Emergency appeal launched by overwhelmed Anglican hospital in Gaza City

From ACNS-

The Anglican Diocese in Jerusalem has launched an emergency appeal for funds to support its al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. The Anglican-run hospital has been overwhelmed by the number of casualties sustained during protests across the Gaza strip this month.

“Our Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza had been literally working around the clock to serve the wounded from the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip ever since the United States formally opened its Embassy in Jerusalem on 14 May 14,” Archbishop Suheil Dawani, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, said. “The wounded coming to our hospital have no money, but no one is ever turned away. Most of the men, women, and children who are treated at [the hospital] have been injured from live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas intoxication.

“I appeal to all our friends around the world to give generously to this humanitarian crisis, as we, the Church, the hands of Jesus in this place, respond to this tragedy in love and compassion to the wounded.”

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2018/05/emergency-appeal-launched-by-overwhelmed-anglican-hospital-in-gaza-city.aspx

Archbishop of Canterbury makes surprise visit to Gaza

From The Guardian-

The archbishop of Canterbury has made a surprise visit to Gaza during his 12-day tour of the Holy Land.

Justin Welby spent three and a half hours in the Gaza Strip, which has been the scene of repeated conflicts over the past decade and is governed by the militant group Hamas.

The archbishop, who was accompanied by the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Suheil Dawani, and two aides, was granted Israeli permits and given security clearance at the last minute, after earlier this week seeking permission to enter the Gaza Strip.

Welby described his short visit to the densely populated and impoverished territory as “extraordinary”. About 1.9 million Palestinians live in Gaza, which is surrounded on three sides by walls and fences and blockaded by the Israeli navy along its coastline.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/04/archbishop-of-canterbury-makes-surprise-visit-to-gaza-justin-welby-israel

Episcopal chaplain at Yale: Jews are to blame for anti-Semitism for not making peace with genocidal enemy

From The Washington Post-

Speaking of moral obtuseness (or how “Palestine makes you dumb,”) I reprint for you in full Rev. Shipman’s letter as published today in the New York Times:

To the Editor:

Deborah E. Lipstadt makes far too little of the relationship between Israel’s policies in the West Bank and Gaza and growing anti-Semitism in Europe and beyond.

The trend to which she alludes parallels the carnage in Gaza over the last five years, not to mention the perpetually stalled peace talks and the continuing occupation of the West Bank.

As hope for a two-state solution fades and Palestinian casualties continue to mount, the best antidote to anti-Semitism would be for Israel’s patrons abroad to press the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for final-status resolution to the Palestinian question.

(Rev.) BRUCE M. SHIPMAN
Groton, Conn., Aug. 21, 2014

The writer is the Episcopal chaplain at Yale.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/08/26/episcopal-chaplain-at-yale-jews-are-to-blame-for-anti-semitism-for-not-making-peace-with-genocidal-enemy/


Shipman's response-

http://yaledailynews.com/crosscampus/2014/08/26/episcopal-chaplain-responds-to-backlash/

Statement from Archbishop Justin on Gaza

From Canterbury-

Archbishop of Canterbury calls on leaders in Israel and Gaza to immediately end the violence, and urges Anglican churches both to pray and offer support to all victims of the conflict.

Following a recent update from staff at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken publicly (after many private contacts) of his concern for the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

Archbishop Justin Welby said today:

More here-

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5382/statement-from-archbishop-justin-on-gaza

Hundreds of families seek refuge in Gaza's Churches

From Gaza-

Umm Abdullah Hijazi, holds her 1 year-old son, Yousef, as she pours water on a bar of soap and tries to wash the boy and his clothes.

But although she scrubs hard, the soapy mixture proves inadequate, and Hijazi cannot wash away the dirt and blood-stains that spattered the boy’s body as his family fled their home under the hailing of Israeli bombs.

“We ran outside as fires broke out all around us. Israeli tank shells fell on our heads, and killed some of our neighbours,” says Hijazi, who fled with her husband and six children.

The first idea that came to her mind after the shelling was to run to one of the UNRWA schools that are acting as makeshift shelters for the internally displaced. But with almost 120,000 people now taking refuge in 77 UN-run schools and medical centres, Hijazi found no room for her and her children.

More here-

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-families-seek-refuge-gazas-churches-1998120021

Gaza hospital continues to serve people, despite financial difficulties

From Ekklesia-

On a recent sunny day in Gaza, mothers and their children waited on benches on the manicured campus outside of Al Ahli Arab Hospital to receive care from a hospital-run programme that offers three-months of services to 750 children up to the age of five - writes Lynette Wilson.

The nourishment programme is just one of the many outpatient services the non-profit, public hospital operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem has continued as it transitions into a specialty hospital and weathers financial difficulties exacerbated by a recent loss of funding.

“It is our witness as Christians to serve the poor,” said Suhaila Tarazi, the hospital’s director. “With all that is going on in Egypt [political turmoil] and Syria [civil war], to keep a place like this one, a Christian place like this one, it’s important.”

