On Saturday 19 November, Sabeel Australia held its final virtual event for the year 2022. Sabeel Australia hosted Vera Baboun, the former mayor of Bethlehem. Mayor Baboun was the first female mayor of Bethlehem and one of the first female mayors in Palestine. Mayor Baboun spoke about the current situation in Bethlehem. She is a strong advocate for gender issues, political rights, the right to self-determination, and other human rights.
On Thursday 17 November, Sabeel held a meeting with the ecumenical leaders of several churches in the Netherlands. The delegation was in Palestine and Israel for a week learning about the situation on the ground. Sabeel introduced the delegation to our work and the challenges of the local Palestinian Christian community and our perspectives on the current situation.
During the month of November, Sabeel held over eight community meetings in the West Bank about our health insurance program. We held meetings in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Birzeit, Ramallah, Taybeh, Jifna, Birzeit and Aboud. The members of the health insurance project introduced the new insurance policy and addressed the community’s frequently asked questions. The community spoke with the members of the project, evaluated it in person, and discussed more possibilities for the future.
Friday 16 September, the Sabeel health insurance committee presented a new insurance policy that will be introduced in communities throughout the West Bank and Gaza. Sabeel has been promoting the health insurance program so that more people can benefit from it. Since the beginning of September, 2000 people have already renewed their insurance. Sabeel hopes to reach 8000 participants by the end of this year. Since the program was launched in September 2021, we believe that we have developed more statistics about Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza to be able to introduce a policy that is even more sustainable.
Currently, there are 45 organizations and schools and over 2000 individual participants that come from 36 different parishes participating in the program.
In 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. 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.
On Friday 11 November, a group of youth and women from Sabeel Nazareth held an event to honor Lana Mazawi for her nearly 15 years of local community and volunteer service. We wanted to honor her and show how much we appreciate and respect her work and contributions.
On Thursday 20 October, Lana finished her work at Sabeel. Lana has been a member of the Sabeel community since she began working in the Nazareth office in 2008. We wish her the best of luck as she moves forward and hope that she remains closely connected to Sabeel.
On Friday 4 November, Sabeel and six different Christian organizations held an ecumenical service at the Dominican Church in Jerusalem. Sabeel organized the event with the YMCA, YWCA, the Orthodox Club of Jerusalem, the Orthodox Society, the pontifical mission and the Office for the Middle East Council of Churches . The local community and clergy in Jerusalem came together to pray for justice for the Palestinian people and for an end to the human rights violations against the Palestinians.
In the last few months, there has been an escalation of closures and violence against the Palestinian people. Many Palestinian cities have been under military siege by the Israeli army. Palestinian farmers have been increasingly attacked by Israeli settlers. Arrests of Palestinians, including children, have also been on the rise.
In past week, Sabeel held meetings with a number of groups of internationals visiting the Holy Land. We met a German delegation, part of the YMCA, a group of elders from the Church of Scotland, and a group from the organization Eyewitness Palestine. We have greatly valued these meetings with a very diverse group of people from around the world.
On Thursday 20 October, the work of Lana Mazawi and Ranin Kirreh, at Sabeel, was terminated. Lana has been a member of the Sabeel community since 2008 working in the Nazareth office. Ranin joined Sabeel in 2019 working as the administrative assistant at the Sabeel office in Jerusalem. We wish them the best of luck as they move forward and hope that they remain closely connected to Sabeel.
On Tuesday 18 October, Sabeel and the Educational Bookshop held a book launch at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem for Donald Wagner’s new book ‘Glory to God in the Lowest: Journeys to an Unholy Land’. Palestinians, internationals, and some Israelis attended the launch event. Don spoke about his journey growing up as an evangelical Christian and Christian Zionist to becoming an advocate for Palestine. Most of the discussion focused on the topic of Christian Zionism.
On Sunday 16 October, Friends of Sabeel France held an online meeting with the Rosary Sisters Ghada Nimeh, from the Rosary Sisters, spoke about their different ministries, especially their ministry of education to young Palestinian Girls. The Rosary Sisters are a Palestinian Catholic order that has dedicated most of its work to teaching Palestinian girls and women. They have a number of schools in Palestine and in the Middle East.
On Saturday 15 October, Sabeel and the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center held a book launch in Bethlehem for Donald Wagner’s new book, ‘Glory to God in the Lowest: Journeys to an Unholy Land’. Both internationals and locals attended the launch event. Rev. Don spoke about his journey growing up as an evangelical Christian and Christian Zionist to becoming an advocate for Palestine.
