The CNEWA Connection

While Christians are a minority within a minority in Israel, the church’s social service programs are numerous. And they care for Christians, Jews and Muslims — all segments of society. One such initiative, the St. Vincent de Paul French Hospital in Nazareth, provides health care to patients regardless of their faith. CNEWAPontifical Mission funds have gone toward rehabilitation projects, operational expenses, play areas for children with special needs and upgraded services.

To support this crucial work, call 1-800-442-6392 (United States) or 1-866-322-4441 (Canada) or visit cnewa.org/work/israel.

We hope to be here for many, many more. But the future of our children depends on peace,” says Father Makhouli.

He notes that Palestinian militants had fired more than 30 rockets into Galilee on 6 April, and violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem had soared in recent weeks. Yet even peace will not prevent young people from leaving if they cannot maintain a good quality of life and do not have the ability to build homes, he adds.

“The government doesn’t give us the land to expand the village. It’s an old problem.”

Due to their small numbers, Christians in Israel also face the threat of assimilation, says Josef Shahada, a leader in the Greek

Orthodox community and an educator in Kafr Yasif.

“We live between Jews and Arabs, a minority in Israel, but also within Arab society,” which can make it difficult to maintain a unique identity, he adds. This is especially true when Christian students attend Israeli universities and find jobs that further mainstream them into Jewish or Muslim Israeli society.

Back in Nazareth, Bishop Nahra says the fact that Christians in Israel are highly educated, westernized and for the most part financially secure is both a blessing and a challenge.

To help children and their families feel more connected to Jesus and the church, the Latin Patriarchate of

Jerusalem has identified several areas in need of improvement.

One priority is to enhance the faith formation of the schools’ catechism teachers, so they can teach the Christian faith with enthusiasm and joy. A second priority is to encourage more family participation in church services and activities.

“Israel is a very secular and very expensive society, so people have to work very hard,” he says. “There’s little time to build family life. Parents often don’t go to Mass, so the children don’t have a liturgical life.”

The Catholic churches are also collaborating to provide opportunities for the country’s Catholic young adults — whether they be Roman Catholic or Eastern Catholic — to meet, socialize and hopefully marry.

As frustrated as he is by the Israeli government’s longstanding funding roadblocks to Christian institutions, Father Abdel Masih Fahim, a Franciscan and the coordinator of Christian schools in Israel, is gratified that Christian schools will soon have their very first history of Christianity textbook.

In terms of curriculum, Israel has never distinguished between Christian and Muslim Arabs. For decades, the education ministry has required all schools in the Arab sector to teach history and other subjects from an Islamic perspective, including in Christian schools.

Until now, Father Fahim points out, Christian schools “have been required to teach from Islamic history books that ignore 600 years of Christian history, from the birth of Jesus until the advent of Islam in the seventh century. We have courses in the Arabic language that take texts from the Quran. So, we asked [the education ministry], why not draw from texts from Christianity, the Gospel or the Bible?”

This long-yearned-for textbook is in its final stages, he says.

For 125 years, the St. Vincent de Paul French Hospital in Nazareth has cared for patients of all faiths, just as its founder, Mother Leonie Sion of the Daughters of Charity, had envisioned.

Today, the 140-bed hospital operates as a general public health facility under the regulations of the ministry of health. Yet, much like the country’s Christian schools, it receives only a fraction of the funding state hospitals receive. The National Insurance Institute pays for the care of individual patients, but not for hospital renovations or new medical equipment.

The same is true of other semiprivate hospitals, such as the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, but these medical facilities can make up the shortfall with funding from private donors, including the Jewish diaspora.

The geriatric department of the St. Vincent de Paul French Hospital has 26 fragile inpatients. On a warm spring day, a handful of them are working on therapeutic art projects related to Easter and Ramadan in the ward’s cramped but cheery day room.

Looking in on the activities, Sister Maha Sansour, the head nurse, warmly greets every patient and staffer. But her smile turns wistful when she steps back into the corridor. She wishes the hospital could update the space.

“Given financial resources, we could treat more patients. We could renovate a bit, and add sinks to every room,” says Sister Maha, one of three Daughters of Charity who work at the hospital.

Even with the shortfall, the hospital has managed to create a sparkling maternity wing that enables mothers and their newborns to stay in the same room.

Mira Laham watches her two-dayold son, Taim, asleep in his bassinet. She traveled from Haifa, where she lives, to Nazareth, her hometown, to give birth at the hospital.

“My husband is a doctor at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, but I wanted to be in the French Hospital because I love the atmosphere and the care,” she says. “Also, I was born here and wanted my child to be born here. It’s a part of our family history.”

At left, top image, young women at a Holy Thursday liturgy in the church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Kafr Yasif. Bottom image, Sister Maha Sansour visits with staff and patients in the geriatric department of St. Vincent de Paul French Hospital in Nazareth during an art activity for Easter and Ramadan.

The ethos of the hospital reflects Sister Leonie’s vision to create a Christian hospital for all who need it. Crosses adorn the walls and, during Easter week, stuffed bunnies and colorful chocolate eggs decorate every ward. A chapel is at the center of the facility.

The minute she felt strong enough, Mrs. Laham asked the sisters to accompany her and Taim to the chapel to offer a prayer of gratitude and to bless the baby.

Like Mrs. Laham, Stefan Amseis feels a visceral connection to Christian history and to the land Jesus called home. Like many of his peers, he feels an obligation to strengthen his church and community.

“Christians are 2 percent of the population, and if everyone leaves, how can we improve the situation here? We feel a responsibility. If we are gone, who will care for our churches?” he says.

“We want to have children here and to put them on the path to live a Christian life. On this land.”

Michele Chabin, based in Jerusalem, reports for several news outlets, including Religion News Service and National Catholic Register.