The hospital employs 110 people, 30 per cent of them women, and serves some 30,000 patients each year, 6000 of them in the free medical mission, she added.

On 2 January 2013, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, travelled from Israel to Gaza via the north’s Erez Crossing to see the hospital, meet with staff and to hold Eucharist in its chapel.

More here-

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17791

102 Episcopal bishops ask Obama for continued aid to Middle East hospital

From Washington Post-

A group of Episcopal bishops is asking President Obama to help assure that a United Nations agency continues to support a diocese-run hospital in the Gaza Strip.

In a Wednesday (June 6) letter, the 102 bishops ask the president to support funding for Al Ahli Hospital from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The letter asserts funding was cut off in May, though an UNRWA official said a final decision has not been made.


The hospital, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, “is the only facility of its sort in the Gaza Strip that is not run by the Hamas government and as such, it is able to provide care without any outside interference or political calculation,” the letter states.

Al Ahli’s 120-member staff serves 4,800 inpatients and 42,000 outpatients annually, most of whom are Muslim. In the past, UNRWA provided nearly $1 million of the hospital’s annual $2.4 million operating budget.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/102-episcopal-bishops-ask-obama-for-continued-aid-to-middle-east-hospital/2012/06/07/gJQAEpQwLV_story.html

Jerusalem bishop visits Gaza five weeks after being denied entry by Israeli authorities

From Episcopal Life Online-

Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Chacour and Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan were granted permission to enter Gaza March 10 to make a pastoral visit to the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
Dawani and Younan had both been denied entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities on February 4 despite having been informed that their request for permits had been granted.

While Israel withdrew its military and settlers from Gaza in 2005, it continues to maintain control over entry into the Palestinian territory via land, air, and sea. A March 10 press release from the U.S. Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., said the bishops had been denied entry because they "are legal residents of the State of Israel," adding that "Israeli citizens and legal residents are prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip for security reasons and out of concern for their safety."

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_106243_ENG_HTM.htm

Top Anglican calls for BBC to air Gaza appeal

The BBC on Sunday faced more pressure to broadcast a charity appeal for funds for people in Gaza, as the Archbishop of Canterbury joined the row and more than 50 MPs signed a motion condemning the move.

The publicly-funded British broadcaster is refusing to air an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee, made up of charities including the British Red Cross and Oxfam, because it says it could compromise the BBC's impartiality.

The BBC also questions whether aid can be delivered efficiently in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians say over 1,300 died during Israel's 22-day offensive, despite ministers saying this is not an issue.

The decision drew fierce criticism from the government of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday, while thousands protested in central London over the move.

The leader of Anglicans worldwide, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, said on Sunday: "My feeling is that the BBC should broadcast an appeal."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEz_EPxows6CCe2LdLPcAfruOn2w

Gaza 'full of blood and grief', says church hospital head

From Ecumenical News Service-

On the third day of an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza, Palestinians were only beginning to realise the scope of their losses from a three-week Israeli onslaught, said the director of the Anglican Al Ahli Arab Hospital.

"Gaza is still full of blood and grief," said Suhaila Tarrazi, who heads the hospital. "People are going to their homes and seeing the losses of their family members. Hundreds [of bodies] are still lying underneath buildings." Tarrazi said, "It is a terrible, horrible situation à Gaza is a real catastrophe."

Along with the other 10 hospitals in Gaza, Al Ahli Hospital felt the brunt of devastating injuries suffered by Palestinians during the three-week war, she said.

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=2643

You can see all of the Good Stuff posts by clicking on Good Stuff in the labels below.

Al Ahli Arab Hospital brings hope to Palestinians amid Gaza crisis

From Episcopal Life On Line-

As the embattled residents of Gaza struggle for survival 18 days into a bloody Israeli military operation, the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City continues to bring some semblance of hope to the local Palestinian community through its commitment to providing critical healthcare services to anyone in need.

One of 37 institutions run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the hospital has struggled to meet the increased demands on its already-overburdened staff, who have tended to the wounded despite being surrounded by conflict, the challenges of diminishing medical supplies, and their own fatigue.

A January 14 update from the diocese's healthcare department reported that much-needed supplies, including medicines and blankets, had finally been received by the hospital as several trucks arrived in convoys coordinated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_104243_ENG_HTM.htm

Gaza protesters clash with police in London

"I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals." Mark 1:7. A modern day example of the way shoes/sandals/feet are thought of in the middle east.

The violence started when police tried to move protesters away from the gates of the Israeli embassy. One police officer was knocked unconscious and two more were injured. Many people were pleading with police to allow them out of the cordon as they were trapped between two lines of officers.

There were running skirmishes between the officers and groups of young men, each time prompting a further charge from the officers and sending the crowd running screaming in the opposite direction. Demonstrators also hurled shoes over the heads of riot police. In Edinburgh, three police officers suffered minor injuries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4215031/Gaza-protesters-clash-with-police-in-London.html

A statement from the Bishop of Jerusalem

From bishop Suheil Dawani (shown with the PB doing that "dueling hats" thing)

At a time when great tragedy is occurring in the Holy Land in Gaza, I want to share some insight into what we are experiencing on a moment to moment basis. Our Diocese has one of 11 hospitals serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the Gaza Strip. The Al Ahli Arab (Anglican) Hospital has been in operation for over 100 years and has a very dedicated medical staff of doctors, nurses, technicians and general services personnel.

