is our belief, our trust in each other, but most importantly, our trust in God. 

After freedom, the olive trees will rise again. The oranges in Lu (Yaffa) will return. Olive oil will pour from everywhere. We once grew up around the sea in Palestine. We have missed it. The sea will welcome us again.

Wadi Foquin is a village of 1,300 people about 5 miles southwest of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. It lies in a rich agricultural valley on the Green Line-the Israel-Palestine border. Since 1948, three-quarters of the village's land has been expropriated by the Israeli government and two illegal Israeli-only settlements, Hadar Betar and Betar Illit, overlook the village on either side. Wadi Foquin is losing generations-old farmland due to settlement construction and the extension of Israel's separation barrier, both illegal under international law. 

Dynamiting for settlement construction has also dried up many of the natural springs used for irrigation, and construction debris and raw sewage discharged from Betar Illit have contaminated fields and made them unsuitable for growing. Village life is further constricted by Israeli military checkpoints and Israeli-only bypass roads, which limit access to markets, jobs, schools, and healthcare facilities.

A Chronicle of Our Land shares intimate stories from the village of Wadi Foquin and bears witness to the intergenerational passage of land, love, and community over and against the violence of settlements, barriers, checkpoints, and occupation. 

This is a book of shared experience and offers rare insight into the layers of relation, narrative, and temporality that nurture the Palestinian peoples' steadfast commitment to liberation and futurity.


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