Fostering peace and justice in Israel and Palestine through education.

October 2021

Message from Executive Director

Hello, I hope this email finds you well. In the month since our last newsletter, we held a webinar with Tent of Nations owner Daoud Nassar. We had nearly 80 people in attendance and raised about $1,000 to support the farm. Your incredible generosity to help the Nassar Family is deeply appreciated. We’ve heard from our colleagues at Mar Elias that the school year started with bountiful optimism and joy at being in person once again, only to very quickly turn back to remote learning where a COVID positive case was present in the class. The pandemic continues to weigh heavily on students, teachers and administrators alike, while everyone has learned to adjust and make the best of this challenging time. The pandemic has increased financial strain on many families. Your generous gifts to support tuition scholarships is both urgent and much appreciated. Blessings to you as we move into Fall, Essrea, Executive Director

Mar Elias Students - Weizmann Institute Graduates

Ma’ale - Excelling Arab Students in Science and Engineering Mar Elias students attended the prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science program “Ma’ale - Excelling Arab Students in Science and Engineering.” This program is designed for exceptionally gifted high school students in the sciences, and is coursework completed in addition to their regular high school classes. This year students from Mar Elias made up 25% of the total high school students in the national program, which speaks to the exceptional education they receive at MEEI. In addition, 10 of the 14 Mar Elias students participating are young Arab women. We are overjoyed to see the incredible success Mar Elias students are having in their studies, especially during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. To learn more about how you can support Mar Elias Educational Institutions through student scholarship please contact Essrea Cherin, Executive Director at essrea@pilgrimsofibillin.org or donate on our website.

Hope School Update

A Year of Success and Achievements Despite of the Covid19 and its impact on our children and on the whole academic process, this year was a productive year, “a year of success and achievements” as one of our staff described it; 15 out of 15 of our children have graduated this year successfully; three of them were diagnosed as slow-learners, and their academic performance was very low before they came to our school. They came from a special education school dedicated for slow-learners. No other school would have accepted them, but Hope School did. After the declaration of the results, Sami’s mother came to the school with a plate of sweets and thanked the staff for the opportunity given to her son. She said: “I knew my son will do it, but no one would believe me. Thank you, Hope School, because you trusted me and helped my son to be as normal as other students." Further, one of the graduates, “George” had three F’s when he was admitted to Hope School three years ago. This year, his results in the “Tawjihi” exams was 83.1 %. His father visited the school to express his gratitude and to confirm that, "Hope School has changed the course of my son. I am sure without you, my son would have been working in the black market.” In return, we thank God for such blessings, we thank all our friends who support these vulnerable children and provide them with new opportunity to restore their confidence and hope needed to build a blossoming future. We enjoy working at Hope School... for its impact and its role in building and transplanting new values in the minds and hearts of our children

Seraj Library Project Fundraiser

Provide Access to a Community Library Help Pilgrims’ Peace Partner, Seraj Library Project, in their effort to provide access to a community library for every Palestinian child and family. Pilgrims of Ibillin agrees that civic education is the best route to justice, human rights and peace. Libraries help Palestinian communities thrive by: Providing safe spaces for children. Facilitating access to information. Promoting educational opportunity. Fostering civic engagement.  The first week of October is a fundraiser for Seraj. Beginning Sunday, October 3 you will receive daily emails (sign up here), each containing a brand-new Seraj video created around this year’s theme, Bringing Light to the Generations. These daily emails will allow you to participate in our life, learn more about our projects, and how you can support Seraj.

