The Friends are happy to have created connections with many worthy causes over the years
House of Grace
Hospitality is at the heart of the vision of House of Grace. It was opened to receive former prisoners transitioning to life ‘on the outside’ by Kamil and Agnes Shehade in 1982. Their vision was for the abandoned shell of The Church of our Lady in downtown Haifa. They rebuilt it and opened it as a half-way house for men leaving prison as some of the most marginalised people in Israeli society. People still seek it out and find refuge here.
11% of the population of Haifa is Arab and 20% across Israel; they make up 40% of the prison population in Israel. Some of these men have been imprisoned for a long time for minor crimes, most have faced enormous struggles in life, including a lack of stability in family life, poor education and lack of opportunity. It is difficult to find well paid work, build a home, raise a family; in short, to flourish.
This is what grassroots activism is. Small acts of grace on limited budgets, bearing fruit over time in unforeseen ways. And still faithful to Kamil and Agnes’s Matthew 25 faith.
The Friends were proud to host Jamal Shehade, CEO, to Perth in 2023
Sindyanna of Galilee
Sindyanna of Galilee is a long-term partner of the Church of Scotland. Their Scottish Grove, originally a project funded by The Friends of St Andrew’s Jerusalem & Tiberias, produces some of their best olive oil and has recently scooped awards for their Coratina and Piqual Olive Oil.
Sindyanna of Galilee is a unique non-profit organisation led by a team of Arab and Jewish women working to create social change from the ground up. Their goals are to produce outstanding olive oil and other premium food products, while enhancing Arab-Jewish cooperation, promoting Fair Trade, creating economic opportunities for Arab women, and assisting local growers and producers.
Trish Archibald, The Friends Scholar 2022, worked alongside them in March 2023
Tent of Nations
At the Tent of Nations (an educational and ecological family farm), we want to develop a positive approach to conflict management. In the face of great injustice, we know that we should not hate, despair or flee. We refuse to be enemies and we try to transform our pain and frustration into positive actions that will help us to create a better future.
We offer work camps and volunteering activities, run children’s summer camps and a women empowerment program to let them discover their talents, increase their confidence and self-esteem, to focus on their positives, and to believe in themselves that they are able to shape their future even in their difficult daily struggle that they have to face.
Our goal is to help people understand the importance of the land and to feel more connected to the ground and to our environment.
The Friends of St Andrew’s Jerusalem & Tiberias are proud to stand alongside them through their work and vision.
The Friends welcomed Daoud Nassar at their AGM in May 2023
Wi'am
The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, is a grassroots civil society organisation, based in Bethlehem, in the shadow of the separation barrier. Developing relationships is the essence of their mission. The implementation of traditional Arab form of mediation, Sulha, remains essential to conflict resolution within the Palestinian community.
Through their programs they empower children, youth, women and men, addressing the psychological and physiological consequences of long-term conflict. The core tenet of the work of this Christian organisation is its commitment to nonviolence.
Their partnership with The Friends, and the Church of Scotland, is long-standing.
To learn more, make sure to see their website.
Trish Archibald, The Friends Scholar 2022, spent a week at Wi’am in March 2023
Parents Circle Families Forum (PCFF)
PCFF is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organisation of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict; they work together to end the cycle of bloodshed. These bereaved families see the humanity and pain on the other side. The members of PCFF prove every day that co-existence, reconciliation, mutual respect and peace are possible. In the last year, they have held hundreds of Dialogue Meetings in Israel and Palestine, but their ability to hold such meetings is currently under threat.
PCFF received the St Andrew’s Day offering in 2022, along with the offering taken at St Andrew’s Jerusalem
Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)
PHRI works ‘to promote a just society, where the right to health is granted equally to all people under Israel’s responsibility and control. We provide free healthcare and humanitarian aid to thousands of people each year, and work to challenge and change discriminatory and abusive policies.’
They provide:
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a clinic in Jaffa for asylum seekers
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mobile clinics in WBG
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medication and medical equipment to WBG. They currently campaign
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for Israeli authorities to grant visas to cancer patients from Gaza
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on treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
PHRI received the St Andrew’s Day offering in 2021
Surif Women's Cooperative
Our unique bookmarks, especially designed for St. Andrew’s, are made by Surif Women’s Cooperative in an isolated village near Hebron, close to the Wall separating the West Bank from Israel. Started in 1950 by the Mennonite Central Committee, the village women established a co-op in 1983.
The incredibly precise embroidery is done on finely woven 100% cotton material. Communication is difficult: the group has no website, no public transport and few members speak English. Lack of sales means the co-op now can give work to only about 120 of the 400 members. Four staff work part-time at the centre but are paid when there are sales. The coop is in debt and struggling to survive.
The Friends are proud to sell specially woven bookmarks in support of their work.