During the best of times they are stretched to their maximum meeting the medical needs of this populous community. Now, during the current military conflict with its heavy toll on human life and material, the hospital faces even greater responsibilities and challenges. The result is growing strain on the hospital's resources. Every day since the beginning of military operations, the hospital has received 20-40 injured or wounded patients. A large proportion of them require hospitalisation and surgery. These patients are in addition to those with non-conflict-related illnesses. About one-fourth of the patients are children.

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jan/08/gaza-anglican-dawani-bishop

Good Stuff in TEC: Episcopal Relief and Development

Episcopal Relief & Development supports Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza

Since the recent upsurge on December 27th, the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has left more than 550 people dead, and 2,500 injured. Episcopal Relief & Development's partner, the Ahli Arab Hospital, reports devastating civilian casualties and a rising death toll in Gaza City.

During this time of crisis, Episcopal Relief & Development remains in close contact with its partner the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Episcopal Relief & Development has responded to an urgent appeal from the Diocese by sending initial emergency funds to the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

"We continue to monitor the needs of the Diocese of Jerusalem and are preparing to send additional emergency funds. Please pray for the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Ahi Arab Hospital as they risk their own lives to provide lifesaving emergency care to people injured in the ongoing conflict" said Rob Radtke, President of Episcopal Relief & development.

Ahli Arab Hospital, located at the heart of Gaza City, has treated more than 100 injured civilians since the beginning of the December attacks. The hospital continues to provide essential emergency health care to injured civilians. Ahli Arab Hospital has not turned anyone away despite increasingly dire conditions. The staff and volunteers at the hospital desperately need medicine and emergency supplies to continue their life saving work.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KSAI-7N33U5?OpenDocument

You can see all of the Good Stuff posts by clicking on Good Stuff in the labels below.

Jerusalem Christian leaders seek day of prayer, halt to Gaza violence

From the Anglican Journal in Canada-

The heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem have denounced continuing hostilities in the Gaza Strip as well as "all forms of violence and killings from all parties" and have called for a world day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land.

In a joint statement, made available on 30 December, the church leaders noted that "this bloodshed and violence will not lead to peace and justice but breed more hatred and hostility". It followed days of Israeli air strikes said to be in retaliation for continuing rockets attacks by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad from Gaza into Israel.

The Christian leaders called on the world to keep Sunday, Jan. 4 as a day of prayer for justice and peace, "in the land of peace". This came after five days of violence had left more than 360 people dead, while the U.N. Relief and Works Agency said at least 62 of those killed were civilians.

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/jerusalem-christian-leaders-seek-day-of-prayer-halt-to-gaza-violence/?cHash=eabf50b50b

Chritian Leaders Speak out About Gaza

Christian leaders are starting to speak out on the situation in Gaza, where Israeli forces, retaliating for rocket attacks against Israel, today attacked Hamas targets for the third day in a row, bringing the death toll in Gaza to over 300.

On Saturday I posted comments from Jewish leaders here; on Sunday I posted comments from Muslim organizations (updated this morning) here. Today comes the following statement from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori:

"Yesterday afternoon in New York, outside the Episcopal Church Center, a demonstration took place in front of the Israeli consulate. The demonstrators included orthodox Jews. All were calling for an immediate end to the attacks in Gaza. I join my voice to theirs and those of many others around the world, challenging the Israeli government to call a halt to this wholly disproportionate escalation of violence. I challenge the Palestinian forces to end their rocket attacks on Israelis.

I further urge the United States government to use its influence to get these parties back to the negotiating table and end this senseless killing. President-elect Obama needs to be part of this initiative, which demands his attention now and is likely to do so through his early months in office. I urge a comprehensive response to these attacks. Innocent lives are being lost throughout the land we all call Holy, and as Christians remember the coming of the Prince of Peace, we ache for the absence of peace in the land of his birth.

Immediate attention should focus on vital humanitarian assistance to the suffocating people of Gaza. In March of this year, I spent a day in Gaza visiting religious and community leaders and the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Since that visit, the situation, which was already devastating, has only worsened, with supplies of food, fuel, power, and medical supplies either cut off or indefinitely delayed. Our hospital must now try to treat the wounded under the most impossible circumstances.

I ask all people of faith to join with the Episcopalians in Jerusalem who this Sunday dispensed with their usual worship services and spent their time in prayer for those who are the objects of this violence. I pray for leaders who will seek a just peace for all in the Middle East, knowing that its achievement will only come when they have the courage to act boldly. But they must do so now, before the violence escalates further. It is only through a just and lasting peace that the hope of the ages can be fulfilled, that hope which we mark in the birth of a babe in Bethlehem."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/12/christian_leade.html