Christians despair in the Holy Land: “We never thought the war would last so long!”

21/08/2024, Author: Filipe D’Avillez

ACN continues to help Christian communities to survive in Israel and Palestine, supporting projects developed by the local Church to overcome the difficulties resulting from the war.

An explosion in Gaza earlier this year. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

With the outbreak of the war after 7 October, the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) stepped up its support for the Christian communities in the Holy Land, having already been supporting the Church there for a decade prior. Currently, ACN directly supports 602 families through the provision of food coupons: 128 families with the payment of expenses, such as utilities, and 122 individuals with medical support. This is besides the job creation programme and other projects.

The pontifical foundation visited Israel and the West Bank to assess the progress of the projects it is supporting, and also to identify further projects to help Christians in the Holy Land. The war has had an impact on all sectors of society and all religious and ethnic groups, but in many cases, especially outside of Gaza, Christians are among the hardest hit.

At first, the Christians thought that it would be a matter of time. “We thought the war would stop after five months but it continues. Many Christians lost their jobs, or had their salaries reduced, or live with no income at all. But life continues, they need to feed their families and pay tuition and rent. Life for them is terrible,” said Dima Khoury during a meeting with a visiting delegation of ACN at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ).

The Basilica of the Nativity, in Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine, almost empty due to the lack of pilgrims and tourists.

“The middle class became poor, and the poor became poorer. Many of the wealthy families, who owned their own businesses, left the country. As the war continues, we begin to worry that the Holy Land will become the next Syria, a never-ending war.” Even if the war ended now, she added, the economy would still need another year to bounce back.

Dima Khoury heads the Social Services Department of the Patriarchate, which has been striving to provide help to the Christians so that they can survive this crisis. ACN was among the first organisations to provide concrete financial aid to many of the projects the Patriarchate has begun, including providing food vouchers for immediate assistance, funding the purchase of medicine and medical treatment, and the development of a job creation programme that has allowed many to start working again, earning decent wages.

“The Church continues to serve, to provide help for these families during the war. Between the Christians in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, we have been supporting 715 families through the Humanitarian and Emergency Relief Fund,” Dima Khoury explained.

Emergency food relief for Christians in Palestine, funded by ACN.

“With the job creation programme, which is funded by ACN, we have managed to kill three birds with one stone, supporting families, injecting cash into the community and keeping some Christian-run organisations in business,” she added.

A significant part of the help goes to medical support, especially for Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, who do not have state health programmes, since they are not Israeli citizens, and the Patriarchate supports 200 chronically ill people with medication. Another important aspect has been helping with school fees, including for those who do not attend the LPJ’s extensive network of schools, and for university students from any Christian denomination.

“We also have a serious problem with housing, especially in East Jerusalem, since most Christians live in rented houses and are threatened with eviction if they are unable to pay their dues,” says Dima.

Bishop William Shomali, the Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine, told ACN that hardly a day goes by without a new request for help. “I am called almost every day by people from the north or south. Some people need rent, some need food, some need tuition fees, some need permits.”

“Permits to enter Israel from the West Bank are the greatest need. There used to be 160,000, now I don’t believe more than 10,000, probably 8,000. But people really want to work. That is why I appreciate ACN’s support with job creation projects, rather than just giving charity. It is a good principle and defends their dignity,” he said.

Christians in the Gaza strip being fed through emergency aid, supplied by Aid To The Church In Need.

“I am sure the Christian presence will survive”

The ACN delegation also met with Sami el-Yousef, the chief executive officer of the LPJ, who oversees all of its spending and projects. He confirmed that the situation is more desperate than had been expected but was hopeful that with help the Christian community will be able to weather the storm.

“Honestly, at the beginning, we did not think this would be very extensive, though we did know it would be very destructive, and we did not have any resources other than the normal ones. In particular, we did not predict the effect on the West Bank. We have seen closures before, removal of permits, loss of jobs, such as during Covid, for example, and we thought it would be temporary, but now we realise this will have long-term implications,” he said.

“It was a godsend to have this support from ACN so early on, because from day-one, we were able to do something. During this year we really have been a Church in need. We needed all the support we could get from our friends around the world, and ACN was one of the very first to respond,” Sami El-Yousef added.

An elderly lady receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist at Holy Family parish, in Gaza.

Regarding the suspension of permits for residents of the West Bank to enter Israel to work, Sami El-Yousef explains that “people thought it would be a couple of months, and then Israel would need to reissue permits, because they need the workers. But with the current Israeli mindset, that doesn’t count. They have begun importing migrants from around the world. This doubles their cost with the labour, and the migrants don’t have the skills or the language value,” with this illustrating how the 7 October attacks led to a complete breakdown in trust between Arabs and Israelis in the Holy Land.

“If we focus too much on the political horizon we will just pack up and leave. However, this land has seen lots of crises before, and the Church has always found a way to be the means of support for the community. There is no reason to believe that this will be different. It is more difficult, and we have to think carefully about what we do in the future, but I am sure the Christian presence will survive, and the Church has to be present with its institutions.”

Spiritual formation meetings for 150 people from Israel and Palestine, organised by the Focolare Movement in Bethlehem, June 5th - 7th 2024.