Peacemaking Role of Healing and Teaching
Institutions in Israel/Palestine –St. Thomas connections with the Diocese of Jerusalem
by Mary
Pneuman
Palestinian people are
known for their hospitality. As a stranger on your first visit, you will be
warmly welcomed to their churches and homes with a friendly ahlan wa sahlan. This is promptly followed by an offer of Arabic coffee
(strong and unsweetened but laced with cardamom) or sweet tea flavored with
sage. But even more welcome than your first visit are your return visits, which
reassure your hosts that they have not been forgotten and express solidarity
with their samoud, or steadfast determination to remain in their
homeland. Each time you witness the work of the institutions of the Episcopal
Diocese of Jerusalem, it is not hard to see why support of their educational
and healthcare ministries is so important in the quest for peace in
Israel/Palestine.
For many years, St. Thomas
has been developing connections with the people and institutions of the Diocese
of Jerusalem, and many readers will recognize some of them from previous
visits. Since 1994, St. Thomas parishioners have attended courses or were
members of the Womens’ Connection pilgrimage led by George’s College in 2009.
Since 1999, four parishioners have worked as volunteers. Since 2006, St. Thomas
has hosted Bishop Suheil Dawani and his wife Shafeeqa, along with four
Palestinian clergymen visiting the Diocese of Olympia. In 2010 and in 2012, St.
Thomas welcomed four Palestinian women and three generations of women from a
single Palestinian family. In 2010, a companion relationship was established
with the Evangelical Home in Ramallah, West Bank, and the Arab Episcopal School
for the blind in Irbid, Jordan. Over the years, Project Outreach has often sent
donations to Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.
For members of the recent
diocesan pilgrimage (Come and See,
Dec/Nov, 2013 ) the Arab Evangelical School and the Episcopal Technological and
Vocational Training Center (ETVTC) in the West Bank city of Ramallah (pop.
60,000) offered the first glimpse of the educational institutions. In this
traditionally Christian city (where Christians now number about 25% of the
population) both serve a large Muslim population. At St. Andrew’s Episcopal
Church, we met with Fr. Fadi Diab, priest-in-charge of two Episcopal parishes
(St. Andrews and Birzeit) and chaplain for 800 K-12 students, and heard from
Sr. Najah Rantisi, head of the Evangelical Home, preschool and daycare
facilities, located on the campus of the school. Fr. Fadi also oversees the new
diabetic clinic at St. Andrews. Some of you will remember this energetic young
priest when he spoke at St. Thomas and his previous church in Amman, Jordan.
At the ETVTC, we observed
students working on IT, electronic and computer projects as the director,
Giovani Anbar, led us on a tour of his middle and high school classrooms. This
program serves 380 students who come twice a week with their teachers from
private Christian schools, then return to their home schools to apply what they
have learned. In addition to the enrichment program, the high school curriculum
offers both hospitality and IT streams that lead to diplomas and employment. The
center also offers a technological summer camp for children 6-13 and ballet
classes for girls 6-16.
In Nablus (pop. 250,000), we met Fr. Ibrahim Nairouz, priest-in-charge of
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and the newer Church of Good Shepherd in the
adjacent community of Rafidia. (There, as part of the Womens’ Connection, four
St. Thomas women met with him and his parishioners over lunch.) Nablus was the
scene of deadly clashes with the Israeli military during the second intifada; old wounds are slow to heal, and bridges need to be built. At St.
Philips, Fr. Ibrahim emphasizes understanding and reconciliation in his
programs for youth and young families, and in the past two years he has engaged
in interfaith dialogue at monthly lunches with sheiks and imams from 50 - 60
area mosques. Recently he has been receiving invitations to attend their
daughters’ engagement parties, he said.
In the basement of the St.
Philip’s church, Fr. Ibrahim oversees the new Christian National Kindergarten
classroom which serves 50 mostly Muslim children from this very poor Old City
area. His relish in their progress was apparent as the children showed off
their recognition of the English alphabet. So that they can continue to build
on their skills, he hopes to add a grade level each year. The children were
looking forward to Santa Claus when we were there.
Before leaving Nablus, we
stopped at St. Luke’s Hospital, a 50-bed full-service institution with 800
inpatient admissions per month. There we saw compassionate care in spite of
the ongoing need for equipment and facility upgrades. The attending nurse was pleased
to point out their two new incubators, both in use. When we stopped by the room
of an eight-year-old boy on life support from the age of three after a
near-drowning accident, our guide asked us to pray for him there. St. Luke’s is
a charity hospital, where $40-50 per day is charged to those who can pay. The
hospital is hoping to expand operations by developing a neurosurgery specialty
to take referrals from other area hospitals.
Not far from Nablus, we stopped at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in the
market town of Zababdeh (pop. 4000). Zababdeh has a 2/3 majority Christian
population and is surrounded by olive groves, productive farm land and small
rural villages. We were greeted by Deacon Salim Dawani, who is about to be
ordained priest. Fr. Nael Abu Rahmoun, whom we met there in 2009, has since been
transferred to Christ Church, Nazareth. At St. Matthew’s, efforts are underway to
build a small library and computer lab for the large number of parish youth and
children. Located in the lower level of the church is Penman Clinic, an
outpatient clinic, testing lab and pharmacy that serves 12 nearby villages and
is the only source of primary care in the region. Staffed by one visiting doctor
(who comes once a week), a pharmacist and two nurses, the clinic also provides
dental care when a dentist is available. The women of the parish welcomed us
with a savory hot lunch of musakhan
(chicken, onions, and pita bread seasoned with sumac). Janet Ghannam, our guest
at St. Thomas in 2010 and now volunteer secretary at St. Matthew’s, sent her
greetings.
