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תקופת הזמן שעברה מתאריך ה-7 באוקטובר 2023 תוארה במספר רב של דרכים—ומילותיה של רובי דמלין הן “מבחן אמיתי של מערכות האמונה שלך.”

“אנו לא נעזוב את רצועת עזה כל עוד יש כנסיה אחת שעומדת.”

“אנו לא נהיה הנוצרים האחרונים שיעזבו את רצועת עזה.”

“איבדנו את הכל, אבל אנו לא יכולים לאבד את המשימה שלנו ואת השייכות שלנו למקום זה הכל כך יקר ללב שלנו.”

“זהו המקום בו החלה הנצרות וכאן היא תמשיך להתקיים.”  

אלו המילים שאנשים ממלמלים כאשר נאדר אבו אמשה, מנכ"ל המחלקה לשירותים לפליטים פלסטינים של מועצת הכנסיות במזרח התיכון (DSPR-MECC), מנסה לעזור להם פשוט לעבור את היום.

The stretch of time since 7 October 2023 has been described in many ways—and Robi Damelin’s words are “a real test of your belief systems.”

“We won’t leave Gaza as long as there is a standing church.” 

“We will not be the last Christians living in Gaza.” “

“We lost everything, but we can’t lose our mission and our belonging to this place dear to our hearts.”

“Christianity started here and will continue to be here.”  

These are the words people are uttering as Nader Abu Amsha, executive director of Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches (DSPR-MECC), tries to help them simply survive the next day. 

Father Frans Bouwen, a priest in the Catholic church who has been living and working for ecumenism in Jerusalem since 1969, has a stark description of the situation in Palestine and Israel today. 

The latest group of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) have reported growing incidents of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The latest group of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers reported incidents between 14 April and 22 May that ranged from violence to displacement, from harassment to intimidation in the West Bank. 

For the 380,000 Palestinians that live in East Jerusalem, daily life is often marred by inequalities related to everything from housing, health services, childcare, and even garbage pickup. Even though Palestinians make up 39% of the city, there are many discrepancies in the services they receive.

Alexander Brock, an international development practitioner from Ireland, recently returned from a deployment with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. On 1 March, he gave an eyewitness account of what it’s like to monitor human rights in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank. He was part of a group of 27 ecumenical accompaniers from all over the world. 

A group of Ecumenical Accompaniers completed their service in Palestine and Israel, handing their ministry over to the next wave, and celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at the same time.