Mothers train to become at-home therapists for their children with disabilities at the Diocese of Jerusalem’s Princess Basma Center.
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New Jersey, at its diocesan convention on Nov. 21, announced that it was giving $1 million to the Diocese of Jerusalem to support the Anglican diocese’s medical ministries in Gaza and other Palestinian communities “where the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza has been catastrophic.”
Funding for the gift comes from the Trenton-based Diocese of New Jersey’s Jane O.P. Turner Fund, which was originally designated for a children’s hospital, according to a diocesan news release. It was announced with a joint pastoral letter from New Jersey Bishop Sally French and Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the bishop of Jerusalem and primate of the Anglican province in the Middle East.
“Jesus calls us to care for those who are in need and to be agents of healing, reconciliation and hope,” French and Naoum said. “As siblings in Christ and fellow members of the Anglican Communion, we believe our mutual ministries can meet this moment and bring relief and healing to the people of Gaza and the Palestinian Territories.”
The Diocese of Jerusalem operates Al Ahli Arab Hospital, a charitable hospital in Gaza, which has struggled to continue treating patients amid power outages, food and water shortages, and Israeli bombardment during the Israel-Hamas war. The hostilities in the densely populated Palestinian territory, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities, have lessened since Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease fire last month, yet recent gunfire and strikes have threatened to disrupt the truce.
French and Naoum emphasized that more than 19,000 children have been killed in the two-year war, and many of the survivors have needed treatment for lost limbs.
The New Jersey gift will be used to rebuild and sustain pediatric care at Ahli Hospital, expand services at Princess Basma Center in Jerusalem and Gaza, support family wellness for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents suffering from debilitating and lifelong conditions, and strengthen psychiatric and trauma care.
The Episcopal Church has long worked through its partners in the Anglican Communion, including Naoum, to assist in the region and by offering financial support through the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and The Episcopal Church’s Good Friday Offering.