East Jerusalem (part of the West Bank) is home to the Princess Basma
Center for Disabled Children. Betty Majaj, who recently retired from 30 years
as the director, led our tour through this exemplary institution. Founded in
1965 and run by Lutheran World Federation, it has been overseen by Diocese of
Jerusalem since 2000 and has become a comprehensive national referral center
for the evaluation, rehabilitation and education of children and adults with
special needs, the support and education of their families, and advocacy for
the disabled.
Princess Basma Center was a pioneer in establishing an inclusive
educational program in 1987 and now provides integrated programs for over 650
K-12 students (about one-sixth of them with significant physical or
neurological disabilities). In 1999, a program for severely hearing impaired
children was added, followed in 2011 by the only program for autistic children
living in Palestine. This program provides a Snoezelen room – or controlled multisensory environment – for
children with autism, developmental disabilities, or brain injury. A sheltered
workshop for developmentally disabled adults is also on-site.
To maximize care for the greatest number, Basma Center provides a 2-3
week residency to empower and train mothers in therapeutic techniques that can
be applied at home, and rehabilitation outreach teams are sent to other
communities in the West Bank. In meeting special needs, this center is a
striking example of the creativity and synergy that can come from scarcity,
both in financial and structural resources. There was little question that Princess
Basma’s innovative educational practices (mainstreaming, parent collaboration
and training, and community outreach) compare favorably with more heavily
subsidized institutions in the US.
Also in East Jerusalem, we stopped briefly at St. George’s School for
Boys. This school provides high quality education and an environment of respect
and tolerance for differences – out of about 800 boys from K-12, Muslim
students greatly outnumber Christians. Most of the graduates of St. George’s go
on to universities in the West Bank or other countries and hopefully can return
if they leave. Phoebe Griswold, former president of the American Friends for
the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, noted that recess is spent in a playground
the “size of a postage stamp,” while “just around the corner other boys are
throwing rocks and getting arrested.” There is a waiting list for admission.
Leaving the West Bank for
Israel, we visited with Fr. Nael Abu Rahmoun at Christ Church, Nazareth and
Christ School, a K-12 educational institution that serves about 1300 students. Christ
School is open to all in this multi-faith city, which has the largest
concentration of Palestinian citizens (both Christian and Muslim) in Israel.
Classes are taught in Arabic, Hebrew and English, and students educated in Christian
schools have consistently obtained the highest pass-rates on state
matriculation exams, a requirement for university entry. This year will see the 18th class to
graduate.
Nearly all graduates will
go on to college, but most will not be able to attend universities in Israel
because there is a 12% quota for acceptance of Arab students. (All Palestinians
are considered Arab, even though
citizens of Israel.) Although Palestinians represent a quarter of the
population, they comprise only eight per cent of the students attending Israeli
universities. In addition to quotas,
admission and housing preferences are given to students who have served in the
Israeli Defense Force, and Palestinians are generally
barred from military service. Most
graduates will go to Jordan or Hungary – a few to the United States. Some will
go to one of the five universities in the West Bank, since Palestinians from
Israel are presently allowed to enter the West Bank. (It is against Israeli law
for Jewish citizens to enter the West Bank.)
While Israel provides K-12
education for all citizens, schools are segregated; Jewish children attend
Jewish schools, and Palestinian children go to Palestinian schools, which are
subsidized at a lower per capita level. According to a 2012 report there is a shortage of over 6,000
classrooms and 4,000 teachers in Palestinian communities, including East
Jerusalem. Palestinian children who live
in Upper Nazareth (a large modern development built on a hill overlooking “old
Nazareth”) must go by bus or walk to the schools in Lower Nazareth (which has a
25% majority Palestinian population). Palestinian children are admitted to preschools in Upper Nazareth, which is 80% Jewish.
Discrimination in all its
forms compounds the loss of opportunities when it comes to employment and
income, and many parents are confronted with a difficult choice. Knowing that a
son with a degree in mechanical engineering or accounting may be lucky to find
work as an auto mechanic or store clerk, or that a daughter who aspired to be a
doctor will be fortunate to have a nursing career, some parents encourage their
children to emigrate. Other members of the family often follow them, because
political and economic conditions have not improved.
An increase in
discriminatory practices in Israel and West Bank communities controlled by Israel
does not bode well for peace. Segregation, not dissimilar to that seen in the
Southern states of the United States prior to the civil rights movement,
promotes mistrust, fear, intolerance, and dehumanization of “the other” and
leads to a fortress mentality of “us” against “them.” Through their educational
and health care institutions and the Department for Peace, Reconciliation and
Interfaith Dialogue, the Diocese of Jerusalem strives to sustain and strengthen
the Christian presence. Teaching respect and concern for all people, these institutions provide a voice of moderation and a
bridge between their Jewish and Muslim neighbors. They need and deserve our support.