Support Saraj Library Project

Update from Zababdeh

Message from Abuna Firas:   This is our life in Palestine. The writer of the Psalms had lived in Palestine. He discovered what the life for the Palestinians is like, because he was a Palestinian-Jew. The school just opened for a few days to find 54 Corona virus cases. The administration of the school with Health Ministry took the step to close the school for the next few days. The students have to follow their lessons by internet. We hope next Monday we can continue and open the school doors for 1000 students.   4th Corona virus wave - 2600 new cases In Palestine, we have daily 2,600 new Corona virus cases. This is the fourth Corona wave. Remember the students in your prayers.   Today the bishop’s office in Hifa called me. The bishop wants to send me some important documents for my church plus my monthly salary. It’s not easy for me as a Palestinian to go to Israel for the monthly priest meeting or for the church meeting. I was lucky to have permit to allow me to go to Israel. My bishop gave me a letter to the Israelis so I can have my permit. It’s funny to know that Israel opens doors (holes) in some places of the Siege (otherwise known as the ‘Apartheid Wall’ or ‘Wall’) so the Palestinian workers who have no permits can enter and leave to work in Israel in many fields.   The difficulty of a safe commute More than 100,000 Palestinians go to Israel at 5 in the morning to work. At 6 or 6:30 the solders come to watch the “holes” at the Wall. Yesterday one man, father of two kids, was shot down on his way back home at the Wall. Not me; no one can understand this policy. In one way Israel encourages workers to leave for work through the holes in the Wall; at the same time solders run after the workers or kill them.   Today, after the bishop sent me the documents plus my monthly salary by taxi to the border, I drive my car to the border and stop at the garage, hold my ID and permit and walk through the Wall. At the first door, I put everything I have in a plastic box and put it in the machine and passed the door without an alarm. At the second door, I put my hands up and turned around so the machine could take a picture of my body. This machine is too dangerous and can make cancer. It is forbidden, according to International Law, but for the use of the Palestinians, it’s OK.    At the third door, I put my ID card in another machine so it can read my face. The light went green and the plastic doors were opened. I continued on my way to the exit door and walked again through the Wall to the playground where the Israeli cars allow you to stop there. If I am a filmmaker, I do not think I can imagine the borders. You do not have real people to deal with. You are dealing with smart machine. The security hide behind the camera; they watch you in one mile walk at the Wall.   Hope through Jesus Christ, a Palestinian-Jew Thank God I have to come here only once a month. Thank God I have not privileges to pass the borders with my car. Thank God the security do not deal with me like an Israeli (if they can pass in and out in their cars, it takes them 2 minutes; it takes me one hour). I know why Israel made the Wall and the borders: To make the lives of the Palestinians as like Hell as they could so they run out. They could not put the Palestinians in buses and throw them out. But they turn the Palestinian cities into ghettos so they run out. But why I have to run out? I am building hope for my people to survive, not walls if I run out for some privileges who will tell them stories of the man of Galilee, his name is Jesus Christ. He was Palestinian-Jew. Blessed are the meek for they inherit the land...   In our day, the Palestinian king David, the writer of the Psalms, scared for his life, ran from one place to another, hungry, thirsty, a stranger in his land. He has no bread to eat. He decided to eat from the bread given to the Lord, not just him but his men too. He writes his prayer in Psalm 126:5. We continue our prayer for the Lord, like him, because we raise our land by prayer: Please, Lord, do something. Jesus the Palestinian-Jew listened to the King David’s prayer and said, “Blessed are the meek for they inherit the land.” With Jesus’ promises, we can continue our life, for our people and for all the people of good faith.   Keep hope alive, Essrea and Pilgrims. You are in my daily prayers. Your brother, Abouna Firas, the Palestinian-Jew

Living Stones Pilgrimage to Israel & Palestine 2 March –13 March, 2022

Even while there are some uncertainties about whether travel will be allowed in the Spring of 2022, we are still planning our trip for March, inshah’Allah the pandemic will have subsided by then and we will return to our regular trips to the Holy Land. We invite you to join us!

Living Stones Pilgrimage to Israel & Palestine   2 March - 13 March, 2022   Pilgrimage Leaders: Instructor, Rev. Dr. James Thomas West Bank Tour Guide, Usama Nicola Tour Coordinator, Brenda Mehos Living Stones Pilgrimages - Father Chacour says,“We invite visitors to see the ruins of holy sites but also engage with the “living stones” — the people who make their homes there.”   With this as inspiration, since 1995 Pilgrims of Ibillin has taken nearly 350 individuals on two-week pilgrimages to Israel and Palestine. Led by Pilgrims staff, board members, and local partners in the West Bank and the Galilee, we visit Christians, Muslims, and Jews who are working creatively to plant and nourish the seeds of a just peace. Our tours include visits to various holy sites and conversations which connect our experiences with our faith.   For prices, itinerary, and to indicate your interest, contact: Brenda Mehos brenda@pilgrimsofibillin.org +1-303-928-0923

Donate to Pilgrims of Ibillin

Your donations will support the ongoing work of Pilgrims' Peace Partners in fostering peace through education in Israel and Palestine. Thank you.

Essrea Cherin Executive Director, Pilgrims of Ibillin (303) 928-0923 essrea@pilgrimsofibillin.org www.pilgrimsofibillin.org