August 2022
Arab Hospital needs your ongoing support
A brief war highlights the fragility of life in Gaza as families suffer from indiscriminate attacks on refugee camps and acute shortages of water, fuel, and medicine. 
Over three days last week, the exchange of bombs and rockets between Israel and the Islamic Jihad faction in Gaza took the lives of 46 residents, including 16 children, and wounded more than 360 Gazans. It’s estimated that 20 percent of the Islamic Jihad rockets fell within Gaza causing numerous casualties. Several residents of southern Israeli towns suffered minor injuries from rocket fire.

Though much of the bombing was in the south of the Gaza Strip, the Jabaliya Refugee Camp near Ahli Arab Hospital was struck and children were killed there. The refugee camps are densely populated and airstrikes into the camps are devastating. Ahli Hospital has been treating wounded children and adults from Jabaliya throughout the recent crisis.

Suhaila Tarazi, director of Ahli Hospital, said, “War comes to Gaza without previous notice. In a minute, everything can change. This war was more horrific than the 11-day war in May 2021. Gaza faced three days of terror. The warplanes did not discriminate between targets and refugee camps. Many homes are destroyed and many children are orphans. This assault has filled children’s hearts with endless fear and terror.”

With electricity now limited to four hours a day, Ahli Arab Hospital must rely more heavily on its generators to keep basic systems going. In the midst of another crisis, Ahli’s leaders and staff continue to care for all who come to their gates seeking help and solace. Ahli Hospital is in desperate need of funds to purchase medical supplies, medicines and fuel for its generators.

Please give generously. 100% of your donation today will be securely directed to Ahli Hospital in the coming days.

Praising her staff, Suhaila continued, “The moment I announce that we are under crisis, most of them leave their homes and come to the hospital and stay. Sometimes they sleep on the floor just to help in saving the lives of people during war.” 

She added, “We are very grateful to all the people, in particular our American friends, who have helped us so faithfully in our times of need. As long as the people of Gaza remain victims of the war leaders, we will trust in God to provide for our ministry of healing and hope. Please pray for the fragile ceasefire to hold.”
Pray for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Download "A Litany for Peace in the Holy Land"
Food for Families voucher program nourishes some of Beirut’s neediest families
In the wake of recent bread shortages caused by Lebanon’s dependency on Ukrainian wheat, your support for hungry families has put food on the table where there was none.
One year ago the first round of monthly food vouchers - funded by many American friends and a grant from the Holy Land Christians Society (HLCS) - helped feed more than 200 vulnerable families in Beirut. This fall the funding from the initial donations and two subsequent grants from HLCS will run out.

According to Archdeacon Imad Zoorob, rector of All Saints Church and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Center in Beirut, the need for financial support to stem food insecurity in the midst of Lebanon’s financial crisis remains high. 

Earlier this month he told of a long-time member of All Saints who asks each week when the next voucher will come: “I was preparing the altar before the service and saw our accountant in the back of the church with the elderly parishioner - someone I have known my whole life. As he signed his name for the voucher, I thought the accountant must have told him a joke. I thought he was laughing, but then I realized this gentleman was crying from the relief of receiving this support.”

Fr. Imad added, “It was like seeing your father or uncle break down in tears. It is devastating to see members of our own community suffer the consequences of our economic crisis. To say we are thankful for your support doesn’t begin to express our gratitude.”

Watch this moving one minute video of Fr. Imad describing current conditions and what gives him hope.
Learn more about how you can support the Food for Families voucher program.
Summer youth programs nurture young leaders 
Summer camps and youth retreats are in session in the Diocese of Jerusalem, while a youth group from Nablus helps an underserved community in Virginia
Middle school students gather for a youth conference at Theodor Schneller
School led by the Rev. Jamil Maher Khader, deacon at St. John the Baptist Church in Husun,
Jordan. Here he leads the group of young people in reciting the verse that captures the theme of the gathering.


“For God has not given us the spirit of fear but the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.” — 2 Timothy 1:7
St. Philip’s Church in Nablus and
Grace Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Virginia, have a long-standing relationship, and groups from each parish have visited their sister parish in the U.S. and Palestine many times.

This summer a group of young St. Philip’s parishioners joined their friends from Grace in a community service project in Virginia. Here the Rev. Jamil Monir Khadir, rector of St. Philip’s, captures a moment at the airport in Amman as young people from the Diocese of Jerusalem begin their trip.
Rest in Peace: Archdeacon Luay Haddad, director of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan
Friends of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf across the world were saddened by the news that the Ven. Luay Haddad died unexpectedly on July 12, in Salt, Jordan.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum wrote, “Life, ministry, Salt, and many other things will not be the same without our beloved Archdeacon Luay. He will be deeply missed.”

A long-time priest in the Diocese of Jerusalem, Archdeacon Luay understood the power of love in his ministry with children with disabilities. He said, “You must have another language to serve the deaf. You must speak the language of love.”

His love for the students at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf and the delight he took in their company - and they in his - is clear in this brief video clip from 2019.
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