On Saturday 29 January, Sabeel and Friends of Sabeel International held an event to celebrate the life of the late Archbishop Tutu. The service, on Zoom, was very well attended and Sabeel are thankful to all those who attended to celebrate the life of Archbishop Tutu, the former ‘Friends of Sabeel’ patron for many years.
On Monday 24 January, Sabeel held a prayer service for students in Jerusalem during the week of prayers for Christian unity. Around the world, churches have been organizing prayers and events for the Christian community to bridge the divisions between denominations and build closer collaboration and unity. Sabeel organized a prayer service for students from nine Christian schools. The service was held at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in the Old City. Each of the nine schools is governed by a specific denomination and includes students from different Christian denominations and Muslim students. Due to the population demographics in Palestine, most students at these schools are Muslims, and ecumenical services are rarely held at schools in Palestine.
By the end of January, Sabeel will release a new Cornerstone issue. The issue will focus on the topic of Israel as an apartheid state. The Cornerstone will examine how Israel wants all of the land without the Palestinian people, or with the least amount of Palestinians. For this reason, the Israeli government sees apartheid as simply a transitional step.
In January, the Kumi Now committee decided to change the regular Kumi Now sessions. Instead of occurring weekly, the sessions will happen two times each month. Each month, a young Palestinian leader working towards change will speak in one of the sessions. In the other session, the local community and international community will work towards building a road map for creating justice in Palestine.
On Thursday 19 January, the committee coordinating the new health insurance plan met for the first time this year with the Palestinian insurance company to discuss the status of the plan. The company provided an update on the first quarter’s numbers, including the number of people and organizations that have registered and the kind of medical care people are seeking.
On Saturday 15 January, Sabeel and Friends of Sabeel Australia held their first virtual event together in the new year. Lutheran retired Bishop Munib Younan gave an update about the situation in Palestine/Israel and the situation of Palestinian Christians here.
On Saturday 15 January, Sabeel and Friends of Sabeel Australia held their first virtual event together in the new year. Lutheran Bishop Munib Yunan gave an update about the situation in Palestine/Israel and the situation of Palestinian Christians here.
Dear friends of Sabeel,
On Saturday January 29th , 2022, 8pm Jerusalem time, Sabeel and Friends of Sabeel will hold a memorial service (online) to celebrate the life and dedicated service of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu who was the International patron of Sabeel for many years.
Please register using the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86284388538
The peace of Christ,
Rev. Naim Ateek
Update on the Groundbreaking Health Insurance Program: In September 2021, Sabeel and the community launched a new, groundbreaking health insurance program. Previously, Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza did not have access to health insurance on an individual basis. Sabeel has been bringing people together to solve this problem affecting the community. Churches, non-profit organizations, laypeople, and businesses have been working together, including a Palestinian Christian-owned company that is financially supporting the health insurance plan.
In September and October, the insurance program was open for enrollment to Christian faith-based organizations, and in November, it was opened to all of the community. At the end of December, enrollment [will be closed, and it will reopen in March. Enrollment will reopen for one month every three months in order to minimize the risk to the project. For the first two months, enrollment included a combination of individuals and employees at organizations for a total of about 4,000 people.
The health insurance program provides a collective pool of money that everyone can use as much as they need. Approximately USD $30,000 each month are being used out of the insurance money pool to cover the medical expenses for people with chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. Previously, many community members were not able to take medication regularly because it was very expensive. Now, they are able to take their medication on a regular basis. Everyone who wished to enroll, including those who are currently in the hospital or are sick, was accepted in the program. Based on Sabeel’s research, this is already the biggest community health insurance initiative that exists. We hope that by the end of 2022 there will be around 10,000 members enrolled.
On Friday 17 and Saturday 18 December, a group of 30 members from Sabeel Nazareth visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They planned their journey to follow the advent story and to also connect to the contemporary situation in occupied East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. To show their solidarity, the group traveled there to do their Christmas gift shopping. Both places – as well as Nazareth – have suffered a lot because they rely significantly on income from tourism and pilgrimages. The group bought gifts from fair trade organizations and women’s cooperatives and had lunch locally. They attended the annual Sabeel Christmas dinner on Friday night.
